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FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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===Source(s) of the criticism=== | ===Source(s) of the criticism=== | ||
+ | *Simon Southerton, [[Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church|''Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church'']] (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2004), 136. | ||
* Internet message boards | * Internet message boards | ||
Critics claim that Latter-day Saints believe that the scriptural terms "church of the devil," the "great and abominable church," and the "whore of all the earth" refer to a specific religion.
The criticism is based upon references in the Book of Mormon to the "church of the devil," which is referred to as the "whore of all the earth." For example:
The scriptures do not associate this "church" with a specific organization or religion. Several early 19th century church leaders stated their opinions regarding who they considered the "whore of all the earth." For example, George Q. Cannon publicly associated the "whore of all the earth" with those that persecuted the Church:
Heber C. Kimball associated the "whore of all the earth" with the national government that failed to help the Saints during their times of persecution:
Modern church leaders have stayed close to the definition in the Book of Mormon, by identifying the "great and abominable" church as any organization the leads people away from the Church of Jesus Christ. Bruce R. McConkie stated:
According to the scriptures, the "great and abominable church" and "whore of all the earth" refers to any organization that opposes the true Church of Jesus Christ. The Church does not teach or endorse the idea that these terms refer to any specific religion or organization.
'Plain and Precious Things': The Writings of the New Testament," by Elder Alexander B. Morrison in How the New Testament Came to Be, ed. Kent P. Jackson and Frank F. Judd Jr. (Salt Lake City: BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, 2006),1-24 ISBN 1590386272
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