Mormonism and church integrity

1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Accusations of lying and hypocrisy on the part of the Church

Jump to Subtopic:

• Accusations of hypocrisy in Church practices related to the Word of Wisdom
• "Lying for the Lord"
• Joseph Smith fired a gun at Carthage Jail
• No paid ministry
• City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City
• Accusations of lying in the 19th-century Church
• Dealing with doubts about the Church and its integrity

Accusations of lying in the 19th-century Church

Jump to details:

• Question: Are there government records that prove that the apostles were involved in counterfeiting in Nauvoo?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith engage in "land speculation" in Nauvoo?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith really tell Orrin Porter Rockwell 'it was right to steal'?
• Question: Did Orson Hyde state that it was permissible to "steal & be influenced by the spirit of the Lord to do it" as long as it was against non-Mormons?
• Question: Did Brigham say "We shall pull the wool over the eyes of the American people"?
• Question: Why is History of the Church written in first-person, as if Joseph Smith himself wrote it?

Present day

1. REDIRECT Approaching history

Cognitive dissonance

Summary: Many critics of the Church are fond of portraying all members as either naive, ill-informed dupes or cynical exploiters. Fortunately, most fair-minded people realize that—just as in any religion—there are many intelligent, well-informed people who become or remain members of the Church. To get around this, some critics appeal to the psychological concept of 'cognitive dissonance' to try to 'explain away' the spiritual witness of intelligent, articulate members.

History of the Church—authorship?

Summary: I've heard that the History of the Church, though credited to Joseph Smith, was not actually authored by him. What can you tell me about this, and what does this mean for the History's accuracy?

Gordon B. Hinckley cited false information on the First Vision?

Summary: It is claimed that there were no religious revivals in the Palmyra, New York area in 1820, and that Gordon B. Hinckley cited false information in a book called Truth Restored.

Immigration reform in the U.S.A.

Summary: What is the Church's stance on illegal immigrants in the United States?

Paid clergy

Summary: It is claimed that Mormonism prides itself in having unpaid clergy as one proof of the Church's truthfulness. They then point to the fact that some General Authorities, mission presidents, and others do, in fact, receive a living stipend while serving the Church, and point to this as evidence of the “hypocrisy” of the Church.

Testimony and doubt reconciliation

Summary: How can a person reaffirm their testimony when they learn disconcerting facts that may bring their testimony into doubt?

City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City

Summary: Members and critics have questions about the Church's involvement in the redevelopment of the city center in Salt Lake.

Claims that church membership numbers distorted

Summary: It is claimed by some that the Church distorts its membership numbers and rate of growth for public relations purposes.

Accusations of plagiarizing C.S. Lewis in General Conference

Summary: Some claim that President Ezra Taft Benson's famous General Conference address, "Beware of Pride," was plagiarized from C.S. Lewis' chapter on pride in Mere Christianity.