by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
(Originally published August 8, 2018 and August 10, 2018)
Question: One of the most disturbing and incomprehensible accounts in the Old Testament concerns Elisha and the bears who mauled those who jeered at him? What should we make of this strange story? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 2–7
Picking up the next portion of the “ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM” topic heading, Jeremy begins with a quote from President Oaks:
Elder Dallin H. Oaks made the following disturbing comment in the PBS documentary, The Mormons:
“It is wrong to criticize the leaders of the Church, even if the criticism is true.” [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 64
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by Matt Crawford
The widow of Zarephath is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. Perhaps the greatest reason that this story resonates with me is because the widow is an outsider. She is not a member of the house of Israel—a fact the Savior confirms (see Luke 4:24–30)—and she meets Elijah at the gate of the city. That is, she is physically on the outskirts of this village where she lives. At least symbolically, the location of the widow’s initial contact with Elijah infers that she is marginalized. Yet her belonging came as she did one thing: she obeyed a prophet. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19
You may have watched the fictionalized television series Under the Banner of Heaven, which depicts the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter Erica. Brenda was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). She, and her daughter, were murdered by Dan Lafferty, a man recently released from jail who had been excommunicated from the Church.
Now you can find out what really happened. [Read more…] about Press Release: Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs. Fiction
I love to learn new things. Ever since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed researching a lot of topics from a wide variety of sources. I come by that honestly: my dad is always reading something new, too, and it’s only fiction about 1/3 of the time. Every Christmas, our gift from him is a small stack of 2-3 nonfiction books, a tradition I always look forward to. That’s why this last topic header from the Other Concerns section—the largest of the four—is one that I feel especially passionate about: “ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM.”
The claim is that the Church targets scholars and intellectuals for punishment and excommunication. You often see the charge being made in connection with discussions on the September Six, for example—a group we’ll be discussing in more detail in a week or two. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 63
by Carl Trueman
The events described in 2 Samuel 11 are pivotal to the reign of David. His adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, Uriah, will have consequences far beyond the royal household and the rest of his reign will be marked by political turmoil driven by rebellions from within his own family.
There are a number of points to observe in the text. First, it is important to notice how the writer echoes the language of Genesis 3. As Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was pleasing to the eyes and reached out and took it, so David sees that Bathsheba, one who is forbidden to him because married to another, is beautiful and takes her. As humanity fell in the garden, so David as king in a sense falls here. Hence his reign will never be the same again. And in seeing David’s fall, we learn something of the sinful psychology of our own hearts: sin places me at the center and makes everything else instrumental to my satisfaction, desires, and happiness. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11
by Matthew L. Bowen
The names of ancient Israel’s first two major[1] royal figures, Saul and David, have clear, distinctive meanings. Saul (šāʾûl) means ‘asked’ and David (dāwid or dāwîd) means ‘beloved.’ The Deuteronomistic editor and narrator[2] of the Book of Samuel used the meaning of these names to help tell the story of Israel’s formal rejection of the Lord’s kingship and the eventual rise of the Davidic dynasty in Judah. The meanings of their respective names figure not only into why each man became king, but also why their kingships ran aground and, in their respective ways, failed.
Israel “Asks” for a King (1 Samuel 8) [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 25 – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–18
[We have more information about Under the Banner of Heaven here.]
“God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven against the Government.” This sentence, supposedly spoken by John Taylor, has been made famous by Jon Krakauer. He used it for the title of his book, Under the Banner of Heaven, which has now been transformed into a fictionalized detective drama mini-series streaming on Hulu. But those words were never actually spoken by John Taylor. They were made up by an anonymous Salt Lake Tribune writer.
The Salt Lake Tribune was started in 1870 by three men that had left the Church. It changed hands many times but was overtly anti-Mormon until 1901, when its new owners began changing its tone somewhat. During those first 30 years, much of the reporting on the Church was downright obnoxious, and probably not meant to be taken seriously. This includes the article on page four of the January 6, 1880 issue, about a stake conference that took place the previous Sunday. (The available scan of the newspaper page is very difficult to read. In my transcription I used “(?)” after words that I thought were correct but wasn’t completely sure, and I used “[?]” in place of words I found completely unreadable.) It begins with: [Read more…] about Under the Banner of Misattribution
Before we get started, something happened this week that I wanted to address. This particular matter is resolved and I’m not trying to call anyone out, but I wanted to say this in case something similar happens in the future: I know that there is a lot of dishonesty and manipulation in this Letter, and a lot of people have been personally affected in some way by those lies. Feelings are high, I get that. But there is a difference between calling out dishonesty and insulting a fellow child of God. I try very hard not to personally attack Jeremy but rather, his words. If anyone reaches out privately to vent their frustrations with him, I will not allow him to be called names or otherwise insulted in my private messages. He is a child of heavenly parents, like we all are, and he deserves to be treated as such. As frustrating as this Letter can be, Jeremy deserves our prayers, not our condemnation. I do pray for him, and I hope the rest of you will join me in that.
With that said, the CES Letter picks back up with the second topic header of this section, “CHURCH FINANCES.” [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 62
by BJ Spurlock
When reading the scriptures, especially as one reads through the Old Testament, it is always helpful to ask the following questions:
Seeing the Savior in the text as he interacts with his covenant children is of utmost importance. Elder Henry B. Eyring (at the time) made the following promise: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 24 – Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–3
