NOM

I have just started listening to a podcast in which John Hamer states "I am not a restorationist". For him to say that, I either have a different definition of "restorationist" than John Hamer has, or else I am misunderstanding something significant about the CoC. Is not the CoC a restorationist chu...

Everything's relative. And some things really are scary. For example, my Martial Arts instructor told me about the following conversation he overheard a few years ago, between a table full of Russians at the back of a restaurant in the Hollywood area of California (imagine a thick Russian accent her...

In other words, it's a matter of perspective. If you privilege Brigham Young's perspective, it's no wonder you imagine that Brigham Young had a superior claim in the Fifty. Yep. I realize I have been speaking from the Brighamite perspective. And that it is not the CoC perspective, nor is it the Rig...

My source for Sidney Rigdon's placement at #11 in the Council of Fifty is D. Michael Quinn "The Mormon Hierarchy" Vol. 1., p. 523. The recently published minutes might give further light, but I don't have a copy here. I just had a lengthy discussion with my source. He told me the following: 1. From...

But I'm pretty sure that Brigham was the senior member of those you list. I once researched this... don't know where my references are, though. So I could be wrong. No, other than Joseph Smith, the Council of Fifty membership was based on age. Alpheus Cutler was #4, William Marks was #10, Sidney Ri...

There were lots of members of the Council of Fifty that emerged as factional leaders in addition to Brigham Young. Rigdon was a member, as was Alpheus Cutler and Lyman Wight, both of whom led their own "Kingdom" factions and made their claims based on membership in the Council. But I'm pretty sure ...

To the believers in the idea of the 2nd Coming, I have a comment, and a question... COMMENT: *Every* reference I am aware of in the D&C describes Jesus' return (i.e., the 2nd coming) in the context of him coming in the *clouds* of heaven. Every single D&C reference does this. QUESTION: If Jesus were...

The concept of "being wrong" in the first-person present tense does not exist. For example, nobody says "I know such-and-such belief is wrong, but I am going to believe it anyway". The instant an individual recognizes that they were "wrong", that is the same instant when they change their belief reg...

What about the council of Fifty, did the COC keep that around? It seems you guys kept all the good stuff and left the embarrassing structures to us. :D John Hamer, as CoC Historian, will know better than I on many of the things I am about to say. He can correct me on any errors he spots below regar...

This week I remembered a film I saw when I was a kid. All I remember there was a cult and there was this one guy who was there for the free food, everyone else fell for it, he was quite happy for the free food and knew the belief side was quakery. I've told myself this week that I need to start app...

Thank you.

I was at peace with it long before writing the letter. Writing the letter just made answering the question "Are you a Mormon?" an easier question to answer without being called a liar by one side or another.

Just Curious - thanks for the insight. As for your Martial Arts Instructor - no, I don't think most Mormons do, we are still basking in the light of the Mormon Moment, those that do think we look ridiculous to others reframe it as 'strange and peculiar' which is evidence that we are God's chosen pe...

An apologetic response to all of this is pretty easy to give. However, I hesitated to do so, for the simple reason that I think the church is a fraud, and I don't particularly *want* to provide an apologetic response. But then I thought to myself, there may be some on this board that would appreciat...

The quorum of the 70 was also equal in power to the q12. See DC 107 23-25. The Q12 could not make any decisions that were not approved by the Q70. This was a power struggle that BY did not want, so essentially he demoted the Q70 to be a lesser quorum. This changed the power structure of the church....

I have no problem admitting that the little misses and I have far more than just church issues to disagree about. But in church yesterday I sat with my usual glum, I can't believe I'm still doing this" look on my face. No one told me, DW wasn't even there, she is often in bed with health problems a...

At the time I resigned from the church, I had no idea that people were even doing that. I wrote the following letter, and sent it to the Member Records Division (redacted for anonymity). I received the standard form letter response (which I did not know at the time was the standard response), follow...

10.) If tithing is a lesser law than consecration, why does it currently demand more of your money (the gross or net model) than did consecration (a tenth of surplus). This quote from the link mischaracterizes consecration. Consecration is *not* paying a tenth of surplus. Neither is tithing suppose...

That link includes an Orson Hyde quote as follows: The celestial law requires one-tenth part of all a man’s substance which he possesses at the time he comes into the church and one-tenth part of his annual increase ever after. This is consistent with what I said. Before joining the church, a person...

Question regarding the last podcast on Apostles seeing Jesus. You discussed Tom Phillips 2nd annointing experience, and mentioned that Tom had left the church. It's true he is no longer participating (making your statement accurate), but do we know for a fact if he has officially resigned or been e...

At the time of the Missouri exodus, the reason Brigham did away with the "Standing High Council", and instead deferred to the "Traveling High Council", is because they as a group were commencing to "travel", and would no longer be "standing". This is pretty easy to comprehend. However, the next ques...