If you’re new here, you may want to sign up for email alerts or subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for reading!A member of another faith asked me the following question:
In the [LDS] service that I attended, the speaker said that service to the Temple is the most important service that we can provide. [...]
(Continued from Part 1)
Dr. Hugh Nibley’s opening remarks in his earthshaking address, “Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift,” given at the BYU commencement ceremony on August 19, 1983, would have fit even more perfectly in an Oxford setting. In refering to his statement in a commencement prayer he gave in 1960 in which he [...]
(Continued from Part 2)
Another early Christian evidence for the practice of baptism for the dead is from texts that reference the practice among a group known as the Marcionites. This group was a separate Christian body from the Church of Rome, who followed the teachings of Marcion (ca. 110-160) as their spiritual leader (sometimes [...]
(Continued from Part 1)
Some of the best studies of the early Christian practice of baptism for the dead have come from Hugh Nibley and John A. Tvedtnes. Both of these LDS scholars have written extensively on the topic. I hope to analyze some of their excellent work and provide examples of the practice [...]
In a letter dated April 5th, and reported by the Catholic News Service on May 2nd, the Vatican issued an order to all Catholic dioceses throughout the world to not give genealogical information in parish registers to Latter-day Saints in an effort to “block posthumous rebaptisms” of LDS ancestors. The Vatican Congregation for the [...]
One of the criticisms leveled at the LDS (Mormon) practice of temple worship is the seemingly dissimilar forms of the ordinances when compared with those found practiced by ancient Israelites in the Bible. It is true that the forms of the ordinances and sacrifices are different, but their meaning and symbolism remain the same. [...]
A group of researchers has just begun a two-week excavation at the well-known Stonehenge site in England in an attempt to discover, once and for all, the meaning behind the mysterious ruins. According to current scientific dating, Stonehenge dates back to about 3000 B.C., but it has perplexed archaeologists for years as to the [...]
No, it isn’t being sealed to your spouse on wedding day, although that is a prerequisite (preparatory and required) to receive this highest and most sacred sealing ordinance. The priesthood sealing powers of Elijah, as restored in this last dispensation (D&C 110:13-16) and vested in the presiding high priest of the Church (D&C 132:7), [...]
I have a certain affinity or appreciation for Eastern Orthodox Christianity, having visited Ukraine two years ago where I had the opportunity to visit many of the beautiful cathedrals all across the country. I found many of the practices, architecture, and artifacts of the faith to be intriguing from an LDS standpoint, showing parallels to [...]
For those who may not know, for the past few years the Church has been overhauling and rebuilding FamilySearch, one of the world’s premiere family history and genealogy websites, to expand its features and functionality significantly. It has been several years in the making, and is slowly being rolled out to members in selected [...]
The word orant, or latin orans, is a noun form of the verb orare, to pray, and describes an early mode of prayer practiced by the first Christians. From Wikipedia we read:
Orant is a type of gesture during prayer in which the hands are raised, set apart, and the palms face outward. It was [...]
There is an interesting doctrinal discussion on a post by KC Kern over at Mormon Matters entitled “The Reason for the World.” In it, KC compares the lyrics of the song “The Riddle” by the group “Five for Fighting” to Mormon theology. It is an intriguing comparison in which he analyzes the song’s [...]
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