Trinity United Church of Christ

Apologetic Analysis of Mormonism The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as Mormons, began as a six member church and has grown to over 15 million people and over 29,000 congregations worldwide ("LDS Statistics and Church Facts"). With the past presidential candidacy race, it seemed that Mormonism faced many critiques or questions from Americans as Mitt Romney took the hot seat and answered questions about his religion ("21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith").…

There are many ways a person could be driven to undertake a mission. Farah Ahmadi from The Other Side of the Sky was driven to undertake her mission because she wanted her and her mother to make it to Pakistan safely. Annie Johnson was driven to undertake her mission because she wanted to support her kids. Ernesto's from Barrio Boy was driven to undertake his mission because he was moved to America. Farah Ahmadi was driven to undertake her mission because she wanted her and her mother, the…

Mormonism originates from claims of revelation by God to New York farmer Joseph Smith, in the 19th century. According to his account, God and Jesus appeared to him and ordered him not to join any currently organized religion, for they were all imperfect. He was then told to await a visit by an angel for further instruction (Gutjahr 15). On September 21st, the angel Moroni visited Joseph and instructed him to dig up ancient golden plates buried near his home (Gutjahr 15). Joseph obeyed, going…

As I dove into my research about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I found it extremely difficult to choose a subject and to narrow it down to a few simple facts. Lds.org provides a search feature that allows you to research a multitude of subjects and the beliefs behind them. Here are just a few subjects; repentance, repent from masturbation, pornography, sexual sin, bad thoughts and actions. marriage, evil thoughts, and how to get rid of guilt. I was quite surprised not only to…

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is more commonly referred to as the Mormon Church. The basis of the church comes from the original church founded by Jesus Christ, however some adjustments were made by its original members, primarily Joseph Smith, its founder. Joseph Smith claims to have been receiving messages from God, Jesus Christ, and other Christian figures since the age of 14 years old. One markable adjustment from the original Christian faith iis how the church reveres…

It was a typical warm and humid day in central Florida. There was a storm for-cast as usual, there was never a day without one. I sat there in my Mission President’s office waiting for my appointment with him. I had just gotten examined by the mission nurse and things were not looking good for my case of staying on my mission. My diagnosis was a severe case of Psoriasis, the most severe that the Missionary Department in Salt Lake City had ever seen in all the years of operation. Approximately…

The people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are considered peculiar by people both within the church and non-members. This may be for different reasons but I think most people can tell that those of the LDS faith are unlike most other people in this world. This can be for many things, but I think a big part of it is the Word of Wisdom. So my question is, “Is the Word of Wisdom essential for the members of the LDS faith?” As the world and society continue to change, many things…

movement during the early 19th century in the United States, also influenced Smith, in turn, compelling him to believe he was needed for significant religious duties. Joseph Smith’s Church of Christ had many beliefs outside the norm and practiced many ideas that were not considered acceptable by conventional society. This is why Mormons were highly disliked by non-Mormons and was the very reason this situation affected the development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite…

I think that something a lot of ex-Mormons struggle with is realizing that yes, the LDS church can do some good. No organization is entirely good or entirely bad. And while I'm not going to be running to rejoin the church, its welfare model - which is community oriented and offers a strong sense of accountability - is worth looking at. Beyond that, a lot of what McArdle gets right are uncomfortable topics that people wish to avoid, as discussing them can get one labeled misogynist or racist. The…

Joseph Smith, who was a polygamist himself. As a result, this influenced Mormons to become polygamist themselves because their founder was one as well. However, only men could take multiple wives whereas women could only have one husband. When the United States government threatened to take away the assets from Mormon churches the Latter-day Saints agreed to compromise with the U.S. by forgoing polygamy. Consequently, most Mormons stopped the practice of polygamy, but a few resisted and…