God - Mormon Matters

Sophia of the Proverbs and the Feminine Divine

Bored in Vernal August 14, 2010feminism, God, LDS lessons, Mormon 16 Comments

OT SS Lesson #31 Feminist readers of the scriptures are well aware of the passages in Proverbs 8 which personify Wisdom (GK Sophia, HEB Hokhmah). …

Absolute Truth, Inclusivism, Lumen Gentium, and Emeth

guest June 7, 2010christianity, God, Mormon, religion 28 Comments

Guest post by Thomas In C.S. Lewis’ final Narnia book The Last Battle, there is a powerful scene of an encounter between the Christ-symbolizing lion Aslan …

Does God Squash ETs: How Human is Human?

FireTag May 29, 2010children, community of christ, creation, doctrine, eternity, families, God, LDS, Mormon, plan of salvation, science, spiritual progression, theology 68 Comments

Distinctly Mormon doctrines relating the physical appearance of humanity to God’s own “preferred” form grew gradually in early Restoration history rather than springing forth in …

Binding the Broken-Hearted

Bored in Vernal May 23, 2010Bible, christ, faith, God, Jesus, love, Mormon, scripture 13 Comments

Nothing is more painful than a broken heart. When this kind of sorrow gets deep into a person’s soul, all troubles are magnified, blessings are …

A Rational Theology Part 2: The First Four Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel

jmb275 April 30, 2010apologetics, baptism, faith, God, Mormon, repentance, theology 6 Comments

In my previous discussion of “A Rational Theology” by John Widstoe, I discussed two methodologies of deriving a full LDS theology in use during the …

The God of the OT vs. the Golden Calf

Bored in Vernal April 8, 2010Bible, God, Mormon, prophets, religion, scripture 30 Comments

OT SS Lesson #14 Sometimes I have a hard time with the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I’m not always sure how much of the …

Richard Dawkins, God and Santa Claus: Belief as a Form of Abuse

Aaron R. aka Rico January 3, 2010abuse, doctrine, doubt, God, Mormon 124 Comments

Between Christmas and New Year I had the opportunity to meet with some friends and at one point during the evening we began discussing the …

The NDE and its Interpretation

Arthur December 17, 2009death, God, Mormon, mysticism 82 Comments

I’ve delayed publishing this essay for several months due to the fact that, the more I seem to learn about this subject, the more I …

Highway 61 Re-revisited: Fear and Trembling before Faith

Aaron R. aka Rico August 9, 2009christ, doctrine, doubt, faith, fear, God, Jesus, Mormon, resignation, righteousness, salvation, testimony, theology, violence 27 Comments

Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son” Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?” God …

The Fruits of Guru Nanak

Arthur July 27, 2009books, christ, christianity, Discrimination, diversity, faith, God, history, plan of salvation, President Monson, religion, theology 17 Comments

I’m not even sure how I got it, surprisingly, but in the short time I lived in Idaho, I received an interesting gem. It’s a …

God is an Ocean

Brian Johnston July 18, 2009God, Mormon 9 Comments

Yanna the prophetess was sitting under a tree praying and meditating for days and a vision surges over her like a tidal wave of overwhelming, …

Dancing Through the Sidebar

John Dehlin July 11, 2009Bible, book of mormon, BYU, children, Culture, families, gay, general, God, homosexuality, Humor, international, LDS, marriage, media, Mormon, news, politics, religion, sexuality 28 Comments

Comment on any of the following articles – or anything else from the sidebar – or any other article of interest to this forum that …

When the Spirit leaves……

Jeff Spector June 25, 2009accountability, apostasy, church, faith, God, Happiness, Mormon, Mormons 41 Comments

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third, baptism by immersion …

The Disillusionment Phase

guest June 24, 2009catholicism, God, history, inter-faith, marriage, Mormon, questioning, religion, service 27 Comments

Today’s guest post is by Kate from Myriad Mormon Musings. Here is a brief introduction, in her own words, followed by her post: “My name …

WHAT THE WORLD THINKS OF GOD

James June 23, 2009apostasy, Bloggernacle, catholicism, Charity, christ, church, curiosity, death, depression, Devil, doubt, faith, fear, God, Happiness, inter-faith, international, jehovahs witnesses, Jesus, Mormon, religion 15 Comments

The ICM poll of 10,000 people in the USA, UK, Israel, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico and Lebanon was carried out for the …

What Bothers Me, and Why I Still Believe

AdamF June 3, 2009book of mormon, doubt, faith, families, General Conference, God, historicity, Logic, marriage, mormon, ordinances, questioning, religion, sacrament, scripture, seminary, spirituality, temple, testimony, thought 120 Comments

I am an active member of the church, and a believer. I am well aware of most of the controversial issues (Book of Abraham, DNA, …

Interfaith International British DJ

James May 13, 2009apologetics, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, burdens, catholicism, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, Discrimination, diversity, evangelicals, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, God, Happiness, history, Humor, inter-faith, international, introductions, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, love, marriage, media, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, news, orthodox, parables, Peace, plan of salvation, podcast, polygamy, prayer, questioning, resolutions, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, service, spiritual progression, spirituality, television, theology, thought, women 10 Comments

OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.

Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

James April 27, 2009abuse, book of mormon, burdens, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, eternity, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, General Conference, God, Happiness, history, Humor, Jesus, joseph, Logic, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, prophets, questioning, religion, resolutions, salvation, scripture, sexuality, smith, spiritual progression, spirituality, tesimony, theology, thought, women 79 Comments

My home teacher (who is very cool) came by yesterday to drop off some starter cables for my car and as one does in that …

Scripture Study: The Joy of My Countenance

Hawkgrrrl April 22, 2009Asides, christ, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, faith, God, Jesus, LDS, Logic, love, mercy, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, parables, questioning, religion, scripture, service, spirituality, symbols, testimony, theology, thought 16 Comments

There is a strange parable in D&C 88 about workers digging in a field and their boss giving them the joy of his countenance for …

Does the LDS Church claim to be “an exclusive conduit to God”?

Andrew April 21, 2009apologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, church, God, Happiness, LDS, Mormon, mormon, plan of salvation, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, spiritual progression, theology 141 Comments

Recently, a veritable Icon of the Bloggernacle, who for purposes of anonymity we shall call “Aloysius Miller”, published a post stating: “I don’t see the …

Scripture Study: What’s Expedient?

Hawkgrrrl April 14, 2009Asides, book of mormon, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, doubt, God, Humor, joseph, LDS, Logic, love, mercy, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prayer, prophets, questioning, religion, scripture, theology, thought 32 Comments

I’d like to start a new feature showcasing stuff I read in the scriptures and getting your opinions on what the heck you think it means. …

Big Love -Big News

James March 10, 2009abuse, adultery, Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, baptism, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, burdens, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, FLDS, general, God, Happiness, history, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, marriage, media, meetings, Mormon, Mormons, movies, news, obedience, ordinances, orthodox, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, religion, resignation, RLDS, salvation, scripture, spirituality, television, temple, testimony, theology, thought, Utah, women 33 Comments

Shipbuilding: Tasks or Vision?

guest March 1, 2009apostasy, Asides, burdens, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, General Authorities, God, Happiness, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, questioning, religion, spirituality, theology, thought 9 Comments

Spending a week in the Pacific Northwest on vacation, surrounded by boats and the vastness of the sea, when I read this quote from Antoine …

My Struggle with Formal Prayer

Ray February 26, 2009God, Mormon, prayer, righteousness 31 Comments

NOTE: This post is a combination (with minor edits) of two posts that I wrote on my own blog this month, as I contemplated Matthew …

Why aren’t Mormons Green?

James February 23, 2009apologetics, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, BYU, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, doubt, education, faith, General Authorities, General Conference, geography, God, Government, Happiness, international, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, media, Money, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, politics, prophets, questioning, religion, resolutions, reverence, righteousness, sacrament, salvation, service, surviving, testimony, thought, Utah 56 Comments

What is the Holy Ghost?

Arthur February 21, 2009christ, God, Jesus, Mormon, scripture, Trinity 52 Comments

One of my favorite parts about BYU-Idaho, or rather, one thing I actually liked about BYU-Idaho, was the religion classes. Systematic, academic study of the …

Born To Believe

Faithful Dissident February 19, 2009doubt, eternity, faith, God, history, plan of salvation, questioning, religion, salvation 14 Comments

A while back, some of us had an interesting discussion on my blog called “The Faith Gene.” We were examining the possibility that certain people were …

Where would you go?

Arthur February 11, 2009Bible, book of mormon, christ, christianity, community of christ, God, inter-faith, international, LDS, Mormon, Nephi, orthodox, Priesthood, religion, RLDS 35 Comments

A few posts on MormonMatters got me thinking once about my relationship with other faith groups. For instance, a recent post on why it seems …

Joshua’s Unholy War

Mormon Heretic February 7, 2009Bible, death, God, history, Mormon, religion, violence, war 31 Comments

Admin Note: This is our first guest post from Mormon Heretic. When most of us hear the word “jihad” or “holy war”, we immediately know …

I WOULD MAKE A LOUSY GOD!

James January 30, 2009children, Devil, eternity, families, God, LDS, Mormon, Mormons, plan of salvation, spiritual progression, theology 19 Comments

A Brand New Year

James January 23, 2009Bible, Bloggernacle, books, catholicism, christ, christianity, church, cinema, conference, Culture, curiosity, diversity, education, faith, families, general, General Authorities, General Conference, God, Happiness, Humor, international, introductions, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, liberal, love, media, media manipulation, meetings, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, movies, music, obedience, podcast, prophets, race, religion, spirituality, tesimony 29 Comments

Can you be a Unitarian and a Mormon at the Same Time?

James December 29, 2008Anti-Mormon, apostasy, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, catholicism, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, general, God, Happiness, inter-faith, international, Jesus, LDS, liberal, love, media, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, prayer, prophets, service, theology, thought 27 Comments

We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons. Joseph …

Virtual RS/PH #21: The Second Coming & The Millenium

Hawkgrrrl November 17, 2008Asides, Charity, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, doubt, eternity, faith, fear, God, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, love, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, questioning, religion, temple, theology, thought, war 30 Comments

To the teachers out there, sorry if this one is coming a day late and a dollar short. Our ward is a month behind on …

This Won’t Make It Past Correlation!

John Nilsson November 12, 2008books, curiosity, education, God, liberal, Mormon, orthodox, questioning, religion, thought 14 Comments

Here’s another quote from a discarded Church manual predating Correlation. Who said it and why wouldn’t it fly in today’s Church?: The pragmatic or experimental …

The Church as a Tool

guest November 7, 2008Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Asides, Charity, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, depression, diversity, doubt, education, faith, fear, God, Happiness, history, LDS, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, prayer, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, religion, testimony, theology, thought 21 Comments

What is the church to you? A family you must learn to love? A path you must follow? A checklist of items you must do …

The Good News!

Brian Johnston November 6, 2008christianity, faith, God, grace, Happiness, Jesus, Mormon, plan of salvation, repentance 5 Comments

. You dropped down into this crazy, frenetic, gloomy world; stumble and trip in the darkness, trying to feel your way through the valley of shadows. Nothing seems to work …

This Won’t Get Past Correlation!

John Nilsson October 29, 2008Bible, christ, God, Jesus, Mormon, parables, race, racism, religion, scripture, spirituality 28 Comments

Here is a quote from a dusty, forgotten, once-official Church manual. Who said this and why wouldn’t this get past the brethren and sistren at …

The Mormon Trinity

KC Kern October 25, 2008God, Mormon, religion, sacrament meeting, theology, Trinity 28 Comments

A few months ago, Bruce hosted a discussion about the word and concept of the Trinity. It seems that most Mormons associate the idea of …

Nature of The Person

AdamF October 9, 2008christ, eternity, God, Mormon, spiritual progression 14 Comments

As part of my graduate program in counseling I have to write a personal theory, which includes process and goals of therapy, explanations for personality, …

Stopping Time for the Unconverted

Russell October 9, 2008Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, catholicism, Charity, christianity, church, curiosity, faith, God, grace, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, missionary, missions, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, questioning, restoration, theology 16 Comments

I had an interesting conversation with a woman today. Missionaries would call it a bash. I called it posing and answering meaningful questions. It prompted her …

This Won’t Make It Past Correlation!

John Nilsson October 8, 2008apostasy, babies and bathwater, christ, church, curiosity, doubt, education, faith, General Authorities, God, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Mormon, Mormons, orthodox, prayer, questioning, religion, spirituality, testimony, thought 43 Comments

Hi everyone, Welcome to my new series where I provide you, the reader, with an excerpt from an LDS church manual, uncited, which I LIKE. …

Lyrics as Scripture

Arthur October 4, 2008christ, God, Mormon, music, scripture 3 Comments

First of all, I’d like to bring attention to a new publication that has recently been published called Mormon Artist (http://mormonartist.net). It seems to be …

What is the Point of Religion?

Hawkgrrrl October 1, 2008Asides, church, diversity, doubt, faith, God, Happiness, Mormon, obedience, plan of salvation, religion, salvation, theology, thought 16 Comments

I read an interesting blog site that posed this very question from a Hindu perspective. It was thoughtfully worded, so I thought I would include …

What’s Most Important to You?

Hawkgrrrl September 19, 2008Asides, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, families, General Authorities, General Conference, God, inter-faith, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, obedience, plan of salvation, religion, theology, thought 4 Comments

We all attend church for various reasons, and in reality, no church can be all things to all people. Plus, what you get out of …

My kind of Evangelical

John Nilsson September 9, 2008christ, christianity, evangelicals, God, grace, inter-faith, Jesus, Mormon, Mormons, religion, theology 16 Comments

As a Mormon kid growing up in the area of Southern California largely settled by Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, evangelicals (we …

Virtual RS/PH #17: The Great Plan of Salvation

Hawkgrrrl September 7, 2008Asides, church, eternity, faith, families, God, Happiness, inter-faith, Jesus, LDS, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, plan of salvation, prophets, questioning, religion, repentance, restoration, salvation, scripture, smith, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 5 Comments

A unique facet of Mormonism is our view of God’s plan for his children, or our purpose in life. Today’s lesson focuses on what JS …

An Act of Violence

Clay Whipkey September 5, 2008apostasy, diversity, eternity, excommunication, faith, fear, God, Mormon, Peace, repentance, resignation, salvation, theology, violence 47 Comments

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God[…] and another book was opened, which is the book of life[…] And whosoever was …

How Active Are You? How Orthodox Are You? A Self-Assessment

John Nilsson September 4, 2008book of mormon, christ, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, eternity, faith, General Authorities, God, historicity, Jesus, joseph, LDS, liberal, Mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, Priesthood, prophets, religion, repentance, restoration, sacrament meeting, salvation, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, smith, temple, testimony, theology, Word of Wisdom 67 Comments

Take this assessment and find out: (Taken from D. Jeff Burton’s For Those Who Wonder : forthosewhowonder.com. Similar to a Correlation Department survey on Religion …

Merging with God

Brian Johnston September 3, 2008christ, God, Mormon, plan of salvation, salvation, spiritual progression, Trinity 16 Comments

We talk all the time in our Church about returning to God some day. Everything we do in life is to gain experiences, and then …

Chakras and the Word of Wisdom

Hawkgrrrl August 31, 2008curiosity, faith, God, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, love, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, Peace, questioning, religion, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom

D&C 89:1 refers to the WoW as: A Word OF Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the …

yes, Jesus loves me?

guest August 28, 2008children, God, Happiness 30 Comments

Mosiah 3: 19 19 For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever …

The Universal Holy Ghost

Brian Johnston August 26, 2008christianity, God, Mormon, mormon 22 Comments

What is the Gift of the Holy Ghost? We have a lesson or two about this each year in our Church classes. People have lots …

Five difficult words to contemplate

Brian Johnston August 20, 2008doubt, faith, God, questioning, testimony 98 Comments

What if it isn’t true?

Evidences and Reconciliations 8/11/08

John Nilsson August 11, 2008church, faith, God, Mormon, prophets, religion, sacrament, sacrament meeting, scripture, theology 10 Comments

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat …

God is a Star Trek Fan: The Kobayashi Maru = Plan of Salvation

Brian Johnston August 4, 2008apostasy, families, God, inter-faith, Jesus, marriage, obedience, plan of salvation 26 Comments

In the Star Trek II movie “The Wrath of Khan,” the opening scene is a failed military engagement in the Klingon neutral zone. The Federation …

Analogies of Belief: Expecting the Polar Express

John Nilsson July 16, 2008christ, doubt, faith, God, Jesus, Mormon, religion, testimony, thought 25 Comments

What does it mean to say you believe something or “believe in” something? Would a child say they believe in Santa Claus? Or would they …

Common Scriptures in Review / Foundations of Becoming: The Process of Perfection

Ray July 14, 2008apostasy, Bible, christ, christianity, God, restoration, scripture 4 Comments

[NOTE: This is the third post in the series, “Common Scriptures in Review”, but it also is the first post in another series explained at …

Obedience: Virtual RS/PH #13

Hawkgrrrl July 13, 2008Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, christianity, church, evangelicals, faith, God, grace, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, plan of salvation, politics, polygamy, prophets, questioning, religion, salvation, scripture, smith, spiritual progression, temple, testimony, theology, thought 22 Comments

Welcome to the second virtual co-ed 3rd hour. This week’s lesson is a topic that is often a seething hotbed of Mormon Matters controversy: “Obedience: When …