Dr Paul Allen

Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Taken by myself with a Canon 10D and 17-40mm f/4 L lens. This is a 3 segment panorama. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Christians often wonder why Mormons believe such an incredible system: golden tablets translated with “magic glasses,” an advanced society of ancient American Indian Israelites who left behind no archaeological evidence at all, a “revelation” of polygamy that was reversed when Utah needed to do so for statehood, a “revelation” barring black Mormons from the priesthood that was reversed after the triumph of the civil rights movement, an eternity of godhood producing spirit babies, and special protective underwear. What we must understand is that Latter-day Saints (LDS) believe these things for the same reason that people everywhere believe the things they do: they want to believe them. Very few Mormon converts become convinced by rational arguments of the prophetic office of Joseph Smith . Indeed, Mormon missionaries don...

The Mormon faith is a religion which is gathering quite a few adherents, especially outside the USA . But if you were to ask me why I do not ascribe to Mormonism , I would begin by giving these three reasons: Mormonism deviates from the sufficiency of the Bible . Mormonism teaches that the Book of Mormon is holy Scripture, on equal standing with the Bible, and is, therefore, the word of God. The assertion is that it was recorded on gold plates long ago in an ancient Egyptian-type language. In 1823, Joseph Smith claimed to have been directed by the angel, Moroni, to discover and translate the contents, which became the Book of Mormon. Mormonism teaches that Smith was a prophet in the ranks of biblical prophets like Moses and Isaiah, chosen by God to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ using the text from the plates. The content of the Book of Mormon also rebukes the idea that Scripture alone is sufficient: “Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, w...