About this blog

The name of this blog refers to an account by Orson F. Whitney, an apostle of Jesus Christ and member of the Quorum of the Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called Mormons and Latter-day Saints or LDS. In Whitney's article entitled The Strength of the Mormon Position, he recalled:

Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I became well acquainted with him, and we conversed freely and frankly. A great scholar, with perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue's end, he seemed to know all about theology, law, literature, science, and philosophy. One day he said to me: "You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don't even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church. The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there was no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the Gospel from ancient times, or the restoration of the Gospel in latter days."

I've heard this story from my childhood forward and it has always impressed me with its logic and made the issue of divine authority one of the keys for recognizing the true Christian church.

In the days of Joseph Smith there were still many people who were familiar with the original point that lead to the Protestant Reformation, the belief that the original or primitive church had ceased to exist on earth. This was one of the reasons the LDS church both appealed to so many and aroused so much opposition. In our Postmodern age, we have come to accept the illogical position that there can be many different versions of truth and all are equally true. Honest thinkers know that this makes no sense, and many have concluded that all religion is nonsense. But those who are open to consider and test the claims of Joseph Smith are often impressed by the similarities between the church described in the New Testament itself and the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There are already plenty of blogs about this church. Some are created by active and faithful members. Some are maintained by anti-Mormon groups and apostate Mormons or groups that have split off from the main church and continued to be identified as Mormons.

This one is my personal manifesto, consisting of my own testimony and commentary on "life, the universe and everything" in the words of the late Douglas Adams. I try to cite authorities, but I don't speak for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in any official capacity, nor are all of my ideas part of LDS doctrine or teachings. Any misstatements or erroneous representations of the LDS church are my responsibility and should not be considered as evidence of anything but my own inept powers of expression or ignorance. Some issues are still controversial and have not been settled by official declarations by the Church. In all cases, these are my beliefs and opinions. I hope that I am in harmony with the Church, but I would never claim to be a spokesman for it.