Mormonism
Historical and Theological Comparisons
Introduction
This page explores the epistemology (proof for, and provability), metaphysics (ideas about God and reality), ethics, and historical development of the Church of Latter Day Saints, often called Mormonism. Comparisons are drawn to the Christian faith of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
-
Athanasius of Alexandria, Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit 1.15 - 16. Demonstrates that the early Christians understood the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in ways very different than the Church of LDS does today.
David L. Rowe, I Love Mormons: A New Way to Share Christ with Latter-day Saints. Baker Books | Amazon page, 2005.
Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience: The Struggle Between Loyalty to God and Loyalty to One’s Religion. Commentary Press | Amazon page, Jun 2002. Franz writes about the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but his approach is helpful when examining Mormon faith.
Perry Robinson, Contra Mundum: Athanasius and the LDS on Deification. Energetic Procession, Oct 30, 2009.
Kay Burningham, An American Fraud: One Lawyer’s Case Against Mormonism. AmicaVeritatis | Amazon page, Jul 2011.
Simon Critchley, Why I Love Mormonism. New York Times, Sep 16, 2012.
Daria Roithmayr, The Flaw at the Heart of The Triple Package. Slate, Feb 12, 2014.
Brady McCombs, Mormon Church Admits For First Time That Founder Joseph Smith Had A 14-Year-Old Bride. Huffington Post, Oct 27, 2014.
Triablogue, Debating Mormonism. Triablogue blog, Jul 28, 2015.
Richard J. Mouw, Mormons Engaging Orthodoxy. First Things, May 2016.
Jana Reiss, Mormon Women Fear Eternal Polygamy, Study Shows. Religion News Service, Jul 20, 2016.
Tracy McKay-Lamb, Polygamy Lives on in Mormon Sealings. Religion News Service, Aug 3, 2016.
David Roberts, The Brink of War. Smithsonian Magazine, Jun 2008. One hundred fifty years ago, the U.S. Army marched into Utah prepared to battle Brigham Young and his Mormon militia.
Megan McArdle, How Utah Keeps the American Dream Alive. Bloomberg, Mar 28, 2017. Some discussion of Mormon historic views on race.
Zaria Gorvett, The Polygamous Town Facing Genetic Disaster. BBC, Jul 26, 2017. Fundamentalist Mormon impact.
Top Tenz, Top 10 Facts the Mormon Church Doesn't Want Its Members to Know. Top Tenz, Dec 7, 2018. Very significant arguments.
Lisa Brockman, A Sixth-Generation Mormon Meets a Born-Again Christian. Christianity Today, Sep 20, 2019. “He asked me how I knew my faith was true. I couldn’t give a compelling answer.”
Casey Cep, How Joseph Smith and the Early Mormons Challenged American Democracy. The New Yorker, Mar 23, 2020. “In Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith established a theocracy, ran for President, and tested the limits of religious freedom.”
Jana Reiss, At the Capitol, We Saw the Best and the Worst of US Mormonism. Religion News Service, Jan 8, 2021. “The domestic terrorist who dangled from the Senate balcony and occupied Mike Pence's seat is a returned missionary of the LDS Church, to our shame. But Mitt Romney, also a Mormon, showed some of the best qualities our religion is capable of.”
Johnny Harris, Why I Left the Mormon Church. Johnny Harris, Jun 11, 2021. Harris presents this in an autobiographical form in this 23 minute video.
60 Minutes, Mormon Whistleblower: Church’s Investment Firm Masquerades as Charity. 60 Minutes, May 14, 2023. Mormon David Nielsen left his job at Ensign Peak Advisors, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ investment firm, and filed an IRS whistleblower complaint.
Proof: Topics:
These resources on Other Beliefs explore the epistemology (proof for, and provability), metaphysics (ideas about God and reality), ethics, and historical development of various belief systems. Comparisons are drawn between Christian faith and Hinduism and Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, and Atheism.
