Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show

Big Love and the Temple Ceremony

Please be advised that this is a sensitive topic for LDS. Big Love is an HBO fictional series about a non-LDS group which subscribes to, and practices, their interpretation of Mormon polygamy of the 19th century. In the 15 March 2009 episode a false allegation is made about a commitment made, prior to 1990, by LDS participants in the LDS temple ceremony.

I discuss this and several other false allegations about the temple ceremony found in a number of anti-Mormon books, pamphlets and articles.

These topics include: blood oaths, an oath of vengeance, a lecture and human executions.

Topics raised by callers:

Alleged blood oath

Creation accounts in Genesis

Alleged lecture at the veil in the St George Temple

22 March 2009 Episode

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Which Bible?

The question, Which Bible should we read? is a question many have never considered - many who insist that the Bible is God’s complete, final and infallible word. The fact is that a consensus has never been reached even among mainstream Christianity as to which of the many, many Bibles of Christianity today and throughout Christian history is THE Bible. The history of the Bible is very complex.

The following is but a very small list of aspects related to its history: Scrolls, manuscripts, texts, codex, collections, councils, creeds, disputed books, apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, canonization, translations, Septuagint, Law/Prophets/Writings, Samitaritan Penteuch, Latin Vulgate, Masoretic text, Textus Receptus, Marcion, Jerome, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, theological motivations, Dead Sea Scrolls, Nag Hammadi, lost scripture, ancient translations, modern translations, textual criticism.

I briefly discuss a number of topics from this list and give some of my personal reflections and conclusions drawn from many years of personal interest in the question, Which Bible?

Callers and Email

Discussion of:

Joseph Smith’s last Conference sermon: reports of the sermon, compiling, editing and preparation for publication

Literal interpretation of Genesis

Brigham Young’s view of the Genesis account of creation

Adam God Theory

Evolution

Jehovah in the Old Testament

Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS

Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/

Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/

Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog

This is the 20 January 2008 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year.

To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST.

If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view.

Your voice will be heard around the world.

Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes

To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.

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Strange Elements of the Old Testament

I comment on the Ensign article on Joseph Smith’s journals, the Joseph Smith Papers project and the new Priesthood / Relief Society manual for 2008.I received an email asking a question about God sending lying spirits to the prophets to deceive the king. In addressing this issue, I briefly comment on several approaches to the Old Testament.

1. Rejection of the Old Testament by many early Christians.

2. Modern approach of a majority of Christians who ignore all but a few selected passages and stories from the Old Testament.

3. Another approach is that the Old Testament is a collection of ancient religious writings but not the inspired word of God.

Acknowledging the strangeness of the Old Testament is essential to understanding it.

1 Kings 21

There are a number of passages which present seemingly strange Divine characteristics. I list a few:

1 Kings 22:9-23 (causes prophets to lie);

Ezekiel 14:9 (deceives prophets);

Amos 3:6 (the cause of evil in a city);

Ezekiel 20:25-26, 31 (gave laws and judgments which were not good, including child sacrifice);

Hosea 9:15-16 (hates and curses);

Deu 20:10-11, Lev 25:44 (commands and condones slavery);

1 Sa 16:14, 18:10 (sends evil spirits to influence men);

Ex 32:14; Deu 28:68; Am 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9, 10; Jer 26:13; 2 Sam 24:16 (changes his mind).

I read and commented on Numbers 5:11-30 - Procedure for determining a wife’s faithfulness. 

Callers and Email

1. A frequent caller who paints Mormonism in the blackest fashion. He insists that the only interest of the General Authorities is in collecting money from its members. 

2. This caller has written a novel which incorporates much of this author’s personal doctrinal views.

3. A frequent caller strongly criticized my view of the Old Testament.

4. A frequent caller discusses the question of whether God would deceive the prophets and questioning my doubting of the literalness of parts of the Old Testament.

5. A frequent caller condemns me for not believing the flood account literally, but insists that it is appropriate for him to discard to refuse a literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation.

6. This caller was applying some wording from the book of Revelation to current events in America’s southern states.  

Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS

Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/

Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/

Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog

This is the 23 December 2007 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year.

To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST.

If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view.

Your voice will be heard around the world.

Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes

To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.

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Development of Joseph Smith’s

Concept of God

Joseph Smith acknowledged that his views were progressive - that is, his views of God differed on a number of points from 1829 to 1844. From a number of sources I have developed the following approximate timeline for the development of Joseph Smith’s views of God.

1. Jesus is God. 1829-1844
2. Jesus pre-existed as the Son. 1829-1844
3. In some way Jesus is the Son and also the Father. 1829-1833
4. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one. 1829-1844
5. The Father is a personage of spirit 1829-1835 or 1834-1835
6. The Holy Ghost is not a personage, but rather the mind of the Father and the Son. 1834-1841
7. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit awaiting the opportunity to take upon himself a body of flesh and bones. 1841-1844
8. The Saints have the potential to become gods and goddesses. 1832-1844
9. Our God and Father has a God and Father. 1841-1844
10. The Father went through mortality and has a resurrected body of flesh and bones like that of Jesus. 1841-1844
11. There is an Eternal God of all other Gods. 1838-1841
12. There is one God above another with no end. 1841-1844
13. There was a grand council of Gods to plan and create this world. 1839-1844

I discussed the four main points of the King Follett discourse of 7 April 1844.  

Participation by Phone and Email

1. I respond to an email condemning Brigham Young and his view of Adam as God. Did he believe in a different God than the God of the Bible?
2. Why are there two different trinities in LDS thought: Elohim, Jehovah and the Holy Ghost; and, Elohim, Jehovah and Michael?
3. Comments on Brigham Young’s position that there would be differences on God if saints ancient and modern where gathered together.
4. Does not the Book of Mormon present the idea that God could cease to be God?
5. A caller condemns me for not accepting his views about Brigham Young’s teachings regarding Adam. I explain my preference for Joseph Smith’s view over that of Brigham Young on this point.

Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS

Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/

Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/

Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog

This is the 25 November 2007 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year.

To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST.

If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view.

Your voice will be heard around the world.

Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes

To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.

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Brigham Young’s Belief that Adam is God

On this talk show I answer a number of questions regarding Brigham Young’s unique beliefs regarding Adam. This has been a controversial topic for more than 100 years. Answers the following questions are included:

1. What did Brigham Young believe?
2. To what extent did he teach his views?
3. Did he consider his authoritative; that is, official Mormon doctrine?
4. Does his role as president and prophet demand that his views be accepted by LDS?
5. Did his contemporaries in the Church hierarchy accept his views?
6. Did his views on Adam differ from those of Joseph Smith?

Callers and Email

• Joseph Smith’s view that spirits are eternal and Brigham Young’s view that spirits begin to exist through a spirit birth.
• A caller spoke in defense of his view that Adam is God citing some passages and arguments.
• Change of one word in the introduction of the Book of Mormon.    

Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS

Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/

Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/

Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog

This is the 18 November 2007 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year.

To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST.

If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view.

Your voice will be heard around the world.

Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes

To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.

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Discussion of God With

Martin Tanner

Discussion with my guest Martin Tanner on the following topics:

Trinity

Book of Mormon doctrine

Early Mormon views of God

Diversity and development of concepts of God within Mormonism.

Questions by Email and Phone

What about monotheism in Isaiah and the trinitarianism or tritheism of the Book of Mormon at the same time?

What about God and gender?

Brigham Young’s view of Adam as God vs Evolution vs accounts of creation in Genesis, Moses, Abraham.

Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS

Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/

Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/

Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog

This is the 11 November 2007 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year.

To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST.

If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view.

Your voice will be heard around the world.

Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes

To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [100:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (1523)