Hello

[Jbdf]

Hi there, everyone. I'm new to this site, and I'm from the eastern United States. I'm not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think that more or less covers the usual introductory points - I've never been all that good with introducing myself. So, er, hi!

[nmdesertrose]

Welcome to the site! Your blog looks intriguing, I'll be reading through it when I get the chance!

[Dr T]

Hello. I'm from the West side. U know, the BEST side.

[LDSVALLEY]

Sorry to both the East and the west but I'm from Canada so I "top" both of you with who has the best!

[Jbdf]

Hello, everyone; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance! And thank you all for welcoming me!

Welcome to the site! Your blog looks intriguing, I'll be reading through it when I get the chance!

Thank you very much! I'm always eager for feedback.

Hello. I'm from the West side. U know, the BEST side.

Haha, not bad, not bad. I'm hoping to spend some time out there someday.

Sorry to both the East and the west but I'm from Canada so I "top" both of you with who has the best!

Canada, eh? No comment.

[Maya]

Welcome from Scandinavia. I hope you enjoy this site. Will see your blog later... I like your avatar picture. I used to be a Lutheran. I am happy that the missionaries found me, even though the Lutheran Church was ok adn I was active there too.

[LDSVALLEY]

Welcome from Scandinavia. I hope you enjoy this site. Will see your blog later... I like your avatar picture. I used to be a Lutheran. I am happy that the missionaries found me, even though the Lutheran Church was ok adn I was active there too.

See I open my mouth and someone Tops me! I believe Scandinavia is higher up even then Canada or at least Nova Scotia!

[noenoek]

Welcome to the site, from the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, and one of the prettiest places on earth.

[Jbdf]

Welcome from Scandinavia. I hope you enjoy this site. Will see your blog later... I like your avatar picture. I used to be a Lutheran. I am happy that the missionaries found me, even though the Lutheran Church was ok adn I was active there too.

Thanks! I've always wanted to visit Scandanavia. I have a few ancestors from Sweden.

Welcome to the site, from the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, and one of the prettiest places on earth.

lol, now I'm almost envious; it's snowing here! How's the weather in Hawaii?

[Jbdf]

After an all-too-extended absence due to computer issues and (more importantly) keeping up with classes, I'm finally back! :) So this seems like a good opportunity to reintroduce myself and what I've been up to lately.

I'm an Evangelical Christian from the eastern USA, working towards a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at present; I'm about one year in now. I've been to various degrees interested in LDS thought and history since I was in high school, which was when I received my first copy of the Book of Mormon and read it. I now run a blog devoted to LDS-Evangelical dialogue, though these days I'm mostly finding interesting old quotes - mainly from old LDS literature - to post until I have more time to devote to it. (Those interested in learning a bit more about me can probably get some insights from the 'Welcome and Introduction' page I have there, I suppose.) I'm also dating a wonderful active LDS woman, and she and I have plenty of invigorating discussions. We both love reading, too. While I was away from here, I read some good LDS-related books like Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845: A Documentary History, and The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History. Also, my girlfriend and I have agreed to embark on a special reading project together. I've gathered a collection of freely available historical pro- and anti-LDS literature in PDF format and organized it chronologically, so we've been working through that. So far we've finished Alexander Campbell's 1832 Delusions: An Analysis of the Book of Mormon, and I've finished Eber D. Howe's infamous 1834 Mormonism Unvailed, which she's still working through. In the meantime, I've started Parley P. Pratt's 1837 A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People, Containing a Declaration of the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Commonly Called Mormons. I doubt I'll start making my way through it in earnest until maybe next week, so as to give my girlfriend some time to catch up and me some time to keep up on my classes. Mostly I'm just looking forward to the end of the semester so that I'll at last have time to get some real reading done!

[skippy740]

Welcome back!

What is it that you are looking for in all this reading?

The titles of the books you've listed should give you an interesting framework and context for most areas of the church. All these older books may not be doctrinally correct, so just be aware of that.

If you want something REALLY interesting to research, check this out: BlacksInTheScriptures.com

[Jbdf]

Thanks for the welcome back, Skippy!

Your question actually inspired me to add a new segment to the FAQ ('Welcome and Introduction') page at my blog, so I hope you won't mind me answering your question in part by quoting from what I've said there:

But why do you study these things, if you aren't a Latter-day Saint?

There are a lot of answers I could give to this question. Part of it is that I simply enjoy reading about religion and thinking about theology. On those grounds alone, I find Latter-day Saint beliefs to be interesting. I also value knowledge for its own sake. Consequently, I find it thrilling to learn about things that interest me even in the slightest. I also find religious history interesting, and studying Latter-day Saint history from a variety of angles is enriching both personally and intellectually. Furthermore, I enjoy the stimulation I receive when I read works of LDS philosophy, theology, and even apologetics - just as I enjoy similar works from LDS critics. I should note that LDS issues do not in particular occupy the majority of my time or the bulk of my reading. Other groups - e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses - have been the object of similar focus for me in the past, and other groups may become objects of fascination for me in the future. Even at present, I probably read more general historical theology, philosophy, and biblical studies than I do Mormon studies in particular. Still, I enjoy having particular focus areas to enjoy studying, and for me Mormonism happens to be one of them currently.

In addition, as mentioned above, my girlfriend is LDS, and we love to have invigorating discussions about religion - hers, mine, and otherwise. (In fact, we're currently working through a chronologically ordered sequence of historical pro- and anti-LDS writings, whether treatises, pamphlets, books, autobiographies, novels, or otherwise. It's a fascinating project that I think will be profitable to both of us, especially insofar as it gives a sense of the history of both Latter-day Saints and their critics.) Because I care about her, I have especial reason to care about what she believes and the faith tradition of which she is a member. Some (though not all) of my interest in the ideas, the history, and the praxis of that tradition derives from my personal bond to someone who is integrally connected to those ideas, that history, and that praxis. And she has said that my devotion to study and my interest in dialogue has taught her and inspired her - and I'm glad to keep up anything I happen to be doing that benefits her. So even without the aforementioned reasons, this alone would be a good reason to continue learning and researching.

Beyond that, Evangelicals all-too-commonly have a poor understanding of what Latter-day Saints believe, combined at times with hostility. What we need is for Evangelical leaders and clergy to be able to accurately and sympathetically understand LDS beliefs and to lead the way in speaking the truth in evident love - and for those Evangelicals with a clear awareness of their own beliefs and an ability to articulate them to help to clear up popular LDS misunderstandings as well, and to do so in the same spirit of love. As Carl Mosser and Paul Owen recommended in their classic castigation of Evangelical reactions to Mormonism, "evangelical academians need to make Mormonism, or some aspects of it, an area of professional interest". In my situation - as an aspiring Evangelical academic with an interest in and personal connection to Mormonism - how can I in good conscience refuse to answer their call?

And finally, beyond that, I also keep researching, studying, dialoguing, etc., because I am aware and open to the possibility that I may be persuaded thereby to give greater credence to LDS positions on various theological issues - and it is possible, therefore, that if distinctive Latter-day Saint beliefs are true and are persuasively argued in their literature, then my research will lead me to accept those truths (on which, see below).

Does that help to answer your question? I'm also aware that not everything ever published in any LDS literature anywhere has the status of official, binding LDS doctrine (even given the notorious internal controversies over the boundaries of such a corpus of teachings). Nevertheless, that which appears in the sources may be a useful indicator of what was in practice taught in the past, even when it may or may not match up with what is in practice taught today. And, at the very minimum, it will be an important opportunity for insight into the individual LDS theologies of particular influential LDS writers from the past, which I think is something valuable that needs appreciation in its own right.