Distinctive Christianity

Original title: No Shema - No Christianity; and King means King

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the twenty-first lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (May 15-21) is titled "Behold, Thy King Cometh", and covers Matthew 21-23, Mark 11, Luke 19-20, and John 12.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Sources:

D&C 98; D&C 132; Abraham 2

Seminary Manual: Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 22:34-40

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

"Wrong Roads and Revelation" (Holland; and here)

"The Second Great Commandment" (Russell Nelson)

"The Light of Christ" (Boyd Packer)

"Two Great Commandments" (Dallin Oaks)

"The Constitution: A Glorious Standard" ; God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties; and This Nation Shall Endure by Ezra Taft Benson (here)

"The True, Pure, and Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ" (M. Russell Ballard)

Brigham Young: JD 7.8; JD 10.254; Joseph F. Smith; George Albert Smith

True Meaning of the Atonement; The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen (also: The Real Thomas Jefferson)

The Life of John Taylor by B. H. Roberts

"How To Love Yourself Like God Loves You"

Many Are Called but Few Are Chosen; The Book of Mormon and the Constitution by H. Verlan Andersen

Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibley

It should be noted that there are political anarchists, both of the libertarian variety and the socialist variety who both claim Mormon principles and are members of the LDS church.

Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right by Matthew L. Harris; Thunder From Right, ed. by Matthew L. Harris

In Sacred Loneliness by Todd Compton

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? Sandra and Jerald Tanner

Miscellaneous:

John Locke (also, on British empiricism: here, here)

Thomas Jefferson - e.g. here and here (original letters)

Thomas Jefferson: Revolutionary by Kevin Gutzman

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood

Did America Have a Christian Founding? by Mark David Hall (also here); also see One Nation Under God? by John Wilsey

The Myth of American Individualism by Barry Alan Shain; also see The Constitutional Origins of the American Revolution by Jack Greene

Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror by Victor Sebestyen; see also The Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest

Resources:

The Triumphal Entry; and City of God (WHI)

The Gospel of Matthew (TNICNT) by R.T. France

The Gospel According to John (PNTC) by D.A. Carson

On Christian Doctrine by St. Augustine

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain

Slave of Christ: A New Testament metaphor for total devotion to Christ by Murray J. Harris

Christ Is King by Joshua Jipp

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution; Strange New World; Republocrat by Carl Trueman

Five Proofs of the Existence of God by Edward Feser; see also Christian Theistic Evidences by Cornelius Van Til

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt

In Defense of the Eschaton by William Dennison

New Testament History by F.F. Bruce

OT afterlife: here, and here

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

Active and Passive Obedience of Christ (Simply Put)

Grace and Glory by Geerhadus Vos (also here)

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson

How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman

Political Gospel: Public Witness in a Politically Crazy World by Patrick Schreiner

American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time by Joshua Mitchell

In Search of the City on a Hill by Richard Gamble

Augustine and the Limits of Politics by Jean Bethike Elshtain

Original title: The Family - A Proclamation: Ambiguity, Idolatry, and Eunuchs

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the twentieth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (May 8-14) is titled "What Lack I Yet?", and covers Matthew 19-20, Mark 10, and Luke 18.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

*Fanny Alger was seventeen years old! It was Helen Mar Kimball who was fourteen years old.

Sources:

D&C 132; original D&C 101; D&C 26.2; D&C 28.13

"The Family: A Proclamation to the World"

The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Lyndon W. Cook

Seminary Manual: Matt 19.1-12; Matt 19:16-30

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

Gospel Topics Essay: Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo, where in it states that one of his wives, Helen Mar Kimball, was "sealed to Joseph several months before her fifteenth birthday". That must be the LDS church's way of saying that she was fourteen. (See also HC 6.411)

"The Love and Laws of God" (Russell Nelson)

"Two Great Commandments" (Dallin Oaks)

Compare audio and text: "Cleansing the Inner Vessel" (Boyd Packer)

LDS Living Article - note: Nelson sealed to more than one wife

Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live

"Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice" (Bruce R. McConkie)

Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie

"Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire...Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by set of robbers...Why do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practised it. 'And is that religion popular in heaven?' It is the only popular religion there,..." (The Deseret News, August 6, 1842)

"The one-wife system not only degenerates the human family, both physically and intellectually, but it is entirely incompatible with philosophical notions of immortality..." (Millennial Star, vol. 15, p. 227)

The Pratt-Newman Debate: "Does the Bible Sanction Polygamy?" (here)

The Seer by Orson Pratt (pp. 12, 124-125, 178; also JD 13.195)

Brigham Young: "The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy." (JD 11. 269); see also JD 13.317

John Taylor: JD 11.221

Heber C. Kimball: "You might as well deny 'Mormonism,' and turn away from it, as to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice that they will oppose that doctrine, and the whole of them would be damned." (JD 5.203); see also JD 23.278

Joseph F. Smith: JD 20.28-31

D&C 130 (expectation that Jesus would come back in around 1890)

• Prophet/President Wilford Woodruff, alone, predicted British LDS would remain on earth "until the coming of Christ" (Jan. 26, 1840); told the LDS in northern Arizona "There will be no United States in the year 1890" (June 28, 1879); stated (by revelation) that the second coming was "nigh at the door" (Jan. 26, 1880); promised LDS in Manti "that thousands of the children...would not die but would live to see the Saviour come" (Aug. 14, 1881); told LDS in St. George that "there were thousands living in [the] mountains at [that] time that would see the son of God come and many would not taste death" (Mar. 20, 1881) - and similar predictions on Dec. 31, 1885, and then on Feb. 16, 1886. And that is just one of the early apostles/prophets! (As a Thief in the Night by Dan Erickson, pp. 83, 187-88, 190-191, 197)

It should be noted that this is the context for the Manifesto on polygamy - esp. in light of Wilford Woodruff (then senior apostle!) even prophesying in the Manti Temple that "we are not going to stop the practice of plural marriage until the coming of the Son of man." (ibid., p.200, also here)

In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith by Todd Compton

Junius and Joseph by Robert Wicks and Fred Foister

Conflict in the Quorum by Gary Bergera

The Mormon Jesus by John Turner

"LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890-1904" by D. Michael Quinn

"The Art of Scripture and Scripture as Art: The Proclamation on the Family and the Expanding Canon" by Boyd J. Petersen and David W. Scott (found in The Expanded Canon, ed. by Blair G. Van Dyke et al.)

Gay Rights and the Mormon Church by Gregory A. Prince (esp. ch.'s 4-6, 19, 28); also here

No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

An Earnest Plea to LDS; Magical Mormon Scriptures (Jason Wallace)

Resources:

Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism by Chris Jennings

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self; Strange New World by Carl Trueman

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt

From Sacrament to Contract by John Witte

Envy by Helmut Shoeck

Matthew: A Mentor Commentary (2 vols.) by Knox Chamblin

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey

Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass

They Also Taught in Parables by Harvey McArthur and Robert Johnston

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

Active and Passive Obedience of Christ (Simply Put)

Grace and Glory by Geerhadus Vos (also here)

You Are Not Your Sexuality (Sam Allberry)

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield

God & Sex (Reality SF)

Washed and Waiting by Wesley Hill

Original title: Does man seek God? or does God seek man?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the nineteenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (May 1-7) is titled "Rejoice with Me; for I Have Found My Sheep Which Was Lost", and covers Luke 12-17 and John 11.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Kyler T. Wakefield; Native American Voting Rights in Utah: Federal Policy, Citizenship, and Voter Suppression. Utah Historical Quarterly 1 January 2023; 91 (1): 4–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/26428652.91.1.01

*The paper, specific to Utah - does speak of broader issues that have affected Native Americans throughout the continental US and Alaska. Utah was the last state in the union to lift restrictions on voting for Native Americans in 1957 - though barriers have persisted in ways the article documents and discusses.

• Also see A History of Utah's American Indians, ed. by Forrest Cuch

1984 by George Orwell

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman

The Age of AI by Jason Thacker

LDS Sources:

D&C 131.20-21

Sunday School Manual: Luke 17.11-19 (wherein Nelson states: "As a doctor I know the value of good therapy..."); Luke 15

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan For Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt

Faith In Him Will Move Mountains; Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives (Russell Nelson)

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner (Ezra Taft Benson)

Many Mansions: The Edgar Cayce Story on Reincarnation by Gina Cerminara

Brigham Young: JD 1.93; JD 4. 218; JD 10.5; 10.355; JD 18.260

Heber C. Kimball: JD 1. 355-357; JD 3.108; JD 4.329

Wilford Woodruff: JD 6.120

Note 1: Charles Harrell points out the shift in Mormon/LDS theology in the Nauvoo Period: "In the book of Abraham, the basis of foreordination shifts from God's knowledge of a person's future righteousness in mortality to a knowledge of that person's premortal righteousness...(cites Abraham 3.22-23) Thus, foreordination is explained as being based on premortal nobility...Today, Mormons generally follow Joseph Smith's later teaching that the foreordination of prophets and other individuals called to fill special missions is based on premortal worthiness." ("This Is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles R. Harrell); This was the foundation of the famous racial priesthood and temple restrictions. (see pp. 388-391; also here and here) In the Gospel Principles manual it states: "the prophets prepared themselves to become leaders on earth while they were still spirits in heaven."

Note 2: On a "plausible example of how Joseph may have used his biblical knowledge" to write the Book of Mormon - using a comparison of John 11 and Alma 19 as the example, see An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer, p. 48f

Religion of a Different Color by W. Paul Reeve

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Resources:

"Yes, and if oxen and horses or lions had hands, and could paint with their hands, and produce works of art as men do, horses would paint the forms of the gods like horses, and oxen like oxen, and make their bodies in the image of their several kinds." Xenophon, Fragment 15; see Classical Philosophy by Peter Adamson, pp.16-22 and Twelve Greeks and Romans Who Changed the World by Carl Richard, p. 20

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen

Thanksgiving (NSBT) by David Pao

Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes; The Cross and the Prodigal; Poet and Peasant and through Peasant Eyes by Kenneth Bailey (also here)

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here, here)

The Attributes of God: An Introduction by Gerald Bray

All that is in God by James Dolezal (also here, here)

WHI on Hell (here and here)

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson

On David Alexander (Aaron Shafovaloff)

Original title: Is Jesus the Way - or an example of one who followed it?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the eighteenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Apr. 24-30) is titled "I Am the Good Shepard", and covers John 7-10.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Sources:

JSH 1; D&C 88; D&C 89; D&C 93; Moses 1.39; Articles of Faith

Seminary Manual: John 7, John 7.17, John 8 (JST 8:11), John 10

Gospel Principles, ch. 3; ch. 7; "Plain and Precious Things" (1 Ne 13)

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

King Follett Discourse (Joseph Smith)

The Light of Christ (Boyd K. Packer)

Thanks Be To God (Russell Nelson)

Learn of Me (Thomas Monson)

Is should be noted that James E. Talmage did take note of the textual critical issue in a footnote, though he dismisses the idea that the pericope is not authentic to John. (see footnote 5; here)

A Rational Theology by John Widtsoe

Gospel Trilogy by W. Cleon Skousen

Doctrinal New Testament Commentary by Bruce R. McConkie

Brigham Young: JD 1.93; JD 4. 218; JD 10.5; 10.355; JD 18.260

Heber C. Kimball: JD 1. 355-357; JD 3.108; JD 4.329

Wilford Woodruff: JD 6.120

It is worth including section from footnote 9 (in WPJS, p. 83-84 - though I have changed the format), discussing Joseph Smith's theology:

"This is the first mention by the Prophet Joseph Smith of the extremely important concept in Mormon theology that God the Father once had a mortal probation and was resurrected with a body of flesh and bones...The following syllogistic argument used today for Mormonism's concept that God the Father once lived on an earth was not used or understood by the early Saints. The basic reasoning used today is as follows:

• All men are raised with their physical bodies in the resurrection (Alma 40:23, printed in 1830)
• Jesus, the Son of God and the great prototype (John 14.6-9), was the express image of his Father (Hebrews 1:3) and was resurrected with his corporeal body.
• In the celestial resurrection men can become gods (D&C 76:58 [51-58], 1832 revelation)
• Therefore, God the Father must have a body of resurrected flesh and bones that he obtained following his own earth life."

The character at the veil through whom one seek admission beyond it is labelled "Lord" - though it should be noted it isn't specifically Elohim or Jehovah. (See here) Most interpret this character as Jesus and that should've been said in the episode. However, even assuming that fact - notice - this character is there to test how far the person has progressed, as he (the Lord) himself progressed before. In other words, he isn't really the door - but someone who has passed through the door (like all gods before him), and is there for when we progress to such a point, to test us - and then, based on our grade in that test, is then allowed to bring individuals through the veil who have themselves progressed to that point and pass the test. (also here, and here - if different format is preferred.)

Mormons and the Bible by Philip Barlow

The Mormon Jesus by John Turner

The Vanishing Lamanites; The Magical Mormon Scriptures; Was the Burning in Your Bosom From God? (Jason Wallace)

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito

By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles Larson (also here and here)

Resources:

The Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproul

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer

The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott Swain

Father, Son and Spirit: The Trinity and John's Gospel by Scott Swain and Andreas Kostenberger

Testimony of the Beloved Disciple by Richard Bauckham

The Gospel According To John (PNTC) by D. A. Carson

The Gospel of John by F.F. Bruce

The Gospel According To John (I-XII) by Raymond Brown

The King James Only Controversy by James White

Scribes and Scriptures by John Meade and Peter Gurry

Jesus and the Manuscripts by Craig Evans

Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism, ed. by Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry

The Text of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger (also here)

Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, ed. by Dan Wallace

To Cast the First Stone by Jennifer Knust and Tommy Wasserman

Active and Passive Obedience of Christ ; Adiaphora (Simply Put)

Modern Spirituality and Your Mind; What Is the Gospel (Voddie Baucham)

TCI article; TGC article

The Gospel of Pragmatism; American Spirituality (WHI)

Robert Barron: Christ as "privileged path for salvation" (here)

Second Vatican Council; to cite a kind-of parallel to the ecumenism mentioned was in a First Presidency statement of February 15, 1978.

Revolution in Rome by David Wells

Note: Here is an extended quotation from scholar Scott Swain:

"As God's being and works are common to all three persons of the Trinity, so too is God's authority. As the Father is "Lord of heaven and earth" (Matt. 11:25), so he has granted the Son "all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18; so 11:27). Indeed, according to the author of Hebrews, 'the Holy Spirit is the selfsame Lord who utters the divine warning published in Psalm 95:7-11...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one divine sovereignty, one divine authority over all creatures.

The point is further confirmed in John 10:22-30. This passage echoes many of the themes that appear in Psalm 95. The relationship between Jesus and his people is portrayed as a relationship between a shepherd and his 'sheep' (John 10:27; Psalm 95:7) who are in his 'hand' (John 10:28-29); see Ps. 95:7). The language of 'greatness' is used as well, with Jesus declaring, 'My Father...is greater than all' (John 10:29; see Ps. 95:3). Finally, John 10 emphasizes that Jesus' sheep will 'hear' his 'voice' and enter into eternal life (John 10:27-28; see Ps. 95:7,11). With respect to the present discussion, the important thing to note is that Jesus claims to be 'one' with his Father who is 'greater than all' (John 10:29-30), a clear echo of Deuteronomy 6:4 ('the Lord is one') and elicits the charge of blasphemy of Jesus' opponents (John 10:31-39).

Jesus, the Good Shepard, is 'one' with his Father, who is 'greater than all'. All that the Father has, Jesus has (John 16:14-15). One Lord with his Father (Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:6), he is a great God and great King above all gods (1 Cor. 8:5), the shepherd of his flock, the voice that gives eternal life to all who hear and follow his voice (Ps. 95)." (The Trinity: An Introduction, pp. 116-117)

In this episode, Skyler flies solo and covers a bunch of things that could've been covered in the lesson material for three past episodes, and yet could be covered in much more detail than even in this episode.

Please bear with the lack of editing on this one!

1) Seminary Manual: Matt 8; Luke 7:11-17

Words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 59-60; compare with Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.180 -181 - where, for example, Joseph Fielding Smith leaves out the fact that Joseph Smith said that John C. Bennett was "a superior orator" than the apostle Paul.

It is worth including section from footnote 9 (in WPJS, p. 83-84 - though I have changed the format), discussing the theology in this material from Smith which is still being included the above-linked seminary manual:

"This is the first mention by the Prophet Joseph Smith of the extremely important concept in Mormon theology that God the Father once had a mortal probation and was resurrected with a body of flesh and bones...The following syllogistic argument used today for Mormonism's concept that God the Father once lived on an earth was not used or understood by the early Saints. The basic reasoning used today is as follows:

• All men are raised with their physical bodies in the resurrection (Alma 40:23, printed in 1830)
• Jesus, the Son of God and the great prototype (John 14.6-9), was the express image of his Father (Hebrews 1:3) and was resurrected with his corporeal body.
• In the celestial resurrection men can become gods (D&C 76:58 [51-58], 1832 revelation)
• Therefore, God the Father must have a body of resurrected flesh and bones that he obtained following his own earth life."

2) Seminary Manual: Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4.35-41

Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us by Michael Horton

Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord by Michael Reeves

What Is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen

3) The Parable of the Sower (Dallin Oaks)

Faith - The Choice Is Yours (Richard Edgley)

D&C 6.7; Jacob 2.18-19

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

Terry Johnson (here)

Mark 1-8 by Joel Marcus

4) Seminary Manual: Matt. 13:3-8, 18-23

1 Ne. 8:19-34; Alma 32:26-43

"Huldah's Long Shadow" by Julie M. Smith (footnote 13), found in A Dream, a Rock, and a Pillar of Fire, ed. Adam Miller

Temple Theology: An Introduction by Margaret Barker

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, ed. Marvin Meyer (specifically On the Origin of the World, also here)

No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie (pp. 58-59)

History of Joseph Smith by His Mother by Lucy Mack Smith

Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn

Conflict in the Quorum by Gary Bergera

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito

When Prophecy Fails by Leon Festinger

D&C 130 (expectation that Jesus would come back in around 1890)

• Prophet/President Wilford Woodruff, alone, predicted British LDS would remain on earth "until the coming of Christ" (Jan. 26, 1840); told the LDS in northern Arizona "There will be no United States in the year 1890" (June 28, 1879); stated (by revelation) that the second coming was "nigh at the door" (Jan. 26, 1880); promised LDS in Manti "that thousands of the children...would not die but would live to see the Saviour come" (Aug. 14, 1881); told LDS in St. George that "there were thousands living in [the] mountains at [that] time that would see the son of God come and many would not taste death" (Mar. 20, 1881) - and similar predictions on Dec. 31, 1885, and then on Feb. 16, 1886. And that is just one of the early apostles/prophets! (As a Thief in the Night by Dan Erickson, pp. 83, 187-88, 190-191, 197)

It should be noted that this is the context for the Manifesto on polygamy - esp. in light of Wilford Woodruff (then senior apostle!) even prophesying in the Manti Temple that "we are not going to stop the practice of plural marriage until the coming of the Son of man." (ibid., p.200, also here)

Against Heresies by Irenaeus

Confessions by St. Augustine

What Is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen (also here)

The Territories of Science and Religion by Peter Harrison

The Origins of Science and the Science of its Origins by Stanley Jaki

The Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer

Greg Bahnsen v. Gordon Stein debate

Moses warns against false prophets who lead people after other gods (Deut. 13.1-5; 18.20-22); and Paul warns in Galatians that "even if we or an angel from heaven" preach a different gospel, let him/her be anathema, as well as warning against false apostles, men who preach "another Christ" - saying that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (Gal. 1.7, 2 Cor. 11.4,13-14) And of course, the apostle John warns against "false prophets" and commands we "test the spirits". (1John 4.1-3)

5) Seminary Manual: Matt 13:24-30, 36-43

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 97-99; where Joseph Smith teaches that "the Church is in its infancy, and if you take this rash step, you will destroy the wheat, or the Church, with the tares; therefore, it is better to let them grow together until the harvest, or the end of the world..." Yet, if that is the case, where is the basis for this including the notion of the disappearance of the Church, as in the Great Apostasy?

Words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 13

Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, pp. 95-97

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

D&C 86; D&C 88.96

Terry Johnson (here, here, here and here)

Stories With Intent by Klyne Snodgrass

The Challenge of Jesus' Parables by Richard Longenecker

A Case for Amillenialism: Understanding the End Times by Kim Riddlebarger

6) Seminary Manual: Matt 13; Matt 13: 24-30, 36-43 (also here)

Joseph Smith and World Government by Hyrum Andrus (e.g. on p.9 - he includes a quote from President George Q. Cannon stating: "We are asked, Is the Church of God, and the Kingdom of God the same organization? And we are informed that some of the brethren hold that they are separate. This is the correct view to take. The Kingdom of God is a separate organization from the Church of God.")

Brigham Young: JD 2. 310

The Council of Fifty (also here)

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil by H. Verlan Andersen

This is very different than the view taken by James Talmage in his book Jesus the Christ

And all of this is different than the Kingdom of God, biblically understood:

Divine Government: God's Kingship in the Gospel of Mark by R.T. France

The Kingdom of God and the Church by Geerhardus Vos

The Coming of the Kingdom by Herman Ridderbos

Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum

An Earnest Plea to LDS (Jason Wallace)

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

7) Bearing Up Their Burdens With Ease (David Bednar)

"Today is April 6. We know by revelation that today is the actual and accurate date of the Savior’s birth. April 6 also is the day on which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized."

D&C 20.1; Messages of the First Presidency 4.28; No mention here

Jesus the Christ by James Talmage

"Dating the Birth of Christ" by Jeffrey Chadwick

The Origins of the Liturgical Year by Thomas J. Talley

Calendar and Chronology by Roger T. Beckwith

"Calculating Christmas" by William Tighe

"Sol Invictus, The Winter Solstice, and the Origins of Christmas" by Steven Hijmans

"Calculating December 25 as the Birth of Jesus in Hippolytus' Canon and Chronicon" by Thomas C. Schmidt

Reversing Hermon by Michael Heiser

Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton (though, in response to his dismissal - here and here; also New Testament History by F.F. Bruce)

The specific example of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" was inspired, in part, by "The Art of Scripture and Scripture as Art" by Boyd J. Petersen and David W. Scott, found in the book The Expanded Canon.

8) Interpreter Show

Preface to JD 8 states: "The Journal of Discourses deservedly ranks as one of the standard works of the Church, and every rightminded Saint will certainly welcome with joy every Number as it comes forth from the press as an additional reflector of 'the light that shines from Zion's hill.'"

Brigham Young stated:

• "I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture." (JD 13.95)
• "when they are copied and approved by me they are as good scripture as is couched in this Bible" (JD 13.264)

Michael as Adam is agreed upon by all sides of Mormonism.

Joseph Smith: Sermon in the Grove; JST Rev. 1; Moses 6.8

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 157, 167

A must-read is this Brigham Young sermon: JD 1.50f (And notice to whom he is addressing, where he is addressing them and the obvious lack of words like "my opinion" or any sense of this being a mere hypothesis, policy, or guess.)

Brigham Young even calls him "Yahovah Michael" several times (October 8, 1854 Conference Report, also The Essential Brigham Young, p. 94)

He stated in a "Discourse on Marriage" that: "Some years ago I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam being our Father and our God. That will be a curse to many of the elders of Israel because of their folly with regard to it...It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet the world hold it in derision. Had I revealed the doctrine of the baptism for the dead instead [of] Joseph Smith, there are men around me who would have ridiculed the idea until doomsday, but they are ignorant and stupid, like the dumb ass."

Brigham Young stated that "Joseph said that Adam was our Father and our God." (Journal History, May 14,1876) He also stated that "[I]t is most significant that in the Hebrew language the word for man is Adam, hence in the some-odd 84 passages in the gospels when Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man, it can be taken quite literally as a claim on Jesus' part that he was the son of Adam." (Teachings of President Brigham Young, 3:327)

The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship by David John Buerger

Conflict In the Quorum by Gary Bergera

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

The God of Brigham Young (Jason Wallace)

Original title: What Shall I do to Inherit Eternal Life?

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the seventeenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Apr. 17-23) is titled "What Shall I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?", and covers Matthew 18 and Luke 10.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Correction: Not KSL, but Fox 13.

LDS Sources:

Matthew 18:11-14; Luke 10:25-37 (Seminary Manual)

To Acquire Spiritual Guidance (Richard G. Scott; word "impression/s" used 12x; cites the BOM 2x, D&C 1x - the Bible, never.)

The Light of Christ (Boyd K. Packer)

D&C 93; D&C 131; Gospel Principles

Mar. 13-19 in manual: "Why are principles more effective than lists of rules as we strive to develop spiritual self-reliance?"

Be Ye Therefore Perfect - Eventually (Jeffrey Holland)

The Only True God (Jeffrey Holland)

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball (also here, here, here)

As Clay in the Potter's Hand: The Healing Power of Forgiveness by April Aaron Dodd Bardsley (also here)

Note: Many early Mormon leaders (who were polygamists), taught that Jesus was a polygamist. Indeed, given the story of Mary and Martha in this lesson - it is worth pointing out this quote by early Mormon apostle Orson Pratt: "One thing is certain, that there were several holy women that greatly loved Jesus - such as Mary, and Martha her sister, and Mary Magdalene; and Jesus greatly loved them, and associated with them much; and when He arose from the dead, instead of first showing Himself to His chosen witnesses, the Apostles, He first appeared to these women, or at least to one of them - namely Mary Magdalene. Now, it would be very natural for a husband in the resurrection to appear first to his own dear wives, and afterwards show himself to his other friends. If all the acts Jesus were written, we no doubt should learn that these beloved women were his wives." (The Seer, p.159)

Resources:

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

An Earnest Plea to LDS (Jason Wallace)

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

No Place For Truth: Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? by David F. Wells

Spiritual Gifts: What they Are and Why They Matter by Thomas Schreiner

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey

D.A. Carson (here)

Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass

Confessions by St. Augustine

Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy by B.B. Warfield

Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns

Embodying Forgiveness by L. Gregory Jones

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity; Rediscovering the Holy Spirit by Michael Horton (also here, here, here)

Inventing the Flat Earth by Jeffrey Burton Russell

Columbus and the Crisis of the West by Robert Royal

American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

Skyler is flying solo today, based on the essay "Antithesis, Common Grace, and Plato's View of the Soul" by William D. Dennison. The essay can be found in the book In Defense of the Eschaton: Essays in Reformed Apologetics. Bill is a great scholar and always worth reading! (also here)

Original title: Keys to the Kingdom, Priesthood

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the sixteenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Apr. 10-16) is titled "Thou Art the Christ", and covers Matthew 15-17 and Mark 7-9.

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Note 1: in the official LDS church e-mail for this Holy Week (2023) literally has as the subject line - "Rise above your challenges". (Beware: "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism")

Note 2: Notice - the official position of the LDS church in the manual is that "this rock" (v. 18) is - "the bedrock of revelation". Yet, they don't even mention (even once) the next part of the same verse (also v. 18) which states that "the gates of hades will not prevail against" the church due to their claims of the Great Apostasy - i.e. the early church completely disappearing (or at least, the authority of the Christian church completely disappearing), only to then be restored to the earth through the prophet, Joseph Smith.

Yet, even on their own terms - if "the rock" (as they interpret it) failed the first time, why should it be a model for the latter-day church? Is it just that their latter-day prophets are just that much more faithful than Peter or Paul? Joseph Smith claimed just this kind of thing when he claimed that: "I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam...Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet..." (HC 6:408; here)

This is to not even mention the fact that the LDS position, even on their own terms, must mean that either Jesus was wrong, or failed to mention that the gates of hades would succeed - but only for 1,500-1,800 years or so (depending on where one would date the apostasy), which would seem to entail Jesus being de facto wrong, anyway. If there was ever a place for Jesus to warn of a great apostasy, and Matthew to document it - this would indeed be the passage.

Note 3: The Canons of the Council of Orange (AD 529) - Canon 3 states: "If anyone says that the grace of God can be conferred as a result of human prayer, but that it is not grace itself which makes us pray to God, he contradicts the prophet Isaiah, or the Apostle who says the same thing, 'I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me' (Rom 10:20, quoting Isa. 65:1)." (here) Note that these doctrinal statements received even official approval from pope Boniface II in 531.

LDS Sources:

Hear Him videos

Where Are the Keys and Authority of the Priesthood? (Gary Stevensen)

The Holy Temple (Boyd Packer)

Gospel Principles (quoted the 2009 ed.); D&C 20; D&C 107

Matthew 16.13-18; Matthew 16.18-19, 17.1-7 (Seminary Manual)

D&C 110; D&C 130; D&C 131; D&C 132 (original context: polygamy)

Jesus the Christ; The Great Apostasy by James Talmage

Transfiguration; JST Mark 9

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 158, 310, 312, 335-338

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

Why did Moses, Elias, and Elijah appear in the Kirtland Temple? (Notice the footnotes on Elias)

D&C 6; D&C 8(also here; see footnotes 5,7); D&C 9

Note 3: The Sunday School manual asks: "What do you think Peter or Alma or Oliver Cowdery might have said if someone asked them how they know the gospel is true?" Historian D. Michael Quinn points out the context of D&C 6, 8, and 9 (among other places) is found in divining rods and the magic worldview with indeed, the "rod of aaron" of current wording historically referring to a divining rod. Quinn also notes a time when Oliver Cowdery was asked about the "treasure" (the golden plates) and "[a]s part of his answer, Cowdery wrote that one evidence of the truthfulness of the angel's visit in 1823 was that 'the vision was renewed twice before morning,' a reference to the importance of thrice-repeated dreams in folk magic's treasure-quest." (Mormonism and the Magic World View, pp. 141, 259) Is this truly comparable to the context of Peter's confession?

Note 4: "The Book of Mormon says nothing regarding the restoration of priesthood authority or its importance in the latter-day work of the Lord. The first recorded reference to restorations of their respective priesthoods by John the Baptist and by Peter, James, and John wasn't until 1834, some five years after these events reportedly occurred. The original sixty-five sections of the Doctrine and Covenants published as the Book of Commandments in 1833 make no mention at all of Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, much less their restoration. Section 13, which references 'the priesthood of Aaron,' wasn't recorded until Joseph Smith wrote his history in 1838 (JS-H 1:69). The references to John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John in section 27 of the current Doctrine and Covenants were added in 1835. David Whitmer and William E. McLellin, who at the time were close associates of the Prophet, later alleged that they knew nothing of any priesthood restoration taking place. Their understanding was that Joseph and Oliver's authority to ordain each other, and others, to ministerial office (e.g., elder, priest, teacher) was received by commandment, and not by angelic administration. Initially, these offices had no connection to Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthoods..." ("This Is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles Harrell; also here and here)

Power from on High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood by Gregory Prince

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner (also here)

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito

Temples Made With Hands? ; The Vanishing Lamanites (Jason Wallace)

Approaching the Book of Mormon (Bill McKeever)

The Secret Mormon Meetings of 1922

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (ed. Marvin Meyer); specifically, The Testimony of Truth. Scholar Birger Pearson, describing one of the key messages of this gnostic text writes: "True Christianity consists in renunciation of the world and in gnosis, i.e. self-knowledge as divine knowledge." The "author's polemics" were "obviously the ecclesiastical Church".

Note 5: The point is not that every particular of Gnosticism has a parallel in Mormonism - but rather, a point about category. In terms of epistemology, religious emphasis and priority, history and eschatology, and even hermeneutics - Mormonism has been in a category much more akin to Gnosticism than to that of Christianity. Anyone who has attended an LDS testimony meeting will immediately see the emphasis on "knowing" truth via immediate spiritual experience. One would think it is fair to build an analysis of a religion based on the very patterns emphasized in/through the rhetoric of the membership to the membership, at least monthly.

Resources:

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus; and What is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado (also here)

Dominion by Tom Holland

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here, here, here, and here)

The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT); Matthew: Evangelist and Teacher by R.T. France

Matthew (The Expositor's Bible Commentary) by D. A. Carson

The Justification Reader by Thomas Oden

Luther's Theology of the Cross by Alister McGrath

Christianity at the Crossroads; The Question of Canon; Canon Revisited by Michael J. Kruger (also here and here)

The Battle for the Keys by Justin Bass

The Book of Revelation (NIGTC); The Temple and the Church's Mission by G. K. Beale

Temple of Presence by Andrea Robinson

The Infallibility of the Church by George Salmon

Does the NT teach that Peter was the first pope? (Debate, James White)

Christianity and Classical Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan

The Origins of the Liturgical Year by Thomas Talley

Note 6: On the Transfiguration, R.T. France points out: "the reappearance of Moses in this scene further links the two mountain experiences [Exod. 24.9-18 and this one in Matt. 17.1-8], while the echo of Deut. 18.15-19 in v. 5 identifies Jesus as a new Moses is a factor in Matthew's account, though it is important to note that whereas at Sinai Moses was the recipient of revelation, here Jesus is its subject, and it is the disciples rather than Jesus who are in the position of Moses, seeing the heavenly glory and hearing the voice of God..."

"The visual 'transformation' is not so much a physical alteration as an added dimension of glory; it is the same Jesus, but now with an awesome brightness 'like the sun' and 'like light'. Or, one might better say, with the dullness of earthly conditions temporarily stripped away, so that the true nature of God's 'beloved Son' (v. 5) can for once be seen." In footnote 26: "It should also be noted that the account of Moses' face shining relates to his coming down from the mountain, whereas Jesus shone on the mountain but is not said to be visibly different when coming down from it."..."Moses shone for a time with a reflection of the divine glory he had seen; Jesus shone with his own heavenly glory. Moses' radiance was derivative, Jesus' essential." (pp. 644-645, 647)

Original title: Easter, Fall and Atonement

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the fifteenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Apr. 3-9) is titled "Easter: O Grave, Where is Thy Victory?"

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Note: in the official LDS church e-mail for this Holy Week (2023) literally has as the subject line - "Rise above your challenges".

LDS Sources:

2 Nephi 2, 2 Ne 25.23, Moroni 10.32, D&C 93 (also here), D&C 29, Moses 1.39; Moses 5.10-11; Articles of Faith; also The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, wherein he states: "Adam found himself in a position that made it impossible for him to obey both of the specific commandments given by the Lord...He deliberately and wisely decided to stand by the first and greater commandment."

JST Rom. 4 (Smith changes "justifies the ungodly" to justifies NOT the ungodly"; This is clearly a rejection of Paul's actual teaching, yet through the means of "inspired translation".)

Gospel Principles (manual quoted is 2009 edition)

Jesus Christ Chosen as Savior; also The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner

The Gift of Grace (Dieter Uchtdorf)

The Healing Power of Jesus Christ (Cristina Franco)

Zion and the Spirit of At-one-ment (M. Catherine Thomas)

Christ: The Light that Shines in Darkness (Sharon Eubank)

Good Shepard, Lamb of God (Gerrit Gong)

The Mediator (Boyd Packer)

Personal Search for the Meaning of the Atonement; The First 2,000 Years; A Gospel Trilogy by W. Cleon Skousen

Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage

A Rational Theology; Evidences and Reconciliations by John A. Widtsoe; he states: "Adam and Eve, in view of the great sacrifices they made to make the Great Plan a reality, are the great hero and heroine of human history." (p. 52)

King Follett Discourse; Sermon in the Grove (Joseph Smith)

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (ed. Joseph Fielding Smith), pp. 346-348, 369-376

Brigham Young: JD 1.50f; JD 1.83; JD 3.247; JD 4.53-54; JD 4. 219-220; JD 7.2; 9.305; JD 10.110; 14.71f; 17.143; also here

Heber C. Kimball: JD 6.38; JD 6.125-126; JD 7.19-20

J.M. Grant: JD 4.49-51

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball

For the concept of "multiple saviors", see "The Doctrine of the Firstborn and Only Begotten" by Rodney Turner - wherein he states about the theology of Joseph Smith: "These and the Prophet’s earlier remarks are believed by some to infer that our God and his father once sacrificed their lives in a manner similar to the atonement of Jesus Christ...Therefore, in Christ’s atonement and subsequent resurrection, he was repeating ordinances his Father and his father’s father had performed." Later he states that "[s]tatements of Brigham Young indicate that he believed in the concept of multiple saviors."

The Mediation and Atonement by John Taylor (wherein he states: "Why did it need an infinite atonement?...For the simple reason that a stream can never rise higher than its fountain...A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man is capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise him to the dignity of a God."

"LDS Teachings are rather unique in depicting Adam and Eve's transgression not only as a wise noble act, but one performed with full cognizance that they were furthering God's purposes in the salvation of humankind. Apostle Dallin H. Oaks praised the 'wisdom and courage [of Adam and Eve] in the great episode called the Fall." ("This is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles Harrell, p. 252)

Exploring Mormon Thought: The Problems of Theism and the Love of God by Blake Ostler

Temple and Cosmos by Hugh Nibley (esp. ch. 1)

"...the founders of Utah incorporated in the laws of the Territory provisions for the capital punishment of those who willfully shed the blood of their fellow men. This law, which is now the law of the States, granted unto the condemned murderer the privilege of choosing for himself whether he die by hanging, or whether he be shot, and thus have his blood shed in harmony with the law of God; and thus atone, so far as it is in his power to atone, for the death of his victim. Almost without exception the condemned party chooses the latter death." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1.136)

Mormonism and the Magic World View; The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn

Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right by Matthew Harris; Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics (ed. Matthew Harris)

Conflict in the Quorum by Gary Bergera

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

Resources:

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

God in the Whirlwind by David Wells

Confessions by St. Augustine

The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris

Core Christianity; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

American Gospel: Christ Crucified

D.A. Carson (here and here)

What is the Gospel? (Voddie Baucham)

Temple Made With Hands? (Jason Wallace)

Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (also here and here)

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus by J. Gresham Machen

Can We Trust the Gospels? by Peter Williams

Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley Porter and Stephen Bedard

Who Moved the Stone? by Frank Morison

The Bedrock of Christianity by Justin Bass (also here, here, here)

"Revelation, Proof, and Presuppositionalism: Acts 17.30-31" by Lane Tipton (found in Revelation and Reason, ed. K. Scott Oliphant)

The Book of Isaiah (vol. 1) by Edward J. Young (also here)

Contemplating God with the Great Tradition: Recovering Trinitarian Classical Theism by Craig Carter (also here and here)

To See and Perceive Not by Craig Evans

The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson; Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry

Who is God? by Richard Bauckham

American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell

All that is in God by James Dolezal

Original title: Dealing with Doubt

In this episode, Brendon and Skyler discuss the fourteenth lesson in the LDS Come, Follow Me sunday school manual. This week (Mar. 27-Apr. 2) covers Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 5-6 - and is titled "Be Not Afraid".

We invite you to worship with us on any Sunday - either at First Baptist Church of Provo or Christ Presbyterian Church in Magna. We welcome visitors!

Note the difference: The LDS seminary manual asks: "How can focusing on your faith in Jesus Christ and His power and love for you during difficult situations help you?"; Focus on your faith.

Compare that with the simple sentence out of V. Poythress' book (cited below) commenting on the same NT passage: "Faith here was not faith in faith, but faith in Jesus...[and] Faith in Jesus needs to be generated by who Jesus is." (p.185) Or Machen (cited below) stating, similarly: "think not about your faith, but about the Person who is the object of your faith."

LDS Sources:

Lucifer; JST John 6; J. Smith quote in the manual; "self-reliance"; LDS hermeneutics (exegesis or eisegesis?); D&C 131

John 6 (here and here; notice the equation of following Jesus and being a member of the LDS church, or believing Jesus' teachings and questioning the policies and doctrines of the LDS church)

Jesus Christ Chosen as Savior

Diagram, from the current year - 2023, for explaining the LDS "virgin birth" is on this page

New Testament Made Easier by David Ridges

The Power of the Priesthood (Boyd K. Packer)

The Living Bread (D. Todd Christofferson)

Stay in the Boat and Hold On! (M. Russell Ballard)

To Whom Shall We Go? (M. Russell Ballard)

Brad Wilcox Fireside

The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner (Ezra Taft Benson)

The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil by H. Verlan Andersen

King Follett Discourse (KD) and Sermon in the Grove (Joseph Smith)

E.g., from KD: "'I do the things I saw my Father do before worlds came rolling into existence. I saw my Father work out his kingdom with fear and trembling and I must do the same. [Then] I shall give my kingdom to the Father so that he obtains kingdom rolling upon kingdom,' so that Jesus treads the tracks as he had gone before...What did Jesus Christ do? 'The same thing as I saw the Father do.' Saw the Father do what? 'Work out a kingdom. When I do so, too, I will give [it] to the Father, which will add to his glory. He will take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place and be also exalted."

The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith ed. by Joseph Fielding Smith; The Words of Joseph Smith ed. by Andrew Ehat and Lyndon Cook; Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible ed. by Kent Jackson

Brigham Young: JD 1: 46-53 ; JD 4:218; JD 8:206-207; JD 10:5; JD 11:268; JD 18:260 

"[I]t is most significant that in the Hebrew language the word for man is Adam, hence in the some-odd 84 passages in the gospels when Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man, it can be taken quite literally as a claim on Jesus' part that he was the son of Adam." (Teachings of President Brigham Young, 3:327)

Heber C. Kimball: JD 1:355-357; JD 3:108; JD 4:329

The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power by D. Michael Quinn (also here)

Resources:

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner (also here)

The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito

The Vanishing Lamanites (Jason Wallace; also here)

Approaching the Book of Mormon (Bill McKeever)

The Secret Mormon Meetings of 1922

Christianity at the Crossroads; The Question of Canon; Canon Revisited by Michael J. Kruger (also here and here)

Christianity and Liberalism; The Person of Jesus; and What is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton (also here and here)

Confessions by St. Augustine

None Greater by Matthew Barrett

James White on John 6

Biblical Words and Their Meaning by Moises Silva

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson

Jesus and His World by Craig Evans

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham

Evidence for the Bible (Mike Winger)

The Modern Search for the Real Jesus by Robert Strimple

The Gospel Code by Ben Witherington III

Divine Government: God's Kingship in the Gospel of Mark by R.T. France

The Coming of the Kingdom by Herman Ridderbos

The Miracles of Jesus by Vern Poythress

Can You Believe It's True? by John S. Feinberg

Was the Burning in Your Bosom From God? (Jason Wallace)

Christian Apologetics; The Defense of the Faith; Christian Theistic Evidences by Cornelius Van Til

Greg Bahnsen debate (also here, and here)

R.C. Sproul's Blueprint for Thinking (also here)

The Last Superstition; Five Proofs by Ed Feser (also here and here)

Redeeming Philosophy; Logic: A God-centered Approach by Vern Poythress (also here)

The Atheist Illusion (Jason Wallace)

The Territories of Science and Religion; Science Without God? Rethinking the History of Scientific Naturalism; The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science by Peter Harrison

The Savior of Science; The Origin of Science and the Science of Its Origin by Stanley Jaki

The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen (also here, here and here)

Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer

David Hume by James N. Anderson

Jacques Derrida by Christopher Watkin

The Power and Message of the Cross (Alistair Begg)

Monothelitism

The disappearance of the "mushy middle"

Roman Catholic Priest as "Alter Christus"

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius