OliverCowderyMemorial

June 2018 Ensign - Unity, but why is Church History Department misleading the Saints about Cumorah? The June 2018  Ensign  has a wonderful short  article titled "United in Doing Good."  It fits well with the "summer of love theme." The article includes excerpts from Lucy Mack Smith,  History, 1845 , and the Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, including Emma Smith's observation about "the necessity of being united among ourselves." The article notes that "President E. Smith … rose and said that  measures to promote union in this society must be carefully attended to ." The summer of love is an ideal time to contemplate unity. Church members seek complete unity and harmony as we minister to one another and to the world at large. But, as Emma also said, we need to "deal frankly with each other." And, frankly, there is an ongoing obstacle to unity in the Church, found right in this  Ensign . It concerns the Book of Mormon, and

Saints - Experience Church History like never before "Experience Church History like never before" In Palmyra this week, I picked up this bookmark for the new  Saints  book. The book has a commendable goal to make Church history easier to understand and accessible to people around the world in 50 languages. It is written in the modern style of historical narratives, making it informative and enjoyable to read. If not for one editorial decision that permeates the book, I would highly recommend it. Actually, I do highly recommend  Saints  so long as readers are aware of one problem. The problem:  Saints  is agenda-driven revisionist history that is teaching people to disbelieve the prophets about an important topic. The heading on the bookmark is deeply ironic.  This book will definitely let people "experience Church history like never before" because it is changing Church history.  Saints  is revisionist history, designed to provide a framework to suppor

Correlation Department misleads the Saints 3 Nephi contains an important message from the Lord about the gathering of Israel, but thanks to the Correlation Department, few current members of the Church understand the message.  The Department deleted a passage from the Wentworth letter that explains the passage in 3 Nephi. It has to do with the remnant of Lehi's people. Notice how many times the Lord refers to the remnant. Joseph Smith specifically identified the remnant in the Wentworth letter, but  the Correlation Department deleted Joseph's teachings from the lesson manual,   Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith . Consequently, members of the Church today who rely on Church curriculum do not know what Joseph taught about the remnant. _____  3 Nephi 21: 1  And verily I say unto you,  I give unto you a  sign , that ye may know the time  when these things shall be about to take place —that I shall  gather in, from their long disp

Many people want to know why the Brethren don't formally address the issue of Book of Mormon geography. My answer:  they have . They've addressed it for over 160 years. They've consistently made two points: 1. The Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6 is in New York. 2. We don't know the details of the rest of the geography.* The Brethren are not obligated to respond to every academic theory that arises, especially when the record is as clear as it is regarding the New York Cumorah. How many more times would the Brethren have to reiterate these teachings before the intellectuals would accept them? As lawyers say, the question of Cumorah has been "asked and answered." However, certain LDS intellectuals refuse to accept the answer. The influence of these intellectuals is pervasive and growing in the Church. In this blog we've documented many examples, but today we're going to look at the Correlation Department.** Until we LDS unite around the prophets'