Latter-day Saints – Page 3 – The Righteous Cause

From Cumorah to Mesoamerica: Why No Geographical Model Can Rescue the Book of Mormon’s Weapon Problem

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated photo-realistic image that illustrates the text in 1 Nephi 4:9, where a young man crouches in darkness over a fallen enemy and marvels at his weapon: a sword of the most precious steel, hilted in pure gold. SWORDS, STEEL, AND SILENCE: The Metallurgical Anachronisms of the Book of Mormon A Historical and…

Review & Summary, Mormonish Podcast, Ep284: Decapitation and The Book Of Mormon with Dr John Lundwall

Posted on April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

AI image collage created by Google Gemini. [Click here] to read the full transcript of this podcast [Click again to close] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Mormonish. I’m Rebecca. And I’m Landon. And I’m John. Exactly. I was going to say, you need to just jump in because you need no introduction. Let’s do it again….

Record LDS Baptisms: Impressive Numbers, Harder Questions

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

The LDS Church announced 385,490 convert baptisms in 2025 — eclipsing the previous record of 330,877 set in 1990 and representing a nearly 25% leap over the 308,682 recorded in 2024. The Salt Lake Tribune. General Conference treated this as a prophetic milestone, and by raw numerical standards, it is. But headline statistics rarely tell…

The Confidence Scheme Hidden in the Scriptures: Joseph Smith and the Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated image illustrates a depiction of the golden plates featuring the ‘sealed portion.’ According to Latter-day Saint tradition, this secured section contains an expansive revelation given to the brother of Jared, withheld from translation until humanity demonstrates sufficient faith. THE SEALED PORTION GAMBIT How Conveniently Hidden Scripture Insulates a Fraud A Critical Analysis…

FACT-CHECK REPORT: Facebook Comment on Tetelestai and John Chrysostom

Posted on April 4, 2026April 4, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Claim-by-Claim Verification Against Primary Sources — — — The Comment Under Review “Not many people know that ‘telestai’ to figures in the early Greek Christian period like John Chrysostom understood the term to mean that the prophesies about Jesus had been fulfilled, since he said this after the vinegar had been given to him. He…

One Word, Two Thousand Years of Debate — The Meaning of “It Is Finished” and What LDS Theology Gets Wrong

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated image imagines Jesus on the Cross in the final moments of His suffering, the two thieves beside Him, a group of mourners below the cross, and several Roman centurians looking up at Jesus. John 19:30 and the Completed Atonement of Jesus Christ A Theological Examination from an Orthodox Christian Perspective ✦ ✦…

A Review of “Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon”

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Book Review & Summary Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon William L. Davis University of North Carolina Press, 2020 Abstract What if the most controversial book in American religious history was also one of the most extraordinary feats of oral performance ever recorded? In 1829, a…

They Believed the Book of Mormon — And That’s the Problem: A Psychological Critique of LDS Witness Testimony

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated image imagines LDS apologists spending two centuries defending the Book of Mormon witnesses on historical grounds — arguing they never formally recanted, that their testimonies remained consistent, and that their post-Church affiliations don’t disqualify them. The images transition bypasses that battlefield entirely. The more devastating critique is not historical but psychological: the…

God on the Clock: How the Mormon Church Manages Worship Down to the Minute.

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated image imagines a large heavenly hand emerging from the clouds holding a stopwatch, and below a group of people gathered outside a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, looking up expectantly. The Unparalleled Organizational Architecture of LDS Sunday Worship — A Comparative Theological Inquiry Introduction: A Revelation Arrives with a…

Prophets, Speechwriters, and Cultural Mormons: An AI‑Age Autopsy of the Latter-day Saints’ General Conference

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Dennis Robbins

Image: An AI-generated image asks – Got questions? This is where the answers come alive. Think of it as a conversation partner that’s always ready to help—explaining, exploring, and guiding you through whatever you’re curious about. Inquiring minds want to know, well, at least I want to know. “Who writes the speeches that the LDS…

2 Corinthians 11:13-15: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Romans 3:20-24: For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Email: dennis@novus2.com

Should Modern Drum Sets be Used in Christian Worship?
Drive from Glendale to Apache Junction on any Sunday morning and walk into virtually any contemporary Christian worship service along the way. Before the first song begins, before the worship leader steps to the microphone, before a single lyric appears on the screen — your eyes will already have […]
Peter Whitmer, Jr.: The Quiet Mormon Witness, the Lamanite Mission, and a Faith That Outran Its Foundations
Seventh in the Early Mormon Personalities Series 1,500 Miles to a Mistaken Identity: Peter Whitmer, Jr.’s Mission to a People Who Were Never There 1809 – 1836 ❦ ❦ ❦ I. Prologue: A Cabin, a Cow, and the Birth of an American Religion On a humid June evening in 1829, in a log cabin tucked into […]
When the Saucers Come: UFO Disclosure, AI Worship, and the Engineered Counter-Gospel
Look Up If You Must, But Look to Calvary First: Christians, UFOs, and the Empty Tomb A Christian’s Compass for the Age of UFOs, AI, and the Engineered Cosmic Gospel With pastoral framing from Pastor Joey Sampaga, East Valley International Church Introduction: A Mother’s Day Warning […]
Hyrum Smith: The Mildness of a Lamb, the Weight of a Crown
Seventh in the Early Mormon Personalities Series The Faithful Witness: How Hyrum Smith’s Loyalty Carried A Movement and Concealed Its Contradictions ❦ ❦ ❦ I. Carthage, June 27, 1844 — A Cinematic Opening The afternoon was hot and slow on the Illinois prairie. Inside an upstairs room of the Carthage […]
David Whitmer: The Mormon Witness Who Walked Away — and the Church That Could Not Let Him Go
Sixth Post in the Early Mormon Personalities Series Ink Beneath the Hand: The Strange Half-Faith of One of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon ❦ ❦ ❦ Prologue: A Light in the Fayette Woods Late June, 1829. The light slants through the maples on the Whitmer family farm in Fayette, New York, […]
The Reluctant Witness: Martin Harris — Believer, Backslider, and the Man Whose Farm Bought the Book of Mormon
Fifth Post in the Early Mormon Personalities Series The Man Who Lost a Manuscript and Found a Religion ❦ ❦ ❦ I. A Knock in the Lancashire Twilight It began in the autumn of 1874 with a knock at a quiet Utah farmhouse, an interruption to the Pilkingtons’ evening devotions. The stranger at the […]
The Fascinating and Odd Story of The Shakers
Shakers dancing, near Lebanon, New York; engraving by an unknown artist. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. 3a15948) In the annals of American religious history, few movements have captured the imagination and challenged conventional understanding quite like the United Society […]
The Book of Mormon’s Missing 116 Pages
Photo: In February 1828, Martin Harris arrived in Harmony, Pennsylvania, to assist the Prophet. By June, the Prophet had translated 116 pages with Martin Harris as his scribe. Martin asked for Joseph’s permission to return to New York and show the manuscript pages to his wife, but the Lord forbade […]
Letters To A Mormon Elder, by James White
Dr. James R. White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries and a Pastor/Elder at Apologia Church in Mesa, Arizona. He is a Professor of Church History and Apologetics at Grace Bible Theological Seminary and has taught Greek, Hebrew, Systematic Theology, Textual Criticism, Church History, and […]
Unveiling the Controversies: Joseph Smith and the Enigmatic Kinderhook Plates.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) centers its history on the revelations received by Joseph Smith, particularly his translation of the golden plates that became the Book of Mormon. However, lesser-known episodes challenge the narrative of Smith’s consistent […]
10% of My Income, 100% of My Choice? Unveiling the Mormon Tithe.
Y’ALL ARE DOING MALACHI ALL WRONG! A key Old Testament reference used by the LDS Church for tithing is Malachi 3:10-12: Blessings of Paying an Honest Tithe. Malachi 3:10–12 teaches us the following principle: If we return to God and pay our tithes and offerings, then the Lord will pour out […]
Mapping the Unknown: Exploring the Geographical Enigma of the Book of Mormon
Comparing Book of Mormon Geography Models: Among Book of Mormon enthusiasts, there are two primary camps of belief concerning where the events in the book took place. One camp, called the Heartland group, believes the Book of Mormon took place in the ‘heartland’ or center of the eastern United […]
Mark Hofmann and The Mormon Murders Twenty-Five Years later
The Mormon Murders Twenty-Five Years later By Sandra Tanner and Rocky Hulse October, 2010 Fifteen years ago, Sandra Tanner reflected on the events surrounding Mark William Hofmann, a convicted con artist-turned-serial bomber and spree killer who is widely regarded by many as one of the most […]
The Hypocritical Stance on Seeking Truth: The LDS Church’s Dual Approach to Inquiry
Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) actively urge people to engage with the Book of Mormon by reading it and praying over its contents. They believe that this practice can lead to a personal revelation of its truth through divine guidance from the Holy […]
A Biblical Refutation of LDS Doctrines on Divine Nature and Human Destiny
Download this PDF to print at home: LDS Doctrines A 20-minute read… Introduction The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presents distinctive theological positions that fundamentally diverge from orthodox Christian doctrine, particularly regarding the nature of God, humanity’s […]
Following the LDS Prophets — With a Little Help from Artificial Intelligence
Photo: When Quentin L. Cook told Brigham Young University students to “Choose truth when deception is easy,” ChatGPT heard him loud and clear—then chose neon when beige was easy. No truths were altered in the making of this image… just the color palette. 🌈 On March 3, 2026, Elder Quentin L. Cook of […]
THE WITNESS WHO WALKED AWAY: Oliver Cowdery, the Second Elder, and the Burden of Being First
Between God and Joseph Smith: The Tragic Arc of Oliver Cowdery Early Mormon Personalities Series — Fourth Post Introduction: A Man Between Two Worlds In the late spring of 1829, somewhere along the green banks of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania, a young schoolteacher named Oliver […]
Joseph’s Counselor, Brigham’s Rival, History’s Footnote: Sidney Rigdon Reconsidered
The Walking Bible Who Lost His Way Sidney Rigdon — Co-Founder, Spokesman, and Cautionary Tale of the Latter-day Saint Movement Early Mormon Personalities Series · Volume Three ❦ ✦ ❦ A Knock on the Door in Mentor Late in the autumn of 1830, on a cold Ohio afternoon when the maples of the Western […]
The Gates Did Not Prevail: A Biblical and Historical Case Against the LDS Great Apostasy Doctrine
What Scripture, History, and Archaeology Reveal About the Church Christ Never Lost The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church, was founded on several fundamental claims about the state of Christianity in the early 19th century. Central to Mormon theology is […]
Brigham Young: Pioneer, Prophet, Patriarch — and the Long Shadow of a Carpenter Who Crowned Himself King
EARLY MORMON PERSONALITIES SERIES — POST 2 The Man Who Built a Kingdom — And the Theology That Could Not Bear Its Weight ❦ ❦ ❦ Prologue: The Lion in Winter It was the evening of August 29, 1877, in Salt Lake City, and the late-summer heat still pressed against the city like a weight. In the Lion […]
Oh, the Places You’ll Sue! A Seussian Take on the LDS Church vs. Mormon Stories
Introduction If Dr. Seuss taught anything—between the rhymes, the nonsense, and the brightly colored absurdities—it’s that systems obsessed with control, image, and hierarchy eventually tell on themselves. The Sneetches, after all, were so consumed with status markers that they couldn’t see their […]
The Apostle and the Arkansas Road: Parley P. Pratt, the Pen That Built Mormonism, and the Wife That Killed Him
T H E R I G H T E O U S C A U S E Early Mormon Personalities · Series Installment One Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism — and the Husband He Could Not Outrun ❖ ❖ ❖ I. The Road Outside Van Buren On the afternoon of May 13, 1857, a wounded man lay in the dust of an Arkansas farm road […]
Fortress of Cooks and Cameras: The Strange Geography of Putin’s 2026 Paranoia
Image: An AI- generated image from Google Gemini imagines Vladimir Putin protected in his underground bunker. Inside the Sealed Hatch How a Leaked European Dossier Cracked Open Putin’s Court An Investigative Analysis • May 2026 When the Theater Hides the Truth For four years, the defining image of […]
By What Authority? A Biblical Examination of Latter-day Saint Excommunication and the Drift from Restoration to Reprisal
A traditional Christian evaluation of LDS disciplinary practice — its origins, its mutations, its modern weaponization, and the New Testament standard it has progressively abandoned. ❦ ❦ ❦ Introduction: A Door That Used to Open Both Ways Church discipline is one of those topics that respectable […]
The Way, the Truth, and the Life: A Theological Response to the Reframing of John 14:6
When the Most Comforting Words Jesus Ever Spoke Are Recast as the Most Harmful Introduction: The Words That Have Comforted the Church for Two Thousand Years On the night before His death, surrounded by men whose hearts were breaking and whose hopes were crumbling, Jesus of Nazareth spoke some of […]