by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Dec 20, 2021 | Church Doctrine, Church History, Come Follow Me, The Nature of God
As Christianity spread in the centuries following Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, it encountered non-Christian peoples with popular festivals around the time of the winter solstice. To accommodate these winter festivals, Christmas—the Feast of the...
by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Dec 13, 2021 | Church Doctrine, Church History, Come Follow Me, Revelation
The Family: A Proclamation to the World has since its publication in 1995 been considered one of the most important doctrinal statements of Church leaders. Background “During the fall of 1994, at the urging of its Acting President, Boyd K. Packer, the Quorum of...
by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Nov 29, 2021 | Church Doctrine, Church History, Come Follow Me, Salvation and Exaltation
In John 3:5, Jesus instructed Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Christians of Joseph Smith’s day generally interpreted this to mean that unless people received baptism in this life,...
by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Nov 22, 2021 | Church Doctrine, Church History, Come Follow Me, Gathering of Israel
Sections 135 and 136 of the Doctrine and Covenants were both written after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Section 135 deals with Joseph’s martyrdom, and section 136, received by Joseph’s successor, Brigham Young, outlines a way forward for the...
by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Nov 15, 2021 | Church History, Come Follow Me
The texts that make up sections 133 and 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants are long and important ones, discussing topics of great relevance today: the end of the world, and the role of governments and religious freedom. Doctrine and Covenants 133 Although the sections...
by Richard E. Turley Jr. | Nov 8, 2021 | Church Doctrine, Church History, Come Follow Me
The revelations that now makeup Doctrine and Covenants sections 129 to 132 were received in 1843, a period in which Joseph Smith, anticipating his death, felt the urgency of completing the Restoration and passing on doctrines he may have known for some time but...