In March 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith was inducted to a fraternal order known as Freemasons. Less than two months later, on 4 May 1842, Joseph Smith introduced the temple endowment to a select group of Latter-day Saints. Because of the close timing of these two events, and some perceived similarities in the ritual manner of both the temple Endowment and Masonic practices, many have wondered...

Note: This is a developing article that will be continually updated with additional resources and topics that Latter-day Saints might encounter. Hulu’s newest miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven presents an imaginative retelling of the harrowing murder of Brenda Lafferty in 1984 by Dan and Ron Lafferty, former members of a splinter group of fundamentalist Latter-day Saints...

I’ll be honest, when I received my endowment, I didn’t have the greatest experience. I hadn’t taken a temple preparation class, and I had heard some misinformation about the temple that made me nervous. In short, I probably wasn’t ready to attend the temple. Fortunately, my parents encouraged me to go back, and after a few more visits to the temple I loved it, and felt its spiritual power. But...

Cross-posted from Book of Mormon History . In this new episode of the Book of Mormon History podcast, BMC associate Stephen Smoot discusses the new archaeological discovery of an ancient temple within four miles of Jerusalem with independent Book of Mormon researcher Joshua Gehly. Stephen provides his reasons for a historical approach to the Book of Mormon and...

Nephi concludes his record with stirring and profound pleadings to his readers to follow the necessary steps to obtain eternal life. Nephi teaches in 2 Nephi 31–33 about baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, prayer, repentance, and enduring to the end. However, some scholars have pointed out that Nephi may be using these principles of the gospel to underscore sacred principles and teachings of the...

Ephesians 4:11–14 is a well-known passage that declares that Christ called apostles, prophets, and other leaders for “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” In this analogy, various leaders and members of the Church are like various body parts and...

When writing to the saints in Corinth, Paul strongly emphasized that there should “be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” ( 1 Corinthians 1:10 ). He tried to teach them that there should be no contentions among them, and that “Christ” should not be divided ( vv. 11, 13 ). The preaching of Christ should serve to unite them and...

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declare that a temple is literally a house of the Lord. Each temple is a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also on behalf of the dead.” So said President Russell M. Nelson in his introductory remarks for a new video tour of the Rome Italy Temple released by the...

Many Christians are aware that Jesus was tempted by the devil when He was in the wilderness for 40 days. However, the Bible can only get us so far in understanding what was really going on while Jesus secluded Himself in the desert. Additional scriptures from the Restoration can go a long way in helping unveil some of the mysterious things in this story. The Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great...

The scriptures show that from dispensation to dispensation, and from time to time, God and his appointed prophets and apostles have adjusted the practices of God’s house to bless His children and guide them lovingly in the path of righteousness.