Not all groups in Steve Shields book should be considered denominations. In our next conversation, we’ll talk about some of these subgroups with official endorsement of the LDS Church, such as Affirmation and the Genesis Group. Steve: Affirmation is a para-church organization. It provides a church-oriented fellowship for LGBTQ people who are not often welcomed in the standard ward and most
The LDS Church recently made changes to their temple endowment ceremony. Rumor has it that the Cutlerite endowment has changed very little since the death of Joseph Smith. We’ll continue our discussion about Cutlerite temple practices with Steve Shields. It appears they believe women hold priesthood in their temple ordinances! Steve: So, that building is, in all intents and purposes,
In this episode, Steve Shields and I discuss some of the larger and smaller Mormon groups: fundamentalists and Cutlerites. Many of these fundamentalists practice polygamy. Steve: The FLDS has 8,000 to 10,000. The Apostolic United Brethren and has 8,000 to 10,000, somewhere in that range. Those are the two largest organized groups, organized structural institutions. I’ve heard numbers of 50
Steve Shields was raised in the LDS Church and attended BYU. So why is he now a member of the Community of Christ? Steve: I was really interested in church history and I started reading these books and pamphlets that were not approved by the general authorities and my mother warned me that if I kept reading that kind of
[paypal-donation] In 1992, Dr. Michael Quinn published an essay stating that women have priesthood, and have held the priesthood since 1843. It was one of the reasons church leaders cited in excommunicating him. This will be an interesting contrast to our conversation with Dr. Jonathan Stapley, who did not endorse the idea that women held priesthood. Both Stapley agree that women
We’re continuing our discussion of Black History Month with Russell Stevenson. He’s the biographer of Elijah Ables, and we’ll talk about the end of Elijah’s life. Did Elijah Ables affiliate with any other groups like James Strang, William Smith, or Sidney Rigdon? Russell: Going with that, we can maybe conclude that Elijah was certainly diplomatic and kind and charitable. If
[paypal-donation] One of Mormonism’s most well-known revelations is the Word of Wisdom. Apostle Lachlan MacKay of the Community of Christ discusses the historical context of the Word of Wisdom. It turns out that 19th century saints had no problem serving wine at weddings, and beer wasn’t forbidden. While many of us have heard of Prohibition, Temperance, and strong drinks, did
[paypal-donation] Yesterday was President Monson’s funeral. When an LDS President dies, the First Presidency is dissolved. Have you ever wondered why that is the case? Historian John Hamer and apostle Lachlan MacKay of the Community of Christ will talk about why that happens in the LDS Church. It’s a really interesting conversation as we discussion several succession claims. John: One
[paypal-donation] I’m excited to start 2018 two amazing guests: a Seventy and an Apostle of the Community of Christ: John Hamer and Lachlan MacKay. I’ll let them introduce themselves. Lachlan: Sure, [I’m] Lachlan MacKay, a member of the Council of Twelve in the Community of Christ. I oversee the northeast field in the U.S. which is Michigan and basically Kirtland
