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What is the Book of Joseph?

The Book of Joseph is one of Joseph Smith’s least-known translation projects. In 1835, soon after Egyptian papyri arrived in Kirtland, his associates began saying that part of the collection contained writings of Joseph of Egypt.[2][3] The record was described, shown to visitors, and expected to be translated and published, but no existing Book of Joseph is known to survive.[8] “Book of Joseph” is a useful modern label, but the nineteenth-century sources used several names.[8] They referred to the “writings of Joseph,” the “record of Joseph,” a “History of Joseph in Egypt,” and, in Oliver Cowdery’s words, “Joseph’s record.”[2][6] The claim appears in Kirtland sources from 1835 and in later accounts by people who saw the papyri.[5][8] Cowdery also tied “Joseph’s record” to particular Egyptian images that can still be examined today.[6][11] 1835: A second biblical record appears in Kirtland Michael Chandler brought four Egyptian mummies and papyri to Kirtland, Ohio, in late June or earl...
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What "Mormonism Explained" Had to say about Torn

Mormonism Explained recently published a response to Jeff Strong’s 2026 book Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn From Them.  (affiliate link) The response argues that Strong’s description of Latter-day Saint “spiritual starvation” should show up in measurable outcomes if it is true. It points to ten studies involving religious attendance, happiness, parental love, longevity, education, and meaning in life, then concludes that the data show the opposite of Strong’s diagnosis. [1] Many of the underlying findings are real. Pew does find unusually high attendance among people who currently identify as Latter-day Saints. A University of Chicago study using smartphone location data finds unusually frequent attendance among people observed visiting Latter-day Saint meetinghouses. A long-running California study found very low mortality among highly active Latter-day Saints. [2] [5] [6] But those findings do not answer the same question as religious disaf...
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Darth Vader Could Be Your Bishop: The Problem With Corbridge’s “You Will Stay” Argument

A short clip from Scripture Central’s current Stand Forever series has turned an old Lawrence E. Corbridge argument into a new controversy. In the clip, Corbridge says, “Darth Vader could be your bishop. The culture could be like Alcatraz,” and argues that a believer who sees the LDS Church as God’s kingdom will still stay.[1][4] The line is dramatic, but it isn’t the real issue. Corbridge’s argument is that bad leaders, painful culture, and even serious institutional failures do not decide whether someone should remain Mormon. The decisive question is whether the Church is true.[1] Corbridge’s framework works only if the Church’s truth is already treated as settled. Once that premise is granted, nearly any counterevidence can be classified as secondary, cultural, institutional, or simply something to endure. That makes the framework much better at preserving belief than evaluating whether the belief is warranted. The new video extends an older argument Corbridge’s new series takes it...
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A Bit of Original Evidence

In May 1900, Theodore A. Schroeder published an article titled A Bit of Original Evidence  in issue no. 9 of Lucifer’s Lantern . [1] The piece reproduces part of an 1887 letter apparently written by Mississippi attorney E. E. Baldwin to W. O. Norrell of Salt Lake City. [1] [2] Baldwin attributed the story to his uncle by marriage, James G. Horton, who allegedly said that Joseph Smith and several companions staged the discovery of the Book of Mormon plates as a practical joke and used a Bible-shaped box packed with sand. [1] Other accounts conflict with the claim that the box contained only sand. William Smith stated that members of the Smith family felt the plates through the cloth covering them and could distinguish their individual leaves. Martin Harris reported that Alvah Beman heard a metallic sound when the plates were placed inside the box. Those who said they lifted the covered object also estimated that it weighed between forty and sixty pounds, which would be difficult ...
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Don't Be a Sea Lion

Religious arguments online tend to follow a familiar pattern. Someone makes a claim. Another person asks a question. An answer is given, but the questioner does not really engage with it. They ask for another source, then another explanation, then proof of some smaller point buried inside the original answer. Every response produces three new questions. When the other person finally becomes irritated or leaves, the questioner declares victory. “I was only asking questions.” “Why are you afraid of a civil discussion?” “If your position were true, you should be able to defend it.” This behavior is often called sea lioning. It looks like curiosity, but functions as harassment. It uses the language of calm discussion without accepting the responsibilities of an honest one. Religious believers do it. Critics of religion do it. Apologists, atheists, pastors, ex-believers, missionaries, and anonymous accounts do it...  No position has a monopoly on good faith. The name itself comes from D...
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Caring for the Poor Has Been Low on the Mormon Priority List

We can't deny that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides millions of dollars each year in humanitarian aide, and that many members serve generously. But this aide is pennies compared to what the church spends on temples, their stock portfolio and real estate collections. Which begs the question, where does humanitarian work rank in the Church’s own mission? For decades, Church leaders defined that mission around preaching, ordinances, and salvation. By the Church’s own messaging, caring for the poor has historically been one of the Church's lowest institutional priorities. 1936 to 1981: Welfare was meant to build character During the Great Depression, the First Presidency tied welfare to work, independence, thrift, and self-respect. The goal was to help people provide for themselves. In 1936, J. Reuben Clark said that the welfare system had one primary goal: building character , an idea in which he repeated again in 1981. The real long-term objective of th...
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