Sunday, December 2, 2007

The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent

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Jeffrey R. Holland addresses the question of whether Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are Christians, explaining why Latter-day Saints believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate individuals rather than a single incomprehensible being. (14 minutes)

Full text and/or audio available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, and other languages (click on the desired language, then October 2007, then scroll down to Jeffrey R. Holland's talk from the Saturday Afternoon Session).

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits

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M. Russell Ballard shares several facts that may be of interest to those desiring to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also shares some basic doctrinal beliefs, explains the Church's emphasis on the family, and describes some of the fruits that result from Mormons faithfully practicing their religion. (16 minutes)

Full text and/or audio available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, and other languages (click on the desired language, then October 2007, then scroll down to M. Russell Ballard's talk from the Saturday Afternoon Session).

Elder M. Russell Ballard is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Receiving a Testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ

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Robert D. Hales describes the simple process of gaining a testimony. We can learn the basic steps from the example of Joseph Smith's preparation for the First Vision and other heavenly ministrations. Each major event of the Restoration has been preceded by prayer. One may begin this process by following the admonition of Moroni at the end of his book (see Moroni 10:3-5). (18 minutes)

Full text and/or audio available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, and other languages (click on the desired language, then October 2003, then scroll down to Robert D. Hales's talk from the Saturday Afternoon Session).

Elder Robert D. Hales is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The above description of this talk is based on the description at byuradio.org.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon

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Dr. John W. Welch, instructor of Law at Brigham Young University, discusses chiasmus in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Chiasmus is a literary element common in ancient Biblical scripture that also appears throughout the Book of Mormon. It was only beginning to be rediscovered in Joseph Smith's day, in parts of the world far from where Joseph Smith lived and translated the Book of Mormon, and only mentioned briefly within massive reference volumes[1]. Therefore, it is quite improbable that Joseph Smith knew about chiasmus at the time the Book of Mormon was translated, which serves as evidence of the Book of Mormon being an ancient record as opposed to a modern fabrication. (55 minutes)

Following are links to some Book of Mormon scriptures referenced in this talk, for your convenience:
Video of this lecture is available in English in QuickTime and Windows Media formats.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

A Scholar Looks at Evidences for the Book of Mormon

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Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University, discusses several scholarly findings and strong evidences supporting the authenticity of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. (53 minutes)

Transcripts available online in English, Español, Français, Italiano, and Português. Video is also available in English.

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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In 2000, the living prophet and apostles issued this declaration about Jesus Christ, testifying to the world "of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice." It includes a portion of the Prophet Joseph Smith's testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. (6 minutes)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, and Português. Alternatively, you can download the PDF in English or Español.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

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In 1995, the living prophet and apostles issued this statement declaring to the world the importance of marriage, children, and the family. This published declaration is known as "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." (5 minutes)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, 日本語 (Japanese), and Português. Alternatively, you can download the PDF in English or Español.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Book of Mormon, Testimony of Eight Witnesses

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The Lord chose eight additional men to be shown the golden plates from which The Book of Mormon was translated. Although three of the eight men eventually left the Church, none of them ever denied having seen and held the ancient record in their hands[1]. The Testimony of Eight Witnesses, printed after The Testimony of Three Witnesses in the front of each copy of The Book of Mormon, contains their written statement of their experience in being shown the gold plates. Said they, "we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it." (1 minute)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, and Italiano.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Book of Mormon, Testimony of Three Witnesses

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The Lord chose three respected men to be shown by an angel the golden plates from which The Book of Mormon was translated. Although all three men eventually left the Church, none of them ever denied seeing the angel or that The Book of Mormon was true[1]. The Testimony of Three Witnesses, printed in the front of each copy of the book, contains their written statement of their experience in being shown the gold plates. They said that "the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things." (2 minutes)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, and Italiano.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Book of Mormon, Introduction

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The introduction page of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ briefly explains what the book is, who wrote it, how it came to be translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith, that eleven witnesses saw and testified of the golden plates from which it was translated, and how you can find out for yourself that the book is true. (4 minutes)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, and Italiano.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

The Message of the Restoration

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L. Tom Perry declares the message of the restoration, beginning with Joseph Smith's first vision, and on through the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, and the formal reestablishment of the Church of Jesus Christ in modern times. (16 minutes)

Full text and/or audio available online in English, American Sign Language (video), Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, and 38 other languages (click on the desired language, then April 2007, then scroll down to L. Tom Perry's talk from the Sunday Afternoon Session).

Elder L. Tom Perry is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith—History

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Joseph Smith, Jr. tells of the religious excitement in Palmyra, New York in 1820, which led him to ask God which church to join. Joseph explains his call to be a prophet, the resulting persecution, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood. (45 minutes)

Full text available online in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, and Italiano.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Introduction to Mormonism, Episode 1

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In this first episode of the Introduction to Mormonism podcast, topics including basic Latter-day Saint beliefs about God our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are discussed. Other basic tenets of the Church, including faith, repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands by one with authority for the reception of the Holy Ghost, are also discussed. The concept of apostasy—periods in history when people fall away from or reject the gospel—is briefly explained. (11 minutes)

Future episodes of this podcast will no longer follow the self-recorded format of this episode. Instead, they will consist of LDS scriptures, talks, and lectures from the Church's official Web site, lds.org, and occasional lectures archived on Brigham Young University's Web site, byu.edu.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Welcome to the Introduction to Mormonism Podcast!

The "Introduction to Mormonism" podcast is designed for anyone who is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and would like to learn more about the basic teachings of the Church. It's also a great resource for members of the Church who are interesting in studying fundamental Church teachings from the best sources. Please share this podcast with your friends!

You can subscribe to the "Introduction to Mormonism" podcast through this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/mormonism