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Introduction, Credentials, and Intent

Introduction My name is Brandon Cole. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was born in Utah, grew up (among many other places) mainly in Indiana and Tennessee, and am currently back in Utah. I grew up in an active Latter-day Saint household and am grateful for the upbringing that was provided me. I attended Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) from 2012 to 2015; after a hiatus, I have returned to Utah Tech and am currently a part-time student. My current major is Spanish Language and Literature. Credentials - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I am not an authority on Church doctrine. For that reason, I will refer to the Church's scriptural canon when referring to official doctrine and to any of the Church's handbooks or News Room when referring to any official policies. I may also use unofficial works such as Encyclopedia of Mormonism  or historical journals to explain cultural issues, historical events, etc. That st
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My Response to Mormon Stories

I was directed this morning to a post by Mormon Stories  entitled "Temple Ceremony/Masonry." Despite the controversy surrounding John Dehlin, I feel that if this misinformative article from his organization is being used, then a response certainly needs to be made to correct its false claims. LDS temples play an integral part in the Mormon experience, hosting the religion’s most sacred rituals and ordinances. So far, not so bad (aside from the improper terms being used to describe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Only members who have participated in a multi-tier personal interview process with patriarchal leaders are granted permission to enter. This is most members of the Church. The interview process consists of two interviews: with one's bishopric or branch presidency; the other with one's stake presidency or district presidency. The interview consists of a small series of questions to determine whether the Church member believes in Jesus Christ
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My Response to YouTuber Rfreeman

Today a link was shared with me that goes to a video entitled " Mormons and Freemasonry, a Satanic Cult ." For some reason, I was expecting something new; not only were these expectations not reached, but I found that over half of the video is dedicated to other subjects completely irrelevant to the Church's relationship with Freemasonry. The video wastes the viewer's time by starting off talking about how Joseph found his seer stone (a topic that is completely irrelevant to the subject of Freemasonry). The video later makes the following claim: "On March 15, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons, which is an organization that believes that Jesus is not divine, and is on the same level as Buddha, Mohammed, or any other religious teacher." This is a false claim. Freemasonry does not advocate any such belief, given that it is neither a religion nor a substitute for one . Since Freemasonry is not a religion, it does not take any stance concerning Christ being on a hig
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My Response to Redditor u/Accurate1nvestigator (Formerly u/RibeyeSteakPresident and u/USAF_Veteran)

Over the past few years, a user on Reddit's ExMormon community has been posting, deleting, and reposting the same thing over and over again. So I decided to take to my blog so that I can just repost a link containing my response any time I come across the same claims that pretend to be uncontested. "Did you know that prior to April of 1990 members used to pantomime in the Temple slitting their own throats and disemboweling themselves? "… "Did you know that members used to say[,] 'I suffer my life to be taken' if they broke the Covenant and obligation of Secrecy they were taking?" This was referred to as the symbolic penalty and is a part of the Masonic teaching method . Just as in Masonry, it was only ever symbolic (in this case, of the importance/value of our covenants with God) and was never carried out by Church authority. By this portion of the ceremony, the value of sacred things was instilled into the culture of the Church. "Did you know that
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My Response to Mormon Odyssey

As a Latter-day Saint, I have been directed more than once by enemies and critics of the Church to " Chapter XVIX: Masonry and the Mormon Temple Ceremony ." As a Freemason, I find this webpage appalling for three reasons: William Morgan is referenced as if he were a credible source; this despite the facts that: He was never a Captain in the American military , yet still he used the title (stolen valor) He lied his way into a Royal Arch chapter by pretending to be a Freemason (which he later admitted was not the case) . It makes various claims about Freemasonry that simply are not true, such as: There is no such thing as a washing ceremony in Freemasonry. There is no representative impersonation of Adam in Freemasonry. Note that the website provides a source for this claim: the Knight of the Sun  degree. This is a degree of the Scottish Rite, which is a body appendant/concordant to Masonry. This organization was not yet available in Illinois in Joseph Smith, Jr’s day nor befor
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Interview on Saints Unscripted

On March 1 this year I had the opportunity to be interviewed by David Snell for the YouTube channel Saints Unscripted . It was just published earlier this week and can be found here . I had a lot of fun interacting with David and also with Jake Watson, the videographer for the channel.
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My Response to Saints Alive in Jesus

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It's been a while since I last posted on this blog. I have lately been writing content for MasonicFind. Today my attention was called to an article titled "Freemasonry: 5 Minutes with a Mason" written on a website named Saints Alive in Jesus . It presents various false or inapplicable arguments based on false premises. I will pick it apart piece-by-piece. I was talking to Mason a while back. Right off the bat, we know that we are about to hear a subjective opinion as opposed to any authoritative material from a legitimate grand lodge (i.e., constitutions, legislation, by-laws, ritual, even a grand lodge website, etc.). Looks promising. He was in The Blue Lodge, which is the lower level, encompassing the first three levels of Masonry, so he’s really been in the lower level of “Masonic Knowledge.” There is false premise #1. For those who care for accuracy, Freemasonry in and of itself only has three degrees:[*] Entered Apprentice Fellowcraft Master Mason There are, of cour
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If I Could Change One Thing About the Church's Temple Endowment Ceremony

Before delving into this thought, I would like to make a clarifying distinction between the temple endowment  and the temple endowment ceremony . The Church's temple endowment is conferred upon us via a series of covenants which we make with God therein; it also uses doctrine to illustrate the spiritual parent-child relationship that each of us has with God as our Heavenly Father. The ceremony  is the vehicle whereby these covenants are made and the information/doctrine is delivered to us. The temple endowment itself is the same today as it was when Jesus Christ restored[*] it to us via Joseph Smith, Jr. The ceremony, however, has undergone various changes; in other words, we receive the same endowment in a different way today than the early Saints of this dispensation did. I love the Church's temple endowment and see no reason for it to change. With that clarification made, if I could change one thing about the its ceremony, then it would be to bring back the live theatrical
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