Writing the Book of Mormon required neither a conspiracy nor supernatural intervention Mormon apologists argue that the composition of the Book of Mormon requires supernatural intervention to explain. Many of the book’s detractors believe that Joseph Smith must have been part of a conspiracy involving additional authors. However, the scholarly consensus is that neither of these extraordinary explanations are necessary.

The modern Jewish nationalist ideology of “Zionism” traces its origins to a movement founded by Theodor Herl in 1897. The movement evolved considerably during the 20th century in the wake of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel in Palestine in 1948. As conflicts between Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors have evolved, so too have ideas about nationalism, imperialism/colonialism, rights to self-determination, and international law. The idea of Zionism is further complicated by Christians, some of whom support a “gathering of Israel” as a precursor for Armageddon and bringing about a literal end to the world. Before embarking on a trip to the West Bank of Palestine this November as a representative of Churches for Middle East Peace, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of “Christian Zionism” and its precursors.

Among the first commandments God gives in the Bible is “Be fruitful and multiply,” but for some reason Christianity has narrowed the definition of sin to focus almost exclusively on “sex.” Christianity’s largest denomination, the Roman Catholic Church continues to insist that clergy live entirely celibate — a lifestyle that looks increasingly like a bizarre fetish in the 21st Century. Schisms of the church have occurred over the idea of divorce. A preponderance of Christian sects have led the charge against recognizing the human rights of the LGBTQ+ communities. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at why Christians seem to be sex-obsessed and offer ideas for overcoming Christian error and bigotry.

A history of the ongoing transformation of the Latter Day Saint movement's second largest denomination. Reformers within the Latter Day Saint movement opposed to excesses like polygamy, regrouped under the leadership of Joseph Smith III after the murder of his father and laid the foundations for today's progressive Christian denomination.

At the earliest stages of Christianity, the community was remarkable in the ancient world for the prominence of women in the movement, including in positions of leadership. New Testament texts have women acting as apostles and prophets — the two most important roles in the movement’s first generations. Extrabiblical sources confirmed that women served in the important position of “deacon” in the first and second centuries. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the evidence for women in leadership in early Christianity and how these roles were phased out as leadership passed to a hierarchy of bishops drawn from an all-male priesthood.

The Worldwide Church of God preached that Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and the Book of Mormon claims that the First Nations peoples of North America are descended from those same lost tribes. The Dowieites of Zion City, Illinois, taught that the world is flat. What happens when religions have falsifiable truth claims and discover they are false?

Joseph Smith III, termed a "pragmatic prophet" by biographer Roger D. Launius, led the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 64 years, promoting "moderate Mormonism." While adopting a balanced approach on most issues, his unwavering stance denying his father's initiation of polygamy deviated from this pragmatism. Despite ample evidence from various sources, Joseph III chose to protect his father's reputation over addressing the concerns of the Latter Day Saint community. This lecture explores Joseph III's tenure, his missions to Utah, and the ongoing ramifications of his stance on polygamy for Community of Christ.

There is a consensus among historians that Joseph Smith Jr, the founder of the Latter-Day Saint movement was a practitioner of polygamy. Joseph Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, the prophet of the Reorganization, held out hope that his father may have been innocent — a hope that was incorrectly taken as fact by his own sons, the subsequent prophets of the RLDS Church. While these leaders testified in good faith, the evidence shows that they were incorrect. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will lay out the evidence to show why historians universally agree that Joseph Smith Jr was a polygamist.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (commonly called “Mormonism”), began his career as a teenage treasure seer. By peering with his spiritual eyes into a seer stone, Joseph led digging companies on quests to unearth buried treasure. The gifts he claimed evolved as he announced that a spirit had shown him where a book engraved on gold plates was buried. Using the same process of looking into the seer stones, Joseph dictated the words of what became known as the Book of Mormon. He also used the stones to channel what he claimed was direct revelation from God as he transitioned into the role of religious seer and prophet. In this new lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will cut through the mythic portrayal of Joseph Smith to try to understand him in his historical context. Given that literary criticism has shown the Book of Mormon is a 19th Century document and is not the ancient history Smith claimed, must it necessarily follow that both were conscious frauds? How is the text still understood as scripture in Community of Christ, the second largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement?

Just a view months before his death, Joseph Smith announced: “God Himself who sits enthroned in yonder heavens is a Man like unto one of yourselves — that is the great secret!” Fifteen years earlier, when dictating the Book of Mormon, Smith had espoused a trinitarian view of God. Likewise Smith’s earliest account of his “First Vision” of Christ fit into a kind of “Born Again” experience common to contemporary Christian revivals. The later version of the story that describes “two distinct personages,” reflects Smith’s later theological speculation, which seems to reject Western monotheism itself. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Smith’s Nauvoo-era redefinition of God and its theological implications.

We'll look at the peculiar history of the Latter Day Saint movement from its foundation through 1860. We'll look at the early history of this quintessentially American religion, founded in 1830 evolved rapidly as church members attempted to build a New Jerusalem, only to be driven from multiple settlements by irate neighbors.

Given that it's not an actual history of the ancient Americas, what can the Book of Mormon teach today? While the Book of Mormon contains no information about the actual history of the ancient Americas, the text speaks volumes about its actual context: the aspirations and worries of Christian Americans at the beginning of the United States’ experiment with constitutional democracy. We’ll look at what the text said to its first readers along with its potential meaning for readers in the 21st century.

Although James Strang is perhaps the Mormon who is most famous for crowning himself king, he did so in emulation of Joseph Smith Jr, who restored "the kingdom of God on earth" in his final year and was anointed its king in a secret ceremony of the Council of Fifty. John Hamer will look at the evolution of the prophetic monarchy as it has continued in the two largest sects of the Restoration: the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Missouri-based Community of Christ and consider the future of both institutions.

Mapping the differences and history of the major expressions of the Latter Day Saint movement. There are over 80 expressions of the Latter Day Saint movement large enough to have at least one viable congregation. All of these trace their origin to Joseph Smith Jr’s original “Church of Christ” organized in 1830. Through original maps, we’ll chart the history and differences between the major branches.

Ron Lafferty was a self-proclaimed prophet and murderer whose story is included in the new TV series “Under the Banner of Heaven.” How does the fundamentalist Mormon church connected to the Lafferty brothers relate to the large Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline and map the history of schism within the Latter-Day Saint Movement, illustrating how the different sects within Mormonism derive from their common point of origin in 1830.

While the Book of Mormon narrative today seems outlandish, the story was very familiar to Americans in 1830 The central plot of the Book of Mormon –the idea that Native Americans are descendants of ancient Jews who came to the Western Hemisphere– seems bizarre in the 21st century. However, the idea was commonplace when the book was published in 1830. We’ll look at the Book of Mormon’s 19th century context in order to make sense of this book of Latter Day

What can we know about the historical Jesus of Nazareth? How and why does the life of the historic figure differ from competing (and contradictory) accounts in the New Testament? What can other sources tell us, including non-Christian accounts as well as gospels left out of the canon? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline an overview of what can and cannot be known about the historical Jesus and will talk about the difference between the portrait painted by academic history, the portraits painted by scripture, and the experience of the divine Christ as understood by Christians.

Stephen M. Veazey, the 8th prophet and president of Community of Christ, announced a date for his retirement and subsequently has been placed on an extended medical leave of absence. The church has been engaged in a worldwide discernment process to determine who will be called as his successor. For the John Whitmer Historical Association’s “Wallace B. Smith Lecture,” in April of 2023, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place traced the historical background of the “prophetic monarchy” in the Latter Day Saint movement, considered the present state of affairs, and called for future reforms. Hamer looks at the 1844 succession crisis following the death of church founder, Joseph Smith Jr., through the lens of monarchy, arguing that Brigham Young and Joseph Smith III can best be understood as a “usurper” and a “pretender,” respectively, to the prophetic throne. In this November lecture, Hamer will update his analysis in light of changes to the succession process announced due to President Veazey’s medical leave and also after the death of Prophet Emeritus Wallace B. Smith. The lecture will be livestreamed free to the public with donations for the John Whitmer Historical Association welcome.