What was formerly www.scott-thormaehlen.com, a website for author Scott Thormaehlen’s book Day of Defense: Positive Talking Points for the Latter Days, is now LatterDayTimes. The vision and goals follow below. 

Vision:

The aim of LatterDayTimes.com is to discover and report on information about misconceptions surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also know as, the Mormons) in order to remove stumbling blocks for those seeking the truths that reside in the Restored Gospel and offer talking points that will facilitate interfaith discussion and build bridges between faith communities. In a world where a growing number of media options vie for your attention through the various apps on your phone, let alone your laptop, home computer, and traditional televisions, it is the intent of LatterDayTimes to provide succinct content relevant for all age groups, concerning the Restoration.

How can saints more effectively create a lasting peace in our homes, nations, and in the world? 

As inheritors of the Enlightenment, the U.S. Constitution, and human liberty enjoyed as never before in human history, we also inherited a religious patchwork of various traditions that keep the body of Christ divided, though united in a tolerance protected by the law.

While constitutional law and the liberty allow men to have the freedom of conscience and the ability to pursue the desires of their hearts and within their means, that should not be where we end in our progress. The guarantees of the freedom to practice religion as we please should make us pause a moment and consider, briefly, what we have inherited.

Across the spectrum believers have maintained their Catholic roots, their Protestant roots (Lutheran, Anglican, Calvinist, Methodist), Evangelical roots, or traditions that grew out of the Second Great Awakening (Mormons or Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventists, Unitarian and Universalists, Pentecostals, Disciples of Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.) as well as those who adhere to Judaism and Islam. Meanwhile, irreligion continues to expand as inquiring minds find little interest in participating in “religion” and perhaps turn to science for all their answers.

What is truth? Is there one God, or one true religion? Some argue that such a proposition is toxic, blinding, and bigoted. For Christians, it should be clear that the New Testament is settled on this issue and the continual rise and influence of irreligion is alarming. The problem is, Christians in their traditions, communities, and treatment towards one another are anything but united. What keeps the peace is our Constitution. Otherwise, sectarian strife would be the norm. While it is noble to maintain the peace experienced under the Constitution, Christians must not let the chance for a dialogue to slip away that can bridge our differences and heal Christian division, and instead, each group remaining insular and distinct. 

Again, the New Testament is settled on this issue and God is waiting for the Christian communities to begin the healing process. A united Christianity, statewide, nationwide, and finally worldwide with respect towards other faiths, nations, and peoples must be the goal. It is said that Christ will come again when Zion is ready to receive Him, when his Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. Zion is far from ready. The dialogue must move us to shed our differences and discover the New Testament pattern. We are commanded to do so and as with all the commandments, it will be beneficial for us to work towards this as communities, nations, and the world.  

[Disclaimer: This website is not endorsed or officially associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.]

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Contributors:

Author, Scott Thormaehlen

Scott Thormaehlen served for four years in the United States Air Force as a weather forecaster from 2000 to 2004. He graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelors of Arts in History in 2010 and from Sam Houston State University with a Master’s of Arts in History in 2016. These academic and professional experiences cultivated an already analytical and curious mind. Stationed in the Bible Belt, at Shaw AFB, SC and born in South Texas, Scott has lived in areas where Bible-only belief is the prevailing religious perspective. Having lived in the “Mission Field” for over 30 years, Scott gained a cultural perspective of his religious counterparts in school, among friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Sharing a belief in the Bible and being raised in the knowledge of the Restoration, Scott came to realize the peculiarity of his station in life and the conflict between Mormonism and mainstream Christians.

His interest in history, particularly Early Christian history and the differences between Mormons and mainstream Christians motivated his decision to write and publish ‘Day of Defense‘; particularly that many viewed his faith as a cult and did not fully understand and often misrepresented the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Scott received his Master’s in History in 2016. From 2016 – 2018, Scott taught U.S. History at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas, and taught the same coursework at Alvin Community College from 2017-2019.

His writings have appeared in Accuracy in Academia, the Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies at Sam Houston State University, LDS Living, Meridian Magazine, and East Texas History – a project by Sam Houston State University.