The Latter-day Liberator

15/08/2026

Did you know that in 1830, with a formal education of less than three years, Joseph Smith could write in and translate ancient Sumerian?

Even though it had been a dead language for over 3,600 years and wouldn't be deciphered by academics and scholars for almost another 30 years?

"Impossible!" you say say? Well. I actually agree. Joseph Smith could neither read nor write in ancient Sumerian.

Yet, there it is in the Book of Mormon.

Not once, not twice, not even dozens of times. But hundreds!

There are hundreds of instances of ancient Sumerian being correctly translated, transliterated, and used within the pages of the Book of Mormon.

How is that possible?

It isn't possible. It is impossible for Joseph Smith to have known and correctly used ancient Sumerian in hundreds of instances.

Once? Twice? Maybe, purely by accident. But hundreds? Never.

But the Book of Mormon wasn't written by Joseph Smith. It was translated by him, but not written by him.

The ancient Sumerian present in the Book of Mormon is there because one of the peoples whose history is preserved in the Book of Mormon originated in ancient Sumeria.

They brought their language with them when they came to what we call the Americas. And that language was preserved in their names and writings, which were found and used by the people of the Book of Mormon.

This article is about one example as an entry way into the subject, but it links to a book with hundreds of examples.

The presence and correct usage of so ancient a language impossible for Joseph Smith to have known is proof that he did not write the Book of Mormon, that no one in his time wrote the Book of Mormon.

It is an ancient text, written by ancient peoples using ancient languages.

It was translated through the miraculous power of God acting through Joseph Smith as God's prophet and translator.

It was and is a gift of God to us today.

This article explores evidence for ancient Sumerian in the Book of Mormon, especially as it pertains to the origins of and terms for the Nephite Interpreters. Joseph Smith's accurate transliteration and translation of a language dead for over 4,000 years and undeciphered during his lifetime is proof...

26/07/2026

Utah's Days of '47 Pioneer Day Parade is the third or fourth largest annual parade held in the United States. It is one of the largest, oldest, and most attended parades in North America.

Hundreds of thousands to potentially millions of people attend it every year. Certainly, thousands of hours of design, labor, and dedication go into making the parade a success.

And it is accompanied by smaller parades around the nation as Latter-day Saints celebrate Pioneer Day in their localities. Clearly, for us, it is a big deal to the Saints. But, why?

What does it mean?

What is its purpose?

What is it supposed to say about the history of Utah generally and Latter-day Saint history specifically?

Well, that is an interesting question, because the answer changes dramatically from when the parade was originally held and the completely different reason it is held today.

In this article, I look at how Pioneer Day has changed since it was first held in 1849. And those changes largely track with how the identity of Latter-day Saints and our relationship to the larger United States (and its government) has changed over that same time period.

It also helps us understand why Pioneer Day still matters, even to those like me who are converts and have no Utah Pioneer ancestors.

The LDS pioneers, often mischaracterized as westward expansionists, were actually refugees fleeing persecution. Facing extreme hardship in Winter Quarters, they endured starvation, disease, and squalid living conditions. Despite these trials, their faith and dedication grew stronger, ultimately esta...

04/07/2026

July 4th, 1852 the great Black abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass have a landmark address condemning a nation that enslaved some 3,953,760 men, women, and children while proclaiming is dedication to liberty.

Today we like to think we are far better.

But are we?

It took over two hundred years (from 1619 to 1865) to violate the liberty of 3.5 million slaves.

It took the present day American government less than 20 years (2001 to 2018) to slaughter more than 6 million Middle Eastern and African men, women, and children.

From Afghanistan and Iraq to Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and Iran the US government had intentionally targeted weddings, soccer games, and schools full of children for destruction while starving their nations to death.

As in 1852, the bombast of the Fourth of July – the music, the parades, the fireworks, etc. – is a thin veneer for crimes so barbaric and atrocious that they would disgrace a nation of savages.

Yet, despite drowning in the blood and horror they have spread across the Earth, Americans, and all those whose governments have taken part in these American led wars, still proclaim their pride in their nation and pledge their loyalty and obedience to the warmongering mass murderers that run it.

At this point you may be asking yourself a question.

However did we get to this point?

The answer to this question is simple and profound.

It is because we have refused to follow the Prophets of God.

I find nothing to celebrate on the Fourth of July. It, like all nationalist holidays, is nothing more than the largest, loudest, and obnoxious propaganda program that has ever existed. Through all the parades, fireworks, and barbeques, people rarely ask what exactly are they so effulgently praising....

28/06/2026

We have spent the last month being told about the dangers that LGBTQ+ teens face with self-harm and su***de.

The dangers are real, but the solutions to those dangers is not so immediately obvious.

This article looks at the claims made about the origins of the dangers that LGBTQ+ teens face and what we can do not only to decrease those dangers but to increase the mental and spiritual health of these teens so that they can live joyful and meaningful lives.

Surprising to many will be the role of conservative religious communities that teach homosexuality and transgenderism are sinful.

In contrast to LGBTQ+ messaging, the positive of membership in conservative religious communities and belief in their anti-LGBTQ+ teachings actually has a significant positive impact on the mental health of LGBTQ+ teens.

Likewise surprising, "q***r culture," meaning the beliefs and lifestyle behaviors people who identify as homosexual or transgender are encouraged to believe and live, have significantly detrimental effects on the lives of LGBTQ+ teens.

In short, q***r culture is far more dangerous to LGBTQ+ children than conservative religious communities.

Q***r is harming and killing "q***r" kids.

For LGBTQ+ teens, just like everyone else, the greatest help for their peace and joy is found in knowing and loving the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This article is all about the most important and powerful thing that we can do to save the lives of LGBTQ+ teens. The causes of their suffering and the solution to it will shock most of you.

31/03/2026

Bishop Richard C. Edgley, formerly of the Presiding Bishopric, had passed away. He was a seminal figure in my young life. As a teen convert without a father in the home, I had a lot of voices telling me to, "Be a man!" and few voices telling me what positive, noble manhood was like.

I knew what I didn't want to be, I had experienced firsthand the results of the kind of manhood that drank alcohol, but still had little idea of what it meant to be a good man.

Then, early into my mission, I discovered this talk by Bishop Edgley. "Behold The Man," taught me the wonderful truth that manhood is not measured in dollars or strong muscles or sexual conquests. Manhood is founded in Jesus Christ. He was and is the epitome of Man, the peak of masculinity and the exemplar of manhood.

To be a man is to be like Jesus Christ. The more that I can recognize and adopt His characteristics into my life, the better man that I will become. I'll be a better husband, a better father, a better spiritual leader, a better patriarch in my home, a better friend, and a blessing to my community.

Thank you Bishop Edgley. Thank you for helping me to recognize the world's miserable counterfeit for masculinity and helping me to see what it means to be a real man. Almost 30 years after you gave it, your counsel is still guiding and blessing my life.

Now the Lord has a greater work for you to do on the other side than He did in this one. God bless you and your family.

A true man is strong enough to withstand the wiles of Satan and humble enough to submit himself to the redemptive powers of the Savior.

21/03/2026

I've been asked why I haven't posted anything about the Latter-day Saint response to the US government's war on Iran. The answer is that while there is a great deal to say about what the war reveals about how the lies at the heart of democracy (something I will write about soon), there is only one response from Latter-day Saints in line with the revelations and commandments of Jesus Christ.

Every faithful Latter-day Saint must oppose to war.

It doesn't matter whether you think Iran was trying to develop a nuclear weapon or not.

It doesn't matter if you think the Islamic Republic of Iran is an oppressive authoritarian regime.

It doesn't matter if you think the government of Iran is made up of crazy religious zealots who hate America.

It doesn't matter what you think about the nation-state calling itself Israel.

These are all the lying voices of the world and the faithful Latter-day Saint doesn't pay attention to them.

What matters to the faithful Latter-day Saint is what the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us through modern revelation. And His commandments through the Prophet Joseph Smith are explicit:

"For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.

Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children." (D&C 98: 14-16)

The Lord Jesus Christ has warned His Saints that any of them who kills another person will never be forgiven for that evil, not in this world nor in the world to come, and commanded us to reject war completely.

Those promoting war are serving Satan, the Father of Contention and Enemy of God. Those justifying the war on Iran in any degree are serving the Devil, not Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

The voice of the Lord to the Saints today is loud and sharply clear: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. (D&C 59:6) Notice the Lord does not say "murder,""shed innocent blood," nor give any other exemption. N...

21/02/2026

There is a cult that is waging war on science.

There is no lie the cult will not tell.

There is no fact the cult will not twist.

There is no group of people the cult will not hurt.

The cult will mutilate men, women. and children.

The cult will castrate men, women, and children.

The cult drive the insane, magnifying their delusions until they become detached from reality.

The cult magnify your self-loathing to the point of self-destruction, self-harm, and su***de as long as it benefits their agenda.

Those who tell the truth, the cult will do all it can to destroy.

This is about the Cult of the LGBTQ+ Movement and its war of truth, fact, science, reality, and humanity.

The proponents of the so-called Q***r Movement argue that they are just taking a stand for what scientific evidence proves, repeatedly arguing that they are the rational group whose beliefs are based on hard evidence and those opposed to them are ignorant, anti-science, anti-fact, dangerous bigots.....

04/01/2026

Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien

“No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.”

Born Jan. 3rd, 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, artist, scholar, and linguist. Known by many as the author of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings”.

Tolkien is one of the great storytellers of the last century. Having lost both parents by the age of twelve, and as a soldier during the First World War, he took refuge in his imagination inventing new languages, worlds, and stories.

Tolkien spent most of his life teaching old and middle English and Old Norse at the University of Oxford. His creativity confined to his spare time, found its outlet in his fantasy works, poetry, illustrations, and his invented languages and alphabets. Tolkien called man a “sub-creator” because we are all made in the image of God, we have the inherit ability to create worlds and stories, reflecting the light of the divine truth, on our own, in the smallest of ways.

Tolkien was a devout catholic whose understanding of Christ, the connection between the physical and spiritual world, and the truths found in human mythology throughout cultures, became an endless inspiration for his works.

While teaching Tolkien became a part of a gathering of Oxford professors and residents called “The Inklings” who would meet to discuss literature and philosophy, and share each others latest compositions. Tolkien’s friend C.S. Lewis, who authored ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ was also a part of this group. Tolkien would later say that had it not been for the encouragement of the inklings and his friendship with Lewis, his stories may have only stayed, “a simple hobby”.

Tolkien married the muse of his life, Edith Bratt, with whom they had four children together.

Tolkien died in September of 1973.

I paint him here in his office reading and smoking his pipe. Something he frankly said he couldn’t write without.

I see him as a patron Saint of storytelling and how good, true, honest stories can potentially draw us closer to understanding God, ourselves, and each other.

Signed Giclee Prints and Original Icon available: kellylatimoreicons.com