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Matthew Bowman
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Matthew Bowman teaches religion at Hampden-Sydney College. He is the author of "The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith."

Blog Entries by Matthew Bowman

Mormon Temple Garments -- They're Not Magic

(2229) Comments | Posted July 14, 2012 | 5:14 PM

Nobody really likes to talk about their underwear, and Mormons probably have better reason than most to be reticent. They don't even call it "underwear." The term they prefer is "garments," which is taken from the King James Bible, and gives these scraps of white cloth a formal name to...

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Is Mormonism A Cult?

(916) Comments | Posted March 9, 2012 | 11:33 AM

To many Americans, Mormon theology seems an impenetrable stew of biblical literalism, weird relics and a supernaturalism so aggressive as to border on science fiction, stirred together by a parade of shady self-declared prophets, from the frontier polygamist Joseph Smith to the complacent, dark-suited elders who run the church today....

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5 Things You Should Know About Mormonism

(2734) Comments | Posted February 8, 2012 | 5:10 PM

1. What should I call them?

The official name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is a mouthful. "Mormon," of course, is a nickname from the church's original work of scripture. However, a lot can be gleaned from looking at the church's official...

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