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According to Joseph Smith, in 1823, an angel named Moroni appeared to him and revealed the location of a set of gold plates inscribed in a language Smith called “reformed Egyptian.” Smith met with Moroni over a period of four years to prepare to translate the plates, which Smith allegedly accomplished by peering inside of a hat and using a set of seer stones to illuminate the reformed Egyptian characters on the plates. Smith would then dictate the translation he saw to a scribe.cclx …

Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged in the northeastern United States during the 1870s, though at the time they were known as “Bible Students.” Under the direction of founder Charles Taze Russell, the Bible Students believed they had restored the true doctrines of the Christian faith that were lost after the death of the apostles. In 1881, Russell founded a printing company that was moved to Brooklyn, New York, where it became known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (hereafter …

What if someone has an active intention to receive baptism and yet still chooses to persist in or cling to a sin?Can such a person be baptized? The answer depends on what we mean by “can.” If by “can” we mean, “Will the person be validly baptized?”, then the answer is yes. Aquinas teaches that such a baptism would be valid insofar as it communicates the “seal” or “indelible mark” mentioned in previous chapters (cf. CCC 1 …

Grandparents often find themselves wondering if they are permitted to baptize their grandchild when his parent doesn’t want him baptized. And not just grandparents, but also caring individuals. I’ve had folks ask me this question countless times. It demands a thorough response. Let’s start with what we shouldn’t do: baptize the child in secret. The Code of Canon Law (CIC) states that “for an infant to be baptized licitly . . . the pare …