Polygamy? Doctrine? Whos is right? While the LDS have grown, Fundamentalist have an argument.

Today, we explore Fundamentalist groups versus the modern LDS Church.

While you might be on one side or the other—or perhaps a silent observer—I know you have a mind that sees clearly and thinks independently.

I won’t cover all the doctrinal and endowment changes in this article. Instead, I aim to offer a Fundamentalist perspective on the LDS vs. FLDS divide.

My podcast this week is titled “The Truth About Warren Jeffs by His Son.” If that sounds interesting, go check it out!

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Polygamy

I could provide several quotes from early leaders on the importance of polygamy. But first, let’s address a common LDS argument:

If the Church hadn’t abandoned polygamy, it would not exist today. So God told His living prophet to get rid of it.

Personally, I’ve stepped back from religion and am just observing. However, I deeply understand these arguments, having grown up in the middle of them.

Fundamentalists certainly have a point when we read quotes like this one:

“You might as well deny ‘Mormonism’ and turn away from it as to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice that they will oppose that doctrine, and the whole of them would be damned.”

—Heber C. Kimball, JD 5:203-204 (October 12, 1856)

Here’s How I See It

The Saints were driven from Nauvoo and didn’t give up polygamy then. They suffered for 50 years.

So why was it okay to give it up in 1900?

LDS members often tell me it was divine guidance. If that’s how you see it, fine. But I don’t think it’s the most honest way to look at it. It’s easy to be biased based on what you’re more familiar with.

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Why Did the LDS Church Fight Against the Polygamists?

In 1890, Wilford Woodruff signed the manifesto. By 1920, the Church was actively helping law enforcement pursue polygamists. By 1940, they had gone all out.

Before the 1953 raid on polygamists, LDS leaders were already aware of it.

I’m not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but in my opinion, most polygamist prosecutions were either fully supported or instigated by LDS leadership.

I also believe the 1953 raid likely had LDS Church input at the state level.

If you ask me, LDS leaders like Heber J. Grant and David O. McKay had one goal: to make the Church popular. You don’t do everything they did and then just say, “It was a revelation.” Sure, if you just want a successful organization. But if it’s supposed to be the true church? That’s a different question.

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LDS Church Seeks to Replace Doctrine and Covenants in 1930

Some may not like this, but I think Leroy Johnson was a good witness to this period. He was focused on these issues when few others were. Yes, he was biased, so we should do separate research.

He stated:

“An attempt had been made prior to this to do away with the Doctrine & Covenants by printing a little book called Commandments of More Enduring Value … But at that time the people rejected it. There was only one edition made and put out to the public. I have, in my possession, one of the publications which I value very dearly because it is good evidence of what took place.”

Since you need more than an FLDS prophet’s word, let’s look deeper.

Heber J. Grant’s Role

Was Heber J. Grant’s mission to modernize the Church? I think so, which is why my novel starts in his era, naming him “President Gardener.”

In 1930, under Grant’s direction, James E. Talmage compiled Latter-day Revelations, an abridged version of the Doctrine & Covenants.

• 95 entire sections were left out.
• 21 sections were partially omitted.
• Only 20 sections remained intact.

The backlash was immediate. Conservative church members as well as Fundamentalists saw the omission of Section 132 (and others) as an attempt to alter LDS scripture. The First Presidency withdrew the book, ordered sales to cease, and even shredded unsold copies.

Nice “revelation!”

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Modern Changes

I could list a thousand changes the modern LDS Church has made. But let’s pause.

If God directs a change, you do it whether it’s popular or not.

So why does every change make the Church more popular?

That was one of the first questions I asked when I was halfway out of the FLDS, wondering what to think.

From my research, I quietly think “BS” on every “modern revelation” designed to make the Church more appealing.

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Do I Support Polygamy?

No. That’s not my point.

My point is that Fundamentalist groups align more with early LDS teachings than the modern LDS Church does.

That doesn’t mean I support either side. But I struggle to see the LDS Church as anything but a well-run business with free recruitment.

As an FLDS boy, I couldn’t tell the difference between a Mormon and a Christian. I can now, but the LDS Church has done everything possible to appear “normal.”

And yet, they’re still not “normal.” So, more revelations will come—just like the one to stop calling themselves “Mormons.”

That’s why I couldn’t join the LDS Church. It’s so obvious they change things to be popular, not because they’re right.

It feels like they hate their history but can’t survive without it. They are embarrassed by it. They certainly don’t openly tell the whole truth.

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Conclusion

While I don’t support either LDS or Fundamentalists, I have to say this:

Fundamentalists practice what they believe to be God’s work. LDS leaders, meanwhile, seem to receive revelations of convenience.

If it’s the true Church, stand by your history. Otherwise, it looks like a well-run business—not God’s true religion.

And from a business perspective? I admire what they’ve built.

But from a faith perspective? Not so much.

And because you’re an independent thinker, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the first chapter of my novel about the LDS Church’s infiltration and destruction of the FLDS. Get your first chapter my signing up for my weekly email below.

You would also enjoy this article titled: The Beauty and Ugliness of Mormonism

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