LDS Heroes
John P. Dehlin
Fun LDS Heroes
John P. Dehlin
Nephi
Nephi’s Arm
Ammon
Ammon’s Chest
Abinadi
Not bad, eh?
Mormon
Holy Cow!!!
LDS Superheroes
Cypher
Obadiah Stane
Joseph Smith
“I am one of
the three. I
am Nephite.”
Traditional LDS
Heroes
John P. Dehlin
Joseph Smith
Eliza R. Snow
Mary Fielding Smith
Brigham Young
David O. McKay
Gordon B. Hinckley
Heroes ... all of them
Non-Traditional LDS
Heroes
John P. Dehlin
A few disclaimers...
I am not a role model
All of the following
represents....
• My limited understanding of LDS history
• My (changing) version of the
narrative(s)
Warning: Do not believe ANYTHING I
say at face value!!! Study it our for
yourselves.
“The Church welcomes
inquisitiveness....[but] not every statement
made by a Church leader, past or present,
necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single
statement made by a single leader on a
single occasion often represents a personal,
though well-considered, opinion, but is not
meant to be officially binding for the whole.”
Church.”
From “Approaching Mormon Doctrine”
LDS Church
4 May 2007
From
“Wicked” The
Musical
“A man’s called a traitor, or
liberator.
A rich man’s a thief, or
philanthropist.
Is one a crusader, or ruthless
invader?
It’s all in what labels are able
to persist.
There are precious few at
ease with moral ambiguities
So we act as though they
don’t exist.”
“No black hats, no white
hats.”
Gregory Prince
Non-Traditional LDS
Heroes
John P. Dehlin
Emma Smith
“Joseph and Emma Smith's marriage
of 17 years was blessed with 11
children (2 adopted), 6 of whom died in
infancy.”
http://JosephSmith.net
In his journal for 1842, Joseph reflected:
"Many were the reverberations of my mind when I
contemplated for a moment the many scenes we
had been called to pass through. The fatigues, and
the toils, the sorrows, and sufferings, and the joys
and consolations from time to time [which] had
strewed our paths and crowned our board. Oh!
What a co-mingling of thought filled my mind for the
moment, again she is here . . . undaunted, firm and
unwavering, unchangeable, affectionate Emma."
Why didn’t I hear
much about Emma
growing up?
"To my certain knowledge, Emma Smith is
one of the damnedest liars I know of on this
earth. Not six months before the death of
Joseph, he called [her] into a secret
council.... He told her of the time she
undertook to poison him, and he told her
that she was a child of hell, and literally the
most wicked woman on this earth, that there
was not one more wicked than she.”
Brigham Young -- Utah Historical Quarterly,
vol. 48, Winter 1980, 82
From http://fairlds.org
Emma’s Main Issue:
Polygamy
The History of Polygamy Is
• Joseph received revelation in 1831, but apparently
Messy
others were not informed
(Emma & 1st presidency
members, etc.)
•
•
•
•
•
Emma found out about it by finding Joseph with other
women
The 1835 version of the D&C openly renounces
polygamy, and denies its practice by the church
In 1838 Oliver Cowdery was excommunicated for
accusing Joseph of “adultery” -- not knowing about the
revelation
Joseph Smith, himself, publicly denied the practice of
polygamy until his death.
The church did not publicly acknowledge it into the
1850s.
“I condemn it,
yes, as a
practice,
because I
think it is not
doctrinal.”
President Gordon B.
Hinckley on Larry
King Live
Aired September 8, 1998 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Can we understand
Emma’s confusion?
B.H. Roberts
B.H. Roberts’ Issue:
Organic Evolution
In B. H. Roberts' The Truth, The Way, The
Life, [t]he hottest issue ... was organic
evolution. [H]is assertion that countless
plants and animals lived long before the
biblical chronology was controversial. “
Richard Sherlock and Jeffrey E. Keller
“The B. H. Roberts/Joseph Fielding Smith/James E.
Talmage Affair”
Apostles James E.
Talmadge and John A.
Widstoe seemed to
share B.H. Roberts’
Views on Evolution
How did the LDS
church become so
“anti-Evolution”?
"The doctrine of
organic evolution which
pervades the modern
day sciences .... is as
false as their author
who lives in hell."
Joseph Fielding SmithAuthor of “Man:
“How weak and puerile the
intellectuality which ... finds
comfort in the theoretical
postulates that mortal life began in
the scum of the sea, as it were,
and has through eons of time
evolved to its present varieties and
state! Do those with spiritual
insight really think that the infinite
Creator of worlds without number
would operate in this way?
Bruce R. McConkie
Mormon Doctrine
The answer:
Joseph Fielding
Smith and Bruce R.
McConkie outlived
Roberts, Talmadge
and Widstoe
DAVID O. McKAY, PRESIDENT
February 15, 1957 Professor William Lee Stokes
2970 South 15th East
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dear Brother Stokes: On the subject of organic
evolution the Church has officially taken no position.
The book "Man, His Origin and Destiny" [by Joseph
Fielding Smith] was not published by the Church, and
is not approved by the Church. The book contains
expressions of the author's views for which he alone is
responsible. Sincerely your brother,
[signed] David O. McKay
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 12:? (Winter
1979): 90–92 , with commentary..
Fawn Brodie
“No Man Knows My History”
“No Ma’am That’s Not History”
Hugh Nibley
Why Was Fawn Brodie Was So
Controversial? Pt. 1
• Niece of David O. McKay
• Lost her testimony of the LDS Church
while studying Joseph Smith
• Portrayed Joseph Smith as a charlatan
• Used “psychoanalysis” on her subjects
• Excommunicated 6 months after
publication for “Heresy”
Other Reasons that Fawn Brodie Was
So Controversial
(John’s Opinion)
•
Disrupted our monolithic, almost deific views of
Joseph Smith.
•
•
•
•
•
Claimed that Joseph Smith engaged in
treasure digging.
Discussed “Multiple first vision” stories
Acknowledged problems with the historicity
of the Book of Mormon (Native Americans as
Asians, etc.)
Claimed connections between the Masonic
Temple ceremony and the LDS temple
ceremony.
Acknowledged the messiness of Joseph
Smith’s practice of polygamy
In 2006....Rough Stone
Rolling
• Claimed that Joseph Smith engaged in
treasure digging.
by, Richard
•
•
•
•
•
Lyman Bushman
Discussed “Multiple first vision” stories.
Acknowledged problems with the historicity
of the Book of Mormon (Native Americans
as Asians, etc.)
Claimed connections between the Masonic
Temple ceremony and the LDS temple
ceremony.
Acknowledged the messiness of Joseph
Smith’s practice of polygamy.
Quotes, and compliments Brodie on her
work.
Juanita Brooks
Initial Church Reactions to
MMM
• George Q. Cannon,
then president of the LDS
•
•
California Mission, responded to initial news
reports of involvement by Mormons by charging
... journalists with writing "reckless and malignant
slanders", despite knowing that the southern
Utah Mormons were "as innocent ... as the child
unborn".
The Deseret News, was initially slow to comment
on the massacre. Several months later, the paper
disclaimed Mormon involvement, then remained
largely silent until 1869, when it again denied
involvement by Mormons.
In 1872, Young excommunicated Lee and Haight
for their role in the massacre -- 15 years after the
event.
From http://fairlds.org
Initial Church Reactions to
• In 1877, 20 years after
the massacre, John D. Lee
MMM
was the sole person punished (executed) for the
•
•
massacre.
President Young was then interviewed by a reporter,
and [said] that he considered Lee's fate just. He
denied personal involvement, and denied that the
doctrine of blood atonement played a role in the
massacre, but stated that he believed in the
doctrine, "and I believe that Lee has not half atoned
for his great crime."
In the late 1950s, LDS President David O. McKay
created a committee, chaired by Delbert L. Stapley
to investigate the Mountain Meadows massacre.
This committee recommended that McKay restore
John D. Lee's church membership, and McKay
allowed one of Lee's grandsons to be baptized by
proxy for him, and the church restored Lee's
priesthood and full fellowship in the church.
http://fairlds.org
“Mountain Meadows Massacre”
by Juanita Brooks
Juanita Brooks on the
Mountain Meadow’s
• Mormons, and
local Mormon church
Massacre
leadership were involved
• It was unfair to blame MMM on the
indians
• After the MMM, there was a major
coverup for 20 years by the church at all
levels to avoid punishment and
persecution
• John D. Lee was unfairly scapegoated
• Wanted to publicize the secret,
Church Reactions....
• Juanita Brooks was...
• ...ostracized by local church
membership and leadership
• ...threatened with excommunication by
Elder Delbert Stapley
• David O. McKay ultimately denied the
excommunication request, saying “Leave
her alone”
2007 Ensign Article
“The Mountain Meadows
Massacre”
by Richard E. Turley Jr.
• Mormons, and local Mormon church
leadership were involved
• It was unfair to blame MMM on the
indians
• Only John D. Lee was punished for the
crime
2007 Announcement by the LDS
Church
onprofound
the 150th
ofout
• "We express
regret forAnniversary
the massacre carried
in this valley 150 years ago today, and for the undue and
MMM
untold suffering experienced by the victims then and by
their relatives to the present time."
•
"A separate expression of regret is owed the Paiute
people who have unjustly borne for too long the principal
blame for what occurred during the massacre," he said.
"Although the extent of their involvement is disputed, it is
believed they would not have participated without the
direction and stimulus provided by local church leaders
and members."
Elder Henry B. Eyring
LDS Church Apostle
September 11, 1857
“[Juanita Brooks] probably
helped the church come to
grips with something that all
of us wish had never
happened.”
Jeffrey R. Holland
LDS Apostle
Transcript from PBS “The Mormons”
March 4, 2006
“In all of this, Juanita became something larger and
greater than simply a respectable historian. For the
numerous Mormons who, early or late, have
accepted her interpretation of the massacre, she
has served as a tragedian and a shriver. She has
confronted us with grisly, disillusioning facts, roused
us to grief and vicarious contrition, then led us to
understanding and forgiveness of our errant
ancestors. Equally important, this courageous little
housewife inspired and encouraged non-conformists
and protesters of all varieties among the Mormons.
Unquestionably, Juanita Brooks will remain famous
as one of the foremost champions of free inquiry
and open debate in the history of Mormonism.”
Levi Peterson
Sunstone Magazine
Issue 73
Most inspiring of all....
“She always kept the ironing board up
and had a basket of dampened
clothes near her desk and when
someone came by she’d start ironing
so they’d never know that she was
really writing. In addition, Brooks
would travel on overnight buses to do
research in Salt Lake or at the
Huntington Library.
Claudia Bushman
Lowell L. Bennion
Contributions to the
church
• Founded the University of Utah LDS
Institute of religion with T. Edgar Lyon
and taught there for 27 years
• Published over 100 manuals and
articles for the church
• Founded the Teton Valley Boys Ranch
for troubled teens
• Inspired countless LDS thinkers,
including many of the founders of
Dialogue and Sunstone
“The biggest problem in the world
today...is the need of men of all races ... to
feel their own worth and dignity as human
beings. [I]t is my belief that white men are
not superior to men of other races.
If we had faith in Christ, we would be
anxiously and voluntarily engaged in
seeing that [all races] had equal
opportunity for education, culture,
employment, and housing as we who are
Caucasian.”
Lowell L. Bennion
“Withholding the priesthood from the
Negro is not a doctrine of the church; it
is a church practice, which needs to be
justified by church doctrine.”
Lowell L. Bennion: Teacher, Counselor,
Humanitarian p. 253
Mary Lythgoe Bradford
Why was this a problem?
"There is a reason why one man is
born black and with other
disadvantages, while another is born
white with great advantage. The
reason is that we once had an estate
before we came here, and were
obedient, more or less, to the laws
that were given us there. Those who
were faithful in all things there
received greater blessings here, and
those who were not faithful received
less.... There were no neutrals in the
war in heaven. All took sides either
with Christ or with Satan.....The
Negro, evidently, is receiving the
reward he merits."
Joseph Fielding Smith writes in
Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, pages
66-67
"Now we are generous with the
Negro. We are willing that the Negro
have the highest kind of education. I
would be willing to let every Negro
drive a Cadillac if they could afford it.
I would be willing that they have all
the advantages they can get out of
life in the world. But let them enjoy
these things among themselves. I
think the Lord segregated the Negro
and who is man to change that
segregation?"
Apostle Mark E. Peterson remarks
during a 1954 address given at BYU
entitled, "Race Problems - as They
Affect The Church"
•
In 1962 was told “change might be
good”
Reasons given:
•
•
•
•
•
“...consistent failure to ‘actively recruit students’”
“‘quite lax’ in insisting on scholastic requirements,
giving only pass/fail grades, with no outside
assignments or papers
had not “fought for recognition of the institute as a
certified school whose credits could be
transferred”
“unorthodox position on the ‘Negro Question’”
“criticism of the pressures put on missionaries
to hurriedly baptize people into the Church”
Lowell L. Bennion: Teacher, Counselor,
Humanitarian p. 253
Mary Lythgoe Bradford
Was he wrong?
“McMurrin then described that
part of his March 1954
conversation with [President
David O.] McKay in which
[President McKay stated] his
own belief that the priesthood
ban was policy, not doctrine,
and therefore susceptible to
change.”
David O. McKay and
the Rise of Modern Mormonism p. 97
Gregory A. Prince
Leonard Arrington
Leonard Arrington
•
•
•
•
•
Adventures of a Church
Historian
Sustained during General Conference in 1972 as
Church Historian
Came with the understanding that he would have
broad access to church archives, and limited
ecclesiastical review of scholarly publications.
Over time, some of the brethren became
uncomfortable with the representation, and candor,
of the history.
Access to archives became increasingly limited.
Ecclesiastical reviews became more common.
After 10 years, the department was dissolved, and
Arrington was quietly released in 1982 (not in
General Conference)
Some of the policies
• Eugene England
and Lowell Bennion were not
enforced....
permitted to publish with Deseret Book or Bookcraft
by direct intervention of 2 members of the Quorum
of the 12.
•
•
•
Carol Lynn Pearson was blacklisted from church
publications until she was able “through prayers and
tears” to get one of the Twelve to reverse the
decision.
Claudia Bushman and Scott Kenney could not be
published or mentioned because of their connection
with Exponent II and Sunstone
Several Mormon intellectuals were publishing under
pseudonyms.
Adventures of a Church Historian p. 154
Leonard J. Arrington
After 10 years, the LDS Church History
department was dissolved in 1982, and
Leonard Arrington was quietly released
(not in General Conference)
Other important
events within this
chronology.....
•
•
•
•
•
•
Other events....
1966 -- Dialogue “Journal of Mormon Thought”
founded by Eugene England and G. Wesley
Johnson
1974 -- Sunstone Magazine founded by Scott
Kenney (“Faith seeking understanding”)
1974 -- Women’s Exponent II founded by
Claudia Bushman and others (Mormon women
experiences)
1979 -- Sunstone began annual “sumposia”
1981-1983 -- Seventh East Press runs at BYU
19?? - 19?? -- BYU Student Review runs at
BYU
•
Other
events....
1989 -- Dallin H. Oaks warns of “Alternative Voices” in the
Ensign
•
•
•
•
1991 -- “Statement on Symposia” issued by LDS Church
Presidency
1992 -- Church cautions against holding “study groups”
May 1993 -- Boyd K. Packer names “the gay-lesbian
movement, the feminist movement ... and so-called
scholars or intellectuals” as 3 major dangers to church
members
September 1993 -- Trials of LDS Intellectuals (“September
6”)
•
•
D. Michael Quinn, Avraham Gileadi, Paul Toscano,
Lavina Fielding Anderson, and Maxine Hanks
excommunicated
Lynn Whitesides disfellowshipped
BYU Dismissals
•
1993 -- BYU denies continuting status to....
•
•
•
•
Professor Cecilia Konchar Farr, who had publicly
advocated a pro-choice position on abortion, and
David Knowlton, who had discussed the church's
missionary system at an independent Mormon forum.
1996 -- BYU dismissed Gail T. Houston, a feminist who
advocated prayer to a Heavenly Mother.
2006 -- BYU doesn’t renew contracts for...
•
•
Darron Smith, vocal critic racism in the church (and black
male)
Jeffrey Nielsen, who wrote an op-ed piece in the Salt
Lake Tribune criticizes the Mormon Church's stance on
same-sex marriage.
2007 BYU Alternative
Commencement
The balance that must be
walked (by church leaders)
"It is the duty of the General Authorities of the
Church to safeguard and protect the
membership of the Church from the
introduction of controversial subjects and
false doctrines which tend to create factions
and otherwise disturb the faith of the LatterDay Saints."
Council of the Twelve to Heber J. Grant, 15
May 1930, Clawson Papers
"The gospel embraces all truth. Brigham Young
especially emphasized the propriety of seeking all
truth. The assumption that because a man
understands something about the operation of the
Universe, he will necessarily be less faithful is a
gratuitous assumption contradicted by numberless
examples. God, who understands all about the
Universe, is apparently, not troubled by this
knowledge. Some people drift when they study, but
some people drift when they don't study. If the
Church espouses the cause of ignorance, it will
alienate more people than if it advises man to
seek after truth, even at some risk."
Henry Eyring
Father of Henry B. Eryring
Backup
Eugene & Charlotte England
Peggy Fletcher Stack
Elbert Peck & Daniel
Rector
Darius Gray
Her Main Issue:
Polygamy
“Our prophets have been given clearly to see the road
we should follow and can point the path to the Celestial
Kingdom, but being human they too must walk and wait
and study in order to partly understand many of God's
wonderful works. I can understand "Man--His Origin
and Destiny" as the work of a great man who is fallible.
It contains many serious scientific errors and much ill
humor, which mar the many beautiful things in it. Since
the Gospel is only that which is true, this book cannot
be more than the private opinion of one of our great
men to be admired for the many fine things in it. I find it
much less satisfactory in scientific matters than the
excellent writings of Brother Talmage and Brother
Widtsoe with which it is frequently in disagreement. ”
Henry Eyring (Father of Elder Henry B. Eyring)