Considering the Evidence of Brigham Young

Sometimes things move quickly, much quicker than expected. I don’t doubt that the Lord is involved in my life, as strange as it may be. I say strange, because I feel that I am a bit of an anomaly. I am a fossil from an older generation that likes to have everything in writing or in print. I still like to buy and read printed books and prefer them over the electronic format.

At the time of my last post, I had intended to research and purchase books on Brigham Young. I have a couple in my library already: 1) Lion of the Lord (1995), by Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter and 2) Brigham Young, American Moses (1985) by Leonard J. Arrington. I confess I haven’t read them in a long time, perhaps not in this century.

I also intended to review Great Basin Kingdom (1958) by Leonard J. Arrington because it has so much content directly related to Brigham’s economic activities in early pioneer Utah. And, because Brigham is highly featured, I thought I would finish reading the three-volume set, Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy (2000, 2014, 2018) by Richard and Pamela Price.

Considering the Two Sides of the Question

A long-time reader emailed me privately something that changed my thinking: “There are many sources out there stating that Joseph practiced polygamy. I have attached one here from Benjamin F. Johnson. There is another powerful one in the book “The Temple Lot Case.” Here there are many instances of women, under oath, testifying of their relationship with the Prophet Joseph Smith. How do you reconcile these sources?”

This reader and I have had many email dialogs in response to various posts over the years. I appreciate his direct questions. It helps me focus on what is really important. Impressed by his question, I responded with the following that is generic enough to share publicly. In other words, my response reveals nothing about him, but expressed my feelings succinctly.

My Position on Joseph and Polygamy

“I don’t need a lot to time to think about this. I’ve resolved this in my heart and mind a long time ago. I do not believe Joseph was a polygamist. I know he had the sealing power, and I know he was doing something with that, trying to build an eternal family the only way he knew how. I believe he was a moral man. I do not believe he slept with other women. I do not believe he was an adulterer. I do not believe a man should have more than one wife, nor do I believe the Lord commanded any such thing. On the contrary, the Lord clearly stated that man shall have but one wife. Period.

“On the other hand, I believe Brigham made mistakes. Some have written that he was deceived. Every man is entitled to their own opinion. I have researched and written about this numerous times over the years. Today a simple Google search will reveal a myriad of opinions and “facts” about Joseph and polygamy. The LDS Church needs you to believe Joseph was a polygamist because if not, then Brigham was an adulterer and could not possibly have received the sealing power, which of course, is exactly what I believe. The sealing power was not passed from Joseph to Brigham.

“Anything that was written by a third party, especially after Joseph Smith’s death, is questionable, in my opinion. I have read the affidavits of the witnesses and “wives” of Joseph. You can look up and see the list of women sealed to Joseph in Family Search. There is no doubt that women besides Emma were sealed to Joseph, but that does not mean he practiced plural marriage, polygamy, or believed in “spiritual wives” as taught and practiced by Brigham and others. Joseph communed with God, angels, and many others in the spirit world. Brigham said he was never visited by God.”

A Blessing from a Former Temple President

I felt impressed to share some details of the blessing I received from our home teacher (yes, I know that term is no longer used in the modern LDS Church). I recorded it my journal immediately after receiving it. I had prayed before the blessing that words would be shared that were inspired by the Lord, that I needed to hear. I was richly rewarded. I believe that priesthood blessings can be inspired, according to my faith, even though I am not a member of the LDS Church.

“To reconcile means to coexist in harmony, to make or show to be compatible. I received an amazing blessing from my friend yesterday, the former Temple President of the LA Temple. He knows what I believe about the sealing power. As you can imagine, that goes right to the heart of a belief under which he operated in one of the highest forms of trust or authority in the LDS church. Yet, he laid hands on me and pronounced a blessing that admonished, more than anything else, to be kind to those around me who believe differently than I do, especially among the members of the church.

The Conflicting Accounts Cannot be Reconciled

“I cannot reconcile the accounts of those who swear that Joseph was a polygamist. I have taken a vow to not dispute or contend. In the vernacular, ‘you do you, and I’ll do me.’ If you want to study the two extremes of the question, then compare the views of Brian C Hales, a champion of the ‘Joseph was a polygamist’ position with the views of Rob Fotheringham, an advocate of  ‘Section 132 was altered.'”

Here is Rob’s YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/@robfotheringham2289 and an interview with Rob on Hemlock Knots: https://hemlockknots.com/rob-fotheringham-interview/

Preparing to Meet with the Stake President

Shortly after publishing the previous post, I received a text from the Stake Executive Secretary asking if I would be willing to meet with the Stake President. We arranged to do so this Sunday afternoon. I don’t think it’s related to my post, or my blog at all. In fact, I don’t think the current Stake President even knows about my blog, but I could be mistaken.

As I thought about this, I received a private message from another long-time reader. Unlike my first reader above, who is still very active in the LDS Church, this second friend, like me, resigned from the church about the same time I did. He described some of his woes in trying to still attend church with his wife, and some of the things he has to endure. My response:

Difficulties in Finding Fellowship After Resignation

“I get it. I feel the same way. I believe what I believe because I have enough evidence to satisfy my decisions about what I believe. That evidence is both historical facts that contradict the official LDS history and impressions form the spirit that confirm those conclusions. In fact, I feel strongly that I have received answers to prayer when I ask specific questions about the things I believe.

“Of course, many of the things I believe do not match the official narrative. For example, I cannot even answer the second question in the baptismal interview because they have combined two questions into one that do not match my beliefs. My stake president wants to see me this Sunday afternoon and I’m sure he will ask me why I can’t accept President Nelson as a prophet.

The Second Question in the Baptismal Interview

“Will you share your testimony with me that the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God?” Yes, I can tell you I know Joseph was a prophet, that he brought forth the Book of Mormon through the gift and power of God, but I don’t believe the sealing power was passed to Brigham Young.

“That hasn’t changed in ten years, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. It’s nice that you have friends that care about you. What’s even nicer is that you listened to him patiently and kindly. That’s a good thing. It may be the Texas way to have a short fuse, but not really. That’s just an excuse for a lack of self-discipline. You show forth a better example to everyone, especially your wife.”

A Few Concluding Thoughts on Being Open

I like Rob’s comments in the Hemlock Knots interview. As far as I know, Rob is still an active member of the LDS Church. He worked for the LDS Church for nine years developing the Gospel Library app. In the interview he describes how he came to create the video First LDS Polygamist: Joseph or Brigham? I highly recommend it. I concur with his findings.

After answering the question if he felt concerned that he might “get in trouble” for creating this video, he related how he approached some of the General Authority Seventies who supervised his work. You’ll have to watch the video to hear his full response. My focus was on this snippet, which, to me, expresses my views on the subject of being open to correction.

About the 1:02 mark, he says “If I’m wrong, I want to know that I’m wrong.” I feel the same way. I use this platform as a place to document my gospel study. I share what I am learning. Long time readers know I took a hard turn between 2012 and 2014. Before that I was pure orthodox LDS, or at least what I thought was orthodoxy. I am still open to correction.