Sorry, bro... wrong church.

 

The Salt Lake City Endowment House.

By Greg Knight

 

It constantly amazes me...

Truth be told, if I had a dime for every instance where someone teased me throughout my life about being a Mormon by saying, "Hey... so you have six wives or what?!? (chortle, chortle, guffaw, laugh)," I would probably have enough money for a down payment on some land in Nevada.

"But fundamentalists believe in Mormonism plus multiple wives, right?," they ask. I say,"Nope. Sorry, bro... wrong church."

I am a novice in the world of fundamentalism, but nothing annoys me more than meeting someone who also claims to believe in the true doctrine of His church, only to put an extraordinary belief that the doctrine of celestial, plural marriage is the only thing they need to focus on. It's so annoying, in fact, that I have bristled and chastened when possible to state that fundamentalist Mormonism is an all-encompassing doctrine. I try to tell them it is replete with concepts like one-man rule, Adam-God, the United Order, first and second anointings, the Word of Wisdom, the true order of prayer, a deeper dive into the priesthood, and many, many other subjects that make up the corpus of belief. 

Most look at me like I am a physics professor trying to teach them quantum state or  matter-antimatter asymmetry. Some nod their heads and acknowledge the truth, and even fewer have a lightbulb go off above their noggins that leads them to the truth.

I have also found myself admonishing anyone interested in knowing the true depth of Mormon fundamentalism to start with Ogden Kraut, followed by a perusal of the Journal of Discourses. I also try to clue them in on the bigger, broader subjects outside of plural marriage. In the end, I tell them about the power or prayer on any questions they might have relating to the truth they are (hopefully) seeking.

Long ago, I told my brother and a select group of others that any person who has ever been exposed to Mormonism, if they are intellectually and spiritually honest with themselves, will someday understand that they must begin to study and follow the ways of the church in the 19th century, and follow that with a deep dive into the circumstances of the 1886 revelation, and what came next with Wooleyite Mormonism - but only as a means to understand that celestial marriage was the first in a series of straws that broke the LDS camel's back.

Another thing I testify to is the belief that there is really only one major question to answer after admitting that Christ is your savior - and that is that you believe Joseph Smith, Jr. was and is a prophet of God. If you can accept that, and then read and accept the Holy Bible, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great, you are well on your way. I believe then, and only then, can you begin to ask the deeper questions.

You can reach me at fundamentalistmag@gmail.com.