A stable testimony cannot safely be built upon falsehood

[drumdude]

I’m beginning to be concerned about the rise of polygamy denialism among some members of the Church. I fear that it may be trending toward an apostate schism — or, at a minimum, toward taking a sizable number of those who believe in it right out of the Kingdom of God. Polygamy denialism, as its name partially indicates, is the view not only that the Prophet Joseph Smith never practiced plural marriage but that Brigham Young and other nineteenth-century prophets, apostles, and alleged plural wives invented the practice and falsely ascribed it to Joseph Smith. (Some even go so far as to accuse John Taylor and Willard Richards of having murdered the Prophet and his brother, the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, on Brigham Young’s orders, in order to better impose their immorality upon the Church.)

I understand perfectly well that the idea of plural marriage is a severe challenge to some faithful Saints in the twenty-first century; plural marriage was a severe challenge to many faithful Saints in the nineteenth century. But a stable testimony cannot safely be built upon falsehood, and the claim that Brigham Young invented plural marriage and blamed Joseph for it is a falsehood. It has taken people out of the Church, and it could well take many more:

Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. (Isaiah 36:6)

And so, too, is polygamy denialism.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... alism.html

I have to disagree with Dan here. The testimonies of those who believe Jews sailed to the Americas hundreds of years before Christ (some in submarines) appear to be quite stable. And built upon an absolutely massive, chonker of a falsehood.

[I Have Questions]

Joseph Smith himself was a polygamy denier. At least in public. I wonder how the polygamy deniers frame the Fanny Alger In The Barn event? As to his suggestion that you cannot have a stable testimony about something that is false, well that’s just laughably wrong. There are many examples within and without of Mormonism of people having firm, unshakeable testimonies of things that the rest of the world can plainly see is false. And I’d point out the people he’s talking about (how many can there be in reality?) aren’t polygamy deniers, they are people that deny Joseph Smith was a polygamist.

[Dr. Shades]

But a stable testimony cannot safely be built upon falsehood, . . .

In that case, it should be remembered that if one believes that the Book of Mormon is factual, then one must also believe that all human languages were created at the Tower of Babel, because that was the Jaredites' motive for picking up and departing for America.

Joseph Smith himself was a polygamy denier. At least in public.

It's quite a conundrum. The polygamy deniers believe Brigham Young was lying; the polygamy non-deniers believe Joseph Smith was lying.

Either way, one of God's mouthpieces was lying. Not an enviable position for a believer to find him- or herself in.

[I Have Questions]

I had a testimony that the Lamanites were the literal ancestors of the native Americans. Then I had a testimony that the Lamanites were the principal ancestors of the native Americans. Then I had a testimony that the Lamanites were merely among the ancestors of the native Americans.

Elder Anderson had a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not a wealthy organisation, and that it shared whatever meagre resources were available.

I have a testimony that you can always trust the living Prophet, until he dies. Then I have a testimony that you cannot trust anything he said.

I had a testimony that President Nelson survived a fiery death spiral in an airplane that culminated in an emergency landing in a field. Until I didn’t.

I had a testimony that the Book of Mormon was 100% an actual translation of ancient gold plates that were written 1,000 years prior to the KJV Bible.

[Rivendale]

I had a testimony that the Lamanites were the literal ancestors of the native Americans. Then I had a testimony that the Lamanites were the principal ancestors of the native Americans. Then I had a testimony that the Lamanites were merely among the ancestors of the native Americans.

Elder Anderson had a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not a wealthy organisation, and that it shared whatever meagre resources were available.

I have a testimony that you can always trust the living Prophet, until he dies. Then I have a testimony that you cannot trust anything he said.

I had a testimony that President Nelson survived a fiery death spiral in an airplane that culminated in an emergency landing in a field. Until I didn’t.

I had a testimony that the Book of Mormon was 100% an actual translation of ancient gold plates that were written 1,000 years prior to the KJV Bible.

Now, there will be a blip here, a blip there, a mistake here, a mistake there. I know of no other organization in this world that has taken more exhaustive measures, tried harder, done more to tackle this problem, to work with it, to do something to make a change. We recognize the terrible nature of it, and we want to help our people, reach out to them, assist them.” And yet here we set 29 years later.

[Nolan]

But a stable testimony cannot safely be built upon falsehood, . . .

In that case, it should be remembered that if one believes that the Book of Mormon is factual, then one must also believe that all human languages were created at the Tower of Babel, because that was the Jaredites' motive for picking up and departing for America.

Joseph Smith himself was a polygamy denier. At least in public.

It's quite a conundrum. The polygamy deniers believe Brigham Young was lying; the polygamy non-deniers believe Joseph Smith was lying.

Either way, one of God's mouthpieces was lying. Not an enviable position for a believer to find him- or herself in.

I am reminded of the Wakefield MMR vaccine scandal. Andrew Wakefield published a fraudulent paper linking MMR vaccines to autism. The scientific community reacted pretty swiftly (in my view).