Fundamentals of Fundamentalists and Mormonism

So now the Mormons are trying to take away the rights of the living--saying that fundamentalists aren't Mormons. So called experts have weighed in on the matter with one--Dr. John Walsh--even issuing a press release to set the record straight on just how close to Mormonism fundamentalists really are.

As I have read his comments, I've wondered what it is that makes him an expert on Mormonism and Fundamentalists? His data seems to me to be very suspect. Add to that B. Carmon Hardy's comments that "These fundamentalists [have] good reason to look upon themselves as the most faithful," and people might just think that the FLDS are the closest thing to Mormon Orthodoxy that you can find. My own experience says otherwise.

In 1838, Joseph Smith published a list of items meant to correct misinformation about him and the theology he embraced. In answer to the question, "What are the fundamental principles of your religion?" he wrote, "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it." (Elders' Journal, July 1838, p. 44.)

If you were to ask a so-called Mormon fundamentalist what the fundamentals of his religion are, you'd get a very different answer. As I've pondered John Walsh's claim that 95% of our theology and that 75% of our practice is the same as the FLDS, I thought it would be appropriate to evaluate that opinion.

The premise of Mormonism rests upon the concept that the Church established by Jesus Christ fell into apostasy and was restored to the earth by the ministering of angels, who conferred upon Joseph Smith apostolic authority. As a modern apostle, he had the authority to establish anew the Church of Jesus Christ and direct its affairs on the earth. The premise continues that upon the death of Joseph Smith, this apostolic authority continued in the Church in the person of Brigham Young and through the process of time his successors in the priesthood until today where it resides with Thomas S. Monson. This line of succession includes 15 presidents of the Church. Of those 15 men, the FLDS recognize only 3, for a total of 20% in common with the LDS. But that barely scratches the surface.

The chasm that separates the F from the LDS on the foundational issue of authority, cannot be understood without considering a few elements of Mormon history. Joseph Smith claimed that he had been ordained an apostle by the ancient apostles: Peter, James and John, and that they told him to ordain others. Joseph Smith reported that when he asked God how to proceed in ordaining others to the priesthood, he said:

We were, however, commanded to defer this our ordination until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our thus proceeding to ordain each other, and have them decide by vote whether they were willing to accept us as spiritual teachers or not; (History of the Church vol 1 p. 62)

Thereby entered into the faith and practice of Mormonism the concept of "common consent" precluding the surreptitious ordination of any individual. After the Church was formally organized, Joseph Smith presented a constitution to the Church outlining many of its practices, policies and doctrines. This constitution reiterated that no one was to be ordained to any office in the Church without the vote of the Church. (D&C 20:63,65).

As converts joined the new Church, certain individuals claimed prerogatives in the Church that belonged only to its leaders. In order to correct such arrogations of authority, Joseph Smith again reiterated by revelation the provision that no one had authority to teach or lead the Church unless they had been "regularly ordained" by the heads of the Church and that it was known to the Church that such an ordination had taken place (D&C 42:11)

Within a few days of that revelation, Joseph Smith outlined to the Church what he termed as a "commandment for a law" to the Church. It was that only one man was appointed in the Church to receive revelations and commandments for the Church--that he had the only authority to provide such direction and that the Church was forbidden from receiving the revelations or commandments of any others as long as he lived. Then, explaining that this was a safety feature to protect the Church from impostors, he said, "he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him whom I have appointed."

How closely does the FLDS group adhere to this commandment? Not only have they rejected every individual that the Church has approved by vote, but not one of their leaders has ever been "regularly ordained" or voted upon by the body of the Mormon Church. Joseph Smith claimed that he did not have the authority to ordain others without their sustaining vote. Joseph Smith's 5th Article of Faith stipulates that "We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof." This fundamental element of our faith and practice merits a 0% by the FLDS movement.

What about Church organization? Well, for years the FLDS and others who refer to themselves as "fundamentalists" have taught that the Church was incidental to the priesthood and was unnecessary. Consequently, they have never had a First Presidency, a Quorum of Twelve Apostles or a Quorum of Seventy as outlined in Joseph Smith's revelation on Church government. They have a man whom they claim is "the prophet" known universally as "uncle" but even their so-called "priesthood council" is devoid of any Mormon fundamental elements specified in section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Wherefore, it must needs be that one be appointed of the High Priesthood to preside over the priesthood, and he shall be called President of the High Priesthood of the Church; (D&C 107:65).

The practice of the FLDS to refer to their prophet as "uncle"--reminds me of an uncanonized revelation of Joseph Smith from 1834 that reproved the members of the Church for failing to recognize leaders by their official titles. In the realm of authority, ordination, common consent, and Church structure the FLDS movement has no correlation to LDS practice or theology.

While much more might be written--and I plan to continue later on--Brigham Young warned Mormons about people who had apostatized from the Church in his day. He said, "They say they believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet raised up to establish the work of the last days, and bring forth the Book of Mormon; and thus they deceive. But if you will examine them you will not find anything but contradiction to every principle of truth."

About 20 years ago, we had a family gathering with aunts and uncles. My immediate family consisting of my mother and father and brothers and sisters were the only LDS people there among many fundamentalists. We started singing together an old family favorite titled "The Mormon Sunday School." I think it's a variation of a similarly named Baptist song. It consists mostly of distorted Bible stories sung in a humorous vein and has probably scores of verses. My uncle Owen sang this verse:

Esau was a farmer of wild and woolley make,
Half the farm belonged to him and half to brother Jake.
Esau saw the title to his land was none too clear,
so he sold it to his brother for a sandwich and a beer.

Everyone laughed at the end of each verse. After a few other favorite verses, my brother Arnie offered one he'd written--noting that it came from the Book of Mormon rather than the Bible:

To the Gadianton robbers we owe all the thanks,
for robbing all of the Nephite banks.
They robbed every bank in the whole darn nation,
'cause they all knew the secret combination.

Everyone in my family had heard the verse before and so we waited for everyone to get the joke. Only two people did. They say they believe in the Book of Mormon.

More later---