D. Michael Quinn - wasmormon.org

Lying for the Lord

“We must not lie, but we are free to tell less than we know when we have no duty to disclose... One is not a liar when one remains silent in a circumstance in which there is no duty to disclose.” - Dallin H. Oaks, LDS Apostle, "Gospel Teachings About Lying," September 12, 1993 | wasmormon.org

The idea of “lying for the Lord” has long been whispered among members and critics of the LDS Church alike. It reflects the sense that leaders and members sometimes feel justified in withholding, distorting, or even outright fabricating information in order to protect the church or further its goals. In other words, the ends are …

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Did Sidney Rigdon Influence the Priesthood Restoration?

“Other churches at the time—including ones with which many early Church members were familiar—taught about the priesthood. The Disciples of Christ, from which many early members of the Church converted, for example, had developed its own priesthood doctrines, influenced by Alexander Crawford, a Scottish minister living in Canada. In 1827, Crawford had delineated the existence of three distinct priesthoods: a patriarchal priesthood (which he also called a priesthood after the “order of Melchisedec”), an Aaronical priesthood (originally held by Aaron)... Alexander Campbell and the Disciples of Christ were influenced by Crawford’s ideas...” - Matthew C. Godfrey “A Culmination of Learning: D&C and the Doctrine of the Priesthood” 2012, Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, Religious Studies Center, BYU | wasmormon.org

The modern LDS Church presents the restoration of priesthood authority—first the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist on May 15, 1829, and then the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John—as pivotal, well-documented events in church history. However, early sources and the timeline of doctrinal development tell a much murkier story, one that raises serious …

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Retroactive Mormon Priesthood Restoration Problems

“I heard Joseph tell his experience of his ordination [by Cowdery] and the organization of the church, probably, more than twenty times, to persons who, near the rise of the church, wished to know and hear about it. I never heard of Moroni, John, or Peter, James and John.” - William E. McLellin, Former LDS Apostle, 1870 Letter | wasmormon.org

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that in May 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were busy translating the Book of Mormon and were curious about the authority to baptize. They went to ask God and were visited by a heavenly messenger, John the Baptist, who conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, …

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Bishop Warren S. Snow’s Teenage Brides and The Castration of Thomas Lewis

It was then determined that the rebellious young man must be forced by harsh treatment to respect the advice and orders of the Priesthood. His fate was left to Bishop Snow for his decision. He decided that the young man should be castrated; Snow saying, "When that is done, he will not be liable to want the girl badly, and she will listen to reason when she knows that her lover is no longer a man." - John D. Lee, Mormonism Unveiled: The life and confessions of the late Mormon bishop, 1877 | wasmomon.org

In 1857, just as tensions with the U.S. government were escalating toward the Utah War, a dark and largely forgotten episode of Mormon frontier justice played out in Manti, Utah. It involved a young man named Thomas Lewis, potentially an unnamed teenage girl, and Warren S. Snow, a high-ranking Mormon bishop and militia leader. What …

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Why Did the Mormon Church Stop Polygamy?

“Antipolygamy laws enacted by the United States federal government in the 1870s and 1880s targeted Church-sponsored enterprises and the Church as a corporation and eventually threatened to disenfranchise the Church and confiscate its properties. President Wilford Woodruff worked with lawmakers and court officials to comply with new laws, discontinue the practice of plural marriage, and transition Church- affiliated enterprises into private business entities.” - LDS Church Website > Church History Topics > Church Incorporation | wasmormon.org

For most of the 19th century, the Mormon Church preached polygamy—referred to by leaders as “the new and everlasting covenant,” “the principle,” or “celestial marriage”—as a divine commandment. It wasn’t just a lifestyle; it was taught as a requirement for exaltation in the highest level of heaven. Church leaders claimed they stood immovable on God’s …

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Mormons Call the Church President the Prophet But Haven’t Always

"Mormons have not always seen their president as a prophet. Before 1955, every mention of the church's leader in Deseret News articles referred to him as "President." The honorific "Prophet" was reserved only for Joseph Smith, the church's founder, and prophets from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Yet during David O. McKays popular presidency from 1951 to 1970, church publications began occasionally referring to him as "Prophet." By the late 1960s, "President" had become interchangeable, if not synonymous, with "Prophet," thanks to routine references to the latter in church publications and at General Conferences." - D. Michael Quinn, Historian on Mormonism - The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power | wasmromon.org

There has been a significant cultural change within the Mormon Church, shifting from church leaders predominantly being referred to as “President,” to being esteemed as “Prophet.” This change evolved gradually over several decades. Initially, references to the church leader as “Prophet” were reserved exclusively for Joseph Smith, the church’s founder, and prophets from biblical and …

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Shane Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Shane’s journey unfolds as a poignant narrative of resilience, love, and profound self-discovery within the intricate tapestry of faith, family, and personal identity. A stalwart member of the LDS Church, Shane’s commitment to his beliefs and his family is evident in every chapter of his life. From the vibrant memories of a South Korean mission …

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Cherish Your Doubts

This reading for worship, from the Unitarian Universalize Association, emphasizes the value of doubt as an essential and positive element in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. It contrasts doubt with unquestioning belief, arguing that beliefs immune to questioning can lead to error and incompleteness. Doubt, in this context, is portrayed as the key to …

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Hinckley’s “I Don’t Know That We Teach It” Interview

Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article. | wasmormon.org

A famous saying within the Church states, “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.” This couplet, originating from Joseph Smith’s King Follet discourse, was popularized by the fifth Church President Lorenzo Snow. Time Magazine published an article about Mormons and asked President Gordon B Hinckley about this concept …

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Mormon Apostle Knows The Truth Is Not Uplifting

"I have a hard time with historians, because they idolize the truth. The truth is not uplifting; it destroys. ... Historians should tell only that part of the truth that is inspiring and uplifting." Elder Boyd K Packer, LDS Apostle 1970 - 2015

Long-serving Apostle Boyd K Packer famously said that “some things that are true are not very useful,” he also stated that “the truth is not uplifting, it destroys”. Seems to contradict the idea that “the truth will set you free,” no? And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/8?lang=eng&id=32#p32 Apostle Boyd K. Packer was …

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Elder Oaks Claims Apostolic Duty to Sacrifice Anything That Makes The Church Look Bad

"My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything else may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors." - Elder Dallin H Oaks, LDS Apostle, First Counselor in First Presidency | wasmormon.org

The authors of the fascinating book about Emma Smith, Mormon Enigma were reprimanded for publishing it. They weren’t excommunicated, but they were forbidden to speak in meetings and firesides. Elder Oaks spoke with Linda Newell (one of the authors of Mormon Enigma) as she recounted in her talk at the 1992 Pacific Northwest Sunstone Symposium called “The …

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Mormon Excommunication For Change – The September Six and More

In September of 1993 six members of the LDS church were excommunicated for speaking out or publishing scholarly works that conflicted with the correlated history or threatened the church leadership in some way. They collectively came to be known as the “September Six”. These individuals were Lynne Whitesides, Avraham Gileadi, Paul Toscano, Maxine Hanks, Lavina Anderson, and D. Michael Quinn. Dubbed the “September Six,” the group were mostly left-leaning writers and scholars who had published articles or given talks about the role of women in Mormonism and the way the church’s leaders handle dissent. | wasmormon.org

The September Six were a group of six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped in September 1993 for their intellectual and historical pursuits that were deemed contrary to the teachings and doctrines of the Church. The six members were: The excommunications and disfellowshippings of …

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On Being a Mormon Historian from Michael Quinn

"The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials... A so-called "faith-promoting" Church history which conceals controversies and difficulties of the Mormon past actually undermines the faith of Latter-day Saints who eventually learn about the problems from other sources." Dr. D Michael Quinn, Excommunicated Mormon | wasmormon.org

The late Dr. D. Michael Quinn was among the many scholars who were forced to choose between promoting church propaganda and maintaining their integrity as historians in response to Elder Packer’s controversial talk “The Mantle is Far Greater Than the Intellect,”. Quinn delivered a pointed response to Elder Packer’s remarks in his lecture entitled “On …

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Church Bristles about Under the Banner of Heaven

"The leaders of the modern LDS Church deem the history of their religion to be sacred, and have long endeavored to retain tight proprietary control over how that history is presented to the world." - Jon Krakauer, Author of Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer wrote and published the book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith in 2004. In 2022, the book was made into a television series starring Andrew Garfield on FX of the same name, Under the Banner of Heaven. The church tried to silence the book before the show was even …

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