Lawrence E. Corbridge is at it again. In his 2019 BYU Devotional Stand Forever, the emeritus General Authority Seventy told members that hard questions about church history, polygamy, racism, translation methods, DNA evidence, and LGBTQ policies were merely “secondary.” Settle the “primary” questions first — Is there a God? Is Jesus the Christ? Was Joseph …
Continue reading “Corbridge’s Belief Trumps Discomfort vs Bishop Darth Vader”
Utah is not a theocracy on paper. Utah’s constitution guarantees religious freedom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints insists it does not attempt to direct or dictate to government leaders. Official neutrality and practical power diverge in daily life. People who have lived in the state will notice the gap. That gap is …
Continue reading “Behind the Veil: How the LDS Church Shapes Utah Law”
Visitors sometimes ask why wasmormon.org exists, or why former members don’t just move on. Fair questions deserve straight answers. Occasionally, though, the mail isn’t a question—it’s a script: pity, prophecy, and the old line that people who leave should leave the Church alone. We recently received that kind of message and had an insightful exchange. Below is the full …
The historically black Morehouse College campus in Atlanta, Georgia, includes an International Chapel that bears the name of the school’s most renowned alumnus, Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2023, the Chapel added a portrait of the then-president of the LDS Church, Russell M. Nelson. More recently, the chapel also added a portrait of church founder …
Continue reading “MLK Chapel of Morehouse College Honors Founder of Racist Church”
Latter-day Saints are often taught that prophetic authority is the foundation of continuing revelation—that God speaks through living prophets, and that their words carry divine weight. Few church leaders embraced that idea more boldly than Brigham Young. Unlike modern leaders who carefully qualify their statements, Young made an unambiguous claim about his own authority and …
Historians generally agree on a distinction that is crucial for understanding Mormonism’s survival: martyrdom is not evidence of truth, but it is powerful social capital. Joseph Smith’s death did the opposite of what his enemies intended. It turned him into a martyr, and gave his followers resolve. Martyrdom provides a ready-made narrative of persecution and …
![“To come to know Joseph Smith [we must] be loyal to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We cannot know the Savior or Joseph Smith without being one hundred percent loyal to this Church, and to the priesthood keys held by the prophets who now preside over it.” - Jayson Kunzler, Business Management Faculty Member, BYU Idaho, 2015 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jayson-Kunzler-we-cannot-know-the-savior-without-being-one-hundred-percent-loyal-to-this-church.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)
In his BYU–Idaho devotional Millions Shall Know Brother Joseph Again, Jayson Kunzler urges students to reject any information—inside or outside the Church—that might “humanize” Joseph Smith or acknowledge his flaws. He warns that those who study inconvenient history “serve the wrong master” and risk their eternal standing. He insists that members can only truly know …
Continue reading “Millions Shall Worship Brother Joseph Again But Don’t Google Us”
When deconstructing religious beliefs, examining whether the God we’ve been taught to worship and admire is indeed as loving as we think is on the table for many. Christianity teaches that “God is Love,” but examining scriptural narratives reveals inconsistencies in this portrayal, especially concerning God’s actions as a parental figure. Here are several examples …
The LDS Church is Just Another Man-Made Religion One of the hardest truths to face when stepping back from Mormonism is this: The LDS Church is just a man-made religion, no more divinely authoritative than any other. That sentence alone might feel heavy, especially for a “true believing Mormon” (TBM). It cuts directly against the …
One of the most unsettling aspects of Mormon history is the secret practice of polygamy. Joseph Smith publicly denied practicing polygamy while secretly marrying between 30 and 40 women, including teenagers and other men’s wives, as the church’s published essay confirms (in a footnote). The exact number of women to whom he was sealed in …
The LDS or Mormon Church has long articulated clear and restrictive expectations for women. Framed as divinely inspired guidance, these teachings portray a woman’s highest calling as homemaking, motherhood, and submission to traditional gender roles. While many women in the church find meaning in family life, the rigid and one-dimensional framework leaves little room for …
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 …
A common apologetic argument in defense of Joseph Smith is that his closest early associates—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—never outright denounced him as a fraud, even after they left or were cast out of the church. The logic goes: if anyone would have known the “truth” behind the origins of the Book of …
Continue reading “Why Didn’t Cowdery, Whitmer, or Harris Expose Joseph Smith as a Fraud?”
In the complex history of Mormonism, few documents expose the tensions between prophetic revelation and institutional survival quite like John Taylor’s 1886 revelation. This revelation, written in Taylor’s own hand, declared that the divine commandment of plural marriage would not and could not be revoked. Yet for over a century, the Church of Jesus Christ …
Continue reading “The 1886 Revelation Denial and the LDS Church’s Longstanding Dishonesty”
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 …
Continue reading “Did Sidney Rigdon Influence the Priesthood Restoration?”
During Brigham Young’s presidency, if one aspired to the highest level of heaven, one would have needed both polygamy and an eternal sealing. Brigham Young declared, “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy.” “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are …
Continue reading “The Only Men Who Become Gods Enter Into Polygamy”
In the spring of 1978, 47 years ago to the day, there was a “Days of ‘47” parade for Pioneer Day in Salt Lake City. At the time the parade was planned, the church continued its unpopular priesthood ban on black members of the church. The ban was lifted weeks before the parade occurred, but …
Joseph Smith, as the Mayor of Nauvoo, President of the Church, and Captain of the Nauvoo Legion, used his power to silence dissent. The Nauvoo Expositor was published, which publicized Joseph’s secret polygamous relationships and doctrines, a fact that the church does not deny. The issue is that the church or the public, or the …
A BYU Studies article, Priesthood Restoration Documents (BYU Studies, Volume 35, Number 4, 1996), attempts to compile and legitimize the historical claims surrounding the restoration of the priesthood in Mormonism. While the compilation appears scholarly on the surface, the conclusion it draws is apologetic rather than academic. The piece says one thing, but the data …
Continue reading “Priesthood Restoration Apologetics = Retrofitting and Narrative Engineering”
The church narrative states the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry in 1829. There are a few Revelations used to tell this narrative. There are problems with these priesthood restoration claims, and specifically these revelations, they aren’t contemporary to the stories, and the few that are the closest, have been changed. Doctrine …
![“Not one of the Three Witnesses [Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, or Martin Harris] ever denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon.” - Michael R. Morris, The Last Witness of the Three Witnesses, The New Era, January 2020 | [Oliver Cowdery] arose and addressed the audience present, admitted his error and implored forgiveness, and said he was sorry and ashamed of his connection with Mormonism. | “Smith, having become worldly and proud, has been forsaken of the Lord, and has become a knave and impostor.” - Martin Harris | “If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to separate myself from among the Latter Day Saints.” - David Whitmer | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Not-one-of-the-Three-Witnesses-denied-his-testimony-Cowdery-sorry-and-ashamed-Harris-JS-a-knave-and-imposter-Whitmer-if-you-believe-my-testimony.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
!["The Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP will enter a float in the Days of '47 parade on July 24 [1978]. The decision was made after considerable debate at their regular monthly meeting Monday. Some members of the organization felt by having a float in the parade it would be a means of recognition for the blacks who came across the plains with, and before the pioneers. One member said people of the state would see that blacks were early settlers and realize blacks had had an impact on the area." - SLC NAACP Eyes ’47 Parade Float, Salt Lake Tribune, April 4, 1978 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/naacp-elijah-abel-float-1978.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
