“Joseph Smith taught “that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such.” (DHC, vol. 5, p. 265.)”, Ezra Taft Benson, Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints
“Sometimes there are those who argue about words. They might say the prophet gave us counsel but that we are not obliged to follow it unless he says it is a commandment. But the Lord says of the Prophet, “Thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you.” (D&C 21:4.)
“And speaking of taking counsel from the prophet, in D&C 108:1, the Lord states:
“Verily thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Lyman: Your sins are forgiven you, because you have obeyed my voice in coming up hither this morning to receive counsel of him whom I have appointed.”
“Said Brigham Young, “I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call scripture.” (Journal of Discourses, 13:95.)”, Ezra Taft Benson, Fourteen Fundamentals of Following the Prophet
https://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng
“A Translation of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.”, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/abr?lang=eng
“In a statement dated 5 July 1835, Joseph Smith, declaring the importance of these ancient Egyptian writings, recorded: “I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham. … Truly we can say, the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of peace and truth”(History of the Church, 2:236).”
…
"A common objection to the authenticity of the book of Abraham is that the manuscripts are not old enough to have been written by Abraham, who lived almost two thousand years before Christ. Joseph Smith never claimed that the papyri were autographic (written by Abraham himself), nor that they dated from the time of Abraham. It is common to refer to an author’s works as “his” writings, whether he penned them himself, dictated them to others, or others copied his writings later."
https://www.lds.org/manual/the-pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/the-book-of-abraham
“The Prophet Joseph Smith never claimed the papyri were indeed the writings of Abraham.”, https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history-seminary-teacher-manual-2014/section-7/lesson-152-the-coming-forth-of-the-pearl-of-great-price?lang=eng
“Actually, there are two possible explanations why the text of the recently discovered papyri does not match the text in the Pearl of Great Price.
“One explanation is that it may have been taken from a different portion of the papyrus rolls in Joseph Smith’s possession...
“A second explanation takes into consideration what Joseph Smith meant by the word translation. While translating the Book of Mormon, he used the Urim and Thummim rather than dictionaries and grammars of the language. Translating with the Urim and Thummim is evidently a much different process than using the tools of scholarly research.”, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/07/i-have-a-question?lang=eng
“a JS history entry for July 1835, probably composed by William W. Phelps in 1843, notes that JS was ‘engaged in translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham, and arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language as practiced by the ancients.’ (JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. B-1, p. 597.)”, http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/egyptian-alphabet-js-and-oliver-cowdery-scribe-circa-july-circa-december-1835#!/paperSummary/egyptian-alphabet-js-and-oliver-cowdery-scribe-circa-july-circa-december-1835&p=1
“Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”
https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
“We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally, and of somewhat the same economic and social and educational background (some of those are not an absolute necessity, but preferred), and above all, the same religious background, without question”, Kimball, https://www.lds.org/manual/aaronic-priesthood-manual-3/lesson-31-choosing-an-eternal-companion?lang=eng
“And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black , and had not place among them.”, Moses 7:22 , https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/moses/7.22?lang=eng#21
“And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.
And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.
And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.”
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/5.21-24?lang=eng#20
“Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice.”, Introduction to Official Declaration 2, D&C 2013 edition. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/od/2?lang=eng
“...
“Brigham Young, Speeches Before the Utah Territorial Legislature, Jan. 23 and Feb. 5, 1852, George D. Watt Papers, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, transcribed from Pitman shorthand by LaJean Purcell Carruth; “To the Saints,” Deseret News, April 3, 1852, 42.
“In the same session of the territorial legislature in which Brigham Young announced the priesthood ordination policy, the territorial legislature legalized black “servitude.” Brigham Young and the legislators perceived “servitude” to be a more humane alternative to slavery. Christopher B. Rich Jr., “The True Policy for Utah: Servitude, Slavery, and ‘An Act in Relation to Service,’” Utah Historical Quarterly 80, no.1 (Winter 2012): 54–74.
“David M. Goldenberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), 178–182, 360n20; Colin Kidd, The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
“...
“Stephen R. Haynes, Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
“...
“Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, for example, wrote in 1907 that the belief was “quite general” among Mormons that “the Negro race has been cursed for taking a neutral position in that great contest.” Yet this belief, he admitted, “is not the official position of the Church, [and is] merely the opinion of men.” Joseph Fielding Smith to Alfred M. Nelson, Jan. 31, 1907, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood
“Church members are cheering the enhanced pages, especially the one on race and the priesthood, which plainly "disavows" theories some critics have claimed were church doctrine and the basis for a ban on blacks holding the priesthood, a ban lifted by revelation in 1978.”, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865592128/LDS-Church-enhances-web-pages-on-its-history-doctrine.html?pg=all
“Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, for example, wrote in 1907 that the belief was “quite general” among Mormons that “the Negro race has been cursed for taking a neutral position in that great contest.” Yet this belief, he admitted, “is not the official position of the Church, [and is] merely the opinion of men.” Joseph Fielding Smith to Alfred M. Nelson, Jan. 31, 1907, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood
“Byron Marchant, 35, of Salt Lake, is the second opponent of the church policy withholding the priesthood from blacks to be excommunicated in the last two years.”, Star-News, October 16th, 1977, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19771015&id=oh1OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QhMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6904%2C3033393
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.", Brigham Young http://scriptures.byu.edu/jod/pdf/JoD10/JoD10_0110.pdf
“And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come…
“The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth”, D&C 93:24,26
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/93.24,26?lang=eng#23
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”, John 8:32 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/8.32?lang=eng#31
“Those who see freedom or truth as absolutely overriding principles in all human actions cannot be expected to be persuaded by the scriptures’ teaching that “knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”, Oaks, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/02/criticism?lang=eng
“For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive , and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—
“Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—
“These should then be attended to with great earnestness.”, D&C 123:12-14, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/123.12,13,14?lang=eng#11
“Some things that are true are not very useful.”, Packer, https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect?lang=eng
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”, Joseph Smith, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng
“Although the primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is more spiritual than historical, some people have wondered whether the migrations it describes are compatible with scientific studies of ancient America.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?lang=eng
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”, Moroni 10:5, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10.5?lang=eng#4
“As a child of God, your destiny, if you work hard enough and are faithful, is to become like Him. That means that there is nothing that is true that you cannot learn, because He knows all truth.”, Eyring, https://www.lds.org/new-era/1989/10/do-what-they-think-you-cant-do?lang=eng
“As Evenson and Jeffery examined the history, it became obvious there was vast disagreement among some former church leaders about whether evolution played a role in the origin of man, Jeffery said.”, Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/635188399/No-definitive-LDS-stance-on-evolution-study-finds.html?pg=all
"Lying is intentionally deceiving others. Bearing false witness is one form of lying. The Lord gave this commandment to the children of Israel: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Jesus also taught this when He was on earth (see Matthew 19:18). There are many other forms of lying. When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. We can also intentionally deceive others by a gesture or a look, by silence, or by telling only part of the truth. Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.", https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-31-honesty?lang=eng
"Indeed, in some instances, the merciful companion to truth is silence. Some truths are best left unsaid.", Nelson, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/01/truth-and-more?lang=eng
“Yea, and this was their faith—that my gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.”, D&C 10:48, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/10.48?lang=eng#47
“But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.”, D&C 49:24, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/49.24?lang=eng#23
“Consequently, most early Latter-day Saints assumed that Near Easterners or West Asians like Jared, Lehi, Mulek, and their companions were the first or the largest or even the only groups to settle the Americas.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?lang=eng
“Moral relativism, which is said to be the dominant force in American universities, has no legitimate place at BYU. The faculty teach values—the right and wrong taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”, Dallin H. Oaks, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/01/weightier-matters?lang=eng
“We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism.”, Christofferson, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/the-power-of-covenants?lang=eng
“In 19th-century American society, community violence was common and often condoned. Much of the violence perpetrated by and against Latter-day Saints fell within the then-existing American tradition of extralegal vigilantism, in which citizens organized to take justice into their own hands when they believed government was either oppressive or lacking. Vigilantes generally targeted minority groups or those perceived to be criminal or socially marginal. Such acts were at times fueled by religious rhetoric.
“...
“The isolated acts of violence committed by some Latter-day Saints can generally be seen as a subset of the broader phenomenon of frontier violence in 19th-century America.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/peace-and-violence-among-19th-century-latter-day-saints?lang=eng
“The Church was established in 1830, during an era of great racial division in the United States. At the time, many people of African descent lived in slavery, and racial distinctions and prejudice were not just common but customary among white Americans. Those realities, though unfamiliar and disturbing today, influenced all aspects of people’s lives, including their religion.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
“Women did marry at fairly young ages in the first decade of Utah settlement (age 16 or 17 or, infrequently, younger), which was typical of women living in frontier areas at the time.”,
https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
“Then the apostle Paul told us that the Lord had placed in His church apostles and prophets, pastors and teachers, and evangelists for the work of the ministry (that is the great missionary program), for the edifying of the body of Christ (that’s the teaching in our auxiliaries and home teaching and priesthood teaching and so forth), for the perfecting of the saints (that comes through the service that they render), “till we all come in the unity of the faith.” (See Eph. 4:11–13.)
We haven’t come to a unity of the faith, and if they do away with the instruments that the Lord placed there to bring us to a unity of the faith, how can we ever hope to arrive at that unity? Then he goes on to say that they “henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, … and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph. 4:14.)
And that’s what we have when we follow the philosophies of men rather than the leadership of his holy prophets.”, LeGrand Richard, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/10/the-things-of-god-and-man?lang=eng
“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”, D&C 8:2, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/8.2?lang=eng#1
“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.”, D&C 9:8 , https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/9.8?lang=eng#7
“There are feelings, you know, more important than believing or thinking.”, Packer, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1977/03/the-equal-rights-amendment?lang=eng
“And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me.
“Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning.”, D&C 45:9-10, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/45.9-10?lang=eng#8
“It’s terribly difficult to put reasons to revelation, and that’s, I think, why the Church may not have done well in putting reasons to it. I think they didn’t have reasons — they had revelation!”, Oaks, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/elder-oaks-interview-transcript-from-pbs-documentary
“the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”, D&C 93:36, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/93.36?lang=eng#35
“So I think in any day the watchmen on the tower are going to say intellectualism is a danger to the Church.”, Oaks, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/elder-oaks-interview-transcript-from-pbs-documentary
“Church President and territorial governor Brigham Young and his advisers formed policies based on that perception. They instructed the people to save their grain and prepare to cache it in the mountains in case they needed to flee there when the troops arrived. Not a kernel of grain was to be wasted or sold to merchants or passing emigrants. The people were also to save their ammunition and get their firearms in working order, and the territory’s militiamen were put on alert to defend the territory against the approaching troops if necessary.
“These orders and instructions were shared with leaders throughout the territory. Elder George A. Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles carried them to southern Utah. He, Brigham Young, and other leaders preached with fiery rhetoric against the enemy they perceived in the approaching army and sought the alliance of Indians in resisting the troops.”, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/09/the-mountain-meadows-massacre?lang=eng
“While I was in a mission on one occasion, a missionary said he had something to confess. I was very worried because he just could not get himself to tell me what he had done.
“After patient encouragement he finally blurted out, ‘I hit my companion.’
“‘Oh, is that all,’ I said in great relief.
“‘But I floored him,’ he said.
“After learning a little more, my response was ‘Well, thanks. Somebody had to do it, and it wouldn't be well for a General Authority to solve the problem that way’”, Packer, http://media2.ldscdn.org/assets/general-conference/october-1976-general-conference/1976-10-5010-elder-boyd-k-packer-64k-eng.mp3, 10:51
“It also shaped 19th-century Mormon society in other ways: marriage became available to virtually all who desired it; per-capita inequality of wealth was diminished as economically disadvantaged women married into more financially stable households...
“For these early Latter-day Saints, plural marriage was a religious principle that required personal sacrifice. Accounts left by men and women who practiced plural marriage attest to the challenges and difficulties they experienced, such as financial difficulty, interpersonal strife, and some wives’ longing for the sustained companionship of their husbands.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
“After the Manifesto, monogamy was advocated in the Church both over the pulpit and through the press. On an exceptional basis, some new plural marriages were performed between 1890 and 1904, especially in Mexico and Canada, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law; a small number of plural marriages were performed within the United States during those years...
“Plural marriage had never been encouraged outside of concentrated populations of Latter-day Saints. Especially in these newly formed congregations outside of Utah, monogamous families became central to religious worship and learning.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
“Several later documents suggest that several women who were already married to other men were, like Marinda Hyde, married or sealed to Joseph Smith. Available evidence indicates that some of these apparent polygynous/polyandrous marriages took place during the years covered by this journal. At least three of the women reportedly involved in these marriages—Patty Bartlett Sessions, Ruth Vose Sayers, and Sylvia Porter Lyon—are mentioned in the journal, though in contexts very much removed from plural marriage.58 Even fewer sources are extant for these complex relationships than are available for Smith’s marriages to unmarried women, and Smith’s revelations are silent on them. Having surveyed the available sources, historian Richard L. Bushman concludes that these polyandrous marriages—and perhaps other plural marriages of Joseph Smith—were primarily a means of binding other families to his for the spiritual benefit and mutual salvation of all involved.”, http://josephsmithpapers.org/doc/introduction-to-journals-volume-2
“But Emma likely did not know about all of Joseph’s sealings.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng
“And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.”, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132.61?lang=eng#60
“Be determined now to always do what is right and let the consequence follow. The consequence will always be for your best good. You will learn that it is easiest over the long run to stand for what is right and do the difficult thing to begin with.”, Scott, https://www.lds.org/liahona/2001/03/do-what-is-right?lang=eng
“My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church and if he ever tells you to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it.”, Grant, https://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng
“Neil J. Young, a Princeton professor, says the Church’s weighing in on the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1980s was ‘based on a revelation.’ This is incorrect.”, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-news-getting-it-right-june-20
“The Church opposed the ERA because of a prophetic judgment that this would take us in a direction we do not want to go for the law of marriage and divorce. And that could not be explained. It’s terribly difficult to put reasons to revelation, and that’s, I think, why the Church may not have done well in putting reasons to it. I think they didn’t have reasons — they had revelation!”, Oaks, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/elder-oaks-interview-transcript-from-pbs-documentary
“Invite an exemplary sister (preferably one who has married in the temple and has a family), who has been approved by priesthood advisers, to speak to the young women about the joy of being a woman.”, https://www.lds.org/manual/young-women-manual-1/lesson-5-finding-joy-in-our-divine-potential?lang=eng
“Point out that the worldly view of women’s roles is false partly because it is self centered. It focuses so much on a woman’s rights to receive that it almost ignores her opportunities to give.”, https://www.lds.org/manual/young-women-manual-1/lesson-8-attitudes-about-our-divine-roles?lang=eng
“The man becomes not only the father, but the patriarch of his family. This means that he is responsible to help his family live in such a way that they can return to Heavenly Father together. And because he holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, he can bless his family and teach them in a way he could not otherwise do.”, https://www.lds.org/manual/young-women-manual-1/lesson-14-patriarchal-leadership-in-the-home?lang=eng
“In God's plan for the happiness and eternal progression of His children, the blessings of His priesthood are equally available to men and women. Only men are ordained to serve in priesthood offices. All service in the Church has equal merit in the eyes of God.”, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-leaders-message-addresses-doctrine-questions
“The dress of a woman has a powerful impact upon the minds and passions of men. If it is too low or too high or too tight, it may prompt improper thoughts, even in the mind of a young man who is striving to be pure.”, Callister, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/03/the-lords-standard-of-morality?lang=eng
“The historical abominable church of the devil is that apostate church that replaced true Christianity in the first and second centuries, teaching the philosophies of men mingled with scriptures.”, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/01/warring-against-the-saints-of-god?lang=eng
“Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church presidents restricted blacks from receiving the temple endowment or being married in the temple. Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
“When the great council was held in heaven, in which all of us were involved, the Father presented his plan for peopling the earth, and for the salvation of man. Lucifer wanted to amend the plan. He proposed to destroy the agency of man and to save all mankind, that not one soul would be lost. This he would accomplish through outright force and coercion, denying all persons the right of choice.”, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1974/10/power-over-satan?lang=eng
“When God commands a difficult task, He sometimes sends additional messengers to encourage His people to obey. Consistent with this pattern, Joseph told associates that an angel appeared to him three times between 1834 and 1842 and commanded him to proceed with plural marriage when he hesitated to move forward. During the third and final appearance, the angel came with a drawn sword, threatening Joseph with destruction unless he went forward and obeyed the commandment fully.”, https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng