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The Many Faces of LDS Christianity & Many Ways of Mormoning
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 The Many Faces of LDS Christianity

& The Many Ways of "Mormoning":

How Personality and Temperament Affects Restoration Theologies, Traditions & Practices

By Wr. WonderFull

(emergentmormon.blogspot.com)

Before I begin, this is a follow up to my two articles linked below:

These articles above go into much more detail about how faces or one's countenance, our biologies or the physiology of a person, i.e. their personality and temperament, affects the formation of scripture and theology and one’s interpretation of scripture and theology; and their subjective experience of the LDS Restoration Movement. For our purposes in this document, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will begin with the LDS Leaders today and in history who best represent what it means to me to be what I call an Emergent Mormon based on my website and blog at emergentmormon.blogspot.com.

I will then discuss the various types of Mormons and how there is not one way to be Mormon. I will make the case for many Mormonisms yet there being one Zion Ideal and one People of the Smithian Restoration Movement.

I will then cover how today, as of 2023, an Area 70 in the LDS Church has publicly condemned the content of the book The Miracle of Forgiveness, and I will discuss how LDS Church “Doctrine” (in Manuals and Correlated Material) has in fact changed over time. The point being that what really matters to being LDS is the Doctrine of Christ described in the Book of Mormon, as that is the only consistent "doctrine" in LDS Christianity.

 I will argue that LDS Scripture and the core principles and values of the restored gospel therein is what it really means to be an LDS Restorationist. In other words, everyone is going to come to the table of "Mormonism" with their own personality style, temperament, and biases; yet the core principles and values of Scripture and the overall united Mind of all Restoration Believers can ideally unite all “Mormons” as one. This is the point of my blog post: Big Tent Mormonism: Beyond "Mormon Denominationalism" & Toward a "Unified Mormonism." 

So to begin, these LDS leaders best represent my views as an Emergent Mormon, that is these are the Mormon Leaders who’s style or way of being LDS best aligns with my own. In other words, to better understand my point of view, here is a brief look at the faces and recommended books, sites, and the podcasts and programs I recommend that best represents my point of view and existentialist position regarding Mormonism:

Joseph Smith Jr.:

Joseph Smith

American Mystic, Literary Artist, & Spiritual Naturalist

 

I admire Joseph Smith for his combination of having a competitive spirit, inner strength and drive to thrive; as well as a caring heart and an egalitarian vision of Zion. I admire his artistic creativity combined with his organizational and leadership skills.

…..

Orson Pratt:

Pratt’s pamphlet Absurdities of Immaterialism, argues for a rational Spiritual Naturalism. You can find it referenced in a footnote in the 1891 Doctrine and Covenants. Orson Pratt offered a rational, science-friendly LDS Faith. He and Brigham Young butted heads over theology. Pratt represented the last vestiges of Original Mormonism under Joseph Smith: when it was philosophical, studious and rational; with a spirit of artistic exploration before everything got codified into “Correlated Material.”

…..

Parley P. Pratt:

 

…..

J. Golden Kimball:

J. Golden gave me a source of authority for exercising my sense of humor when I was on my LDS mission and when giving talks at church.

….

B.H. Roberts:

I admire Roberts for his noble attempt early on to push the LDS Church toward a more transparent and honest church history, including the church’s stance about the Book of Mormon. He argued for progression from one kingdom to the next in the eternities.

…..

Eugene England:

……

Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

……

The following LDS scholars and apologists (i.e. defenders of the faith) best align with my LDS style and personality and best reflects my way of being "Mormon":

Tarik D. LaCour:

Tarik D. LaCour on the left above next to philosopher David Hume and Joseph Smith

MEAGAN KOHLER

https://publicsquaremag.org/dialogue/consciousness-isnt-real-an-interview-with-tarik-lacour/

https://youtu.be/M3ShG06vJ2A?si=tyy5OhhMMYjkjjKL 

….

Brittany Hartley:

…..

The Hosts of Ward Radio:

See: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmsAFGrFuGe0obW6tkEY6w 

I don’t agree with everything the hosts of Ward Radio (formerly Midnight Mormons) say or do or believe, but I like the fun and positive energy of these guys. It reminds me of my times in the LDS Church when it was the most fun! They have good energy and fun back and forth banter, and are often funny. Cardin’s mediating nature and Brad’s Christ-likeness balances out Kwaku’s sometimes slightly overly aggressiveness against critics, while at the same time Kwaku’s sense of humor is a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend their debate advertised below:

This debate with RFM and the Midnight Mormons (renamed Ward Radio) to me proved the nihilistic vapidness that most of ExMormonism has become. Watch the debate here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNNiWwywL5A 

The debate (pictured below) between Kwaku El and Aaron Shafovaloff in 2020 is one of the best debates by a Mormon I have ever seen:

Three Topics of the debate were; Is Salvation by Faith Alone? Was There a Great Apostasy? Are Families Forever? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd9rQ7AZ_xg 

….

Greg Prince

Source

…..

Thomas Holton

 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/words-of-wonder_come-follow-me-matthew-10-luke-9-following-activity-7040259210688745472-Aze4

https://youtu.be/MjiJkbsGxDU?si=K2-lVeCAsVMo7EES

…..

Jim Bennett:

…..

Greg Matsen:

Greg Matsen is the founder of Cwic Media and the host of its primary show called Cwic Show.

https://www.cwicmedia.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/CwicMedia/featured 

…..

Terryl & Fiona Givens:

Terryl & Fiona Givens have provided a robust and intellectually satisfying Mormon Thought World through their books:

Also see Terryl Givens’ books:

These books by Terryl helped me see the importance and benefits of the LDS structural organization and its current move away from the “McConkie” era.

……

Michael Quinn:

…..

Leonard Arrington

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Patrick Q. Mason

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Richard Bushman

…..

Blake Ostler:

See: https://soundcloud.com/user-914466958

See: https://youtu.be/_4yRzWHh9eQ?si=bWouJ6OcYhrqGjQm 

The video link above discusses Blake Ostler's article, The Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source.

Also see Revisioning Mormon Concept of Deity by Blake Ostler: https://ldsfocuschrist2.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/2005-revisioning-mormon-concept-of-diety-blake-ostler/ 

Also see The Head God versus Infinite Gods on the Jacob Hansen podcast: https://youtu.be/q5OEJVShSYc?si=0ex_OCvupskvEVfI 

…..

Ben Spackman:

See: https://youtu.be/4sa4A_on1BA?si=UwRgW1b2fpBeiqMb

In the video above by Saints Unscripted, Ben Spackman explores the idea that even history and science is a form of "mythology"; and that the story of the flood is best viewed as a "moral mythos." Also see Truth, Scripture, and Interpretation: Some Precursors to Reading Genesis at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2017/truth-scripture-and-interpretation 

Thus we see that there is room for non-literal interpretations of LDS Scripture. Also see these articles and videos by Ben:

…

Jana Spangler:

I don’t agree with everything Spangler says but her attempt to be LDS on her own terms is admirable.

…..

Leo Winegar

https://youtu.be/c16Y-EYHwx8?si=-rLQDqrFpGtxcz3L

…..

Don Dradley:

See: https://youtu.be/d6MsWH5CN0U?si=UCcbg4Qr-L94SP5b

…..

Anthony Miller (not LDS):

https://youtu.be/3BzM6bDfz4g?si=Ai7r38ILZhdOa0T

Anthony Miller is not LDS anymore but as of 2019 he is in an interfaith marriage with his wife who is a devout LDS member; and he is a good role model of how to be a post-Mormon without being an Anti-Mormon.

Lisa Barlow:

Screenshot of Lisa Barlow on Season 4, Episode 10 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

I do not endorse everything Lisa Barlow says or does but I agree with her that there is no one way to be Mormon.

Images of the The New Mormonism or A New LDS Christianity:

 

Again, since a picture is worth a 1000 words. Here are some books and websites I highly recommend that encapsulates the best of today's modern New Mormonism:

…..

Latterdayorthodoxy.org  

…..

Two Essays on Sustaining and Enlarging the Doctrine by Daniel C. Peterson at Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, 41 (2020)

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/two-essays-on-sustaining-and-enlarging-the-doctrine/ 

…..

www.churchistrue.com 

…..

Images of the Old Mormonism or McConkie Mormonism that is still clung to by some:

The above is significant when one compares the above trajectory toward an Emerging New Mormonism, with the Old Mormonism: as captured in these book and pamphlet covers (some of which are no longer in print as they contradict the new trajectory of the New Mormonism):

The original Mormon Doctrine (1958 Edition) had a black cover

which made it look like LDS scripture. Nowadays more LDS scholars and apologists reject this book.

…..

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer Kimball

…..

To Young Men Only (a.k.a. My Little Factory pamphlet) It was finally discarded by the Church, see https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4584556&itype=CMSID 

…..

Source:https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ac/15/50/ac1550244fba9b64ea9ec71941c6c850.jpg

Images of the Oldguard McConkie Mormons Who Are Hanging On to  "McConkieism"

To recognize the New LDS Perspective it helps to see the Old LDS Perspective clung to by some seeking to return to the McCokie era. A good example is https://josephsmithfoundation.org and http://ldsanswers.org. Here are some images from them:

L. Hannah Stoddard (picture above) is the poster girl for Old Style Mormonism or what I call “McConkie Mormonism”

The Case for Many Mormonisms but One Zion People

So the way I see it, as of 2023, there is a growing transition taking place between the old way of McConkie and Boyd K. Packer (and others of the past) and the new ways of those like Terryl Givens. In the process, it has become clear that there is no one version of Mormonism. For Brigham Young’s Adam God theory and racial priesthood-temple ban is not the same version we have today in the New Mormonism after 1978 and the LDS Church's 2013 Race and Priesthood essay; and the content of the book The Miracle of Forgiveness has been officially condemned by an Area 70, see:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDtVukK6nE&list=PLftmpasLfCemztHKqY4AjmyFdhoPPQQxF&index=1&t=50s 

In an August 2021 Stake Leadership meeting at the Herriman Utah Rose Canyon Stake, Area Seventy Richard N Holzapfel asked a couple of youth how they felt about repentance. He told them to be honest and authentic. His response to their frank answer was a remarkable assessment of the impact of decades of what he described as hurtful teachings about repentance, purity and perfection.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn0PHbE44K8&list=PLftmpasLfCemztHKqY4AjmyFdhoPPQQxF&index=2 

Transcript reads:

This has been really great … now … let's be honest here these are two amazing young men and young women. I mean really be honest, these are great so if they're telling you this think of what other kids are saying, think about other adults what they're thinking. Unfortunately, some of you know that Elizabeth Smart as a young girl was stolen from her bedroom in the middle of the night by a by a nut and he raped her repeatedly and did awful things, awful things, because Elizabeth Smart  grew up on the east bench of Salt Lake in a very wealthy, exclusive Latter-day Saint community in Salt Lake. She had some ideas in her brain and one of them was that she now was like a old piece chewed gum. Who wants a piece of chewed gum? She didn't realize that man could not take her virtue. She wasn't like a piece of wood that the nail was in it and repentance is removing the nail but the hole is still there. Some phrases that we've used in seminary and in young men and young women, in Sunday Schools for decades in this Church that have hurt the rising generation; and so we've got to get this clear about what repentance is and I suggest that we read President Nelson deeply and President Elder Anderson, I think Lihona, I can't remember [if it is the] February issue, I'm not going to promote his book, his book is great though, everybody should read his book but the article in the Liahona which is free you we should read that and we should accept the prophetic teachings of today. We don't want to go back to the to The Miracle of Forgiveness by President Kimball. You know what he said in his diary before he died, [he said] if I could go back I would rewrite that book. So let's let's drop the dead prophets and embrace the living [prophets]! So President Nelson, apostles and prophets such as Elder Todd Christopherson in particular but Elder Anderson, who's really come on strong this last year in teaching … that the number one problem we have is perfectionism, it's among both the young men and young women but principally the young women are struggling with perfectionism; and there's things that we say, do your best. What's the best? I never can do my best, we have to look at our language, how it's being read, how it's been understood.

As we can see there are always going to be different personalities and temperaments who produce traditions and practices based on their perceptions and biases. So there is not one Mormonism, yet the core principles of “loving God” and “love of neighbor” are intact and won’t change, while there is a growing variety of ways to express one’s LDS Faith. I would argue that there is in fact no one Mormon dogma, only the core principles and patterns in LDS Scripture. So I see a variety of types of Mormons and Mormonisms within Mormonism. Yet even though trending doctrines change and theological expressions can and will differ, there is a Practical Christianity I cover in my blog posts here: http://practical-fruition.blogspot.com/2023/07/table-of-links-to-blog-posts.html.

There are the essential shared principles and values of the LDS Ethos that generates a Zion People which are embedded in Scripture; that will not change as they are the core of the restored gospel. Then there are man-made traditions that come and go.

Here are just some examples of the variety of LDS expressions of man-made creedal-doctrine and theology (or traditions) that have changed over the years. James Talmage, in his 1916 Exposition on the Godhead presented a different theology from the original Doctrine of the 2nd and 5th Lecture on Faith and D&C 109 (where the Father is Jehovah):

https://slideplayer.com/slide/17896954/108/images/21/The+Father+and+the+Son%3A+A+Doctrinal+Exposition+by+the+First+Presidency+and+The+Twelve+%281916%29..jpg

For more details see: https://archives.byui.edu/s/public/page/1916-the-father-and-the-son 

The Lectures on Faith, depicted below in the original Doctrine and Covenants, were the official Doctrine of the Church:

So the fact that the very doctrine of the Church on the Godhead changed between 1844 and 1921 in the Brighamite sect, is proof that what it means to be LDS is not about agreeing on dogma, but the essence of being LDS is instead about aligning with the core principles and values of Restoration Scripture that produces good character and a Zion People. It is clearly not about doctrine, as those Saints who read the original D&C and read the Lectures on Faith (and D&C 109) as the doctrine back then came away believing the Father was Jehovah and they had this view of the Godhead as illustrated at this link: https://slideplayer.com/slide/11649484/. Also see my blog series on this subject here: https://emergentmormon.blogspot.com/2023/09/restoring-origional-mormon-godhead-blog.html

Does this mean the first LDS members were not true “Mormons” because their view of the Godhead differed from the view James Talmage basically invented in 1916? Or is being LDS less about dogma and more about forming Peoplehood? In the following blog series I argue that being Mormon is a Peoplehood, a quasi-ethnicity and culture, see:

https://emergentmormon.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-case-for-honoring-your-lds-heritage.html 

Some LDS members argue that a Brighamite member should blindly obey and follow the Brethren who they say can’t teach false doctrine, yet the Area 70 quoted above was honest in saying the Brethren can teach harmful ideas! Meanwhile, we know that the 1949 First Presidency letter taught false doctrine regarding African Americans, as such man-made doctrines and traditions were later declared folklore in the 2013 LDS essay Race and the Priesthood. For more details see: Episode 226: Nuanced Approach to Doctrine by Bill (August 18, 2016) at: https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/2016/08/post-nuanced-approach-to-doctrine/ 

I have only covered three major doctrines and policies above, the puritanical shaming policies, the Godhead, and a policy of exclusion from holding the priesthood. Three major issues. Therefore, to hang one’s hat on doctrine or policy to define one’s approach to Mormonism is problematic. It is therefore better to see Mormonism as a kind of field of spiritual energy and a quasi-ethnicity and cultural identity; and the LDS Way being instead about living true principles and patterns toward becoming more of a high character individual and a Zion People.

Personality & Principles

There will never be one monolithic way to be Mormon because LDS personality types differ and each type or style tends to form a moral ethos that focuses on different things, as Jonahan Haidt points out, see: https://moralfoundations.org. So we would expect that not all Mormons have the exact same subjective “moralities.” For example, when I was growing up in the LDS Faith in the 1990s, there were Mormons who considered drinking Coca Cola to be a “sin,” and other Mormons would be deemed “Liberal Mormons” if they drank Coke (or Cola drinks). Today, over twenty years later it is a non-issue in LDS Culture. Today, we have different versions of the former pro-Cola and anti-Cola type Mormon divide, only now it's not cola but some other issue. This is because each Mormon has a unique personality and temperament and man-made traditions and practices string up based on these personalities and temperaments. To understand the Big 5 Personality traits, see:

 

If one simply visits the many different Mormon Forums online they will see drastic differences in personality types and temperaments and subjective-moralities and what is focused on as a result: For example, compare ldsfreedomforum.com to www.mormondialogue.org. These differences are due to the moral psychologies and personalities of those on these forums. 

Compare the Fun energy and friendly personalities of the Hosts of Ward Radio (pictured on the left below) & the Old Style Apologetics of Personalities like Luis Midgley (on the right below):

https://i0.wp.com/www.fromthedesk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Louis_Midgley-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C983&ssl=1

Compare J. Golden Kimball (referenced above) to more somber and serious personalities like Dallan Oaks. Compare the Interpreter Foundation (https://interpreterfoundation.org) to the  Maxwell Institute (https://mi.byu.edu). One LDS site is more rigorously objective and scientific than the other that tends to be faith promoting at all costs.

This very topic of ways to Mormon and differences in personality is displayed in the discussions below:

 

Does Being A Latter-day Saint Mean Anything Anymore? [With] Jana Spangler

By Thoughtful Faith Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqKzoNK8Wfo 

Jim Bennett & Jacob Hansen Discuss Their Differences

YouTube · Mormon Book Reviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjSQHd0I5EI 

        I find myself agreeing and disagreeing with all four people in the above podcasts because my personality aligns with each one in different ways. Hansen is seeking to form boundaries and borders so as not to dilute the theological potency of Mormonism and maintain tribal identity and unity so that it doesn't become just another extremely far-Left Protestant Church. The other guests in turn make good points about the more “liberal” (or social justice perspective) in Mormonism, which goes back to Joseph Smith and Jesus himself in many ways.

Then you have Lisa Barlow (pictured below):

See: Lisa Barlow of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ is a ‘Mormon 2.0’

She’s a Latter-day Saint, but says she lives the religion her way at https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2020/12/19/lisa-barlow-real/ 

Lisa considers herself a Mormon yet drinks coffee. In the article linked above, Lisa said in December 2020, “I'm Jewish by heritage, and I'm active LDS. … But I also practice it my own way.” Another article on Today.com explains:

“When you're (a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I think especially Orthodox, you check off a lot of boxes,” said Barlow, who credits Seth Marks, the husband of fellow cast member Meredith Marks, with introducing her to the phrase “Mormon 2.0.”

To her, the church represents a "value system," including "treating your body like a temple." At the same time, she's the owner of businesses including Vida Tequila while also a member of a church that teaches believers to abstain from drinking alcohol.

"I just feel like as I've gotten older and have my own family, that I feel like ‘Mormon 2.0’ best fits me. I love our religion, but I also love our business, too,” she told TODAY in a Zoom interview. …

… “I think the biggest thing for me is I'm authentic to myself,” she said. “I love the religion I choose — religion is a choice — and I choose to be LDS. And for me, I think it's important that — that's a part of my life and I'm on TV and I committed to sharing my life, and that's a big part of it. So I'm completely comfortable with it.

“If someone else is uncomfortable, I can't really do anything about that. I'm very comfortable with it,” she added.

Barlow was raised in upstate New York; she recalled that her mom had a strong love of God and was “always in search of something.” The joke in her family is that it was her mom’s “‘Eat Pray Love’ journey,” a reference to the bestselling Elizabeth Gilbert memoir documenting the author's quest for self-discovery.

“The constant in my mom's ‘Eat Pray Love’ journey since joining the Mormon church is reading her scriptures,” she said. “I think my parents were strict, but not because they enforced things, but because we all respected — I'm one of six kids in eight years, all before my parents were 30. So that's a lot of kids. And you learn how to work well together within a group. And we respected our parents so much that we naturally wanted to live in a way that they expected of us.

“It wasn't like they were like, ‘You're going to have this taken away’ or, ‘We're going to punish you for this.’ It was more like a nonspoken respect.”

Source: https://www.today.com/popculture/real-housewives-salt-lake-city-star-lisa-barlow-says-she-t197781

Who is to say Lisa is not Mormon? When I grew up in the 1980s and 90s, no one questioned the ideas and dogmas in Bruce R. McConkie’s book Mormon Doctrine as the capital “T” Truth. Now we have Terryl Givens’ book Wrestling the Angel that documents “the McConkie era” as just a phase in the ongoing development of Mormon Thought:

 →  

        Finally, we have Patrick Mason who wrote Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt, which first caused me to realize there is a radical shift in LDS apologetics (i.e. ways of defending the faith), as Patrick Mason is honest about LDS church history and the difficulties of believing in the modern age. Patrick then wrote Restoration (see below) which calls on Latter Day Saints to be part of an ongoing restoration and to realize that something that was all-too-Mormon just twenty years ago is not what it means to be Mormon today.

What this means to me is that there is room to carve out one’s own way to be Mormon, especially if one is willing to abide by the core principles and values of the LDS Standard Works. As Joseph Fielding Smith explained:

STANDARD WORKS JUDGE TEACHINGS OF ALL MEN

 It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teaching of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works [Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price] as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man's doctrine.

You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only insofar as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works.

Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.

Source: Page 575 of Doctrines of Salvation Volume 3 by Joseph Fielding Smith: https://archive.org/stream/Doctrines-of-Salvation-volume-3-joseph-fielding-smith/JFSDoctrinesofSalvationv3_djvu.txt 

In other words, it is not The Church of Boyd K. Packer of Latter-day McConkeyites but The Church (People) of Rabbi Jesus the Christ: as Christ's voice is, for the LDS Restorationist, revealed through Joseph Smith’s Scripture productions: which were voted on by the first Mormons (my ancestors, my people) through a process called common consent, as they as an assembly of LDS Christians (a united People) voted on what was to be included into the LDS Canon or what was considered Scripture; which then was to be the standard beliefs, principles and practices of the Latter Day Saints; and thus the Scriptures are called the Standard Works.