What does it mean to remain faithful to the Restored Gospel when an institution’s foundational teachings or practices change? This question deserves careful attention to scripture, history, and the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost. The examination of this question is not intended to pass judgment upon any individual’s standing before God, nor to make assumptions about others’ motives.
A Scriptural Question, Not a Judgment on Individuals
The revelations of the Restored Gospel direct believers to receive God’s voice and live according to what they have received. Doctrine and Covenants 84:54–57 describes condemnation arising from unbelief and neglect of the Book of Mormon as well as former commandments; it also identifies repentance and unfeigned discipleship as the remedy. The warning is addressed to the covenant people themselves. As such, the intent of the revelation is clearly to call us to repentance and a consecrated lifestyle, not to dismiss others’ devotion or to claim knowledge of their standing before God.1
As discussed here, apostasy means a departure from revealed truth or covenant responsibilities. Whether a particular change is such a departure is a theological question. Establishing that a policy changed is a historical finding; concluding that the change was authorized, or unauthorized, by God requires a further judgment about revelation and Priesthood authority. These two issues should not be confused, as one only requires academic study, while the other requires sincere prayer and a witness from God.2
Five Questions of Continuity
- Plural marriage: the 1890 and 1904 transitions — how a formerly authorized practice became prohibited.
- Consecration: covenant and economic practice — the early property-and-stewardship arrangements which differ from the present description of the covenant.
- Teachings concerning Adam as God our Father — Fred C. Collier’s holistic reading of Brigham Young’s teachings, as compared with the LDS Church’s later rejection of the Adam-God doctrine.
- Cain, Canaan, and Priesthood: racial teachings and the 1978 change — scriptural distinctions and differing explanations of the restriction.
- Warnings to the Gentiles and Ephraim — covenant responsibility, apostasy, and the promise of repentance.
Reading with Charity and Precision
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as the LDS Church) understands these matters through the explanation of continuing revelation, and the authority of its presiding leaders. Brother Fred Collier’s published works ask whether the founding teachings of earlier prophets, and the laws of God revealed through them, remain binding. A fair comparison gives both positions their actual substance. Historical pressures, doctrinal disagreements, and changed practices can be discussed plainly without antagonism, and through the ultimate lens of understanding and charity.
The purpose of this inquiry is fidelity to God: to learn what He revealed, distinguish evidence from interpretation, and to consider how His covenants should be lived.