Taking the 'F' outta FLDS
The LDS Church is rolling out the big guns in its battle of words with The New York Times over an article by Timothy Egan that dared compare the LDS Church to the polygamous FLDS sect that was raided in Eldorado Texas.
Church Historian Elder Marlin Jensen issued a statement saying:
Church Historian Elder Marlin Jensen issued a statement saying:
Mr. Egan's cavalier comparison of FLDS polygamy practices with those of 19th century Latter-day Saints is historically unsupported and simply wrong. By implication, he also unfairly impugns the integrity of all Latter-day Saint marriages and families, the very institutions they hold most dear.Among other things, Egan wrote that Mormon founder (of the LDS and FLDS) Joseph Smith had married at least 33 women, one as young as 14. It's a practice similar to the alleged sex crimes of FLDS men.
That apparently stung the LDS Church. Jensen wrote:...His polygamy “revelation” was put into The Doctrine and Covenants, one of three sacred texts of Mormonism. It’s still there – the word of God. And that’s why, to the people in the compound at Eldorado, the real heretics are in Salt Lake City.
The conditions surrounding the practice of polygamy in Texas today bear little resemblance to the plural marriage practiced by Mormons more than a century ago. As thoughtful historians know, a serious study of history does not imposeI'm sure Elder Jensen is up on his history, but he is, ahem, a high-ranking member of the LDS heirarchy. Maybe it's time to call in Jan Shipps, left, the foremost non-Mormon scholar of LDS history, for an second opinion.contemporary understandings and sensibilities onto an interpretation of earlier time periods.
9 Comments:
Yeah, that's the ticket Marlin.
The FLDS bang underage girls; Joseph "Horny Joe" Smith bedded 14-year-olds and invented doctrine to justify it.
FLDS and LDs both read the Book of Mormon and Doctrines and Covenants.
Nothing in common. Nope. Nothing to see here. Move along folks.
Saying the FLDS and the LDS are the same is the same as saying the Catholics, Protestants and the Methodist are the same because they read the bible and at one point in history did the similar things.
For a person who is suppose to be educated mr Egan doesn't sound very smart.
He may be a high-ranking official, but the facts are the facts. He cited an outside source regarding 19th Century marriage ages -- 15 yrs old was not uncommon. Regardless, those may have been dynastic marriages. Todd Compton, the acknowledged expert on Smith's polygamy, doubts there was a sexual component to Smith's plural marriages. Read the book. Hasty generalizations and ignorance of (or simply ignoring) basic historical facts are not becoming.
I'm going to assume Elder Jensen's remarks are ignorant rather than disingenuous. All research shows that 19th century marriage ages differ little from today's. The mean age of first marriages in colonial America was between 19.8 years to 23.7.
In light of the fact that the age of menarche (first menstruation) dropped from 16.5 in 1840 to 12.9 in 1950, Joseph Smith's marriage to 14 Helen Mar Kimball would have been even more detestable to his contemporaries than FLDS actions are to most Americans today.
Isn't it funny...
the LDS saying that the FLDS are not part of their corporation?
Since the beginning of Mormondom, Christians have been saying mormons are not Christian.
Outraged
The LDS are under fire from the rest of the World due to a policy of self isolation from mainstream society. The world is shaken by the stories of FLDS practices. It is heart wrenching to here stories of abusive treatment of FLDS children and the apparent tolerance of their actions by the LDS for so many generations. This saga should cause everyone to question the religious foundations of Mormonism. Leadership of the LDS church should be held accountable for not speaking out for fundamental changes and a call for legal action to prevent the child abuse perpetrated by the FLDS, and other fundamental Mormons. It’s a black mark the World has seen for what it is, an outrage of religion. Logan, UT
I am so tired of hearing people who are "in the know" say that Joseph Smith did not have sexual relations with his numerous wives. There were written testimonies by these women that said there WERE. End of discussion. Like it or not, we can thank him for this mess we are seeing now. There is no getting around who started plural marriage. The only question I have is, why isn't the LDS church helping these mixed up women and children who have been uprooted and have no idea what their futures hold? It seems everyone wants to help them except their "cousins" in religion.
The LDS are under fire from the rest of the World due to a policy of self isolation from mainstream society.
Don't you mean the FLDS?
At one time the LDS church was relatively isolated in the Intermountain West, but that was not entirely by choice.
Since then, Mormons have been migrating away from the Rocky Mountains. You would be hard-pressed to show that Mormons are isolating themselves.
The world is shaken by the stories of FLDS practices. It is heart wrenching to here stories of abusive treatment of FLDS children and the apparent tolerance of their actions by the LDS for so many generations.
Apparent tolerance? Not so. Anyone caught practicing polygamy or committing crimes is subject to excommunication from the LDS church. That is the harshest penalty the church can imposed.
This saga should cause everyone to question the religious foundations of Mormonism.
Why?
Leadership of the LDS church should be held accountable for not speaking out for fundamental changes and a call for legal action to prevent the child abuse perpetrated by the FLDS, and other fundamental Mormons.
Why should the leaders of one church be held accountable for what members of another church do?
Look, it really is simple: The LDS and the FLDS consider themselves to belong to separate groups. Each group is responsible for its own behavior.
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