Episode #169: Standing With The LDS Church On Correct Principles W/Ben Winfield (NOT FOR ANYONE UNDER 16)
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(THIS EPISODE IS FOR MORE MATURE AUDIENCES, SOME CLIPS I PLAY FROM A DIFFERENT PODCAST MAKE SEVERAL INAPPROPRIATE INNUENDOS AND I WOULD SUGGEST NOT LETTING ANYONE UNDER 16 LISTEN!!!)
While I won't play down the theological differences between Orthodox Mormonism and the LDS Church the truth is that there is a lot more that we have in common than not and as such when The LDS Church lines up with True Principles we should stand with them on that principle. This episode is one of those as me and my guest defend the LDS Church from a prominent Anti-Mormon podcaster. The LDS Church in the last couple months took a few steps in a direction I think most of us as Fundamentalists would agree with. They have presented new curriculum for their youth explaining the history around the LDS Church’s former practice of Celestial Plural Marriage. Now by presenting this information you would think that the anti/post Mormon community would be happy with this since they have been screaming for more transparency on Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage. However, the exact opposite is true. They railed on the curriculum material by calling it grooming. So, on this Ben Winfield and I breakdown not only the curriculum published by the LDS Church (which in my opinion is pretty darn good for LDS Youth) but also the response from a prominent anti-Mormon podcaster.
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The you're listening to the
Mormon Renegade podcast.
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You know, there were some things
when I first started this
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podcast that I was fairly
certain I wasn't ever going to
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have to do, right?
Like, what's that?
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I thought I would never have to,
you know, Well, there's a lot,
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but one of the things I thought
I'd never have to do is like,
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literally like kind of stand
with the LDS church on some
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stuff.
But that's where being
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principled comes in, right?
It's easy to to kind of draw
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lines in the sand and say, OK,
you're with me, you're against
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me, that sort of a thing.
But that's not always a great
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indicator of of where you really
stand.
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And and that's just more or less
playing politics with people and
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organizations, right?
And I think I think it's
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fundamentalist.
We make the claim that we we try
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to stand on principle, right?
We try to stand on truth, the
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history principle.
And so sometimes you got to do
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things that you never thought
you'd have to do.
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And this is going to be a little
bit of a unique episode.
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So the church, the LDS church
has come under some fire as of
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late from a certain O antagonist
towards the church.
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You'll see him, don't worry,
you'll see him.
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And we're going to go over that
a little bit today.
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And there's two episodes we're
going to look at that have just
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recently came out in the last
few weeks, I guess.
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And they deal with principles
that that quite frankly, I feel
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like as Mormons, we should all
be able to rally around, right.
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And so with that, we'll just
kind of jump back in.
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Ben, it's dude, it's been a
while.
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Yeah, it has been.
Looks like you've lost some more
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weight.
Yeah, doing well, Doing well
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with that.
Family's doing good.
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Yeah, yeah, got got another baby
on the way.
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Nice, so soon it's going to be a
boy.
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Are you going, are you going
like last time you disappointed
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me 'cause you didn't do the full
like fundamentalist birthing
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thing?
I mean, do you have a hand cart
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for your dear sweet wife to give
birth in now?
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Well, yeah, I mean, and it's,
you know, really terrible
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weather.
It's winter.
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I do plan on making her walk
through the ice and when to.
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Oh, good, good.
Not intended.
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Yes, yes, fantastic.
All right, good.
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I just wanted to make sure we
were, we were keeping up on
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things there, Ben.
I didn't want you slacking it
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all.
She's in the other room.
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She definitely didn't hear that.
Sweetheart, we listen to this.
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These are all jokes.
I love you so much.
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Yes, it's a secret between you,
me, Mason and the 15,000 other
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people that are going to hear
and see this.
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So I'm sure it will never get
back to her because none of the
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things I ever say make it back
to Amber and Tanya.
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No, but just you know when you
do listen to this sweetheart,
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your comfort is my highest
priority and I love you.
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Well played, Sir, well played.
So did you have to, like, lie to
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your wife when you came on and
like, hey, I actually got to,
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like, go in here and like, do
our bills?
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I mean, 'cause, you know, we
haven't talked in a while.
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So I assume there's like a
gentle feeling of relief when
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you haven't been talking to me
now.
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Yeah, no, no, no, she, she's,
she's pretty chill.
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OK, good, good.
Just happy about it.
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I actually forgot to tell her
till this morning and then I was
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like oh shoot.
Well, you know the the girls
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both fell asleep.
You know, we got 2 little girls
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and they're they're like they
went to bed on time.
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It was amazing so.
You know, if there's one thing
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I.
Found are perfect.
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That's perfect.
If there's one thing I found
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that women really like, it's
when you just spring things on
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them because they always like to
have spontaneity, right?
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And there's nothing better than
just coming home and being like,
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I got to go sequester myself in
the office for a good half hour
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or hours, right?
I mean, yeah, they love that.
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They say that they like
spontaneity, but really I think
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that they just like presence,
you know, because they're never
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really excited when you're like,
hey, by the way, I'm going to go
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to a podcast tonight, so.
Like you.
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Know you're going to handle
bedtime on on your own,
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probably.
Right, right.
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Well, I was going to say, I
suppose it depends on kind of
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the the husband, you are right.
Like Amber and Tanya are like,
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oh, so you're going to be out of
our hair for, I mean, gone for
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three hours and then they go to
Joanne's and then that kind of
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hurts, but whatever.
OK, all right, we're moving on.
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All right, so as we dive in
here, the first place that we're
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going to kind of look at is the
principle of plural marriage.
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So the church has just came out
with some stuff that I felt like
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like there was a few things I
disagreed with in there, but by
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and large, it was pretty good.
And I just want to go over the
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whole thing because it's really
short.
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And then we'll dive into the
critiques that that were made
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online.
So let me share my screen here
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with you real quick, Ben.
All right.
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And everybody else at home.
OK, so, oh, there we go.
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There we go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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OK.
You got that right?
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Yep.
OK, perfect.
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So this is what the church put
out and it's four kids.
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My, my guess is probably
somewhere in the, in the 12 year
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old range, if I had to guess,
right.
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But it, it does go over plural
marriage.
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And to be fair, I, I believe
this is the first time that the
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church actually takes steps to
kind of explain plural marriage
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to their, to their youth in, in
any sort of official capacity.
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And so I just want to read
through this.
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So here we got Joseph and I
believe that's Martin Harris.
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I could be wrong.
Who are are sitting there and
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they're they're going over the
Bible and it says while the
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Prophet Joseph Smith was
studying the Bible, he read
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about prophets like Abraham,
Moses, who had been married to
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more than one wife.
Joseph wondered how the Lord
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felt about it.
So he decided to ask the Lord.
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The Lord said that usually a man
should have one wife, but
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sometimes the Lord commanded his
people to be in marriages of one
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man and more than one woman.
This was called plural marriage.
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The Lord told Joseph that his
people should only be in plural
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marriage if he commands it.
Well, as as fundamentalists, we
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believe the Lord has commanded
it.
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Now the LDS Church, they don't.
That's their deal, whatever
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that's on them.
But for guys like Ben and I, we
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believe that this is still in
force.
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I know the illusions they're
making there to Jacob too as
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well.
But really the the kind of main
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thrust there is if the Lord
commands it.
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And 1:32 definitely says it's
back on the table.
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So Ben, if I get anything wrong
or something, you want to dive
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in deeper, you just jump in.
Yeah, no, I mean, that's the the
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key to it.
I mean, just kind of like, I
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think what's significant about
all of the, the fact that the
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church is doing this at all is
for anyone like maybe just a
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little bit younger than our age
and older, we, this wasn't
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really discussed except for in
passing.
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If you grew up in the LDS
church, like they used to have
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the like priesthood and relief
society manuals and it was
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teachings of the presidents of
the church.
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And every year was a new church
president and it went through
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selections from their sermons
about various topics.
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And each week you would study
one and there would be kind of a
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biographical information thing
on there.
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And until later, what they
usually did is for all of the
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polygamist presidents of the
church, they listed the the
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prophet's first wife.
Let's say, you know, Wilfred
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Woodruff was married to so and
so I think Phoebe was his first
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wife.
And it was.
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And then there'd be like a
notation at the bottom where I
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would say like, oh, by the way,
he did, you know, live plural
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marriage at the time.
But, you know, we, we don't do
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that anymore.
There'd be like this little
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footnote and then that was it.
And so there really wasn't this
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like discussion of plural
marriage.
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Sometimes you'd see, like for
the Joseph Smith one, there was
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a notation that said we're just
not including any teachings on
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plural marriage or the law of
consecration because we don't do
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that, You know?
So there was this thing where
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they could kind of say
technically we're not like
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covering up the history.
We're acknowledging it, but we
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don't want to talk about it.
And we're going to move right
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past.
And hopefully no one even read
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this section because it's the
boring stuff that only the nerds
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read the beginning.
Right, right, right.
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Yeah, You know, look, I'll be
honest, I applaud the church in
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this, right, Because I feel like
they're being more open about it
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than they have been in the past,
right.
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And they're they're they're
introducing it to a younger, a
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younger demographic.
Like I said, 12 is kind of where
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I thought this was appropriate.
I don't know where all it's
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being used at in the church, but
I feel like it's pretty
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appropriate, right?
Yeah.
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So let let me finish read this
here and then we'll kind of get
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the overall how, how, how we're
all feeling about it.
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So moving on, it says a few
years later, the Lord told
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Joseph to marry other women.
Joseph didn't want to marry
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otherwise, but he knew it was a
commandment from the Lord.
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When Joseph asked a woman to
marry him, he told, he told her
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to pray about it and he wanted
her to know from the Lord if it
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was right.
This commandment was also hard
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for Joseph's first wife, Emma.
Sometimes Emma helped Joseph
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decide who he shouldn't ask to
marry him.
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Other times, Emma did not want
to Joseph to marry other women.
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Joseph taught the quorum of the
12 apostles about plural
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marriage.
It was a hard commandment for
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them, too.
Brigham Young and his wife, Mary
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Ann, prayed a lot to the Lord
about what to do.
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They learned that they should
obey the commandment of plural
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marriage.
For many years, some of the
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Saints were asked to be in a
plural marriage.
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In plural marriages, people
outside the Church did not like
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plural marriage.
They made laws against it.
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Some Saints, including church
leaders, were put in prison.
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But the Lord blessed the
families who obeyed His
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commandments even when it was
hard.
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In 1890, the Lord told Wilfred
Woodruff, the president of the
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Church, that men should not
marry more than one wife
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anymore.
The leaders of the Church shared
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this commandment with the
Saints.
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This is still the Lord's
commandment today.
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A man should be, excuse me, a
man should be married to only
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one wife.
That's it.
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So let me kill this real quick.
And I mean, that's that last.
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Part that I take issue with.
Right, right, right.
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Yeah, Yeah.
We are going to have different,
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different, different complaints
with this.
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But overall, I felt like if you
were introducing a group of kids
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to plural marriage in the from
an LDS perspective.
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Yeah.
That's pretty good, right?
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I mean, that's that's out there.
It's very honest.
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It addresses the fact that
people struggled with it, that
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Emma struggled with it, that
sometimes Joseph went ahead with
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plural marriages without her
support.
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That's a touchy subject, a
sensitive subject for a lot of
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people.
And so nothing about that was
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dishonest.
It was told in a very, I mean,
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00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:20,400
it was told in a simple way.
So that, yeah, probably I, I'd
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00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:27,320
even say, you know, 8 to 10 year
old like is going to follow that
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00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:34,520
easily.
And yeah, you know, so pretty,
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00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:36,640
pretty honest, straightforward.
OK.
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00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:38,800
All right.
Mason, are you still on, Bud?
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00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:40,320
Wait.
No, I'm still here.
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00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,280
I'm still.
There you are any any issues you
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00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,520
have with that from from like an
LDS perspective, right.
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00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:48,880
As fundamentalists, we're
obviously going to take
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00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:53,960
exception with a few things, but
to explain it to a group of, you
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00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,600
know, like Ben was saying
somewhere between 8 and 12 year
225
00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,960
olds.
Do you see anything in there
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00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:03,520
that is problematic?
No, I mean, I in my opinion, I
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00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,520
think the presentation is pretty
fair.
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00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,200
It doesn't get too too deep into
the history, obviously, but like
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00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,600
Benjamin was saying, it
addresses the concerns that
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00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,400
people had.
It addresses the rift that it
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00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,040
caused between Joseph and Emma.
It's not seeking to withhold any
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00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,280
information.
It's being forthright and
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00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:26,240
honest, which is, ironically,
what a lot of people on the
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00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,760
other side of the fence have
been asking the church to do for
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00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,240
a very long time.
Oh, you just wait.
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00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,720
We're about to find out how much
they like this, OK?
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00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,280
So all the, all the critics of
the church must really like
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00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,120
this.
They love it.
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00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,560
They love it, yes.
They are right now like.
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Finally.
Except for most.
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00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,120
All of them.
I mean, but minus those.
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00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,360
Few, yeah.
Bunch every, everyone's happy.
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00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,600
All right, let me share my
screen screen again here and
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00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:58,400
we'll do this again.
Is it?
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00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,320
Grooming.
Yes, yes.
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00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,600
We'll, we'll hold off on that
question until we get there, OK?
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00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,360
We're we're gonna Yes, yes, it
was beautiful.
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00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,120
It was beautiful.
OK, here we go.
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Hello everyone and welcome to
another stream of Mormon Stories
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00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,280
podcast.
I'm your host, John Delin.
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It's December 16th, 2024.
The Mormon church has decided to
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00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,600
teach polygamy to its children
and to its adults.
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It's a crazy time and that's
what we're covering today.
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00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:33,080
So to kind of give you a tiny
bit more explanation, in the
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00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:37,840
recent online, I don't know,
scriptures slash curriculum,
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00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:46,120
there is a new sort of like
cartoon styled telling brief
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00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,920
telling of Joseph Smith's
polygamy.
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00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,480
There's a little photo of it for
those joining us visually that
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00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:58,400
tries to kind of communicate to
kids the awesomeness and the
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00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:04,200
necessity and the virtues of
polygamy, which I'm just going
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00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,960
to say at the outset, I don't
sit around looking for things to
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00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,440
complain about.
I'm not a grievance seeker.
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00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:12,000
I'm.
Sorry.
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00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:12,800
Hang on.
OK.
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00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:13,800
All right.
Yeah.
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00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,880
No, I was going to stop right
there, too.
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00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,480
I would.
Go the that's did did anyone get
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00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:21,560
that?
The did anyone read that?
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00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:26,320
And they're like, yes, this is
like awesome.
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00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,600
This sounds so awesome.
Like I, I, you know, like I
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00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:34,200
think even a kid reading that is
like, doesn't sound like a fun
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00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,520
time.
OK, yes, yes, I, I want to go
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00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:43,200
over something he just said
there where he said, you know,
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00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,880
people must think I'd just sit
around in my basement and look
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00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,400
for things to be upset about.
You know, like I, I'm not a
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00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:54,280
grievance seeker, bro.
Your whole brand is grievance
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00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,600
seeking on Mormonism.
Period.
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00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,880
Look, Dave and his defense, you
know a fish doesn't know when
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00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,560
it's wet.
OK, All right.
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00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:09,280
This is just, he's so immersed
in all of this that, you know,
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00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,599
it doesn't feel like he's
looking for it, you know, 'cause
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00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,560
that's just like his entire
existence, you know?
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00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,920
Like I have yet to see an
episode of Mormon Stories where
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00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,119
he's like, oh, well, good for
you for staying in the church.
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00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,359
Yeah, good.
Congratulations on that, bro.
286
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:31,120
Your whole brand, the whole
thing is about grievance
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00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:32,200
seeking.
That's it.
288
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:34,160
That's what you do.
Just own it.
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00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,360
Holy cow.
Yeah, I, I make a living during
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00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:44,160
this, but I, I, I promise, I, I,
I, I basically do it on
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00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:48,240
accident, you know?
All right, all right.
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00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,360
So that was the first one I
wanted to cover, right?
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00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,480
Not let, let's get that out of
the way.
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00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,560
Not a grievance seeker.
Well, and also like, but the the
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00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,920
main point that he was making is
that like the church is like
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00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,120
just really trying to make
believe me sound cool and hip
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00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,800
and it's like, I don't even
like, I mean, if they are,
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00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,520
they're like, that wasn't a
great way to do it, you know, I
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00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,880
don't think.
Yep, Yep, absolutely.
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00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,640
All right, let's jump to here.
Yeah, I know they were coming
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00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,120
clean of their own volition, but
we all know that it's the
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00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,880
Internet that's forced the
church to become honest.
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00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,560
And with all the people
hemorrhaging as they are leaving
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00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:28,920
the church, that's probably
true.
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00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,120
They realize they have to
inoculate their youth and their
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00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:37,200
children or those same people
will feel betrayed when they
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00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,520
become of age to stumble on
Mormon stories of the CES
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00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,880
Letter.
So you stop.
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00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:46,120
It right there.
But if you just kind of.
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00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,880
OK.
So like that is the reason that
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00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:56,320
he's upset is because that that
I think he's correcting his
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00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,120
assessment.
That's exactly what the church
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00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:03,720
is doing is that they are
inoculating, which like they
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00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:04,320
should.
I was.
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00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,640
Going to say is that bad?
Though no, it's not a bad thing.
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00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:11,160
It's bad for for them.
It's bad for his brand because
317
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:20,040
like, look, no fundamentalist
like ever like leaves Mormonism
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00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,960
because they were shocked to
learn about polygamy, right?
319
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,840
Like that doesn't happen.
I might leave for other reasons,
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00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,960
but it's not because of that.
It's not because they felt like
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00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,320
they were kept in the dark
because, you know, you kind of
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00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:42,160
can't not see it with us.
And so that's The thing is that
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00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:44,920
in the church that you did, you
had people like you have like
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00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:49,000
general authorities whose kids
are being like, you know, Joseph
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00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:53,360
Smith was a polygamist, you
know, and and they're like, oh,
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00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,640
shoot, this became a problem.
We were scared of people
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00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,080
becoming fundamentalist.
And we don't like being
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00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,880
criticized.
So we're just gonna like, stuff
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00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,560
the polygamy away.
And then it, and then it's like,
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00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,160
now everyone is shocked and
feels betrayed when they learn
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00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,680
about it.
And so then they're like, oh,
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00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:18,120
shoot, OK, well, we do need to
teach it, you know, And that's
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00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:21,160
like, that's where it is.
And The thing is, the reason
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00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,120
that the that right there, the
reason that he's upset with this
335
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:26,760
and the reason the anti Mormons
in general are upset about this
336
00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:32,280
is because like their biggest
selling point on attacking the
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00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:37,200
church is the narrative that you
were lied to, you were betrayed.
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00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:42,200
This was kept from you.
And if you were taught about it
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00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,600
like right as soon as you were
intellectually capable of like
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00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,760
understanding it, then guess
what?
341
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,800
It wasn't being hidden from you
and you can have whatever
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00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:58,200
feelings you want about it, but
you can't that that feeling that
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00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,800
like I would, this was hidden
for me just is not going to
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00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,760
exist for future generations of
the church.
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00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:12,080
And that's the big like sting
behind a lot of the the anti
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00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,000
marine that kind of takes the
wind out of their sails.
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00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,760
So, so you think that that what
he's really upset about is that
348
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:22,240
it's going to hurt the brand?
Yeah, yeah, it hurts their
349
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,880
brand.
The non grievances grievance
350
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:26,680
seeking brand.
Right.
351
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,800
Because like, yeah, maybe people
are still going to be upset
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00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,960
about thorough marriage, but
what younger generations aren't
353
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,800
going to be saying that like
millennials and older were
354
00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,600
saying is Oh my gosh, I had no
idea.
355
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,440
Like that just isn't going to
exist anymore.
356
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:52,120
And that was like kind of the
big thing that made anyone pay
357
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,720
attention to John Dylan is like,
he was the guy who was coming
358
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,920
with the goods to tell you all
the things that they weren't
359
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:00,800
telling you about.
Right now.
360
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,480
I can't do that 'cause they they
were.
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00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:03,800
Now they're being honest about
it.
362
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,440
And yeah, like, it probably is
because of the Internet, but
363
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,360
it's that's the thing that he's
upset about.
364
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,560
They lose the shock value.
Right, right.
365
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:20,960
Look, if, if, if the church is
honestly concerned with its
366
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,800
members, which I think it is, I
think they see the, the errors
367
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,360
that were perpetuated in the
past with kind of deep 6 in the
368
00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:31,320
information, right?
And so they're like, OK, well,
369
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,240
let's keep them in the boat,
right?
370
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,760
And, and look, I think we would
both agree, right?
371
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,240
As fundamental as Ben, we would
much rather see somebody in in
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00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:45,000
the church then running into
post Mormonism, right.
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00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,840
We once you know that I I get it
right.
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00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:50,560
That's the best place for some
folks.
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00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,960
And and if that's where they're
the Lord tells them to be,
376
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,000
that's where they should be.
And so if the church is trying
377
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,960
to fulfill that part of its
mission, and it is, it is, you
378
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:03,240
know, noticing that people are
leaving because of the shock
379
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,240
value of all of a sudden finding
out that Joseph was a
380
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,320
polygamist, well, then, yeah,
you as a responsible shepherd,
381
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,640
you would take whatever,
whatever's in front of you and
382
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,840
and try to fix that.
And, you know, granted, in a
383
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:22,840
perfect world where all men were
angels and everybody was always
384
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,800
on the up and up, you'd have led
with this years ago, right?
385
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,840
You'd have done this before it
became shock value.
386
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:32,440
So I don't want to completely
absolve the Church of, of doing
387
00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,160
what it did.
At the same time, it's trying to
388
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,320
make corrective steps.
And as they make those
389
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,640
corrective steps, I, I think
that that when it's towards the
390
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,240
side of truth, I think you got
to kind of support that a little
391
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,120
bit.
The other thing I would say here
392
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,080
is he, he seems to by saying,
yeah, it's just because of the
393
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:55,480
Internet.
He is like saying, well, it
394
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,000
really doesn't count as a good
thing if that's the only reason
395
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,640
they're doing it for.
Well, let's look at this from a
396
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:06,520
personal standpoint.
When I go to the doctor and I
397
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,680
get a blood draw and he's like,
bro, I found your problem.
398
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:14,040
There's 4 cheeseburgers, 2
pizzas and a six pack rolling
399
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,920
around in your bloodstream.
You need to stop it and you need
400
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,160
to go to the gym.
If I go to the gym for the only
401
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,560
reason that I'm scared for my
health, is that a bad thing?
402
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:29,680
No, no, it, it's a corrective
measure to what I was doing
403
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,040
before.
And so on an institutional
404
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,080
level, that's what's happening
here, right?
405
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,400
For their own health and
fitness, so to speak, they need
406
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,960
to, you know, cut out all the
cupcake deep sixing and all the
407
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,720
pizzas and just come clean with
the steak of truth.
408
00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:49,040
And so that's what we're seeing
here.
409
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,360
Steak of truth.
I like that.
410
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,440
That's I'm going.
To put that on a T-shirt.
411
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,560
Yeah, yeah, that's a good one.
Yeah.
412
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,120
So right.
And now the, I'll say even in
413
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:07,800
kind of defense of that, the
church has covered up stuff.
414
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,560
And you want an example of that
is you go to the Adam God
415
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,440
doctrine.
And like that the church like
416
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,560
did their very best to put that
down the 1984 memory hole.
417
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,640
Yep they did.
This doesn't exist.
418
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,200
Anti Mormons made it up.
Brigham was taken out of Brigham
419
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,880
never said that, but he was
taken out of context.
420
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,040
That's not what he meant.
OK, that is what he meant, but
421
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,600
technically he was wrong.
You know, like everything they
422
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,880
could.
So it's not like the church is
423
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:43,280
like guilt free on this.
But on this topic, if you go
424
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,840
back to like the pre Internet
world, this information was
425
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,960
available, you know, you just
had to work at it.
426
00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:57,040
You had to go looking for it.
And the church wasn't hiding it.
427
00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:59,960
They were not putting it front
and center.
428
00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:01,960
They weren't making sure that
you know about it.
429
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,400
But it was out there.
If if you were motivated.
430
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:11,440
And I think that what they were
struggling to balance is, you
431
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,760
know, they made the deal with
the devil in 1890 where they
432
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:23,800
they've got to go along with
Babylon, but they so they don't
433
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,960
want people going to
fundamentals.
434
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,520
They don't want them reading
Truth magazine and going off and
435
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:37,960
becoming gleamous.
But then they also mainly want
436
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,600
to look good to like the modern
Christian world.
437
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,760
And so really de emphasizing
this kind of pushing it in the
438
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,560
corner.
And I think that was like their
439
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:55,040
motivation, which is still
wrong, but I don't think it
440
00:26:55,040 --> 00:27:00,800
rises to this level of like, we
are trying to cover this up and
441
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,880
hide it.
So no one knows, you know?
442
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,240
But anyway, that's all I'll say
on that, all right?
443
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:14,760
Let's let's move on here.
Woe is Joseph, this was so hard.
444
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:19,440
This is how it was presented to
us, right?
445
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,760
And and I was I was told many
times, don't worry about it,
446
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,080
Sister Helfer, don't This is
we're no longer practicing at
447
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,840
Sister Helfer.
This was just in the moment.
448
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,560
It was difficult.
But then what really kind of
449
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,240
gets to people, and This is why
I don't think it's transparent,
450
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,160
is that you find out the truth.
You find out like you read the
451
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,520
historical journals of women who
were in polygamy.
452
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,040
He realized this is not that.
The little story and how it's
453
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,040
portrayed is not real.
Yeah, Yep.
454
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:58,960
And I'll just add like would if
once you know the details of
455
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,240
Joseph Smith's polygamy, and I'm
sure there's a lot of you that
456
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:07,680
don't know, he married 14 year
old girls, He married sister
457
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,520
pairs.
He married foster children that
458
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,920
were entrusted to his care.
He he married mother, daughter
459
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,400
pairs.
And again, 22 wives were
460
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,720
unbeknownst to his first wife,
Emma.
461
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:29,120
So again, it would to call it
the law of the Lord and to frame
462
00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:33,080
Joseph Smith's polygamy as being
the law of the Lord means that
463
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:40,080
God condones his profits to be
sexual predators and pedophiles
464
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,160
on children.
I don't is that too extreme?
465
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:47,480
Like some people don't like
using the term pedophile with
466
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,320
Joseph Smith and I I don't know
what age I don't I actually
467
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,400
don't.
Maybe you know Natasha, what age
468
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:59,200
counts as pedophilia and if if
what he did with with 14 year
469
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,720
olds counts as that according to
your understanding?
470
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,560
Yeah, So this, so I do hear this
a lot.
471
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,040
And if we're going to be
sticklers on vocabulary, he
472
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,960
actually was not a pedophile.
A pedophile.
473
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:14,080
The the correct definition of
that is sexual attraction to
474
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,160
prepubescent children, right.
So people who have not gone
475
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:23,000
through puberty, a phebophilia
is attraction to adolescents and
476
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,880
minors who have gone through
puberty.
477
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,520
So even at the time, which is
another way that I think this
478
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,960
gets minimized, people will say,
well, back then it was normal
479
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,080
for girls who were 14 to be
having sex and getting married.
480
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,600
That actually was not true.
There were standards of youth
481
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:45,200
development even in the 1800s
around what was deemed
482
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,440
appropriate time to mate and to
marry and to have sex.
483
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,480
Yeah, and it wasn't 14, right?
But he was a predator.
484
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,320
Yes, I do agree with that
language and I do agree that.
485
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,840
All right, I'll have to unpack
there.
486
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:09,640
Go ahead.
Ben So yeah, I I guess it's good
487
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,800
that she pointed out that it's
not a pedophile.
488
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,640
Like, thanks for that.
That's good.
489
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:25,240
He's not a predator either.
Everyone like had agency in
490
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,240
this.
I think a lot of the stories get
491
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:32,320
kind of manipulated in the way
that they're, they're told to
492
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:37,520
put pressure on it.
But concerning Helen Mark
493
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:44,120
Kimball, that's the that's the
young wife that we actually do
494
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:49,080
know stuff about.
I think I I'm drawing a blank on
495
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:54,120
the the other young wife.
Those are about the same age.
496
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:59,000
I don't think we really just
have a lot of documents from
497
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,880
that.
But Helen Mark Kimball says that
498
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,680
they they did not have a
physical relationship.
499
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:09,760
Well, yeah.
And go ahead.
500
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:14,600
And so so she says that that's
like pretty well understood by
501
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:20,680
people who look into this, you
know, so like, that's really not
502
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,880
like they they just didn't.
Now, I am a person who's of the
503
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:31,160
opinion that if you want to
know, like what Joseph Smith's
504
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:36,880
practice of plural marriage
would have looked like had he
505
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,920
been free to kind of do it
openly.
506
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:44,160
Like look at Brigham Young and
you're going to get, I think
507
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,000
I'm, I believe Brigham Young is
a prophet.
508
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,400
I believe he was the rightful
successor to Joseph Smith.
509
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,640
And I believe that while not a
perfect person, he was sincerely
510
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,800
doing his level best to do
things the way that Joseph Smith
511
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:06,080
had them done.
When young marriages were
512
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:11,760
allowed, the council was
specifically that those
513
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:17,400
marriages should not be
consummated at A at a young age
514
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,600
and like the evidence shows that
that pretty well followed.
515
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:28,320
So I don't believe that Joseph
and had a physical.
516
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:31,640
Say that again, you kind of
broke up.
517
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,160
I said I don't believe that
Joseph and Helen Mark Campbell
518
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,920
ever had AI.
Don't think there's any.
519
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,240
No, I don't think they had a
sexual relationship either.
520
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,960
And one of the things that, and
look, it's my opinion that I
521
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,600
think these folks are falling in
the same trap that a lot of
522
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,440
people fall into, which is this
idea that Joseph gets a
523
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:58,120
revelation and he knows all the
insurance and outs about
524
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:02,720
whatever ordinance or principal
he just got a revelation on,
525
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:05,880
right?
I think what history tends to
526
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,880
show if, if you're looking at
honest history and trying to do
527
00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:13,080
an assessment there, it's that
he would receive a revelation
528
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,640
and then often go back with more
questions for clarification and
529
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:18,560
start working out the details,
right?
530
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:24,520
I think a good example of this
is when baptism for the dead
531
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,280
kicks off, right?
And everyone just rushes down to
532
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,520
the Mississippi and they just go
at it, right?
533
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:31,920
And Joseph has to come along and
go, whoa, whoa, whoa.
534
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,520
I don't think this is what the
Lord meant.
535
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:37,680
Let's back it up a little bit
and let's let's talk about this.
536
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:42,000
So I think with sealing today in
Mormon culture, we tend to look
537
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,200
at ceilings as kind of a
romantic thing, right?
538
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:49,680
It is a husband and wife who
have fallen in love who are now
539
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,480
going to the appropriate place
with the appropriate authority
540
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,160
to become husband and wife.
My contention is, is I'm not
541
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:02,440
sure that when when this idea of
sealing first comes out along
542
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,200
with plural marriage, that that
there's a really good
543
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,080
understanding of what it looks
like, Right?
544
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,679
And so if you read a lot of
Joseph Smith, he's talking about
545
00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:17,440
sealing not just his family
together, but all the families
546
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:22,679
in the church together, right?
And so I think I think what,
547
00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:26,400
what what we're looking at here
is, is kind of almost an
548
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,159
adoption thing in some ways with
some, not all of them, right?
549
00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:31,760
I want to be clear on that,
right?
550
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,400
I do believe that Joseph Smith
did practice plural marriage and
551
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:41,639
had romantic relations with some
of his wives, but I think
552
00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:44,080
there's some of that that's
doesn't fall under that
553
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:46,679
category.
So to blatantly put this on
554
00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:51,360
Joseph that hey, he's just this
old dude out there gooning after
555
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:55,440
a younger, you know, adolescent
girl just doesn't hold water
556
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,440
with what all we know.
The other thing I'll say is is
557
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,880
you know, it, it talks about,
you know, and, and I'll just
558
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:05,880
kind of be it to the punch here,
the polyandry stuff with Joseph.
559
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,760
I think almost all of the women
that he, he was sealed to that
560
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:18,080
already had husbands.
We know Joseph had the ability
561
00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,960
to have children, right?
Him and Emma had biological
562
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:25,560
children.
Why is it we can't find any
563
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,800
heirs from those women, right,
or from Helen Mark Kimball or
564
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,280
something like that?
The reason is is because it
565
00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,040
probably didn't happen.
Yeah, that's well.
566
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:37,240
And that's my.
Thoughts on it?
567
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,480
And that's the point that the
polygamy deniers like to to
568
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:46,480
bring up.
And, you know, the the problem
569
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:52,040
with that is that, you know,
it's kind of hard to like prove
570
00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:57,760
like two people did or didn't
have sex 200 years ago.
571
00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:02,120
You know, like, OK, well, they
didn't have children.
572
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:04,480
It's like, all right, Well, you
know, having children, it's like
573
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:11,440
a really good evidence that you
did, but not having them isn't
574
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,640
necessarily evidence that you
you did or didn't.
575
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,160
So like that's kind of sparky
there.
576
00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,840
And, and I, I do want to be
careful cause a lot of like the
577
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:27,000
polygamy denier go to this like,
'cause when you press them on
578
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,160
ceilings, they're like, Oh,
well, yeah, it was just this
579
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:37,560
dynastic thing, which there is a
dynastic element to it, but they
580
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:39,920
try to just like shovel that
away.
581
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,840
Now, what I'll say is like a
good example of what you're
582
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:48,920
talking about is Fanny Young,
Brigham Young's older sister.
583
00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:55,880
The story goes that Brigham and,
and Joseph are talking to her.
584
00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:59,080
She's older.
I think she's like 13 years
585
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:06,880
older than Brigham Young.
And she has had a a couple of
586
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:10,480
unhappy marriages.
I think 1 ended in death and
587
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:12,160
another divorce.
And it was.
588
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:17,800
And so Joseph teaches, yeah, you
need to be married and sealed
589
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:22,080
for exaltation.
And she basically says, count me
590
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:25,440
out.
I would rather just be a
591
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,400
ministering Angel.
You know, I don't want to do
592
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:30,040
marriage again.
Didn't work out.
593
00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:34,280
And Joseph basically says, no,
you don't know what you're
594
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,120
talking about.
Like, please don't deprive
595
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,080
yourself that blessing.
And he says to Brigham, I want
596
00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:45,640
you to seal her to me now so
that she has that as a as a an
597
00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:50,600
option for the next life.
I'm like, they were sealed.
598
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:55,920
And that is basically the extent
of that marriage as far as like
599
00:37:55,920 --> 00:38:01,000
this mortal life is concerned.
So there there was like
600
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,480
sometimes there were ceilings
that were just for the
601
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,960
ordinance, like so that could be
done.
602
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,080
And then other times, yeah,
there there were ceilings and it
603
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:16,840
was a full like cohabitating
marriage that we'd expect.
604
00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:21,160
And so I think, you know, when
you have it, that many wives,
605
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,760
you have that many
relationships, they're all
606
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:25,960
different.
This is all being done in
607
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:28,280
secret.
So I really don't like when
608
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:32,880
people just sort of like muddy
the waters and try and make them
609
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:34,400
all the the same thing.
You really?
610
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,120
Got to look at like a, they're
going to be as individual as any
611
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,880
other marriage, right?
And and that's, that's kind of
612
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:42,320
the bottom line.
Mason, is there anything you
613
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:45,680
want to add to that?
You know, there is.
614
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,240
I've been stealing on this for a
minute.
615
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:52,840
You know a careful reading of
Doctrine Covenant section 132.
616
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,080
This is verse 60.
It reads.
617
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,840
Let no one therefore set on my
servant Joseph, for I will
618
00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,680
justify him, for he shall do the
sacrifice which I required his
619
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:06,400
hands for his transgression,
saith the Lord your God.
620
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:11,000
We don't follow like the Sunnah
of Joseph Smith.
621
00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,640
You know we.
Don't we don't look to him as
622
00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:18,520
like this perfect figure in our
religion that's we did.
623
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,240
We don't think about him in the
same way that the Muslims look
624
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,040
to Muhammad.
So it's perfectly
625
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:26,840
understandable.
And we have documented history
626
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:32,320
of Joseph being rebuked in the
scriptures, examples like the
627
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:34,560
one that I just read where the
Lord references his
628
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:38,840
transgressions.
And so we, we don't need to die
629
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,640
on this hill that he did
everything perfectly, but
630
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:44,680
there's no error in his
revelation.
631
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:52,080
You know, at the end of the day,
even if there were mishaps or
632
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:55,640
mistakes in the implementation,
that doesn't mean that plural
633
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,960
marriage is not a true principle
or that the doctrine outlined in
634
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:03,800
section 132 is not the way that
the universe is governed.
635
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:06,720
You know it.
That's that's all a secondary
636
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:11,040
historical issue.
And we read in the Scriptures
637
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,720
history of the prophets who
received revelations, and they.
638
00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:18,600
They didn't act on them like
Jonah who ran from his calling
639
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,240
or they failed to implement them
properly.
640
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,960
Like that's a huge theme in
Exodus where Moses is struggling
641
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,840
to get the Israelites to do what
the Lord is commanding them to
642
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:35,000
do.
And I just, I don't understand
643
00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:39,640
where, where they're coming from
with this.
644
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:44,600
They're basically holding him to
a higher standard than they
645
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:49,000
would any other biblical figure.
You know, nobody talks about how
646
00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:53,800
Moses did this or Abraham did
this because it's evident that
647
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,480
they were men, even though they
handed, they held such a high
648
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:01,880
calling and they they made
mistakes in that office.
649
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,760
But Even so, they held that
office.
650
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,520
And the doctrine they they
produced is still true.
651
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,920
David lost his exultation and we
still read the songs to this
652
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:14,880
day.
You know, yeah.
653
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,880
It's that's a really good point.
And they're just to like go
654
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:20,880
along with that.
Joseph made that point
655
00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,600
explicitly.
And the book Remembering Joseph,
656
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:29,600
it's a great book.
It's just a collection of
657
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:32,680
people, individual people's
recollections of their
658
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,760
experiences with Joseph Smith.
And there's a story that gets
659
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:41,440
told in Zion's camp where Joseph
is teaching about how you
660
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,480
shouldn't kill animals
wastefully, like you shouldn't
661
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,560
just kill them for sport.
If you kill an animal, you
662
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,280
should use it.
You should eat the meat.
663
00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:54,960
Like, you know, you should do
that with gratitude.
664
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:59,840
And he completes the sermon, and
then he walks away.
665
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:03,000
He sees a squirrel in the tree.
He shoots it down, and then he
666
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,360
just walks past and just leaves
it there.
667
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:11,520
And so then the brethren got up
and they picked up the squirrel.
668
00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:13,880
They prepared it, they cooked
it, and they ate it.
669
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,280
And Joseph said that that was
good.
670
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:21,640
He said that he was happy to see
that they learned by principle
671
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:26,080
and not by example.
He he, he did that explicitly to
672
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:30,240
say, if you see me doing
something wrong, are you going
673
00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:34,160
to follow my example or are you
going to follow the precept?
674
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:39,720
So yeah, you study Section 132,
I think.
675
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:43,240
I don't know that anyone really
knows what was going on with
676
00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:47,040
those like, you know,
polyandrous marriages is their
677
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:49,360
term.
Section 132 doesn't allow it.
678
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:55,880
Like the law that Joseph gave us
from the Lord that it it does
679
00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:59,360
not allow it.
So yeah, I don't know what's
680
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:00,520
going on.
Maybe there are other
681
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:02,240
circumstances.
Maybe just was wrong.
682
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:05,680
I don't I don't fully understand
that and I haven't talked to
683
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:10,880
anyone who I felt did.
But yeah, that's that's correct.
684
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:12,640
I think I'm really gotten Mason
about that.
685
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:15,840
Perfect.
All right, let's continue on
686
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:21,080
here.
Let me go down to the next one.
687
00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,320
And so that scripture was
saying, don't be a polygamist.
688
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:29,320
And then for the first several
decades in the Mormon church's
689
00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:33,240
history, the doctrine of
Covenants itself said that men
690
00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:36,360
should only have one wife and
women one husband.
691
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:38,960
And so.
Right, let's see.
692
00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:41,600
Oh, this is a picture of.
Describe Joseph's picture.
693
00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:45,080
He is devastated.
He is sitting kneeling by his
694
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:49,800
bed with his head in his hands.
He is distressed.
695
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:53,480
He is tormented at this horrible
commandment that God gives.
696
00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:56,720
Exactly because as as long as we
can imagine Joseph to be a
697
00:43:56,720 --> 00:44:00,240
victim, then we can just forget
that the other people in this
698
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:03,800
story are also victims and we
can feel bad for Joseph and just
699
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,760
be like wow, God is such a
sneaky guy OK.
700
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,400
Is this picture making you tear
up at Joseph Smith and Tasha?
701
00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:12,360
It's.
Just making me so sad for his
702
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:17,040
hardness.
OK, keep.
703
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,880
Going a few years later, the
Lord told Joseph to marry other
704
00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:23,520
women.
Poor Joe Joseph didn't want to
705
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:26,520
marry other wives, but he knew
it was a commandment from the
706
00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:28,640
Lord.
He had no choice.
707
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:30,120
That was my, that was my
addition.
708
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,320
When Joseph asked a woman to
marry him, he told her to pray
709
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:36,080
about it.
He wanted her to know from the
710
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:39,720
Lord that it was right.
All right, any what?
711
00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:41,160
What don't you like about that,
Alyssa?
712
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,440
OK.
I mean, I think it is
713
00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:48,320
misleading, kind of going back
to Natasha's point that this is
714
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:53,280
not necessarily a transparent
scripture story that Joseph is
715
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:59,200
asking other women to to pray
about it because many times the
716
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:03,240
women would pray about it, say,
no, this happened, you know,
717
00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:05,000
repeatedly.
And Lucy Walker's the first
718
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,280
person I'm thinking of right
now.
719
00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,560
And then he would basically say,
like, oh, you need ask again.
720
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,520
And then then they would say
that it was OK or he would
721
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,160
threaten physical violence if
she didn't marry him.
722
00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:19,680
And so then she would say, OK,
so it's this, you know, coerced
723
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:23,920
coercion rather than actual
consent that they are just
724
00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:26,560
trying to spin around into
being.
725
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:28,200
Oh, yeah.
As long as she knew it was right
726
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:30,080
also.
Totally.
727
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:33,240
It was totally fine.
He was sad and the woman was
728
00:45:33,240 --> 00:45:35,960
totally fine, is kind of how
this slide reads.
729
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,240
Yeah, and and if you read some
of the accounts, he was like
730
00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:46,320
mayor, like head of the Nabu
Legion prophet, like Chief
731
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:48,680
Justice.
He held all the titles.
732
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:53,200
And then he'll corner this
teenage girl in a room, close
733
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,240
the door, parents aren't there,
literally a minor.
734
00:45:56,920 --> 00:46:01,760
And then say, hey, God told God
told me that I need to marry
735
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,880
you.
And if you do it, he would add,
736
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:08,120
not only you, but all your
parents and posterity will be
737
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,480
saved in the highest degree of
heaven.
738
00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,680
And if you and if you don't,
then I, I don't know that you'll
739
00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:16,560
be damned.
I mean, that's the implication.
740
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:18,480
I don't know whether you're
centered or not.
741
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,680
So it's just a awfully, horribly
coercive proposal.
742
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:24,800
So that I don't like, he's like.
No, just think.
743
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:27,880
About it and if.
It all right, Ben?
744
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:34,440
Yeah.
So, yeah, I don't know if you
745
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:38,520
actually said that, like maybe
maybe you should look into that
746
00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:41,080
first.
Yeah.
747
00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:44,040
Again, like you're completing a
lot of different stories or he's
748
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:49,120
completing a lot of different
stories together in the the same
749
00:46:49,120 --> 00:46:54,320
thing there.
And you know, like in the case
750
00:46:54,320 --> 00:47:00,480
of like the only one that I'm
aware of where Joseph says like,
751
00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:06,400
not only you, but your family
will be exalted because of this
752
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,120
is Helen Mark Kimball.
Again.
753
00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:17,000
And what is often left out of
that scenario is the reason kind
754
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:22,920
of why that was said is it was
it wasn't Joseph who sought
755
00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:29,120
marriage to Helen Mark Kimball.
It was it was her father, it was
756
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:33,480
Heber C Kimball who wanted to
have his daughter sealed to the
757
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:40,040
prophet.
And so like, it really was the
758
00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:43,560
the family was kind of doing
this together, like they, they
759
00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:47,280
were involved in it.
And that's why, like, Joseph is
760
00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:54,200
recognizing that they are making
a sacrifice, like together,
761
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:57,760
they're like displaying an act
of faith all together.
762
00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:01,560
And he is promising them
blessings because of that, You
763
00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:03,560
know, like, that's what
happened.
764
00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:08,280
And then, you know, when you
take like, oh, he's like, he
765
00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:11,240
didn't corner her.
He didn't threaten her with
766
00:48:11,720 --> 00:48:16,200
violence like that.
That isn't at all what happened.
767
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:21,400
It was like Heber C Campbell
goes to his wife and his
768
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:28,160
daughter, they all go to Joseph
and he gives them this blessing
769
00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:31,320
because of their active faith.
Like that's how about it?
770
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:38,880
I have like the levels at which
they go here in describing this.
771
00:48:39,760 --> 00:48:41,880
I'm just left going, how do you
know?
772
00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:45,040
How do you know?
Do you have documents that that
773
00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:48,360
you know?
And maybe they do, but I doubt
774
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:52,080
it.
There's nothing that I have read
775
00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:55,600
that would indicate that this
was a predatory kind of a thing,
776
00:48:56,320 --> 00:48:59,000
right?
That that Joseph was using his
777
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,880
position of power to acquire
wives, right?
778
00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:07,880
Well, and we also have evidence
like to the contrary and the
779
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:14,080
case of like Hubert J Grant's
mother, Rachel Ivins.
780
00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:21,200
She was a a woman that Joseph
proposed to and she said no and
781
00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:27,160
that was respected, you know,
and so much so that like after
782
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:32,280
his passing, she requested to be
sealed to him vicariously.
783
00:49:32,760 --> 00:49:38,360
So like, you know, like she
doesn't come with any story of
784
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,520
like Joseph threaten me.
He cornered me like, you know,
785
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:48,520
like, or I just, I just had to
because he was the mayor, you
786
00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:53,960
know, like, like that's.
Six dig mayors Ben there's I
787
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:56,600
mean, that's.
OK, well, yeah, but you know,
788
00:49:56,600 --> 00:50:03,320
again.
Look that.
789
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:06,640
Doesn't mean that like consent
can't happen.
790
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:10,560
Mayors are allowed to to fight
love.
791
00:50:10,640 --> 00:50:14,960
OK, we we don't once you become
the mayor, we don't lock you up
792
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:17,960
and say hey, don't.
You're this is a bone I.
793
00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:21,200
Think I think it's a little
obscure doctrine, kind of like
794
00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:23,480
Catholic priests.
Once you become mayor, mayor,
795
00:50:23,480 --> 00:50:25,680
you become celibate.
I think it's in there somewhere,
796
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:28,240
I think.
It's that if, well, if you were
797
00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,800
an ethical person and you were a
mayor, you would, you would
798
00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:34,760
become celibate.
You know, you're like, you just
799
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:37,000
go to even if you're married,
you turn to your wife and say,
800
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,360
look, now that I'm mayor,
there's an unhealthy power
801
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:44,280
imbalance in our marriage.
We can never have sex again.
802
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,320
I'm sorry.
This is the way it's got to be.
803
00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:51,960
I am the mayor and it would be
unethical for us to have a
804
00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:56,080
relationship with this power
imbalance that we have.
805
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:58,720
Right, right.
If you yes, yes.
806
00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:03,840
So I mean, there there is that
you know, the only problem I see
807
00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:13,480
with their argument right there
is that it just does not seem to
808
00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:17,200
be the majority of the
experiences that are had, right.
809
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:20,560
You have women who will say,
look, that was me and Joseph's
810
00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:22,080
marriage.
I'm not going to talk about it
811
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:24,680
again.
Other women who talk about it
812
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:29,600
in, in glowing terms being being
sealed to, to Joseph Smith.
813
00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:35,960
There's, there's a lot out there
and I feel like they, they take
814
00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:39,800
maybe the lowest hanging fruit,
if you will, the the one that's
815
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:42,840
the most scandalous and then
they build their narrative
816
00:51:42,840 --> 00:51:45,160
around that.
Well, and they can't even be
817
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:48,640
honest about it because that one
is I, I think probably the most
818
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:52,320
controversial of Joseph's wives
is Hella Mark Campbell.
819
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:59,000
And they can't even be honest
about her because they, you
820
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:04,400
know, like, for a long time,
they would take like, she wrote
821
00:52:04,520 --> 00:52:08,600
these poems when she was a
teenager about how she felt like
822
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:14,680
she was a bird locked in a cage.
And they tried to, like, show
823
00:52:14,680 --> 00:52:18,920
that that was, like, her way of
describing her trauma and having
824
00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:21,520
being forced in this sexual
relationship.
825
00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:28,280
And really, like, in context,
it's actually quite clear that
826
00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:31,920
she was mad because her dad
wouldn't let her.
827
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:33,960
One, she wasn't cohabitating
with Joseph.
828
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:37,160
And two, she was mad that her
dad wouldn't let her go to
829
00:52:37,200 --> 00:52:42,000
dances anymore because he said,
well, yeah, I know.
830
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:45,640
But still, technically you're
you're a married woman.
831
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,920
It's not appropriate for you to
go be dancing with boys.
832
00:52:49,440 --> 00:52:53,040
So I I don't want you going to
dances like that.
833
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:57,040
Was it She was mad that she
couldn't go to a dance Like it
834
00:52:57,040 --> 00:52:59,840
was like and and that gets
twisted.
835
00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:03,360
And the other thing that they
they drop Helen Mark Kimball
836
00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:08,000
really quick that they only are
interested in her at this young
837
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:10,480
point in her life.
They don't want to find anything
838
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:14,480
about what happened to the rest
of her life because she grew up
839
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:19,320
to be one of the most outspoken
advocates for plural marriage
840
00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:24,680
that the church has ever had.
She she wrote extensively about
841
00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:27,680
it.
She was politically active in
842
00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:31,320
defending plural marriage when
she she got married.
843
00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:36,520
Later, she insisted that her
husband live plural marriage.
844
00:53:36,600 --> 00:53:42,520
She pushed him and encouraged
him to to take other wives like
845
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:46,400
she was 100% on board.
She said that she would never
846
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:49,960
want to live in a monogamous
marriage, ever.
847
00:53:50,240 --> 00:53:53,960
So what you're saying is, is
that for Helen Mark Kimball, it
848
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:57,680
was so bad she did it all over
again?
849
00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:02,680
Yeah, like she insisted her
husband was not, like, super
850
00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:06,320
excited about it, you know, like
he, she was the one who was,
851
00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:08,800
like, really pushing it.
And if this had been this
852
00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:15,760
horrible thing, like she had
ample opportunity to, like, not
853
00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:17,840
go along with it.
And you can say, oh, well, she
854
00:54:17,840 --> 00:54:20,640
was Heber C Campbell's daughter.
It's like, yeah, but he had kids
855
00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:24,080
who left the church.
Yeah, then they didn't, they
856
00:54:24,080 --> 00:54:25,960
didn't stick the Danites after
them.
857
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:31,920
No, like it was fine.
This was something that was very
858
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:37,120
clearly she was convicted of and
passionate about.
859
00:54:37,560 --> 00:54:41,840
And if that's ever mentioned, it
is glossed over.
860
00:54:42,240 --> 00:54:45,760
They try to kind of insinuate
that maybe it was Stockholm
861
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:50,600
syndrome or something like that.
It's just they're, they're, they
862
00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:58,920
either completely ignore the
totality of her life or they
863
00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:01,680
they lie about it.
Yep, absolutely.
864
00:55:02,240 --> 00:55:05,600
And and you're 100% correct.
I've had Hannah Stoddard on here
865
00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:10,520
and we did a whole episode about
Helen Mark Kimble and and I've
866
00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:15,040
I've talked with oh, I'm
blanking.
867
00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:22,280
Sucks getting old.
Oh, Kimberly Watson Smith, man,
868
00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:24,960
Sorry about that, folks.
Yeah, Kimberly Watson Smith.
869
00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:28,360
We've talked about the women of
Mormondum, you know, who were
870
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:30,560
advocates of plural marriage on
this podcast.
871
00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:36,960
And those are very inconvenient
narratives for for people who
872
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:39,400
who want to find fault with
plural marriage and its
873
00:55:39,400 --> 00:55:42,280
principle.
Because if, if you have faith
874
00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:46,400
promoting testimonies of it from
the women who are the ones who
875
00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:51,160
were supposed to be oppressed in
this, it, it doesn't bode real
876
00:55:51,160 --> 00:55:53,640
well for your argument, right?
Yeah.
877
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:56,480
And they won't.
Like you said, they cut that off
878
00:55:56,880 --> 00:55:59,240
as quickly as they can.
Cause the last thing they want
879
00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:02,360
is for you to see the rest of
Helen Mark Kimball's life.
880
00:56:03,480 --> 00:56:06,560
Well, you know, they've got,
they've got a narrative to
881
00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:11,280
promote and and that becomes
really clear because if you are,
882
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:15,840
if you're after the truth and
you come across something that
883
00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:21,240
contradicts your beliefs, if
you're an honest person, you're
884
00:56:21,240 --> 00:56:23,760
like, well, that isn't what I
expected.
885
00:56:24,360 --> 00:56:26,760
You know, you don't have to
change your beliefs.
886
00:56:26,920 --> 00:56:28,280
I've run into stuff all the
time.
887
00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:32,560
We like, acknowledge that just
just in this episode, we don't
888
00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:35,240
really know what was going on
with polyandry.
889
00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:38,560
I don't like it.
I don't.
890
00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:42,320
I don't fully know exactly what
was going on with that, you
891
00:56:42,320 --> 00:56:44,960
know, but like, because I'm an
honest person, I acknowledge.
892
00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:48,640
Yeah, like, that's a thing that
conflicts with my beliefs, and
893
00:56:48,640 --> 00:56:50,840
it's there.
I don't know what the full story
894
00:56:51,760 --> 00:56:55,080
going on, you know?
And if you're this person who
895
00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:59,800
wants Helen Mark Kimball to be a
victim, if you're honest, you
896
00:56:59,800 --> 00:57:03,520
have to say OK.
The whole rest of her life
897
00:57:03,560 --> 00:57:07,440
entirely goes against what I
believe about her.
898
00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:10,440
Yep.
And if you're not doing that, if
899
00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:12,960
you're refusing to do that, you
aren't honest.
900
00:57:13,040 --> 00:57:16,560
You're promoting a narrative,
and you're only selecting the
901
00:57:16,560 --> 00:57:19,040
stuff that agrees with what you
want.
902
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:22,520
You know, I am concerned for
you, Ben, because you said
903
00:57:22,520 --> 00:57:25,680
you're not totally, you know,
understanding of the whole
904
00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:27,440
polyandry thing and you don't
like it.
905
00:57:27,680 --> 00:57:31,000
I feel like what you need to do
is start your own podcast and
906
00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:34,640
just, you know, come out with
all these sensational claims.
907
00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:36,800
I mean.
There may.
908
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:39,400
Or may not be money in that I
don't know yet.
909
00:57:41,360 --> 00:57:45,360
You know, there there could be a
whole subsection of a people.
910
00:57:46,040 --> 00:57:49,560
I would never want to accuse you
of being a grievance seeker, but
911
00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:51,560
I'm just saying there may be
some money there.
912
00:57:51,560 --> 00:57:55,160
I don't know.
Was hurt by Joseph Spaley.
913
00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:59,960
Andrew, you know, I haven't been
as active on TikTok lately, what
914
00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:03,040
with the whole, like, band
thing, but I hear that there's a
915
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:06,960
new Chinese app that everyone's
like jumping onto.
916
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:13,320
So maybe I'll go talk to the the
Chinese about Yeah, on Red Note.
917
00:58:13,800 --> 00:58:17,000
Yeah, I think the Chinese are
super concerned with Joseph
918
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:19,480
Smith's polyandry.
I think that they want to know.
919
00:58:19,680 --> 00:58:22,760
I think, I think the people want
to know, Yeah.
920
00:58:23,040 --> 00:58:25,080
Mason, you got anything you want
to add there, bud?
921
00:58:26,360 --> 00:58:30,040
No, I think we've pretty much
covered everything there.
922
00:58:30,440 --> 00:58:33,640
OK, good enough.
All right, here we go.
923
00:58:33,840 --> 00:58:36,120
Let's let's go ahead and let's
move on again.
924
00:58:37,800 --> 00:58:40,440
You know, actually, before we
move on, I want to say one other
925
00:58:40,440 --> 00:58:42,080
thing.
They they sat there and kind of
926
00:58:42,080 --> 00:58:45,040
mocked Joseph like, oh, I'm sure
it was so tough for him.
927
00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:49,040
Look, this is a dude that's had
the crap kicked out of him for
928
00:58:49,040 --> 00:58:52,320
simply introducing a new
Scripture, right?
929
00:58:53,200 --> 00:58:58,560
And so I can only imagine how
excited he must be truly to go
930
00:58:58,560 --> 00:59:07,200
and upset Victorian society by
introducing a new a new, new
931
00:59:07,200 --> 00:59:10,280
form of marriage, right?
That goes against Victorian
932
00:59:10,280 --> 00:59:13,760
sensibilities.
And I think it's I think it's
933
00:59:13,760 --> 00:59:18,120
pretty disingenuous if you know,
you're trying to do honest
934
00:59:18,120 --> 00:59:22,320
history here a little bit and
look at it and say, well, maybe
935
00:59:22,320 --> 00:59:24,760
it was tough, right?
I wouldn't want to introduce
936
00:59:24,760 --> 00:59:27,120
that Ben.
I mean, maybe he would, but I
937
00:59:27,120 --> 00:59:30,600
I'd be like, Nope, not me.
Sorry you got the wrong dude.
938
00:59:31,200 --> 00:59:36,240
Well, and, you know, it's, it's
one thing to say like, Oh yeah,
939
00:59:36,360 --> 00:59:40,040
you know, guys, 'cause we know
about like guys that cheat on
940
00:59:40,040 --> 00:59:45,480
their wives and their pastors
that, you know, give these like
941
00:59:46,080 --> 00:59:51,680
fearful confessions about how
they, you know, were unfaithful
942
00:59:51,680 --> 00:59:53,480
to their, their wives and all
this stuff.
943
00:59:53,880 --> 00:59:56,640
So it's not as if like that
stuff doesn't happen.
944
00:59:58,040 --> 01:00:02,760
But man, this seems like a bad
way to go about like if that's
945
01:00:02,760 --> 01:00:06,440
what you're, if you're just.
You know, aren't happy with your
946
01:00:06,440 --> 01:00:08,960
wife and, and you're you're
looking for more.
947
01:00:09,360 --> 01:00:13,160
This seems like just about the
worst possible way to to go
948
01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:17,360
about that.
There's just a lot easier ways
949
01:00:17,560 --> 01:00:19,160
that are more socially
acceptable.
950
01:00:19,320 --> 01:00:23,920
And even back then, like it's
it's never been the case that
951
01:00:25,240 --> 01:00:30,720
adultery has been more offensive
to American Society than plural
952
01:00:30,720 --> 01:00:36,360
marriage and that and like
really like people should stop
953
01:00:36,360 --> 01:00:45,760
and contemplate that just a bit
like a man can abandoned his
954
01:00:45,760 --> 01:00:51,840
wife and children and go marry a
younger, hotter woman.
955
01:00:52,520 --> 01:00:56,960
And at most he gets kind of tut
tutted.
956
01:00:57,360 --> 01:01:02,120
But it's 100% legal and pretty
much everyone's going to go
957
01:01:02,120 --> 01:01:06,200
along with it, right?
And so like, we're OK with
958
01:01:06,200 --> 01:01:11,160
broken homes, we're OK with, I
mean, and a man can do that
959
01:01:11,160 --> 01:01:13,320
multiple.
You can have, you can have 3 or
960
01:01:13,320 --> 01:01:18,200
4 wives in a row.
But like, we're going to lose
961
01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:22,680
our minds if like, why is it
that if let's just make it
962
01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:30,080
simple with two wives, why is it
worse for a man to have two
963
01:01:30,080 --> 01:01:34,640
wives where he cares for them,
cares for their children,
964
01:01:34,800 --> 01:01:38,080
They're all together, it's all
open and honest, They're living
965
01:01:38,080 --> 01:01:43,160
in harmony.
Why is that worse than breaking
966
01:01:43,160 --> 01:01:47,040
up a marriage, destroying a
family, having all this like
967
01:01:47,040 --> 01:01:51,920
heartache and then going on to
to someone else?
968
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:56,280
Like why is it that like that
second one is the one that our
969
01:01:56,280 --> 01:02:00,640
society prefers, right?
That's a horrible situation.
970
01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:03,680
It's bad for kids.
It's terrible.
971
01:02:04,040 --> 01:02:08,800
But like American Society looks
at the first one and says, Oh my
972
01:02:08,800 --> 01:02:12,960
gosh, that's horrible When like
they're they're fine.
973
01:02:13,240 --> 01:02:19,400
Maybe they don't like it kinda,
but like not really, right?
974
01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:22,160
Right.
Nope, I agree.
975
01:02:22,400 --> 01:02:24,120
I agree.
And and I want to point
976
01:02:24,120 --> 01:02:28,120
something else out here just so
I I feel like I have to make
977
01:02:28,120 --> 01:02:31,080
this disclaimer so everybody
knows I am not espousing
978
01:02:31,080 --> 01:02:34,040
marrying underage girls, right?
That is bad.
979
01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:36,160
Do not do that.
Right.
980
01:02:37,080 --> 01:02:39,400
Don't.
It's, it's a scuzzy thing to do
981
01:02:39,400 --> 01:02:41,360
today.
Don't do it, right?
982
01:02:42,520 --> 01:02:47,400
Frontier America is a little
different than 2025, right?
983
01:02:47,400 --> 01:02:48,680
Right.
Don't.
984
01:02:48,680 --> 01:02:52,640
Don't.
I'm not, I'm not advocating for
985
01:02:52,640 --> 01:02:55,200
marrying underage brides and I
don't think you are either,
986
01:02:55,200 --> 01:02:57,360
Brent.
So no.
987
01:02:57,600 --> 01:02:59,960
And.
Mike yeah, don't do it.
988
01:03:00,360 --> 01:03:04,000
Don't just bad, don't do it.
We don't need to overanalyze
989
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:05,760
that one.
No, no.
990
01:03:05,760 --> 01:03:07,840
All right, here we go.
Moving on.
991
01:03:08,680 --> 01:03:13,040
OK, this one, Joseph.
And this is also just visually
992
01:03:13,040 --> 01:03:16,480
interesting considering that the
idea of plural marriage is about
993
01:03:16,480 --> 01:03:21,400
a man with with multiple women,
and we never see an image of
994
01:03:21,400 --> 01:03:24,760
that.
Interestingly enough, we do see
995
01:03:24,760 --> 01:03:28,000
an image of Joseph standing in
the center of a group of men who
996
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:31,000
are the 12 apostles, which just
kind of made me chuckle a little
997
01:03:31,000 --> 01:03:34,880
bit that that even in a story
that's all about multiple women,
998
01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:37,440
we're still quite literally
centering the.
999
01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:39,560
Man.
Standing in the middle of a
1000
01:03:39,560 --> 01:03:42,520
circle of men, so that that was
just, it was like almost funny.
1001
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:44,680
That's a good point, I didn't
think of that.
1002
01:03:44,680 --> 01:03:48,680
There's no photo of Joseph with
this 32 wives or Brigham.
1003
01:03:48,680 --> 01:03:50,400
Yeah.
With this or even 5 wives or
1004
01:03:50,440 --> 01:03:51,320
two.
Wives.
1005
01:03:51,680 --> 01:03:52,720
Yeah.
We, we don't see them.
1006
01:03:52,720 --> 01:03:53,680
We don't.
We don't.
1007
01:03:53,680 --> 01:03:55,480
They're never named.
None of them.
1008
01:03:55,880 --> 01:03:57,040
Right.
We never hear.
1009
01:03:57,240 --> 01:03:58,600
It may name one.
It may name.
1010
01:03:58,600 --> 01:04:00,320
One it may, perhaps they do OK,
OK.
1011
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:04,360
Anyway, circle of men.
Very, very Mormon, right?
1012
01:04:04,400 --> 01:04:05,880
Natasha?
Does that look familiar to you,
1013
01:04:05,880 --> 01:04:06,520
Natasha?
I'll just be.
1014
01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:09,760
Quiet, you're about to expose.
Yeah, we're all very familiar
1015
01:04:09,760 --> 01:04:11,480
and comfortable with this image,
so.
1016
01:04:12,520 --> 01:04:18,200
OK, you're about.
I can see you just like wanting
1017
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:20,400
to erupt.
Yes, yes.
1018
01:04:20,480 --> 01:04:28,920
So First off, what do you want,
right?
1019
01:04:28,920 --> 01:04:31,040
That's the question I want to
ask them.
1020
01:04:31,680 --> 01:04:35,400
What do you want?
Right, we want to be mad.
1021
01:04:35,800 --> 01:04:38,800
Right.
I'm like, I do not understand
1022
01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:42,200
what you want.
Like holy cow.
1023
01:04:43,160 --> 01:04:47,240
So the church like comes out and
does what you want, right?
1024
01:04:47,240 --> 01:04:51,400
Be more transparent, not
transparent enough.
1025
01:04:51,760 --> 01:04:56,080
And gosh darn it, Ben, there's
the patriarchy gag and just
1026
01:04:56,080 --> 01:04:59,840
trying to keep women down, you
know, 'cause it's just showing
1027
01:05:00,120 --> 01:05:02,800
Joseph teaching the 12 apostles.
Hold on.
1028
01:05:03,560 --> 01:05:07,800
The whole name of that segment
is Joseph teaches the Quorum of
1029
01:05:07,800 --> 01:05:10,600
the 12 Apostles.
You know what?
1030
01:05:10,600 --> 01:05:14,760
If you want women in the
apostlehood, the RLDS are right
1031
01:05:14,760 --> 01:05:17,320
down the road.
You can go jam with them.
1032
01:05:17,320 --> 01:05:19,600
They're there.
Well, that's not what they
1033
01:05:19,680 --> 01:05:21,960
really want.
No, no, that's not what they
1034
01:05:21,960 --> 01:05:25,480
want.
And now here is where I think we
1035
01:05:26,000 --> 01:05:27,800
and, and this is the whole
reason I wanted to bring this
1036
01:05:27,800 --> 01:05:33,960
segment up.
There is a whole segment of post
1037
01:05:33,960 --> 01:05:38,960
Mormonism now that is into some
crazy swinger kind of stuff,
1038
01:05:39,520 --> 01:05:42,680
right?
It's it's almost a meme at this
1039
01:05:42,680 --> 01:05:43,800
point.
It is.
1040
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:46,440
It is.
So that's OK.
1041
01:05:46,800 --> 01:05:50,840
But the second a man takes care
of more than one woman, that's
1042
01:05:50,840 --> 01:05:54,520
when the feminists come out with
their fangs bared, ready to go
1043
01:05:54,520 --> 01:06:00,480
for the throat, right?
So just do me a favor on the
1044
01:06:00,480 --> 01:06:04,080
other side of that argument.
Just be consistent, right?
1045
01:06:04,200 --> 01:06:06,280
That's all I asked for.
Be consistent.
1046
01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:07,840
Don't now one.
Thing.
1047
01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:09,720
Oh, go ahead.
Don't.
1048
01:06:09,800 --> 01:06:14,600
Don't couch your hedonism as
trying to be more moral than a
1049
01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:18,680
family system.
Right, Because one side will
1050
01:06:18,680 --> 01:06:24,160
produce children, one side will
have, can have happy, healthy
1051
01:06:24,160 --> 01:06:26,080
families.
Are there bad polygamist
1052
01:06:26,080 --> 01:06:27,280
families?
You bet.
1053
01:06:27,480 --> 01:06:30,400
Just like there's bad monogamist
families, right?
1054
01:06:31,400 --> 01:06:33,280
What?
What you're really complaining
1055
01:06:33,280 --> 01:06:38,240
about here is the fact that you
just can't get rid of the
1056
01:06:38,240 --> 01:06:40,800
patriarchy, I think is what is
spoiling.
1057
01:06:40,840 --> 01:06:44,080
Yeah, well, they, they want to
be mad no matter what.
1058
01:06:44,080 --> 01:06:48,920
Now, like the I'm kind of with
her a little bit to begin with,
1059
01:06:49,000 --> 01:06:55,960
where I I would actually really
like to see more artistic
1060
01:06:55,960 --> 01:07:02,400
depictions of plural marriage,
especially in historical
1061
01:07:02,400 --> 01:07:07,320
settings.
I like that image of Joseph with
1062
01:07:07,320 --> 01:07:09,640
all of his wives.
I would love to see that.
1063
01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:12,720
That would that would be great.
You know, like boy in my house.
1064
01:07:13,280 --> 01:07:20,840
And to like present and and and
it is kind of a fairpoint to
1065
01:07:20,840 --> 01:07:25,560
like for them to criticize the
church that like there is no
1066
01:07:25,560 --> 01:07:31,000
actual depiction of multiple
wives in this.
1067
01:07:31,200 --> 01:07:36,400
And I think, and this sort of
goes against like the anti's
1068
01:07:36,400 --> 01:07:40,320
narrative that the church is
like promoting plural marriage
1069
01:07:40,320 --> 01:07:45,760
here because they're, they're
very careful not to depict that,
1070
01:07:45,840 --> 01:07:48,680
right?
Because what they want to do is
1071
01:07:48,680 --> 01:07:54,640
they want to kind of release
the, the tension, get rid of
1072
01:07:54,640 --> 01:07:59,440
the, the shock value, make sure
that like people are aware that
1073
01:07:59,440 --> 01:08:05,680
this happened, but they don't
want it to look attractive and
1074
01:08:05,760 --> 01:08:11,160
they don't, they don't want you
to have a visual of a happy
1075
01:08:11,160 --> 01:08:14,400
plural family, right?
They, they, they don't want
1076
01:08:14,400 --> 01:08:19,840
that.
And so that, that, that really
1077
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:21,040
isn't, and I would like to see
that.
1078
01:08:21,080 --> 01:08:27,800
I, I would 100% love to see more
of those kinds of depictions in,
1079
01:08:27,840 --> 01:08:29,160
in art.
That'd be great.
1080
01:08:29,960 --> 01:08:32,760
My only push back to her
argument on that 'cause I agree,
1081
01:08:32,760 --> 01:08:34,880
right?
I would like to see more artwork
1082
01:08:34,880 --> 01:08:38,600
that depicts healthy plural
families right?
1083
01:08:39,840 --> 01:08:41,000
However it.
Isn't quite ready.
1084
01:08:41,439 --> 01:08:43,399
I've tried.
What's that?
1085
01:08:44,200 --> 01:08:46,720
I said AI isn't quite ready for
the task.
1086
01:08:46,720 --> 01:08:48,279
I've I've tried you've.
Tried.
1087
01:08:48,439 --> 01:08:49,840
You've tried.
OK, fair.
1088
01:08:49,840 --> 01:08:53,000
Fair enough.
We'll, I'm sure it'll get there.
1089
01:08:53,000 --> 01:08:58,080
But I think it's important to
remember that this was meant for
1090
01:08:58,080 --> 01:09:02,800
youth, right?
That you're diving into a youth
1091
01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:05,200
thing.
This is, look, it's sketched
1092
01:09:05,200 --> 01:09:07,200
like a cartoon for a reason,
right?
1093
01:09:07,520 --> 01:09:11,040
They're trying to present this
in such a way that, as we've
1094
01:09:11,040 --> 01:09:14,080
said, an 8 to 12 year old can
wrap their minds around it and
1095
01:09:14,080 --> 01:09:16,080
be like, OK, this is what
happened.
1096
01:09:17,479 --> 01:09:20,880
The other thing I would say
about that, about the whole
1097
01:09:20,880 --> 01:09:26,160
picture thing, is they may not
be shown, at least back in the
1098
01:09:26,160 --> 01:09:30,840
day for a reason, right?
I mean, Joseph was killed,
1099
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:32,720
right?
You know, you don't want to just
1100
01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:37,279
show who his family was in those
days because you don't know.
1101
01:09:37,279 --> 01:09:44,359
Who Joseph never did live openly
with his Yep.
1102
01:09:44,600 --> 01:09:47,120
Absolutely, Mason.
Anything you want to chime in
1103
01:09:47,120 --> 01:09:56,640
there bud?
You know, I think another kind
1104
01:09:56,640 --> 01:10:00,520
of topic for discussion here is
that plural marriage isn't just
1105
01:10:01,600 --> 01:10:03,960
something that happened in the
past, right?
1106
01:10:03,960 --> 01:10:07,160
It's it's a very much an ongoing
thing, although it's not I.
1107
01:10:07,160 --> 01:10:16,600
Had no idea, but it's right.
And it's like we're.
1108
01:10:16,600 --> 01:10:20,120
Completely ignoring everything
we have about it today.
1109
01:10:20,320 --> 01:10:24,280
You know, we can, I've, I've
been and I've observed happy
1110
01:10:24,280 --> 01:10:27,560
people in plural marriage.
I've seen well functioning
1111
01:10:27,560 --> 01:10:31,240
plural families.
It it exists, You know, we don't
1112
01:10:31,240 --> 01:10:34,040
need to look into the past to
try to find it.
1113
01:10:34,040 --> 01:10:36,920
We don't need to look into the
past to find justification.
1114
01:10:36,920 --> 01:10:41,440
We're standing in front of it.
You know, we're having this this
1115
01:10:41,440 --> 01:10:45,240
lofty historical debate about
the way that it was introduced
1116
01:10:45,240 --> 01:10:47,920
and whether or not it can stand
on its leg historically.
1117
01:10:48,200 --> 01:10:51,120
But the fact of the matter is we
have it standing right in front
1118
01:10:51,120 --> 01:10:53,080
of us.
And although there are occasions
1119
01:10:53,080 --> 01:10:55,320
where it's proven to be a great
detriment to the people
1120
01:10:55,320 --> 01:11:01,720
involved, like in the case of
Warren Jeffs, for example, those
1121
01:11:01,720 --> 01:11:05,920
are primarily what everyone
would consider to be perversions
1122
01:11:05,920 --> 01:11:10,720
of a very sacred practice.
And then more often than not,
1123
01:11:10,960 --> 01:11:14,680
you know, from what I
understand, most practicing
1124
01:11:14,680 --> 01:11:18,360
fundamentalists, especially
people who have actually entered
1125
01:11:18,360 --> 01:11:21,400
in the principal, don't really
belong to any organized group.
1126
01:11:21,400 --> 01:11:23,400
They're just independents living
on their own.
1127
01:11:23,760 --> 01:11:26,600
You actually go into their
homes, you visit with them, you
1128
01:11:26,600 --> 01:11:31,160
speak with them and you observe
their conditions generally and
1129
01:11:31,160 --> 01:11:35,880
you're able to see that it's not
that different from any other
1130
01:11:35,880 --> 01:11:38,160
family like.
We're we're.
1131
01:11:38,160 --> 01:11:43,040
Making something way, way more
foreign than it actually is
1132
01:11:43,040 --> 01:11:47,920
because they're I, I say we
because they're thinking about
1133
01:11:47,920 --> 01:11:51,760
it as though it happened only in
the past.
1134
01:11:51,760 --> 01:11:54,080
Only something that we can
understand through the past,
1135
01:11:54,080 --> 01:11:57,280
through through these glasses
where we don't know what's going
1136
01:11:57,280 --> 01:11:59,680
on very well.
But it's right here.
1137
01:11:59,880 --> 01:12:00,680
You know what I'm saying?
Yep.
1138
01:12:00,800 --> 01:12:06,600
Yep, I do, I do.
All right, let's go ahead and
1139
01:12:06,600 --> 01:12:12,160
let's let's move on here.
There's a whole other video I
1140
01:12:12,160 --> 01:12:17,680
want to get to tonight.
Oh yeah, we got BYU professors.
1141
01:12:18,120 --> 01:12:21,200
Yeah, No, we're going to do 2
more sections out of this.
1142
01:12:21,200 --> 01:12:26,000
And then for the sake of time,
we're going to move on to to the
1143
01:12:26,040 --> 01:12:28,760
other video.
Moving on, we have for many
1144
01:12:28,760 --> 01:12:31,880
years some of the Saints were
asked to be in plural marriages
1145
01:12:32,320 --> 01:12:34,280
and this is I think when it
starts to get a little bit
1146
01:12:34,280 --> 01:12:37,040
interesting.
Oh it it hasn't been interesting
1147
01:12:37,040 --> 01:12:39,400
so far.
Yeah, so far it's been.
1148
01:12:40,200 --> 01:12:42,920
Just nothing, OK.
People outside the church did
1149
01:12:42,920 --> 01:12:45,720
not like plural marriage.
They made laws against it.
1150
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:48,600
Some Saints, including church
leaders, were put in prison.
1151
01:12:49,040 --> 01:12:51,120
But the Lord blessed the
families who obeyed His
1152
01:12:51,120 --> 01:12:53,360
commandments even when it was
hard.
1153
01:12:55,480 --> 01:12:56,480
Can't leave that word.
Alone.
1154
01:12:56,480 --> 01:12:58,160
No, they're really doubling
down.
1155
01:13:01,120 --> 01:13:06,200
I just can't.
Yeah.
1156
01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:13,320
And you know, OK, Natasha, you
were mentioning this previously,
1157
01:13:13,320 --> 01:13:17,720
but I've actually researched.
So my maternal grandmother,
1158
01:13:17,720 --> 01:13:23,000
Karma Benson Parkinson, she's
cousins to former Mormon prophet
1159
01:13:23,000 --> 01:13:26,280
Ashtab Benson.
She was the daughter of a third
1160
01:13:26,280 --> 01:13:31,000
wife and there were 4 total
wives in my great grandfather.
1161
01:13:31,000 --> 01:13:34,440
My great grandparents marriage
there ended up being 4 wives.
1162
01:13:35,040 --> 01:13:39,000
My grandma Karma was the
daughter of of a third wife and
1163
01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:44,400
I've studied the lives of the
four my 4 great grandmothers on
1164
01:13:44,400 --> 01:13:49,560
my mom's side.
OK and this idea that the the
1165
01:13:49,560 --> 01:13:53,800
Lord bless the families who
obeyed his commandments not
1166
01:13:54,000 --> 01:13:56,760
true.
Not true in my case, not true.
1167
01:13:56,920 --> 01:14:01,920
So as an example, after my great
grandpa had married two of the
1168
01:14:01,920 --> 01:14:06,360
women, somehow he like, goes off
on a mission to Europe while
1169
01:14:06,360 --> 01:14:10,240
he's got 2 wives and, you know,
kids at home and one of them was
1170
01:14:10,240 --> 01:14:13,040
pregnant.
One of his wives, they were
1171
01:14:13,040 --> 01:14:17,160
living in poverty, you know,
impoverished circumstances while
1172
01:14:17,160 --> 01:14:22,080
he's gallivanting around Europe.
The second wife, if my memory is
1173
01:14:22,080 --> 01:14:26,640
correct, loses the baby while
he's gone.
1174
01:14:27,000 --> 01:14:31,320
So not only does the baby die,
but he's not even there when
1175
01:14:31,320 --> 01:14:33,400
she's, you know, when she loses
the baby.
1176
01:14:34,200 --> 01:14:37,800
Then when he moves on to his
third and 4th wives, it's not
1177
01:14:37,800 --> 01:14:41,040
like he stayed connected to the
first two wives.
1178
01:14:41,360 --> 01:14:44,640
It was like, OK, they're
established, she's older,
1179
01:14:45,040 --> 01:14:47,320
they've got the nice house and
the kids are older.
1180
01:14:47,320 --> 01:14:51,240
They can help out.
He moves on to the younger wives
1181
01:14:51,240 --> 01:14:54,720
and stops coming around with the
older wives.
1182
01:14:55,360 --> 01:15:00,200
And then and then the fourth
wife who we brought on late, she
1183
01:15:00,200 --> 01:15:03,480
ended up, you know, having
health problems.
1184
01:15:03,640 --> 01:15:07,440
They ended up getting divorced.
It was this huge public scandal.
1185
01:15:07,880 --> 01:15:13,480
She got addicted to opiates and
she ended up like, you know,
1186
01:15:13,480 --> 01:15:18,720
being run off to Oregon,
embarrassed in this, you know,
1187
01:15:18,720 --> 01:15:26,120
Cash Valley wide scandal,
cursing her former husband and,
1188
01:15:26,600 --> 01:15:30,040
you know, her, her involvement
in the Mormon church ever so
1189
01:15:30,040 --> 01:15:34,560
just in my family's case, it was
a disaster for several of the
1190
01:15:34,560 --> 01:15:39,600
families in many ways.
All right, Ben, go ahead.
1191
01:15:42,320 --> 01:15:49,760
So yeah, this whole thing is
like, oh, here's a situation
1192
01:15:49,760 --> 01:15:54,920
with plural marriage where
people experienced some level of
1193
01:15:54,920 --> 01:16:00,000
unhappiness, therefore it is
bad.
1194
01:16:00,400 --> 01:16:05,120
It's like we don't apply that
standard to monogamy.
1195
01:16:05,680 --> 01:16:07,960
I don't know, keep the feminists
another six months, They'll get
1196
01:16:07,960 --> 01:16:09,760
there.
Well, yeah, I mean, and a lot of
1197
01:16:09,760 --> 01:16:11,560
them do.
Some of the hardcore feminists
1198
01:16:11,560 --> 01:16:18,280
do like they they do say like,
oh, look, there's this domestic
1199
01:16:18,280 --> 01:16:20,600
violence thing.
There's this, there's that we we
1200
01:16:20,600 --> 01:16:23,400
can't have any, any kind of
marriage at all.
1201
01:16:25,320 --> 01:16:28,840
There, there are like there are,
there are, there's a strain of
1202
01:16:28,960 --> 01:16:32,960
feminism that says that you're
not a true feminist if you
1203
01:16:32,960 --> 01:16:38,480
aren't a lesbian.
But like, it's out there.
1204
01:16:38,480 --> 01:16:43,960
I know, I know it is.
But this is where they're
1205
01:16:44,600 --> 01:16:49,000
they're going at it.
Like I know of monogamous
1206
01:16:49,000 --> 01:16:55,080
couples where someone got
addicted to substances and it
1207
01:16:55,080 --> 01:16:59,800
destroyed their their marriage.
I know monogamous marriages
1208
01:16:59,800 --> 01:17:06,360
where husband was not attentive
to his wife and ignored her and
1209
01:17:06,360 --> 01:17:13,320
went on to, you know, like there
are a lot of bad monogamous
1210
01:17:13,320 --> 01:17:19,280
situations and like just be
consistent in your, your logic.
1211
01:17:19,560 --> 01:17:24,080
If you can say, hey, here's a
bad situation, therefore it's
1212
01:17:24,080 --> 01:17:27,080
bad for everyone.
Even if it's good for you, it's
1213
01:17:27,080 --> 01:17:30,560
still bad for you because it was
bad for this person, right?
1214
01:17:31,400 --> 01:17:33,800
Because that's what you're doing
with, with plural marriage.
1215
01:17:35,080 --> 01:17:38,120
And like Mason was talking
about, like when people bring
1216
01:17:38,120 --> 01:17:43,320
this up, I, I always say like,
OK, like how many plural, how
1217
01:17:43,320 --> 01:17:44,880
many polygamous friends do you
have?
1218
01:17:45,080 --> 01:17:49,760
Like, tell me what plural family
you have, like gone into their
1219
01:17:49,760 --> 01:17:53,520
home and had dinner with, you
know, like tell me what plural
1220
01:17:53,520 --> 01:17:55,480
family where you know the names
of their children.
1221
01:17:56,160 --> 01:17:59,200
Right.
You know, and because when you
1222
01:17:59,200 --> 01:18:04,080
actually know people and you get
to see them, you see it's a
1223
01:18:04,080 --> 01:18:08,800
different situation.
And yeah, there is a, there's a
1224
01:18:08,800 --> 01:18:14,680
huge variety and there are,
there are abuses, but there's a
1225
01:18:14,680 --> 01:18:18,680
lot of like really good, honest
people.
1226
01:18:18,720 --> 01:18:23,600
And I'd, I'd say that that's
going to be the majority of the
1227
01:18:23,600 --> 01:18:28,000
plural families that you're
going to meet is like pretty
1228
01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:34,160
decent, shockingly normal people
who, who are doing this.
1229
01:18:34,320 --> 01:18:38,560
And you know, like, and even if
you want to go historical, like
1230
01:18:38,560 --> 01:18:42,800
Brigham Young, there were
marriages that didn't work out
1231
01:18:42,800 --> 01:18:48,760
with him, but he also had wives
who sung his praises and spoke
1232
01:18:48,760 --> 01:18:55,160
of how how much they loved him.
You know, like, if you if you
1233
01:18:55,160 --> 01:18:58,520
are actually like, oh, I want
the truth of it, you need to
1234
01:18:58,520 --> 01:19:01,000
examine the things that go
against what you want.
1235
01:19:01,000 --> 01:19:06,440
And in their case it is happy
polygamist who like their
1236
01:19:06,440 --> 01:19:09,600
situation.
Yep, they want those to not
1237
01:19:09,600 --> 01:19:13,040
exist.
You know, you know, there's two
1238
01:19:13,040 --> 01:19:16,360
names that they do not ever
bring up when it comes to
1239
01:19:16,360 --> 01:19:20,440
criticizing plural marriage.
One of them is Eliza Arsenault
1240
01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:24,040
and the other is Martha Hughes
Canon.
1241
01:19:24,080 --> 01:19:26,480
Are you familiar familiar with
Martha Hughes Canon?
1242
01:19:28,440 --> 01:19:33,400
I not, not really.
Well, I think I once you get
1243
01:19:33,400 --> 01:19:38,160
going, I'll probably.
OK, Martha, this is, you know,
1244
01:19:38,760 --> 01:19:41,600
I, I'm painting a picture on the
other side of the spectrum,
1245
01:19:41,720 --> 01:19:44,680
right?
So again, we just got a, a, a
1246
01:19:45,600 --> 01:19:49,960
sample of how it could go wrong.
Now I want to show you how just
1247
01:19:49,960 --> 01:19:53,200
how oppressed poor Martha Hughes
Cannon was.
1248
01:19:54,960 --> 01:20:01,160
So she she was born in 1897,
lived, lived.
1249
01:20:02,840 --> 01:20:03,640
Where'd it go?
No.
1250
01:20:03,640 --> 01:20:06,640
Excuse me.
She was born in 1857 and she
1251
01:20:06,640 --> 01:20:13,280
lived until 1932.
She was educated at the
1252
01:20:13,280 --> 01:20:16,160
University of Utah, the
University of Michigan, the
1253
01:20:16,160 --> 01:20:21,080
University of Pennsylvania.
She had a master's, an MDA
1254
01:20:21,720 --> 01:20:30,440
bachelor's, and she was also on
the National School of looks
1255
01:20:30,440 --> 01:20:34,240
like or oratory.
So she was she had ABA in that
1256
01:20:34,240 --> 01:20:36,720
as well.
And she was a polygamous wife to
1257
01:20:36,720 --> 01:20:39,600
Angus M Young.
Here's where it gets impressive.
1258
01:20:40,200 --> 01:20:45,040
She is the first woman to serve
in the United States State
1259
01:20:45,040 --> 01:20:46,800
Senate.
She was elected in Utah as a
1260
01:20:46,800 --> 01:20:52,000
state senator.
And this is how abused she was.
1261
01:20:52,000 --> 01:20:59,320
Ben, the, the guy she beat for
the Senate seat was her husband.
1262
01:21:01,320 --> 01:21:05,440
It was her husband who was the
state president, state president
1263
01:21:05,480 --> 01:21:09,880
at the time of the Salt Lake
Stake, you know, downtown, right
1264
01:21:09,880 --> 01:21:14,640
where everything was.
She was so oppressed that that
1265
01:21:14,640 --> 01:21:19,040
she felt like she could
challenge her own husband in a
1266
01:21:19,320 --> 01:21:25,680
electoral race and then wins and
then stays stays married to him.
1267
01:21:26,280 --> 01:21:31,680
Yeah, which I would have loved
to like be at that dinner table
1268
01:21:31,800 --> 01:21:35,240
like.
There's one I like.
1269
01:21:35,240 --> 01:21:39,840
The one I wanted to be at was
like, after he lost, you know,
1270
01:21:39,840 --> 01:21:43,840
his boys, all his buddies at
church were like, what's the
1271
01:21:43,840 --> 01:21:46,760
matter, Angus can't get your
house in order, right?
1272
01:21:46,760 --> 01:21:49,800
I mean, probably just gave it to
him hard in a fun way.
1273
01:21:50,160 --> 01:21:53,760
But, you know, really, really
let him kind of have it there a
1274
01:21:53,760 --> 01:21:57,080
little bit.
But my point in showing that is
1275
01:21:57,080 --> 01:22:00,160
that they're they're you can
pick extremes on both sides,
1276
01:22:00,360 --> 01:22:03,200
right?
And then in the middle is where
1277
01:22:03,200 --> 01:22:04,520
everyone is.
And guess what?
1278
01:22:04,520 --> 01:22:08,080
Just like most marriages, it's
it ebbs and flows, right?
1279
01:22:08,080 --> 01:22:10,720
There are good times, there are
bad times, but you stick it out
1280
01:22:10,720 --> 01:22:14,000
'cause you're married, right?
Are there bad?
1281
01:22:14,400 --> 01:22:16,240
Are there bad husbands in plural
marriage?
1282
01:22:16,760 --> 01:22:19,160
Damn straight.
Are there bad husbands and
1283
01:22:19,160 --> 01:22:21,640
monogamous, monogamous
marriages?
1284
01:22:21,800 --> 01:22:24,400
Damn straight.
Bad wives in polygamy?
1285
01:22:24,520 --> 01:22:26,720
Yep.
Bad wives in monogamy.
1286
01:22:26,840 --> 01:22:31,720
Yep, it's a human deal, right?
This is not a problem with the
1287
01:22:31,720 --> 01:22:35,200
principal.
This is a problem with guys who
1288
01:22:35,200 --> 01:22:38,120
either take on more than they
can handle, right?
1289
01:22:38,120 --> 01:22:42,320
And let's be clear, Joseph Ann
Brigham both said plural
1290
01:22:42,320 --> 01:22:45,360
marriage will damn more men than
it saves, right?
1291
01:22:46,240 --> 01:22:49,880
Because it is hard, it's
rewarding, it's a great way of
1292
01:22:49,880 --> 01:22:52,600
life, but it it takes a lot of
work.
1293
01:22:53,720 --> 01:22:57,360
And because somebody else
couldn't hack it is not a reason
1294
01:22:57,360 --> 01:23:00,200
to not apply the principle,
right?
1295
01:23:00,680 --> 01:23:05,440
It's, it's simply how things
went in that marriage at that
1296
01:23:05,440 --> 01:23:09,240
time, in that circumstance, No
more, no less.
1297
01:23:09,720 --> 01:23:14,080
You cannot indict the the
principle of celestial plural
1298
01:23:14,080 --> 01:23:19,400
marriage based off of even half,
let's just say half the accounts
1299
01:23:19,400 --> 01:23:23,000
were bad.
OK, You can't, you can't indict
1300
01:23:23,000 --> 01:23:26,360
the whole system for that.
You just have to say, well,
1301
01:23:26,360 --> 01:23:29,120
yeah, we kind of knew going in,
based off what Joseph and
1302
01:23:29,120 --> 01:23:31,200
Brigham said, this was going to
be a tough thing and this was
1303
01:23:31,200 --> 01:23:35,200
going to kind of kind of, you
know, weed some guys out, so to
1304
01:23:35,200 --> 01:23:37,280
speak, right?
Weed, weed some people out.
1305
01:23:37,840 --> 01:23:42,400
And and that's just what it is.
Well, and you know what, this
1306
01:23:42,400 --> 01:23:48,800
can be like a really sensitive
area where like people bring
1307
01:23:48,800 --> 01:23:52,120
their own experiences and their
own emotions to things.
1308
01:23:52,200 --> 01:24:02,040
And so like if you have, if if
you have are a woman who's been
1309
01:24:02,040 --> 01:24:05,960
abused before or if someone you
love has been.
1310
01:24:06,280 --> 01:24:09,000
And that's something that you're
like close to and sensitive
1311
01:24:09,000 --> 01:24:13,360
about when you hear people say,
oh, well, but there are all
1312
01:24:13,360 --> 01:24:16,800
these good experiences,
something you might feel like
1313
01:24:17,160 --> 01:24:20,400
that's being brushed aside or
minimized or whatever.
1314
01:24:20,800 --> 01:24:27,520
And you know, like it's a
difficult thing because like, if
1315
01:24:27,520 --> 01:24:31,560
we are being analytical and we
are just looking at it like we
1316
01:24:31,560 --> 01:24:35,440
have to honestly say there's a
lot of both, you know, and just
1317
01:24:35,440 --> 01:24:40,000
because like there was someone
who's really successful and did
1318
01:24:40,000 --> 01:24:43,960
it really well, that doesn't
mean like the person who went
1319
01:24:43,960 --> 01:24:47,360
through some horrifying evil
experience, doesn't mean that
1320
01:24:47,360 --> 01:24:49,600
that didn't really happen to
them and that it wasn't really
1321
01:24:49,600 --> 01:24:52,280
terrible.
And you know, that there, there
1322
01:24:52,280 --> 01:24:56,760
weren't these issues with it.
It just means like, if we're
1323
01:24:56,760 --> 01:25:01,080
looking at the full story, we,
we got to look at the full
1324
01:25:01,080 --> 01:25:03,400
story.
And the other thing is that like
1325
01:25:05,400 --> 01:25:08,120
happy marriages are kind of
boring.
1326
01:25:08,960 --> 01:25:13,680
You know, like not a, not a lot.
Like it doesn't make the news,
1327
01:25:13,680 --> 01:25:17,480
you know, like you you never
here like on the 9 O clock news
1328
01:25:17,480 --> 01:25:20,120
like oh, OK.
Well, this, this couple, you
1329
01:25:20,120 --> 01:25:22,320
know, they just, they like each
other.
1330
01:25:22,840 --> 01:25:26,680
And.
You know, like, there's again,
1331
01:25:27,160 --> 01:25:31,520
you know, like, you know,
Florida man appears to be quite
1332
01:25:31,520 --> 01:25:34,280
happy with his wife, you know,
like.
1333
01:25:34,880 --> 01:25:36,800
Nope, that's not.
Let's talk about Florida man's
1334
01:25:36,800 --> 01:25:43,240
ever up to so like people just
aren't that.
1335
01:25:43,240 --> 01:25:45,240
That isn't shocking.
It's not interesting.
1336
01:25:45,240 --> 01:25:49,240
Like, so if I tell you, well,
here's my friend who has three
1337
01:25:49,240 --> 01:25:54,360
wives and a bunch of kids and
they get along really well.
1338
01:25:54,960 --> 01:26:00,520
There's very seldom arguments or
or fighting like they they're
1339
01:26:00,520 --> 01:26:03,800
really happy people.
It's like, well, I can't make
1340
01:26:03,800 --> 01:26:06,800
like a a Netflix documentary
about that.
1341
01:26:07,360 --> 01:26:09,280
Like.
That's kind of boring.
1342
01:26:09,600 --> 01:26:13,320
Yep, Yep, absolutely,
absolutely, Mason.
1343
01:26:13,320 --> 01:26:17,000
What do you got bud?
You know, I think, I think
1344
01:26:17,000 --> 01:26:19,800
pretty much anything, everything
was touched on generally there.
1345
01:26:20,200 --> 01:26:23,000
Perfect.
All right, let's go to the last
1346
01:26:23,000 --> 01:26:26,320
part of this video I want to
cover before we move on to the
1347
01:26:26,320 --> 01:26:29,280
other one.
The Elizabeth Smart example.
1348
01:26:30,000 --> 01:26:34,040
OK, he's asking right here if
this counts as grooming, so let
1349
01:26:34,040 --> 01:26:37,640
me back up just a little bit.
Yes, absolutely.
1350
01:26:37,640 --> 01:26:40,320
So even the examples that you're
showing, like the Elizabeth
1351
01:26:40,320 --> 01:26:46,120
Smart example, the the recent
example, just what's being shown
1352
01:26:46,120 --> 01:26:50,360
on this cartoon, what was
happening before, and even our,
1353
01:26:50,880 --> 01:26:55,920
our conversation about not being
able to challenge LDS leaders
1354
01:26:56,240 --> 01:26:59,240
because it's so interesting with
the Sam Young and with my case
1355
01:26:59,240 --> 01:27:02,520
in particular, I think, well,
many cases, it's not so much
1356
01:27:02,520 --> 01:27:06,640
that we denounced like Mormon
theology or that we denounced
1357
01:27:06,720 --> 01:27:10,200
our testimonies.
We were denouncing policy and
1358
01:27:10,200 --> 01:27:12,680
policy was going against the
leaders.
1359
01:27:12,680 --> 01:27:16,240
And so in both I think my
apostasy charge and also Sam
1360
01:27:16,240 --> 01:27:20,200
Young's apostasy charge, it was
very much this idea that you're
1361
01:27:20,200 --> 01:27:25,280
going against church leaders,
which I'm like, yeah, isn't that
1362
01:27:25,280 --> 01:27:27,640
part of sustaining church
leaders when you know that
1363
01:27:27,640 --> 01:27:30,960
they're making huge mistakes
saying there's a problem?
1364
01:27:32,080 --> 01:27:35,120
But they didn't buy that that
was that was not an OK enough
1365
01:27:35,120 --> 01:27:35,840
reason.
So.
1366
01:27:35,880 --> 01:27:38,040
They were still caught up on you
calling them a patriarchal
1367
01:27:38,040 --> 01:27:39,000
prick.
That too.
1368
01:27:39,040 --> 01:27:42,880
Yeah, that really, that really.
Yeah, that really pricked them
1369
01:27:43,280 --> 01:27:48,760
anyway, So, but, but this idea
of grooming, so again, going
1370
01:27:48,760 --> 01:27:52,000
back to Rain's definition and
the patterns that they say, one
1371
01:27:52,000 --> 01:27:56,000
of the patterns of grooming is
that you're gaining access and
1372
01:27:56,000 --> 01:27:59,600
isolation of the victim.
And what you're describing just
1373
01:27:59,600 --> 01:28:04,840
in a church interview where a
Bishop is going to ask sexually
1374
01:28:04,840 --> 01:28:08,800
inappropriate questions, that
fits that grooming criteria to
1375
01:28:08,800 --> 01:28:15,160
the T, to the T, you now have
access to a vulnerable person.
1376
01:28:15,680 --> 01:28:18,240
And you know, I think many
bishops don't take advantage of
1377
01:28:18,240 --> 01:28:20,800
that.
Many bishops have and other
1378
01:28:20,800 --> 01:28:23,640
people who will mimic those
types of meetings as well.
1379
01:28:23,960 --> 01:28:25,880
And so you have a huge problem
there.
1380
01:28:25,880 --> 01:28:30,360
I also want to say that over 90%
of sexual assault happens with
1381
01:28:30,360 --> 01:28:33,240
people that we know.
So that's another thing is that
1382
01:28:33,240 --> 01:28:36,680
grooming requires for the person
to have trust.
1383
01:28:37,120 --> 01:28:39,800
And this is what the church is
saying, trust us, trust the
1384
01:28:39,800 --> 01:28:43,800
Lord, trust Joseph Smith, trust
your Bishop, trust the young
1385
01:28:43,800 --> 01:28:47,360
men's leader, trust the young
women's leader, trust them over
1386
01:28:47,360 --> 01:28:51,120
yourself time and time again.
So now we have this trust issue,
1387
01:28:51,120 --> 01:28:54,680
this gaining access issue.
Now there's victim selection,
1388
01:28:54,760 --> 01:28:56,680
right?
So how do groomers and
1389
01:28:56,680 --> 01:28:58,760
perpetrators usually select
victims?
1390
01:28:59,000 --> 01:29:02,640
They're usually vulnerable.
They're usually maybe got some
1391
01:29:02,640 --> 01:29:06,880
type of developmental issue or
emotional issue where that makes
1392
01:29:06,880 --> 01:29:09,360
them more vulnerable victim than
others.
1393
01:29:10,080 --> 01:29:13,720
So when I think about a 14 year
old in Joseph Smith's home who's
1394
01:29:13,720 --> 01:29:17,480
actually dependent on her living
and eating and ability to
1395
01:29:17,480 --> 01:29:20,520
survive on this family, who's
taking care of her or.
1396
01:29:20,520 --> 01:29:21,840
Foster children.
That is whose?
1397
01:29:22,080 --> 01:29:25,360
Parents have died.
So now we're looking at very
1398
01:29:25,360 --> 01:29:28,920
vulnerable victims, right?
And so you just, and then
1399
01:29:28,920 --> 01:29:31,560
desensitization.
This is what's happening in this
1400
01:29:31,560 --> 01:29:35,040
cartoon.
It's desensitizing a problematic
1401
01:29:35,040 --> 01:29:38,720
thing, which again, I'm
realizing so many years later
1402
01:29:38,720 --> 01:29:42,200
that this is what happened to me
for years, for years as an LDS
1403
01:29:42,200 --> 01:29:47,200
member, I would have said many
things to defend the church in
1404
01:29:47,200 --> 01:29:50,880
this particular situation.
What I'm realizing now is that I
1405
01:29:50,880 --> 01:29:54,720
was being desensitized to my own
discomfort because again,
1406
01:29:54,720 --> 01:29:57,200
Natasha, your discomfort is
prideful.
1407
01:29:57,720 --> 01:30:01,400
It's egotistical.
It's influenced by the world.
1408
01:30:02,320 --> 01:30:05,960
So you have to ignore those
discomfort, uncomfortable
1409
01:30:05,960 --> 01:30:11,480
feelings and instead be humble
and go along with and say yes
1410
01:30:11,680 --> 01:30:15,440
even when you want to say no.
So these are grimy tactics.
1411
01:30:15,640 --> 01:30:19,400
One O 1.
And then the the last point that
1412
01:30:19,400 --> 01:30:24,320
they make is they attempt to
make their behavior seem natural
1413
01:30:24,440 --> 01:30:27,040
to avoid raising suspicion.
Well, what is this cartoon
1414
01:30:27,040 --> 01:30:29,240
doing?
More than anything, it's making
1415
01:30:29,240 --> 01:30:31,680
it natural.
Sometimes this happens
1416
01:30:31,960 --> 01:30:34,200
sometimes.
Sometimes God just wants you to
1417
01:30:34,200 --> 01:30:36,280
totally ignore your bodily
autonomy.
1418
01:30:36,640 --> 01:30:40,280
That's sometimes what is going
to happen and that is
1419
01:30:40,400 --> 01:30:43,160
normalizing.
Sometimes God's gonna want.
1420
01:30:43,320 --> 01:30:48,480
That right and and desensitizing
behavior that is absolutely
1421
01:30:48,480 --> 01:30:51,640
atrocious and abusive and making
it normal.
1422
01:30:51,920 --> 01:30:54,680
Yeah.
So thank you, Church of Jesus
1423
01:30:54,680 --> 01:30:58,800
Christ of Latter Day Saints, for
making sexual assault normal and
1424
01:30:58,800 --> 01:31:00,880
blaming God on top of it.
Shame on you.
1425
01:31:01,000 --> 01:31:02,840
Four children.
Two children.
1426
01:31:02,840 --> 01:31:05,320
Shame on you.
Yeah, yeah.
1427
01:31:05,320 --> 01:31:11,440
Well, we've got some cartoons of
sort of satirical responses.
1428
01:31:14,200 --> 01:31:16,560
All right, Ben, go ahead.
Yeah.
1429
01:31:17,160 --> 01:31:23,000
All right.
So the first thing, like she is
1430
01:31:23,000 --> 01:31:30,800
100% correct about the 1st, not
everything, but the first point
1431
01:31:30,800 --> 01:31:36,040
that she makes is that the
overwhelming majority of sexual
1432
01:31:36,040 --> 01:31:43,000
assault, it happens because from
someone that you trust, that's
1433
01:31:43,000 --> 01:31:47,000
the case with like, I'm pretty
confident that's the case with
1434
01:31:47,000 --> 01:31:51,600
violent crimes in general.
You know, like, you know,
1435
01:31:51,600 --> 01:31:57,760
someone said that, you know,
most murders are not committed
1436
01:31:57,760 --> 01:32:02,200
by well trained assassins.
It's by friends and family, you
1437
01:32:02,200 --> 01:32:05,960
know that that do that and you
know, it's true.
1438
01:32:07,600 --> 01:32:13,760
So like that is a thing that
people should be aware of the
1439
01:32:14,040 --> 01:32:19,640
the guy who's going to jump out
from behind the Bush and snatch
1440
01:32:19,640 --> 01:32:24,040
you.
That's extremely rare.
1441
01:32:24,080 --> 01:32:27,640
A very very tiny portion of
assaults.
1442
01:32:27,640 --> 01:32:32,960
Like it is usually the case that
someone is exploiting a position
1443
01:32:32,960 --> 01:32:39,760
of trust.
Now that does It does not follow
1444
01:32:40,160 --> 01:32:48,080
that everyone who has a position
of trust has it for nefarious
1445
01:32:48,080 --> 01:32:52,360
purposes.
Like there's a lot of very
1446
01:32:52,360 --> 01:32:57,480
legitimate reasons for people to
trust one another.
1447
01:32:58,240 --> 01:33:04,320
You know, parents need to have
the trust of their children,
1448
01:33:04,360 --> 01:33:08,400
like good parents who love their
kids and take care of them.
1449
01:33:08,840 --> 01:33:14,640
Like that's, that's trust.
Like the reason I can get my, my
1450
01:33:14,640 --> 01:33:17,920
daughter to brush her teeth even
though she's 3 and she doesn't
1451
01:33:17,920 --> 01:33:24,160
want to, is because she trusts
me, you know, like, and I'm
1452
01:33:24,160 --> 01:33:27,280
using that trust to get her to
brush her teeth.
1453
01:33:29,120 --> 01:33:35,960
So like, it isn't, you know, we
shouldn't, we should be aware,
1454
01:33:36,280 --> 01:33:40,120
you know, we should watch if
someone is who is trusted is
1455
01:33:40,120 --> 01:33:41,800
doing something that doesn't
look right.
1456
01:33:41,800 --> 01:33:44,400
You know, you should trust your
guts on that and all that.
1457
01:33:45,280 --> 01:33:49,560
But you shouldn't just say like,
oh, that person appears
1458
01:33:49,560 --> 01:33:51,640
trustworthy.
He must be up to no good.
1459
01:33:54,040 --> 01:33:57,720
So yeah.
That was my you.
1460
01:33:57,720 --> 01:34:01,160
Go ahead.
So here, here's the issue I had.
1461
01:34:01,520 --> 01:34:07,400
First, the woman who was talking
there, Natasha Helfer, she was
1462
01:34:07,400 --> 01:34:12,200
excommunicated for she's a sex
sex therapist by by profession,
1463
01:34:13,040 --> 01:34:15,680
right?
If she was excommunicated for a
1464
01:34:15,680 --> 01:34:18,600
number of reasons, one of those
being her stance that gay
1465
01:34:18,600 --> 01:34:21,240
marriage should should be a
thing in the church, right?
1466
01:34:21,240 --> 01:34:22,760
Right.
She was.
1467
01:34:22,760 --> 01:34:26,240
She was all for that.
So that does go against the
1468
01:34:26,240 --> 01:34:28,480
doctrine which she says.
So.
1469
01:34:28,720 --> 01:34:33,040
But here's the thing, and and I
think this is a big tale here.
1470
01:34:33,560 --> 01:34:38,080
Do you notice about half of what
she said was about her in that
1471
01:34:38,080 --> 01:34:42,200
in that little blurp, right?
That had nothing to do a lot of
1472
01:34:42,200 --> 01:34:44,400
it with anything that they were
talking about.
1473
01:34:46,800 --> 01:34:49,040
Maybe a little bit of a
grievance seeker, I don't know.
1474
01:34:49,880 --> 01:34:54,440
But anyway, again, that's on
brand for for this particular
1475
01:34:54,440 --> 01:34:59,040
podcast, right?
And so it was all about her.
1476
01:34:59,840 --> 01:35:04,000
The other thing I would say,
them telling the church that
1477
01:35:04,000 --> 01:35:07,520
they are, you know, them saying
that the church is using this to
1478
01:35:07,520 --> 01:35:11,840
groom their youth is laughable
when many of the people that
1479
01:35:11,840 --> 01:35:15,960
have been on that particular
podcast that I just referenced
1480
01:35:16,840 --> 01:35:21,520
and maybe even the host himself.
You've had some allegations that
1481
01:35:21,520 --> 01:35:25,920
look credible.
Well, that and I think, I think,
1482
01:35:26,000 --> 01:35:28,400
don't quote me, I've been
looking at for this all day and
1483
01:35:28,400 --> 01:35:30,760
I haven't been able to find one
way or another.
1484
01:35:30,760 --> 01:35:32,560
It's kind of leaning towards
this direction.
1485
01:35:32,560 --> 01:35:36,040
But I think they're all about
being OK with taking your kids
1486
01:35:36,040 --> 01:35:39,600
to a pride parade, right?
I think they're OK with medical
1487
01:35:39,600 --> 01:35:44,320
transitioning your child, right?
So who's the groomer here?
1488
01:35:45,200 --> 01:35:47,240
Right?
Let's, let's get real.
1489
01:35:47,320 --> 01:35:49,560
If, if we want to go down this
road, we can.
1490
01:35:49,560 --> 01:35:54,760
But I promise you're going to
lose on this one because 100%.
1491
01:35:54,760 --> 01:35:57,280
Have there been, has there been
abuse in the LDS church?
1492
01:35:57,480 --> 01:35:59,200
You bet.
You bet.
1493
01:35:59,440 --> 01:36:01,160
Has there been abuse in
fundamentalism?
1494
01:36:01,280 --> 01:36:06,080
Absolutely.
However, and if you want to talk
1495
01:36:06,080 --> 01:36:08,680
raw numbers, I think it's, you
know, we can have that
1496
01:36:08,680 --> 01:36:12,680
discussion about kind of the
left-leaning LGBTQ movement
1497
01:36:12,680 --> 01:36:17,720
along with with the, the, the
trans community.
1498
01:36:18,520 --> 01:36:21,840
There's way more grooming going
on that side than there is here.
1499
01:36:22,960 --> 01:36:27,120
I don't see anything in what was
presented by the church in any
1500
01:36:27,120 --> 01:36:31,400
way whatsoever as a grooming.
In fact, to me it takes steps to
1501
01:36:31,400 --> 01:36:34,640
make sure that doesn't happen by
coming out in the last part and
1502
01:36:34,640 --> 01:36:39,800
saying we no longer practice
plural marriage right in the SO
1503
01:36:39,800 --> 01:36:43,840
to make the claim that this is
grooming is laughable given who
1504
01:36:43,840 --> 01:36:47,440
it's coming from, as well as
just patently false.
1505
01:36:47,760 --> 01:36:52,600
And you have to be, I can't even
say you're mistaken.
1506
01:36:52,600 --> 01:36:57,360
You have to kind of be wanting
to say something false to a
1507
01:36:57,600 --> 01:37:02,120
tribute grooming to this thing.
Well, and they're, they're
1508
01:37:02,120 --> 01:37:08,240
exploiting like traumatized
people because you know, like,
1509
01:37:08,240 --> 01:37:12,080
if this is something that you're
close to where you've either
1510
01:37:12,080 --> 01:37:17,320
experienced an assault yourself
or like someone that you love
1511
01:37:17,320 --> 01:37:21,360
and and care for has that's
going to be something really
1512
01:37:21,360 --> 01:37:25,280
sensitive.
So if you can kind of tie
1513
01:37:26,040 --> 01:37:30,680
whatever the church is doing
into that, it kind of lowers
1514
01:37:30,680 --> 01:37:34,520
like your critical thinking
because now you're, you're
1515
01:37:35,280 --> 01:37:41,400
dealing with the emotions of
fear of anger, of sadness, like
1516
01:37:41,400 --> 01:37:45,880
because you're hooking into this
like emotionally triggering
1517
01:37:46,680 --> 01:37:51,600
topic, which a lot of people
have some kind of, I think
1518
01:37:51,840 --> 01:37:54,560
almost everyone, if you haven't
experienced something like that,
1519
01:37:54,560 --> 01:37:56,360
someone you care about probably
has.
1520
01:37:58,080 --> 01:38:03,880
And so that's going to override
like your critical thinking and
1521
01:38:03,880 --> 01:38:07,520
and then you're just going to be
feeling all this rage and, and
1522
01:38:07,520 --> 01:38:13,400
anger towards the church.
It isn't grooming like just
1523
01:38:13,400 --> 01:38:17,840
because like there are like
there are nefarious people who
1524
01:38:17,840 --> 01:38:23,360
can exploit your beliefs in
order to harm you and take
1525
01:38:23,360 --> 01:38:26,240
advantage of you.
And that is a concern that
1526
01:38:26,240 --> 01:38:32,040
people should care about.
But because a belief can be
1527
01:38:32,040 --> 01:38:38,680
exploited does not mean that
that's the purpose of that
1528
01:38:38,680 --> 01:38:42,120
belief and that that's like what
it does.
1529
01:38:42,920 --> 01:38:48,680
So teaching children, hey,
here's like a basic introductory
1530
01:38:50,520 --> 01:38:55,880
explanation of plural marriage.
This was hard for people to do,
1531
01:38:55,880 --> 01:38:58,040
blah, blah, blah.
We don't do it anymore.
1532
01:38:58,560 --> 01:39:02,360
But this is what happened at a
very basic level.
1533
01:39:02,920 --> 01:39:08,080
Like no, like that.
No, it's not, It's not grooming.
1534
01:39:08,160 --> 01:39:12,760
It's not, you know, and that
it's still not grooming.
1535
01:39:12,760 --> 01:39:18,320
Even if there's a scenario where
like some creepy dude takes
1536
01:39:18,320 --> 01:39:24,440
advantage of someone and tries
to use plural marriage to, to
1537
01:39:24,440 --> 01:39:31,120
make it OK, like that's wrong,
should be punished, all that,
1538
01:39:33,440 --> 01:39:36,000
but that's, that's not, it's
just not what's going on here.
1539
01:39:36,080 --> 01:39:38,640
And I, I think this is extremely
manipulative.
1540
01:39:39,280 --> 01:39:46,160
And also like the existence of a
power dynamic does not mean that
1541
01:39:47,120 --> 01:39:50,640
people have been harmed.
Like power dynamics exist in
1542
01:39:50,640 --> 01:39:54,480
nature and they can be
exploited.
1543
01:39:55,120 --> 01:40:00,360
And so we should be watchful and
careful, but like I'm.
1544
01:40:01,120 --> 01:40:05,800
Bigger and stronger and taller
than my wife is like I am by
1545
01:40:05,800 --> 01:40:09,240
nature.
If I wanted to, I could use that
1546
01:40:09,240 --> 01:40:13,000
to hurt her.
Like that is something that is
1547
01:40:13,000 --> 01:40:16,080
physically possible there.
That is a power dynamic.
1548
01:40:16,960 --> 01:40:21,920
It's not bad because I don't.
I use that like that's something
1549
01:40:21,920 --> 01:40:24,800
that she actually quite likes,
that I'm taller and stronger
1550
01:40:24,800 --> 01:40:27,240
than her.
You know, it's one of the things
1551
01:40:27,240 --> 01:40:33,400
that she enjoys about me.
So because I use that to serve
1552
01:40:33,400 --> 01:40:38,120
her and to benefit her.
And so it isn't like automatic,
1553
01:40:38,120 --> 01:40:40,840
like we shouldn't just like, oh,
let's abolish all power
1554
01:40:40,840 --> 01:40:44,320
dynamics.
It's like, well, no, be aware.
1555
01:40:44,320 --> 01:40:48,120
They can be exploited.
But like, that doesn't mean they
1556
01:40:48,120 --> 01:40:51,240
shouldn't exist, or that it
would even be possible for them
1557
01:40:51,240 --> 01:40:54,200
not to.
Mason, anything you want to add
1558
01:40:54,200 --> 01:40:57,720
to this before we move on?
I get the feeling that the
1559
01:40:57,720 --> 01:41:02,240
church does have a problem with
sexual abuse, but that has like
1560
01:41:02,240 --> 01:41:05,320
no bearing on the conversation
that they're having.
1561
01:41:05,320 --> 01:41:09,480
They're talking about the church
teaching its history, which is
1562
01:41:09,480 --> 01:41:12,600
something that from the very
beginning of this podcast, I
1563
01:41:12,600 --> 01:41:17,200
pointed out is something that
they ostensibly want the church
1564
01:41:17,200 --> 01:41:19,720
to be doing.
They say, oh, the church needs
1565
01:41:19,720 --> 01:41:21,640
to be more transparent with its
history.
1566
01:41:21,680 --> 01:41:24,720
They say that people convert in
ignorance.
1567
01:41:24,720 --> 01:41:28,760
They don't know anything about
Joseph Smith and or his life.
1568
01:41:28,760 --> 01:41:32,160
And as a missionary or as a
former missionary, I tend to
1569
01:41:32,400 --> 01:41:34,480
agree with that.
But now that the church is
1570
01:41:34,480 --> 01:41:38,560
taking steps in that direction
of actually educating the youth
1571
01:41:38,560 --> 01:41:42,360
and trying to be more forthright
with what happened there,
1572
01:41:44,160 --> 01:41:47,320
pulling on other things that are
going wrong in the church right
1573
01:41:47,320 --> 01:41:50,520
now.
Like if if you genuinely want
1574
01:41:50,520 --> 01:41:53,920
the church to be better as an
institution, which I think the
1575
01:41:53,920 --> 01:41:57,600
three of us do, you have to give
them props where props are due.
1576
01:41:58,080 --> 01:42:00,600
They're doing better at telling
the history as it actually
1577
01:42:00,600 --> 01:42:05,440
happened.
Obviously it's simplified
1578
01:42:05,440 --> 01:42:08,080
because it's too young audience.
Of course they're not going to
1579
01:42:08,080 --> 01:42:14,240
get crazy in detail, but props
where props reduce still, you
1580
01:42:14,240 --> 01:42:18,240
know what I mean?
It it just, it has no bearing on
1581
01:42:18,240 --> 01:42:21,520
the conversation to say that the
church has a sex abuse problem
1582
01:42:21,520 --> 01:42:25,280
or to to talk about grooming
because this, this has nothing
1583
01:42:25,280 --> 01:42:29,240
to do with grooming.
It's just complying with what
1584
01:42:29,240 --> 01:42:32,280
needs to be done.
And you know, yeah.
1585
01:42:32,360 --> 01:42:35,080
And and to go along with that, I
guarantee you that this was
1586
01:42:35,080 --> 01:42:39,160
probably put together because a
survey was taken by the church
1587
01:42:39,200 --> 01:42:43,040
and some, you know, there was
enough people that said, hey, we
1588
01:42:43,040 --> 01:42:46,040
feel like you're hiding stuff.
And so they said, well, then
1589
01:42:46,040 --> 01:42:48,200
we'll, we'll get more forward
with it, right.
1590
01:42:49,360 --> 01:42:51,680
I don't think the church has
I'll intent in this.
1591
01:42:51,680 --> 01:42:54,560
I I just think they're trying to
maybe do the best they can with
1592
01:42:54,560 --> 01:42:58,080
what they got.
And I, I think this speaks to
1593
01:42:58,080 --> 01:43:04,440
the larger narrative here of
this, like there is nothing that
1594
01:43:04,440 --> 01:43:08,880
the church or Mormons at large
will ever be able to do other
1595
01:43:08,880 --> 01:43:13,960
than disavow the faith that will
make this side of the argument
1596
01:43:13,960 --> 01:43:15,640
happy, right?
Yeah, and.
1597
01:43:15,720 --> 01:43:17,560
That's it.
That's what they want.
1598
01:43:17,840 --> 01:43:21,760
They don't, you know it.
It's almost like because I've
1599
01:43:21,760 --> 01:43:25,520
heard, I've heard this come from
from this particular podcast
1600
01:43:25,760 --> 01:43:28,240
several times where they said,
well, gosh, we just want the
1601
01:43:28,240 --> 01:43:31,960
church to get better.
So what?
1602
01:43:31,960 --> 01:43:34,840
What are you saying we need to
like paint a few more buildings?
1603
01:43:34,840 --> 01:43:37,120
No, just take a can of gasoline
and some matches to it.
1604
01:43:37,120 --> 01:43:39,120
That'll make it better, right?
Yeah.
1605
01:43:40,400 --> 01:43:41,800
Go ahead.
Well, and, and like you
1606
01:43:41,800 --> 01:43:45,800
mentioned the Community of
Christ earlier, they've made
1607
01:43:45,800 --> 01:43:50,280
every single change that every
one of these critics have
1608
01:43:50,280 --> 01:43:54,720
levelled at the church and they
don't go there, you know, like
1609
01:43:54,720 --> 01:43:57,320
they, they, they, when they
leave the LDS church, they don't
1610
01:43:57,320 --> 01:44:02,560
say, OK, well, what I want is a
Mormonism that's friendly to
1611
01:44:02,760 --> 01:44:09,560
LGBTQ, that is progressive, that
ordains women Da, da, da, da, da
1612
01:44:09,680 --> 01:44:14,400
doesn't have, you know, the
issues that you have with the
1613
01:44:14,400 --> 01:44:18,920
temple, whatever the case
doesn't endorse, like the
1614
01:44:18,960 --> 01:44:22,560
historicity of the Book of
Mormon, all these issues that
1615
01:44:22,560 --> 01:44:25,560
they've got, guess what?
You can go right over to the
1616
01:44:25,560 --> 01:44:28,880
community of Christ.
They they've never taught
1617
01:44:28,880 --> 01:44:31,520
polygamy.
Like you can go right there,
1618
01:44:31,600 --> 01:44:33,480
they'll welcome you with open
arms.
1619
01:44:33,720 --> 01:44:36,440
They're generally friendly
people from my experience.
1620
01:44:38,200 --> 01:44:41,240
But these people don't go there
because that isn't what they
1621
01:44:41,240 --> 01:44:44,040
want.
They're just angry that the
1622
01:44:44,040 --> 01:44:49,760
church exists.
Like they want to destroy what
1623
01:44:50,640 --> 01:44:53,360
they don't like.
They're not interested in
1624
01:44:53,360 --> 01:44:58,600
finding what they do like.
Yeah, no, I agree.
1625
01:44:59,000 --> 01:45:03,000
I agree.
All right, let's go ahead and
1626
01:45:03,000 --> 01:45:09,000
let's move on to the other video
because I feel like it's going
1627
01:45:09,000 --> 01:45:13,640
to be just as good here.
Probably won't take nearly as
1628
01:45:13,640 --> 01:45:19,480
long to break this one down, but
I do believe it's worth worth
1629
01:45:19,480 --> 01:45:20,440
talking.
Oh yeah.
1630
01:45:22,080 --> 01:45:24,840
All right, so.
I might have a different take on
1631
01:45:24,840 --> 01:45:28,200
this than you.
OK, All right, We'll we'll this
1632
01:45:28,200 --> 01:45:29,840
will be good then.
OK, here we go.
1633
01:45:30,920 --> 01:45:32,800
Hello everyone, and welcome to
another edition of Mormon
1634
01:45:32,800 --> 01:45:34,800
Stories podcast.
I'm your host, John Delin.
1635
01:45:34,800 --> 01:45:39,720
It is January 6th, 2025, Happy
New Year.
1636
01:45:40,320 --> 01:45:46,320
And today we are going to be
covering an episode that the
1637
01:45:46,320 --> 01:45:48,640
thumbnail basically says
Harvard's Clark Gilbert
1638
01:45:49,200 --> 01:45:56,280
terrorizes BYU professors.
The real impetus for this this
1639
01:45:56,280 --> 01:46:01,520
episode comes from a Salt Lake
Tribune article that dropped
1640
01:46:02,280 --> 01:46:05,480
just over the weekend.
The Salt Lake Tribune article
1641
01:46:05,480 --> 01:46:11,400
says dark days, new rules have
BYU professors running scared.
1642
01:46:12,080 --> 01:46:15,400
Clark Gilbert, the Mormon
Church's education commissioner,
1643
01:46:15,800 --> 01:46:18,840
is determined to have faculty
members who support the faith's
1644
01:46:18,840 --> 01:46:23,680
teachings, or at least how his
office interprets those
1645
01:46:23,680 --> 01:46:27,560
teachings.
So, you know, as someone who
1646
01:46:28,400 --> 01:46:31,680
attended BYU, as someone who
felt like he got a really good
1647
01:46:31,680 --> 01:46:38,960
education at BYUI, met my wife
Margie, at BYUI, I've
1648
01:46:38,960 --> 01:46:42,640
historically been someone who's
cared pretty deeply about BYU
1649
01:46:43,360 --> 01:46:49,160
and, and its progress.
And so I think this is an
1650
01:46:49,200 --> 01:46:52,600
important topic to cover.
What I'm basically going to be
1651
01:46:52,600 --> 01:46:56,720
going to be doing today is doing
a combination of reading the
1652
01:46:56,720 --> 01:47:01,760
Salt Lake Tribune article and
also I'm playing some clips and
1653
01:47:01,760 --> 01:47:06,920
also sharing some comments that
we've been able to cull off the
1654
01:47:06,920 --> 01:47:13,200
Internet and, and some personal
comments that have been sent to
1655
01:47:13,200 --> 01:47:16,320
me as well.
I'm going to ask Julie and Maven
1656
01:47:16,320 --> 01:47:19,440
to please star.
We want we want to welcome our
1657
01:47:19,440 --> 01:47:26,080
live audience and any really
good stories or comments or
1658
01:47:26,080 --> 01:47:30,960
questions that are shared in the
live stream either on Facebook
1659
01:47:30,960 --> 01:47:32,680
or on YouTube.
I'm going to ask Julie and
1660
01:47:32,680 --> 01:47:36,280
Maven.
OK, just to give some of you a
1661
01:47:36,280 --> 01:47:38,920
sense for who this Clark Gilbert
person is.
1662
01:47:39,520 --> 01:47:46,400
This is from Clark Gilbert's bio
on the LDS Church's website.
1663
01:47:46,400 --> 01:47:49,040
It basically says Clark G
Gilbert was sustained as a
1664
01:47:49,040 --> 01:47:56,320
General Authority 70 of the LDS
Church in April 3rd, 2021.
1665
01:47:57,120 --> 01:48:00,080
As far as his church service
goes, Clark G Gilbert was
1666
01:48:00,080 --> 01:48:04,200
sustained to General Authority
70 again in April 3rd, 2021.
1667
01:48:04,200 --> 01:48:06,960
He currently serves as the
Commissioner of the Church
1668
01:48:06,960 --> 01:48:10,320
Education System.
At the time of his call, he had
1669
01:48:10,320 --> 01:48:13,520
been serving as an Area 70 in
the Utah area.
1670
01:48:14,480 --> 01:48:17,200
Elder Clark Gilbert has served
in a number of church colleagues
1671
01:48:17,200 --> 01:48:21,200
including full time missionary
in Japan, Kobe Mission Elders
1672
01:48:21,200 --> 01:48:23,960
Corn president, counselor, stake
presidency and Bishop.
1673
01:48:24,520 --> 01:48:28,640
For those who don't know, the
church education system is the
1674
01:48:28,640 --> 01:48:32,240
organization in the Mormon
church that overseas Brigham
1675
01:48:32,240 --> 01:48:35,120
Young University in Provo,
Brigham Young University,
1676
01:48:35,120 --> 01:48:38,120
Hawaii, Brigham Young
University, Idaho, which.
1677
01:48:38,880 --> 01:48:42,000
OK, I'm now I'm going to go on
to where he reads the article.
1678
01:48:42,000 --> 01:48:45,920
Dark days, New rules at BYU.
Yeah.
1679
01:48:47,600 --> 01:48:50,240
That the popular Apostles
uncharacteristically harsh
1680
01:48:50,240 --> 01:48:53,760
rhetoric was an omen of the next
three years under Gilbert's
1681
01:48:53,760 --> 01:48:57,000
leadership.
Yet Bergman felt a growing
1682
01:48:57,000 --> 01:49:00,000
unease.
Bergman, who had been teaching
1683
01:49:00,000 --> 01:49:04,640
trumpet at a prestigious Texas
university in 2018 when BYU
1684
01:49:04,640 --> 01:49:09,040
recruited him, bristled at the
increasing clampdown on LGBTQ
1685
01:49:09,040 --> 01:49:13,600
plus activism he saw on BYU
campus, which eventually would
1686
01:49:13,600 --> 01:49:18,280
include shutting down Y mountain
to rainbow colors.
1687
01:49:18,760 --> 01:49:24,640
So for those of you who don't
know, BYU has this big, huge
1688
01:49:24,960 --> 01:49:30,440
letter, white letter Y, that's
up on the side of a mountain
1689
01:49:30,840 --> 01:49:33,840
right there, very prominently
displayed on BYU campus.
1690
01:49:34,440 --> 01:49:38,840
And over the years, LGBTQ
students and allies have found
1691
01:49:38,840 --> 01:49:44,960
different ways to either paint
or project rainbow colors on to
1692
01:49:45,000 --> 01:49:48,080
that big why?
Just to just show their support
1693
01:49:48,080 --> 01:49:53,880
for LGBTQ people at BYU.
And it's been a long standing
1694
01:49:53,880 --> 01:49:57,040
controversy.
And you know that's.
1695
01:49:57,040 --> 01:49:59,080
What they're just staying for
private property that's.
1696
01:50:00,520 --> 01:50:04,520
What's being talked about there,
it goes on to say.
1697
01:50:04,520 --> 01:50:07,920
And the denial of racism and
misogyny that still existed.
1698
01:50:08,480 --> 01:50:12,240
So basically some of the main
cultural points that we're
1699
01:50:12,240 --> 01:50:16,480
talking about with all this
cultural controversy are, you
1700
01:50:16,480 --> 01:50:20,840
know, racism the way the church
treat teaches about people of
1701
01:50:20,840 --> 01:50:22,800
color and treats people of
color.
1702
01:50:23,080 --> 01:50:27,360
The way the Mormon church treats
women and how to use feminism
1703
01:50:27,360 --> 01:50:31,680
and the teachings about Mother
in Heaven and how how it treats
1704
01:50:32,760 --> 01:50:37,560
teaches its members and its
doctrine around LGBT, gay,
1705
01:50:37,560 --> 01:50:39,640
lesbian, transgender individuals
as well.
1706
01:50:39,640 --> 01:50:45,520
Those are three of kind of the
main Mormon teachings or
1707
01:50:45,520 --> 01:50:49,560
doctrines or pieces of theology
that are that are prominently
1708
01:50:49,560 --> 01:50:54,200
featured in sort of these
cultural clashes at BYU, Bergman
1709
01:50:54,200 --> 01:50:57,040
writes.
Quote, I had LGBTQ students and
1710
01:50:57,040 --> 01:50:59,800
saw how they suffered.
I started to pay attention to
1711
01:50:59,800 --> 01:51:01,760
how people of color and women
were treated.
1712
01:51:02,080 --> 01:51:04,280
It was and continues to be hard
for them.
1713
01:51:05,520 --> 01:51:10,360
Then in 2022 came a new
employment contract, a sort of
1714
01:51:10,360 --> 01:51:14,600
loyalty oath in which faculty
members incoming in current were
1715
01:51:14,600 --> 01:51:18,320
expected to attest to their
support of the Mormon Church's
1716
01:51:18,320 --> 01:51:20,280
position on marriage, family and
gender.
1717
01:51:20,640 --> 01:51:24,320
Too many, like Bergman, who felt
pressured to agree it went
1718
01:51:24,320 --> 01:51:27,080
beyond the church's own stance
and seemed to carry an implicit
1719
01:51:27,080 --> 01:51:30,160
threat.
You can't advance if you don't
1720
01:51:30,400 --> 01:51:32,920
sign off.
So that's disturbing to a lot of
1721
01:51:32,920 --> 01:51:38,320
people that you know.
OK, we'll stop right there.
1722
01:51:38,320 --> 01:51:41,160
That's enough of that.
So basically here it is.
1723
01:51:42,280 --> 01:51:46,160
The LDS Church has finally, in
my opinion, and this is a good
1724
01:51:46,160 --> 01:51:49,760
thing, has come out and
basically said, look, there's
1725
01:51:49,760 --> 01:51:52,160
certain things we're not going
to allow the professors to get
1726
01:51:52,160 --> 01:51:54,520
away with anymore.
They're going to kind of toe the
1727
01:51:54,520 --> 01:51:59,480
the line a little bit here as
far as as, you know, lining up
1728
01:51:59,480 --> 01:52:03,440
with with LDS teachings.
Now I want to say this
1729
01:52:03,440 --> 01:52:07,600
obviously, Ben, that's going to
maybe be a a little bit of a
1730
01:52:07,600 --> 01:52:11,440
problem for guys like you and I
in the sense of their, you know,
1731
01:52:11,440 --> 01:52:15,440
when it comes to the the study
of our religion, you're not
1732
01:52:15,440 --> 01:52:17,200
going to get the full story
right.
1733
01:52:17,200 --> 01:52:23,080
You just won't.
Sure, But at the same time, I
1734
01:52:23,080 --> 01:52:28,880
don't think it's entirely bad if
those who were on the on on more
1735
01:52:28,880 --> 01:52:34,480
of the, the, the side of, you
know, trying to figure out how
1736
01:52:34,480 --> 01:52:37,440
to justify same sex marriage in
the church.
1737
01:52:39,000 --> 01:52:43,120
I I'm all for the church being
able to to get rid of those
1738
01:52:43,280 --> 01:52:45,000
those professors if they have
to.
1739
01:52:46,440 --> 01:52:49,840
Yeah, right.
So that essentially like what
1740
01:52:49,840 --> 01:52:55,600
they're complaining about is
that they're they're upset that
1741
01:52:55,600 --> 01:53:02,880
the church wants its employees
to not oppose them.
1742
01:53:03,680 --> 01:53:07,520
Right.
And like to to not like actively
1743
01:53:07,600 --> 01:53:12,800
fight against their interest.
And like, I hate to break it to
1744
01:53:12,800 --> 01:53:18,000
you, but like that's pretty
standard for basically all
1745
01:53:18,000 --> 01:53:21,680
employed.
Like if I started speaking badly
1746
01:53:21,680 --> 01:53:27,640
about my employer, like I should
expect to not stay there for
1747
01:53:27,640 --> 01:53:32,640
much longer, you know, like
that's that's just pretty that's
1748
01:53:32,640 --> 01:53:37,760
pretty normal, you know, like,
and also why do you want to work
1749
01:53:37,760 --> 01:53:43,320
at a place that you like
fundamentally disagree with like
1750
01:53:43,320 --> 01:53:48,160
on a on like core?
Like if the if the Democratic
1751
01:53:48,160 --> 01:53:52,800
Party like offered you a job,
would you take it?
1752
01:53:53,520 --> 01:53:55,040
Dave?
No, right.
1753
01:53:55,760 --> 01:54:01,280
Like, you know, like it.
Like why would you work for an
1754
01:54:01,280 --> 01:54:04,960
organization that like you
fundamentally disagree with?
1755
01:54:05,600 --> 01:54:06,960
OK.
And also it's like this, this
1756
01:54:06,960 --> 01:54:08,760
whole thing, oh, I'm being
threatened with my job.
1757
01:54:09,120 --> 01:54:10,520
Why are you working?
There.
1758
01:54:10,800 --> 01:54:15,320
Well, I I think you're leaving
out an important caveat to that.
1759
01:54:16,000 --> 01:54:19,920
I don't know if you have ever
watched the fantastic.
1760
01:54:21,040 --> 01:54:25,640
It's it's second only to the
Office, this fantastic sitcom
1761
01:54:26,880 --> 01:54:31,200
Parks and Rec.
And when Ron Swanson works for
1762
01:54:31,800 --> 01:54:35,720
the Parks Department and says I
am here to bring down the system
1763
01:54:35,720 --> 01:54:39,480
from the inside.
So I mean, I suppose you had
1764
01:54:39,480 --> 01:54:40,800
that.
I mean which?
1765
01:54:40,840 --> 01:54:42,920
But no.
To be fair, I think that's
1766
01:54:42,920 --> 01:54:45,480
exactly what's going on here
with some of these professors,
1767
01:54:45,920 --> 01:54:47,840
but I'll let.
You know your thought, well,
1768
01:54:47,840 --> 01:54:49,760
there, there's two dynamics
going on.
1769
01:54:49,880 --> 01:54:53,000
So yeah, there's that.
Like there, there are some that
1770
01:54:53,000 --> 01:54:57,240
are like actively there because
they want to undermine the
1771
01:54:57,240 --> 01:54:59,600
church.
There's the the church should be
1772
01:54:59,600 --> 01:55:01,360
aware of and like
traditionalists within the
1773
01:55:01,360 --> 01:55:06,480
church should be aware of this
too, because the more like
1774
01:55:06,480 --> 01:55:11,400
progressive lefty side of the
church, they know that the
1775
01:55:11,400 --> 01:55:16,960
church responds to pressure like
they know the church does not
1776
01:55:16,960 --> 01:55:22,360
like getting bad press.
The church doesn't like when
1777
01:55:22,360 --> 01:55:28,760
they're being criticized.
They especially don't like legal
1778
01:55:28,760 --> 01:55:32,120
battles.
And so, like, they know that the
1779
01:55:32,120 --> 01:55:35,880
church will, at a minimum,
moderate the position and
1780
01:55:35,880 --> 01:55:39,200
sometimes change based on
pressure from the outside.
1781
01:55:39,440 --> 01:55:42,720
They know that that's a fact.
Traditionalists in the church
1782
01:55:43,000 --> 01:55:47,000
insist that that's not true.
And because they insist that
1783
01:55:47,000 --> 01:55:53,280
that's not true, when it
happens, they will say, oh, this
1784
01:55:53,280 --> 01:55:57,320
leftist thing that I've always
opposed, It's now what God
1785
01:55:57,320 --> 01:56:03,160
wants.
And so that's kind of the, the
1786
01:56:03,160 --> 01:56:07,400
situation where you, the, the
like you've got professors who
1787
01:56:07,400 --> 01:56:11,840
are coming in there to put that
pressure to kind of seed the
1788
01:56:11,840 --> 01:56:17,560
next generation towards this.
And so that's the one dynamic.
1789
01:56:18,480 --> 01:56:26,960
Then the other dynamic is it's
hard to get a job in at
1790
01:56:26,960 --> 01:56:31,720
universities today.
Enrollments are down.
1791
01:56:32,120 --> 01:56:37,640
Like people are finding out that
it is not as good an investment
1792
01:56:37,960 --> 01:56:47,800
as they were led to believe.
And BYU offers a a place where
1793
01:56:48,240 --> 01:56:53,400
if you're a member of the
church, you can get employment
1794
01:56:53,480 --> 01:56:57,800
there a little more easier than
you would and a lot of other
1795
01:56:57,800 --> 01:57:02,360
universities if you are kind of
a mediocre teacher.
1796
01:57:04,040 --> 01:57:10,120
And if you're pretty mediocre,
you're terrified of getting
1797
01:57:10,120 --> 01:57:15,520
fired, like most people who are
like committed progressives and
1798
01:57:15,520 --> 01:57:18,880
who do fundamentally disagree
with the church they don't want,
1799
01:57:19,000 --> 01:57:22,160
and they are like competent in
their profession.
1800
01:57:24,480 --> 01:57:27,640
They are just going to go work
somewhere else, right?
1801
01:57:27,640 --> 01:57:31,160
But if you are not competent and
you know you're not, and you
1802
01:57:31,160 --> 01:57:35,240
know no one else is going to
hire you if you get fired, then
1803
01:57:35,440 --> 01:57:39,120
you are going to kick and scream
and cry and whine, do everything
1804
01:57:39,120 --> 01:57:42,520
you can to hold on to your nice
cushy job at BYU.
1805
01:57:43,760 --> 01:57:47,080
Because like, if you really
actually oppose them and you're
1806
01:57:47,080 --> 01:57:51,480
not like on, on this like
mission to infiltrate them, go
1807
01:57:51,480 --> 01:57:53,520
get another job.
You're kind of a loser if you
1808
01:57:53,520 --> 01:57:57,160
don't, you know?
No, I, I agree.
1809
01:57:57,240 --> 01:57:59,400
I agree.
Look, I, I've, I've thought
1810
01:57:59,400 --> 01:58:04,320
about this a little bit, right?
Because look, if, if everything
1811
01:58:04,520 --> 01:58:10,560
was, was where it was supposed
to be within society, I've got
1812
01:58:10,560 --> 01:58:14,160
no problem with my kid.
If you know, when I send a kid
1813
01:58:14,160 --> 01:58:18,560
off to school, off to college, I
want my kid to be challenged on
1814
01:58:18,560 --> 01:58:20,240
what he believes a little bit,
right?
1815
01:58:20,400 --> 01:58:24,280
I, I want him to have to kind of
be, and this is figuratively
1816
01:58:24,280 --> 01:58:26,520
speaking, not literally, but
kind of be put up against the
1817
01:58:26,520 --> 01:58:29,440
wall a little bit and say, tell
me why it is you believe what
1818
01:58:29,440 --> 01:58:31,480
you believe.
I think that's a healthy thing,
1819
01:58:31,920 --> 01:58:33,960
right?
Why is it you believe this?
1820
01:58:35,160 --> 01:58:42,720
The problem is, is that at BYU,
at, at most universities, it's
1821
01:58:42,720 --> 01:58:45,520
not that.
What it is, is it's an
1822
01:58:45,520 --> 01:58:50,840
indoctrination camp, right?
And so you go on to most major
1823
01:58:50,840 --> 01:58:52,440
universities and what are you
going to see?
1824
01:58:52,440 --> 01:58:54,440
You're going to see a lot of
leftist Marxism.
1825
01:58:54,720 --> 01:58:56,840
You're going to see a lot of
feminism, you're going to see a
1826
01:58:56,840 --> 01:59:00,320
lot of pro LGBTQ stuff going on,
right?
1827
01:59:00,640 --> 01:59:04,760
And it's, it's less about how to
think and more about what to
1828
01:59:04,760 --> 01:59:06,000
think.
And they're going to tell you
1829
01:59:06,000 --> 01:59:08,640
exactly what to think.
Right.
1830
01:59:09,160 --> 01:59:13,200
Well, diversity is people who
look different saying the same
1831
01:59:13,200 --> 01:59:15,080
thing, right?
Right.
1832
01:59:15,800 --> 01:59:21,520
And, and so if if that's kind of
what you're going to get there
1833
01:59:21,520 --> 01:59:25,280
at BYU, you're going there
understanding that it's a little
1834
01:59:25,280 --> 01:59:27,840
bit different, right?
And so when someone comes out
1835
01:59:27,840 --> 01:59:32,320
and says, I'm shocked that they
don't dig on my LGBTQ stance.
1836
01:59:32,920 --> 01:59:37,480
No, bro, you knew exactly what
you were getting into 100%.
1837
01:59:38,040 --> 01:59:41,880
And the only difference now is,
is that it looks like the church
1838
01:59:41,880 --> 01:59:46,960
is about to get serious in, in
getting rid of some of that,
1839
01:59:47,040 --> 01:59:49,680
right?
And good for them, right?
1840
01:59:50,000 --> 01:59:53,000
Because that old adage, the hand
that rocks the cradle is the
1841
01:59:53,000 --> 01:59:56,880
hand that rules the world is
true, right?
1842
01:59:56,880 --> 01:59:59,320
And we're seeing the
repercussions of that coming out
1843
01:59:59,320 --> 02:00:01,320
of other universities right now,
right?
1844
02:00:01,640 --> 02:00:05,120
Kids coming out of school.
It's, it's a different breed,
1845
02:00:05,320 --> 02:00:06,840
right?
They've been taught certain
1846
02:00:06,840 --> 02:00:10,560
things that's much different
than what what has been around
1847
02:00:10,560 --> 02:00:13,880
predominantly up until now,
right.
1848
02:00:15,080 --> 02:00:20,840
And while I'm certainly in favor
of newer, better practices, that
1849
02:00:20,840 --> 02:00:25,280
sort of thing, there's some time
tested things that that while
1850
02:00:25,280 --> 02:00:27,800
you can certainly question, I'd
be very nervous about getting
1851
02:00:27,800 --> 02:00:30,760
rid of.
The other thing that makes BYU a
1852
02:00:30,760 --> 02:00:35,720
little bit different is that you
are expected to be a member in
1853
02:00:35,720 --> 02:00:38,320
good standing, which means you
hold the temple recommend not
1854
02:00:38,320 --> 02:00:40,680
only for the students but for
the professors as well.
1855
02:00:41,400 --> 02:00:45,760
Some exemptions are made for non
LDS professors that come in
1856
02:00:45,760 --> 02:00:47,160
right.
They're pretty accommodating
1857
02:00:47,160 --> 02:00:48,200
that way.
Yeah.
1858
02:00:49,280 --> 02:00:51,960
But none the less you.
Still got a quick coffee?
1859
02:00:52,720 --> 02:00:54,800
What's that?
You still have to quick coffee.
1860
02:00:55,160 --> 02:00:57,600
Yeah, or at least drink it on
the DL, right?
1861
02:00:57,600 --> 02:01:01,360
You you have to like actually
pour into a swig cup and then
1862
02:01:01,360 --> 02:01:05,840
drink it out of a squid cup.
But at any rate, at any rate
1863
02:01:06,160 --> 02:01:09,280
there, there's some there.
God bless his Diet Coke.
1864
02:01:11,840 --> 02:01:14,400
Yes, Sir, as I just finished a
bottle of Diet Coke.
1865
02:01:15,280 --> 02:01:21,880
But anyway, they the thing that
makes BYU, it makes it worse at
1866
02:01:21,880 --> 02:01:26,840
BYU when this stuff is taught
isn't the fact that it's being
1867
02:01:26,840 --> 02:01:30,000
taught, it's the fact that it's
being taught from a person who
1868
02:01:30,000 --> 02:01:32,840
allegedly is in good standing
with the church, working for a
1869
02:01:32,840 --> 02:01:36,640
church institution.
So you bring those kids in and
1870
02:01:36,640 --> 02:01:41,200
you give them that, that you
know, and you know that that
1871
02:01:41,440 --> 02:01:44,880
idea that, hey, you know what,
maybe gays can be married in the
1872
02:01:44,880 --> 02:01:46,720
LDS church.
Maybe they should be able to be
1873
02:01:46,720 --> 02:01:48,760
sealed.
Now you're getting a mixed
1874
02:01:48,760 --> 02:01:50,720
message, right?
And that.
1875
02:01:50,720 --> 02:01:54,200
Sounds like someone exploiting a
position of trust.
1876
02:01:54,360 --> 02:01:57,640
Yeah, it does, doesn't it the.
Opposite thing that they
1877
02:01:57,640 --> 02:01:59,480
committed to do.
Kind of like grooming.
1878
02:01:59,640 --> 02:02:04,280
In order to influence young
people behave in a certain way.
1879
02:02:04,480 --> 02:02:06,520
Would would that classify as
grooming Ben?
1880
02:02:06,560 --> 02:02:10,240
I I don't know.
To me that that sounds.
1881
02:02:10,920 --> 02:02:13,720
Does it sound?
Groomy, groomy, groomy.
1882
02:02:13,760 --> 02:02:15,880
It sounds kind groomy.
Yes.
1883
02:02:16,240 --> 02:02:17,720
Groomy.
A little groomy.
1884
02:02:17,720 --> 02:02:22,360
We just made-up a new word here.
Yeah, it it's bad, right?
1885
02:02:22,360 --> 02:02:25,240
Because it it really does send
the mixed messages, right.
1886
02:02:25,240 --> 02:02:29,720
So you might be cranking out
people who are more able to fit
1887
02:02:29,720 --> 02:02:33,440
into the world, but that's not
what BYU was set up for, right?
1888
02:02:33,440 --> 02:02:39,840
BYU was set up to to advance
education in the backdrop of
1889
02:02:39,840 --> 02:02:43,560
religion, right?
And those two were going to to
1890
02:02:43,560 --> 02:02:48,960
walk hand in hand, essentially.
And so as you do this, it sends
1891
02:02:48,960 --> 02:02:51,880
mixed messages.
And what, you know what?
1892
02:02:51,880 --> 02:02:53,360
Let me ask you this question,
Ben.
1893
02:02:53,560 --> 02:02:57,960
What's more insidious, a lie
that's 100% true, or a lie
1894
02:02:57,960 --> 02:03:03,760
that's 90% true?
It's a, it's a 90% true.
1895
02:03:03,840 --> 02:03:07,200
One, it's the 90% true, right?
And that's kind of the same
1896
02:03:07,200 --> 02:03:11,840
analogy at BYU, right, is that
they might, because they're in
1897
02:03:11,840 --> 02:03:15,840
the guise of saying all the
right things about the
1898
02:03:15,840 --> 02:03:20,040
institution, right?
The LDS Church, they can say
1899
02:03:20,040 --> 02:03:23,800
messages that are contrary to
that.
1900
02:03:25,080 --> 02:03:28,440
And the kids walk out of there
feeling like, oh, it's just
1901
02:03:28,440 --> 02:03:31,280
going to be my job to push the
church farther down the line.
1902
02:03:32,120 --> 02:03:34,280
Yeah.
And there has been a disconnect
1903
02:03:34,280 --> 02:03:38,680
for a while between what happens
in Salt Lake and what happens
1904
02:03:38,680 --> 02:03:40,560
with the church educational
system.
1905
02:03:40,560 --> 02:03:45,600
And my gut feeling is, is that
the the the higher ups in the
1906
02:03:45,600 --> 02:03:47,960
LDS church are now trying to get
a handle on this.
1907
02:03:49,160 --> 02:03:53,840
So that's what it looks like.
This is where I think I I got a
1908
02:03:53,840 --> 02:04:03,000
different view on it.
So the the church, a lot of
1909
02:04:03,000 --> 02:04:06,840
times when I talk to people who
are also like who are still in
1910
02:04:06,840 --> 02:04:11,560
the church, but like maybe not
all the way fundamentalist, but
1911
02:04:11,560 --> 02:04:14,200
at least like just more
traditionalist conservative,
1912
02:04:14,960 --> 02:04:20,120
they tend to think that the
brethren are like on their side,
1913
02:04:20,640 --> 02:04:23,880
But for some reason they got to
be like real secret about it,
1914
02:04:23,960 --> 02:04:27,520
right?
And they're not.
1915
02:04:27,520 --> 02:04:30,200
I just, I just don't think they
are like, I think it's, it's
1916
02:04:30,280 --> 02:04:33,720
either the case that if
something is happening at in the
1917
02:04:33,720 --> 02:04:37,360
church and at BYU, it is either
the case that the brethren
1918
02:04:37,640 --> 02:04:41,400
support it or they are powerless
to stop it.
1919
02:04:43,000 --> 02:04:46,520
And it it has to be one of
those.
1920
02:04:46,800 --> 02:04:50,280
And neither of those are very
good, right?
1921
02:04:51,600 --> 02:04:53,280
They're they're, they're just
not.
1922
02:04:53,600 --> 02:04:54,840
And you got to grapple with
that.
1923
02:04:55,160 --> 02:04:59,800
I don't think that the brethren
are like, and I, I, I believe
1924
02:04:59,800 --> 02:05:01,600
that some of them are honourable
men.
1925
02:05:01,760 --> 02:05:04,600
I'm not like, I'm not like
calling them out.
1926
02:05:04,840 --> 02:05:06,960
I believe there is corruption in
the church.
1927
02:05:07,120 --> 02:05:10,360
I'm not going to like sort
through who's what.
1928
02:05:11,120 --> 02:05:15,960
But yeah, like that, that that's
just what it comes down to.
1929
02:05:16,240 --> 02:05:18,800
They either support what's
happening in the church or
1930
02:05:18,800 --> 02:05:23,560
they're powerless to stop it.
And, and that's all that it is.
1931
02:05:23,560 --> 02:05:29,960
Now what I think is going on at
BYU is I think very little is
1932
02:05:29,960 --> 02:05:34,800
actually going to change.
I think maybe if there's like a
1933
02:05:34,800 --> 02:05:40,240
couple of really outspoken
critics of the church who are on
1934
02:05:40,240 --> 02:05:43,800
staff, they, they might get
fired.
1935
02:05:45,240 --> 02:05:50,800
I I don't think that look, the
progressives are still
1936
02:05:50,800 --> 02:05:54,920
complaining about like one time
in the 80s that.
1937
02:05:54,920 --> 02:05:58,520
September 6th.
The September 6th, the church
1938
02:05:59,480 --> 02:06:01,880
again, that's kind of
embarrassing to the church.
1939
02:06:02,760 --> 02:06:06,120
Look, if it were up to me, you'd
have trouble staffing BYU with
1940
02:06:06,120 --> 02:06:07,920
how many people get
excommunicated.
1941
02:06:08,120 --> 02:06:12,920
I'd be like, I'd be like, what?
You're going to say anything bad
1942
02:06:12,920 --> 02:06:14,640
about Brigham Young?
You're out.
1943
02:06:15,240 --> 02:06:18,040
You would be like the Oprah of
excommunications.
1944
02:06:18,240 --> 02:06:21,840
You get your walking papers and
you get your walking papers.
1945
02:06:22,680 --> 02:06:26,680
I'd be like, look whose name is
on university, Brigham Young.
1946
02:06:27,120 --> 02:06:30,160
You go in your that math class
and you teach the Adam God
1947
02:06:30,160 --> 02:06:39,560
doctrine, but you're out.
But like, it's, it's not going
1948
02:06:39,560 --> 02:06:40,920
to happen.
What's what's happening?
1949
02:06:40,920 --> 02:06:46,200
My theory is that the church is
waiting for the boomers to die.
1950
02:06:48,600 --> 02:06:49,960
They're waiting for the boomers
to die.
1951
02:06:51,200 --> 02:06:54,400
The it's going to be a very,
very different church when that
1952
02:06:54,400 --> 02:07:01,400
happens because the right now,
that's who's most upset about
1953
02:07:01,400 --> 02:07:08,400
these videos that are coming out
of BYU of professors speaking
1954
02:07:08,400 --> 02:07:12,920
against the family proclamation
or promoting communism or, or
1955
02:07:12,920 --> 02:07:16,640
whatever else.
Boomers are upset.
1956
02:07:17,640 --> 02:07:20,840
They are talking, they're
talking about like not sending
1957
02:07:20,840 --> 02:07:25,400
their kids to, to BYU, their
grandkids, whatever.
1958
02:07:25,640 --> 02:07:27,440
They're talking about not
supporting it.
1959
02:07:27,800 --> 02:07:29,400
Church is very sensitive to
that.
1960
02:07:29,600 --> 02:07:34,800
Because like, while the church,
like their impulse is to appease
1961
02:07:34,920 --> 02:07:39,360
people who are criticizing them
from the left, They know that if
1962
02:07:39,360 --> 02:07:43,640
they did every single thing that
John Delyn wants them to do, he
1963
02:07:43,640 --> 02:07:45,720
will not come back.
Right.
1964
02:07:46,520 --> 02:07:50,920
Like if if they give in to every
single demand that critics of
1965
02:07:50,920 --> 02:07:53,080
the church have, they're not
going to come back.
1966
02:07:53,080 --> 02:07:54,640
They're not going to start
paying tithing.
1967
02:07:54,920 --> 02:07:56,760
They're not going to send their
kids on missions.
1968
02:07:57,240 --> 02:08:01,520
But if they do, they're going to
drive out all of the people who
1969
02:08:01,520 --> 02:08:04,640
are actually making the church
happen, right?
1970
02:08:04,640 --> 02:08:08,720
You know, like the the people
who are like, I believe in the
1971
02:08:08,720 --> 02:08:10,320
doctrine.
So I'm going to have a bunch of
1972
02:08:10,320 --> 02:08:12,520
kids, I'm going to teach them,
I'm going to pay tithing.
1973
02:08:12,840 --> 02:08:15,760
We're going to sacrifice, we're
going to serve in callings and
1974
02:08:15,760 --> 02:08:17,200
my kids are going to go on
missions.
1975
02:08:17,520 --> 02:08:21,920
Like those people are the ones
that you lose.
1976
02:08:22,960 --> 02:08:26,840
Those people tend to be
conservative and they tend to be
1977
02:08:26,840 --> 02:08:33,240
older.
Now, if you make those types of
1978
02:08:33,240 --> 02:08:39,640
people too angry, you lose what
actually like funds BYU and
1979
02:08:39,640 --> 02:08:42,800
makes it work when the boomers
are dead.
1980
02:08:43,720 --> 02:08:48,720
And I am a millennial.
But once my generation gets in
1981
02:08:48,720 --> 02:08:52,040
power, I I think it's going to
be a problem.
1982
02:08:53,640 --> 02:08:57,880
And I think that's when the
church is going to start making
1983
02:08:57,880 --> 02:09:01,200
huge radical changes.
I think that they will cave on
1984
02:09:01,200 --> 02:09:03,360
plural marriage and they'll
endorse it.
1985
02:09:03,720 --> 02:09:10,240
They'll, they'll cave.
They, they will and they, they
1986
02:09:10,240 --> 02:09:12,520
just won't, don't want to take
off the boomers once the boomers
1987
02:09:12,520 --> 02:09:16,320
are dead and it shifts and
you've got the millennials that
1988
02:09:16,320 --> 02:09:20,200
are like, well, we probably
should let the gays get married
1989
02:09:20,200 --> 02:09:23,920
in the temple and they will.
So I'm, I'm much more
1990
02:09:23,920 --> 02:09:28,440
pessimistic about BYU.
Maybe in the short term it
1991
02:09:28,440 --> 02:09:32,720
improves a little bit.
I don't think that it's going to
1992
02:09:32,720 --> 02:09:35,480
be mass firings and all this
stuff.
1993
02:09:35,480 --> 02:09:37,360
Like that's just.
I don't think that's going to
1994
02:09:37,360 --> 02:09:39,720
happen.
They might get rid of a couple,
1995
02:09:39,720 --> 02:09:44,680
like, outspoken critics at best.
Yeah.
1996
02:09:45,120 --> 02:09:49,120
And I think what they're trying
to do is just mollify the older
1997
02:09:49,120 --> 02:09:52,400
generation.
But once they're all dead or in
1998
02:09:52,400 --> 02:09:56,560
homes or something and they stop
paying attention, then the
1999
02:09:56,640 --> 02:09:59,800
church is just going to go right
back and a piece left.
2000
02:10:00,480 --> 02:10:05,480
So I I think you're probably
right there, but I guess my
2001
02:10:05,480 --> 02:10:08,560
point in this is to be like, I
think this is one of those
2002
02:10:08,560 --> 02:10:12,640
places where at the moment they
deserve another attaboy on this
2003
02:10:12,800 --> 02:10:15,800
right?
And and and let let me say this
2004
02:10:15,800 --> 02:10:21,520
right obviously, obviously me
and you our opinions ain't
2005
02:10:21,520 --> 02:10:25,520
carrying a lot of weight.
So it you know, could but for
2006
02:10:25,560 --> 02:10:29,560
you know, a good percentage of
my audience is active LDS, right
2007
02:10:29,680 --> 02:10:32,640
card carrying members go to the
temple the whole thing.
2008
02:10:33,960 --> 02:10:37,360
If these are changes that you
like, right, especially here at
2009
02:10:37,360 --> 02:10:43,480
BYU, just like the brethren
listen when you complain, they
2010
02:10:43,520 --> 02:10:45,440
they will also listen when you
do, right.
2011
02:10:45,920 --> 02:10:51,240
And sometimes where the church
is now, I think the membership
2012
02:10:51,240 --> 02:10:54,880
has to kind of empower the
leadership right now.
2013
02:10:54,880 --> 02:10:57,680
It shouldn't be that way, but I
think that's where it is right
2014
02:10:57,680 --> 02:11:00,800
now.
And so this to a certain extent,
2015
02:11:01,320 --> 02:11:04,840
you know, if, if I was still
living in Utah and I was, you
2016
02:11:04,840 --> 02:11:07,840
know, still an active member of
the LDS Church, and I was a more
2017
02:11:08,240 --> 02:11:11,840
from the more conservative old
school line of thought.
2018
02:11:12,480 --> 02:11:15,720
Make sure that those in BYU
understand that you're you're
2019
02:11:15,720 --> 02:11:18,440
all for this, right?
Because I do think the church
2020
02:11:18,440 --> 02:11:21,560
will go where they feel like the
most support is there.
2021
02:11:21,920 --> 02:11:24,200
And you don't necessarily have
to have the numbers.
2022
02:11:24,440 --> 02:11:27,920
If you are the loud minority,
that could be enough to get it
2023
02:11:27,920 --> 02:11:30,920
done right.
And so back them up on these
2024
02:11:30,920 --> 02:11:32,440
things.
Yeah.
2025
02:11:32,720 --> 02:11:38,200
Like, yeah, put in a little bit
of the effort that the the left
2026
02:11:38,200 --> 02:11:42,680
puts in, you know, like, Yep.
Because here's the thing I
2027
02:11:42,680 --> 02:11:46,440
should add is that nothing would
make me happier than to be
2028
02:11:46,440 --> 02:11:50,800
proven wrong, right?
You know, like, I will not be
2029
02:11:50,960 --> 02:11:55,600
bitter and upset at all if I
find out that the church stays
2030
02:11:55,600 --> 02:11:59,840
the course and does not cave on
gay marriage.
2031
02:12:00,240 --> 02:12:02,760
I, I would, I would love to be
wrong about that.
2032
02:12:02,760 --> 02:12:06,400
I don't think I will be, but I
would, I would absolutely love
2033
02:12:06,400 --> 02:12:09,240
it.
And if that does happen, it will
2034
02:12:09,240 --> 02:12:17,960
be because the actual believers
in the gospel make their voices
2035
02:12:17,960 --> 02:12:20,480
known and they speak up and they
say so.
2036
02:12:21,920 --> 02:12:26,440
And you know, and you can do
that respectfully if you're, if
2037
02:12:26,440 --> 02:12:29,520
you get a little too carried
away, they they might
2038
02:12:29,520 --> 02:12:31,480
excommunicate you, but that's
OK.
2039
02:12:31,480 --> 02:12:33,880
You can hang out with us.
We'll be your friends.
2040
02:12:35,360 --> 02:12:40,280
But it generally, yeah, if if
you let let it known that this
2041
02:12:40,280 --> 02:12:47,000
is what you want to see, that if
the the church, you know, holds
2042
02:12:47,000 --> 02:12:48,960
the line that they're going to
get support.
2043
02:12:50,440 --> 02:12:53,320
And if you do that, then yeah,
you're going to see more of
2044
02:12:53,320 --> 02:12:56,120
those things happen.
Yep, Yep.
2045
02:12:56,960 --> 02:13:00,000
And, and, and that's, that's the
other thing, right?
2046
02:13:00,000 --> 02:13:02,760
Is that there?
There's this misconception that
2047
02:13:02,760 --> 02:13:05,320
because we're fundamentalists,
we want to see the church go
2048
02:13:05,320 --> 02:13:08,280
away and nothing could be.
Not from the truth.
2049
02:13:08,600 --> 02:13:11,520
I, I don't want to see that.
I don't right?
2050
02:13:12,080 --> 02:13:15,920
And, and I said this for a long
time on this podcast and I truly
2051
02:13:15,920 --> 02:13:19,800
believe it.
Whether we're different groups
2052
02:13:19,800 --> 02:13:22,560
of fundamentalists or we're
fundamentalists and we're LDS,
2053
02:13:23,880 --> 02:13:26,360
you know, we're probably not
going to hug it out on every
2054
02:13:26,360 --> 02:13:29,320
issue on Sundays, but we better
figure out how to start working
2055
02:13:29,320 --> 02:13:31,920
together and having a barbecue
on Saturday, right?
2056
02:13:32,560 --> 02:13:38,040
And, and look, I will just like
I'm trying to, to, to
2057
02:13:38,040 --> 02:13:40,560
demonstrate here, I'll back the
church's play when they do
2058
02:13:40,560 --> 02:13:43,640
something right, right.
I'm never rejoining.
2059
02:13:43,840 --> 02:13:46,240
But when they do something
right, I'll back their play.
2060
02:13:46,280 --> 02:13:49,240
I'll back their play every day,
twice on Sunday, if they do the
2061
02:13:49,240 --> 02:13:55,080
right thing, right.
And, you know, and, and so I
2062
02:13:55,080 --> 02:13:59,680
feel like it's important for us
as fundamentalists to be able to
2063
02:13:59,680 --> 02:14:03,000
look at our LDS brothers and
sisters and go, good on you,
2064
02:14:03,000 --> 02:14:05,080
keep going.
Don't stop, right?
2065
02:14:05,360 --> 02:14:07,600
Hold the line on this.
Just be strong.
2066
02:14:07,600 --> 02:14:11,120
Don't don't give any more
ground.
2067
02:14:12,840 --> 02:14:16,000
Because here, here's the thing,
right in all of this.
2068
02:14:17,000 --> 02:14:20,840
If someone was to ask me what
the church's fatal flaw was here
2069
02:14:20,840 --> 02:14:25,720
on on how they've dealt with all
these issues, the LGBTQ issue,
2070
02:14:26,080 --> 02:14:32,040
the the stuff they're facing at
BYU, The fatal flaw is this
2071
02:14:32,080 --> 02:14:37,680
understand who it is that's
going to war against you, right
2072
02:14:38,080 --> 02:14:40,560
And understand what it is they
ultimately want.
2073
02:14:41,440 --> 02:14:44,640
I feel like for a while the
church really did really was
2074
02:14:44,640 --> 02:14:48,960
trying to be accommodating to a
certain degree and just be like,
2075
02:14:48,960 --> 02:14:52,680
let's live and let live.
I think the failed calculus
2076
02:14:52,680 --> 02:14:56,160
happened when they they didn't
understand who it was they were
2077
02:14:56,160 --> 02:14:59,480
dealing with while they were
trying to play nice and be like,
2078
02:14:59,520 --> 02:15:02,880
no, you know what, they
probably, you know, we should
2079
02:15:02,880 --> 02:15:05,520
probably make sure that they
don't get cast out of where they
2080
02:15:05,520 --> 02:15:09,080
live or, or you know what, you
know, that they could buy a
2081
02:15:09,080 --> 02:15:11,520
house if they could have a job,
those sorts of things.
2082
02:15:12,200 --> 02:15:15,320
Why they were doing that.
The other side was like, we're
2083
02:15:15,320 --> 02:15:18,440
playing to win, right?
And nothing less than bowing the
2084
02:15:18,440 --> 02:15:24,920
knee and, and swearing
allegiance to that side would
2085
02:15:24,920 --> 02:15:28,520
suffice.
And so I, you know, my hope is,
2086
02:15:28,520 --> 02:15:31,240
is that maybe with, with what
we're seeing here now, with,
2087
02:15:31,560 --> 02:15:34,040
with being a little more open
about talking about plural
2088
02:15:34,040 --> 02:15:37,880
marriage and maybe trying to, to
weed out some of the bad actors
2089
02:15:37,880 --> 02:15:42,200
at BYU, we're seeing maybe a
recognition of really what's
2090
02:15:42,200 --> 02:15:44,800
going on.
And and maybe they're starting
2091
02:15:44,800 --> 02:15:47,640
to think, OK, maybe we need to
push back a little more here and
2092
02:15:47,640 --> 02:15:50,640
and a recognition of what it is
the other side really wants.
2093
02:15:51,760 --> 02:15:53,600
Yeah.
And you know, and I'm like, I
2094
02:15:53,600 --> 02:15:56,960
just want to echo like I'm not
an enemy to the church.
2095
02:15:56,960 --> 02:15:59,760
I don't view myself as an enemy
to the church, certainly.
2096
02:16:01,080 --> 02:16:07,160
And you know, when I kind of
when I became a fundamentalist
2097
02:16:07,160 --> 02:16:10,520
or I guess I always kind of felt
like I, I always was and just
2098
02:16:10,520 --> 02:16:17,360
didn't know, know it.
But once I, you know, came to
2099
02:16:17,360 --> 02:16:21,800
that realization, I decided
early on, like, I'm not going to
2100
02:16:21,800 --> 02:16:26,080
make an enemy out of someone who
agrees with like 80 to 90 what I
2101
02:16:26,080 --> 02:16:28,520
believe.
You know, like I'm, I'm, I'm
2102
02:16:28,520 --> 02:16:34,000
not, I'm gonna, like, I'm glad
that the, the church teaches the
2103
02:16:34,000 --> 02:16:36,920
Book of Mormon and I'm, you
know, like I, I live in an area
2104
02:16:36,920 --> 02:16:39,799
where I'm not around a lot of
fundamentalists.
2105
02:16:39,799 --> 02:16:45,520
So my wife and I will attend
the, the local LDS ward and you
2106
02:16:45,520 --> 02:16:48,680
know, there's, there's friendly
terms there, there's good people
2107
02:16:48,680 --> 02:16:53,080
there.
And you know, even when I was
2108
02:16:53,080 --> 02:17:01,240
excommunicated, you know, that
was something that it was kind
2109
02:17:01,240 --> 02:17:04,719
of a, a weird situation.
I didn't put any kind of defense
2110
02:17:04,719 --> 02:17:08,000
up at all.
I just said do what you're going
2111
02:17:08,000 --> 02:17:14,320
to do.
And when my, when my state
2112
02:17:14,320 --> 02:17:20,600
president let me know, like, I,
I gave him a hug and I, I said,
2113
02:17:20,600 --> 02:17:22,280
I love you.
Don't feel bad.
2114
02:17:22,559 --> 02:17:24,639
It's OK.
We can still be friends.
2115
02:17:25,280 --> 02:17:29,080
And, and, and that's just how I,
I wanted to treat it.
2116
02:17:29,080 --> 02:17:31,360
I didn't want anyone.
I didn't want anyone there to
2117
02:17:31,360 --> 02:17:36,760
think that you were bitter.
Yeah, that I've got this hatred
2118
02:17:36,840 --> 02:17:39,200
or whatever.
It's like I know where I stand
2119
02:17:39,200 --> 02:17:43,959
with the Lord.
And so really like, part of why
2120
02:17:43,959 --> 02:17:46,160
I was able to do that is because
I was like, I don't think you
2121
02:17:46,160 --> 02:17:50,840
guys actually have the authority
to say anything about my
2122
02:17:50,840 --> 02:17:54,040
standing with the Lord.
So you can say whatever you want
2123
02:17:54,040 --> 02:17:56,120
and it just doesn't really mean
a whole lot to me.
2124
02:17:57,120 --> 02:17:59,320
I just want you to know I still
love you, right?
2125
02:18:00,400 --> 02:18:05,160
And you know, and, and that's
the attitude I've tried to, to
2126
02:18:05,160 --> 02:18:07,440
cultivate.
So, but I see the church doing
2127
02:18:07,440 --> 02:18:09,520
something good.
I'm always going to be like,
2128
02:18:09,520 --> 02:18:11,280
yes, keep that up.
Had a boy.
2129
02:18:12,920 --> 02:18:17,160
But I also, I don't know, in the
short term it's probably a good
2130
02:18:17,160 --> 02:18:19,200
thing.
And but I, I still think long
2131
02:18:19,200 --> 02:18:22,639
term, I think they're going to
cave.
2132
02:18:22,840 --> 02:18:24,760
But I would, you know, look,
look, I.
2133
02:18:25,120 --> 02:18:28,959
You know, I, I think you're
probably right, but but again,
2134
02:18:30,719 --> 02:18:36,559
I, I just feel like this like
if, if, if the more traditional
2135
02:18:36,559 --> 02:18:39,840
side of the church was looking
for an opportunity to get some
2136
02:18:39,840 --> 02:18:42,400
ground back.
This is it, right?
2137
02:18:42,440 --> 02:18:44,040
This is it.
This is your time.
2138
02:18:44,520 --> 02:18:46,719
Understand what time it is on
the clock.
2139
02:18:47,240 --> 02:18:49,760
And you now get to play a little
bit of offense.
2140
02:18:49,760 --> 02:18:54,320
Make sure you let your leaders
know that you are good, you are
2141
02:18:54,320 --> 02:18:56,320
fine.
You are happy with the decision
2142
02:18:56,719 --> 02:19:01,360
to weed out the leftist activist
teachers at Brigham Young
2143
02:19:01,360 --> 02:19:05,080
University.
And likewise, you know, let them
2144
02:19:05,080 --> 02:19:07,600
know that you're happy with the
new curriculum that you put out
2145
02:19:07,600 --> 02:19:09,240
for the kids.
That you're, you know, that,
2146
02:19:09,240 --> 02:19:11,440
that you're happy that they're
being more transparent and
2147
02:19:11,440 --> 02:19:15,520
talking about plural marriage in
a way that that's not catching
2148
02:19:15,520 --> 02:19:18,559
them off guard.
That that, you know, they can
2149
02:19:18,559 --> 02:19:21,000
understand it a little bit all
the way through their, their
2150
02:19:21,000 --> 02:19:25,600
church career, so to speak, and,
and back their play on that.
2151
02:19:26,520 --> 02:19:32,680
We don't have like the just iron
willed Brigham Young or John
2152
02:19:32,680 --> 02:19:35,200
Taylor at the head of the church
anymore.
2153
02:19:35,440 --> 02:19:40,400
Like these aren't the kinds of
men who are going to do what God
2154
02:19:40,400 --> 02:19:44,719
wants no matter what.
These are men who need
2155
02:19:44,719 --> 02:19:48,240
encouragement, you know, and I'm
sorry if that like offends
2156
02:19:48,240 --> 02:19:51,640
people.
I just that's I maybe I'm wrong
2157
02:19:51,640 --> 02:19:53,880
about that.
I don't see that in modern
2158
02:19:53,880 --> 02:19:57,480
church theaters.
I don't see that like that steel
2159
02:19:58,000 --> 02:20:02,440
in them and.
So, yeah, you got to kind of let
2160
02:20:02,680 --> 02:20:06,800
them know because if if they're
only hearing criticism, they're
2161
02:20:06,800 --> 02:20:11,200
only hearing people say, oh, why
aren't you friendly to the gays?
2162
02:20:12,200 --> 02:20:14,160
They're going to think that
that's what people want.
2163
02:20:15,040 --> 02:20:19,800
Another like thing that I had
recently when we we attended our
2164
02:20:20,680 --> 02:20:25,000
local LDS ward is a speaker.
I think they were trying to, in
2165
02:20:25,000 --> 02:20:28,680
their defense, they're trying to
make so weird point and just
2166
02:20:28,680 --> 02:20:33,000
kind of came at it wrong.
But he said the statement, we
2167
02:20:33,000 --> 02:20:35,960
now know that people can choose
their genders.
2168
02:20:36,720 --> 02:20:44,600
And I think I think his point
kind of got jumbled because he
2169
02:20:44,600 --> 02:20:46,440
had a hard time getting back
around to that.
2170
02:20:46,440 --> 02:20:48,440
It wasn't really clear what he
was trying to say.
2171
02:20:50,120 --> 02:20:55,520
But I have like a 10 year old
son who's like kind of pays
2172
02:20:55,520 --> 02:20:58,600
attention at church now, which
is cool.
2173
02:20:59,560 --> 02:21:04,120
And he like listens and we talk
about what is said.
2174
02:21:05,080 --> 02:21:08,640
And so like, that was something
I like leaned over to him and
2175
02:21:08,640 --> 02:21:12,400
I'm like, that's not true.
Like that's false doctrine.
2176
02:21:12,720 --> 02:21:15,200
And he's like, OK, dad.
And then we had a little
2177
02:21:15,200 --> 02:21:19,080
conversation about that.
And but I, I brought it up to
2178
02:21:19,080 --> 02:21:23,280
the, the state president who was
presiding at the meeting
2179
02:21:23,840 --> 02:21:25,920
afterwards, because he didn't
say anything like that.
2180
02:21:26,040 --> 02:21:30,280
It wasn't corrected.
And I asked him about that.
2181
02:21:30,280 --> 02:21:33,560
And he's like, well, you know, I
think, you know, that's not what
2182
02:21:33,560 --> 02:21:35,760
he was really trying to say.
And I'm like, fair enough.
2183
02:21:36,280 --> 02:21:41,160
But I do have a 10 year old and
he is listening to this stuff.
2184
02:21:41,520 --> 02:21:44,640
And I would really like it if
messages are like clear.
2185
02:21:44,960 --> 02:21:48,080
Right.
I don't want, I don't want to
2186
02:21:48,080 --> 02:21:54,000
have to like, no, I that's a
doctrine that's so basic that I
2187
02:21:54,000 --> 02:21:55,680
want the church to be good on
that.
2188
02:21:55,720 --> 02:21:58,640
You know, I don't really have to
like fight that.
2189
02:21:59,040 --> 02:22:04,880
And and he sent me like the
church's like updated policy on
2190
02:22:04,880 --> 02:22:10,640
transgender issues and stuff.
And they have become that.
2191
02:22:10,640 --> 02:22:13,720
It's not what I would like, I
would like, I would like to
2192
02:22:13,720 --> 02:22:18,760
excommunicate anyone and
everyone who supports in any way
2193
02:22:19,000 --> 02:22:22,760
transitioning Enders at all.
Yep.
2194
02:22:23,520 --> 02:22:32,000
They're not doing that, but they
they have swung way more toward
2195
02:22:32,000 --> 02:22:35,080
the side of sanity.
And he sent that to me.
2196
02:22:35,080 --> 02:22:37,960
And he's like, well, you know,
this did upset a lot of people,
2197
02:22:37,960 --> 02:22:39,560
but I think the church did the
right thing.
2198
02:22:39,560 --> 02:22:42,440
And I was like, yeah, like, this
is definitely in the direction
2199
02:22:42,440 --> 02:22:45,440
and of what I want because I
don't want to have to like,
2200
02:22:46,520 --> 02:22:52,400
explain to my kids like, that's
us being created at church.
2201
02:22:52,400 --> 02:22:56,520
So, you know, you can do this in
a respectful way where you let
2202
02:22:56,840 --> 02:23:01,560
people know like, hey, this is
this is what we want to see.
2203
02:23:01,560 --> 02:23:03,400
We want to see the Scriptures
thought.
2204
02:23:03,800 --> 02:23:07,400
We want to see the doctrine that
we were raised with.
2205
02:23:07,400 --> 02:23:09,400
That's what we want to stick
with you.
2206
02:23:09,400 --> 02:23:10,640
Know.
Yep, Yep.
2207
02:23:11,680 --> 02:23:15,600
Yeah, I think to sum all this up
for me, you know, going back to
2208
02:23:15,680 --> 02:23:18,760
the, to the whole thing with
the, the plural marriage
2209
02:23:18,760 --> 02:23:25,440
curriculum there, don't be
distracted by those who are on
2210
02:23:25,520 --> 02:23:28,040
who from the ex most side of
things, right?
2211
02:23:28,520 --> 02:23:31,440
The ex Mormon crowds gonna do
what they're gonna do, right?
2212
02:23:32,640 --> 02:23:37,080
They have a different agenda and
their agenda is to discredit not
2213
02:23:37,080 --> 02:23:39,280
just the church, but the gospel
entirely.
2214
02:23:40,760 --> 02:23:44,960
And so no amount of pandering to
them is going to make it better,
2215
02:23:45,120 --> 02:23:47,560
right?
You, you, you know, the church
2216
02:23:47,560 --> 02:23:49,560
did a good thing with coming out
in this curriculum.
2217
02:23:49,560 --> 02:23:53,120
They, I think they needed, they
need to be applauded on that,
2218
02:23:53,120 --> 02:23:57,320
getting rid of some, some really
lefty professors.
2219
02:23:57,840 --> 02:23:59,280
They need to be applauded on
that.
2220
02:23:59,280 --> 02:24:02,480
And members of the LDS church
who feel that way need to get
2221
02:24:02,480 --> 02:24:05,880
more vocal.
I mean, I look, I know that us
2222
02:24:05,880 --> 02:24:08,800
on the right side of the
spectrum, both religiously and
2223
02:24:08,800 --> 02:24:13,080
and politically, I know we're
busy doing things like having
2224
02:24:13,080 --> 02:24:18,080
jobs and raising kids and we
don't have time to be, what had
2225
02:24:18,080 --> 02:24:25,920
John Dylan put it, grievance,
whatever grievance seekers,
2226
02:24:26,240 --> 02:24:28,240
right?
We don't have that kind of time.
2227
02:24:28,680 --> 02:24:32,480
So when we have the opportunity
here to tell the church they did
2228
02:24:32,480 --> 02:24:35,880
right and help prop them up a
little bit, I think we need to
2229
02:24:35,880 --> 02:24:37,240
do it.
And that was pretty much it.
2230
02:24:37,240 --> 02:24:39,280
Ben, anything else you want to
say in conclusion?
2231
02:24:40,000 --> 02:24:43,280
Well, as a fundamentalist, I
really just want to like
2232
02:24:43,280 --> 02:24:48,840
highlight the problem that you
ought to have with that cartoon
2233
02:24:49,440 --> 02:24:56,680
is the whole 1890, we're getting
rid of plural marriage thing,
2234
02:24:57,120 --> 02:24:59,160
right?
That's the thing that should
2235
02:24:59,160 --> 02:25:02,120
upset you.
By the way, I want you, I invite
2236
02:25:02,120 --> 02:25:08,960
all of our LDS corporate church
friends to just really hone in
2237
02:25:08,960 --> 02:25:12,760
on that There's.
Five whole episodes that I did
2238
02:25:12,760 --> 02:25:15,400
with Michael Ness about post
manifesto polygamy.
2239
02:25:16,160 --> 02:25:20,080
Go back and listen to him, guys.
I'm not about to rehash it all
2240
02:25:20,080 --> 02:25:22,840
here.
I'm just going to reiterate that
2241
02:25:23,040 --> 02:25:27,880
it's been said many times by
fundamentalists that the
2242
02:25:27,880 --> 02:25:32,200
manifesto is addressed to whom
it may concern, and it does not
2243
02:25:32,200 --> 02:25:34,720
concern me and it shouldn't
concern you.
2244
02:25:34,880 --> 02:25:38,920
Yeah, absolutely awesome.
All right, big dog.
2245
02:25:39,040 --> 02:25:41,280
That was fun.
Yeah.
2246
02:25:43,040 --> 02:25:45,400
Never thought I'd see the day
when I had to do one of these,
2247
02:25:45,480 --> 02:25:48,040
but I'm.
I'm glad we did it.
2248
02:25:48,040 --> 02:25:50,880
So.
All right, Awesome, Ben.
2249
02:25:50,880 --> 02:25:53,120
We'll talk at you next time all.
Right.
2250
02:25:53,520 --> 02:26:26,760
Bye everybody.
You're listening to the Mormon
2251
02:26:26,760 --> 02:26:28,200
Renegade podcast.