This is part two of my analysis of the Ship of Theseus and what implications the thought experiment has on the Mormon Church. If you skipped the last post, for context you should look up the thought experiment of the Ship of Theseus.
The thought experiment helps me to understand the nature of things. To understand the nature of the Mormon Religion, lets look at the changes in the Mormon Church and think about it from the concept of the Ship of Theseus. All religions and theologies slowly drift. Mormonism is no different. The first two points that I will cover are recent changes and historical changes. After discussing them, we will go over a thought experiment about Mormonism.
Recent Changes
It is a fact that the church changes. This cannot be refuted. Here a few recent examples of changes. President Nelson implemented these changes since he became the leader of the church a few years back. Many members of the church felt surprised by the slurry of alterations to the day-to-day practice of their membership in the church.
- The name Mormon is a victory for Satan.
- LGBTQ baptism policy
- Home Teaching
- Home Centered Learning
- Priesthood structure
- Temple Changes
- Missionary Communication
- Witness Policy for baptism
- Separation from BSA
While many of these changes are not doctrinal, it still changes the ship. We’re replacing old things about it that did not work anymore with new policies that do. Slowly over time the Good Ship Zion no longer looks like it did a decade ago. President Nelson changed the name of the ship.
Is is the same ship that Joseph smith restored?
Historical Changes
As I mentioned in the previous exampled most of the recent changes are less doctrinal and more superficial about the day-to-day operations of the church. I would argue that changing most of the items on the previous list does not change the actual ship. What about historical changes to the doctrine of the church? Here’s a brief list of major doctrinal changes over the brief history of Mormonism. I say brief because in the history’s scale of the planet, 200 years is almost nothing.
- Adam God Theory
- Polygamy
- Race and the Priesthood – Lineage of Cain
- Alterations to the text in the Book of Mormon
- Alterations to the Book of Commandment – Later called the Doctrine and Covenants
I could list many other things, but I think a quote from LDS historian Greg Prince will suffice. I highlighted the important sections in bold.
GT: Do you ever see this policy changing?
Greg: I see virtually anything changing because I have seen everything change. I’m not aware of a single LDS doctrine of any significance that from 1830 forward has gone completely unchanged. You’d think a lot of them would, but it turns out, no there were some substantial changes in many cases very early on. If you just look at the First Vision narratives, you see the evolution of Joseph Smith’s theology of deity, and it’s taking place in a very rapid fashion and in a very dramatic fashion.
It wasn’t just nibbling at the periphery. He was going through evolutionary leaps in the way that he portrayed the godhead. That was reflected in his subsequent retellings of the story of the First Vision. Each time he told it anew, it incorporated the then current version of his theology of deity. That’s why those different versions are telling different stories, because they became theological narratives rather than historical narratives.
Ailing Church Leaders: “Not Ideal Governance” an interview with Greg Prince
The Good Ship Zion does not have a single doctrine that has not changed since Joseph Smith restored the church. Notice recent change in the narrative. Instead of saying that Joseph restored the church, leaders begun saying that the restoration is ongoing. In 2020, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. of the seventy gave a talk called “The Ongoing Restoration.” The rhetoric around the restoration of the church has shifted to allow for these changes.
The Good Ship Zion Thought Experiment
Let’s go over a thought experiment of our own.
Imagine a random member of the early church transported through time to the present day. Take a random member, not a church leader and have them sit through a church service in today’s church. Let’s place her in a ward building and ask her a series of questions after a day in sacrament meeting.
Would it feel like a Mormon church to her?
Did they teach the same things?
Now let’s think about the same concept with a leader of the church. Let’s take Brigham Young for example and make him sit through a general conference session. In this recent 2021 general conference, we had a few African men speak in conference. How do you think Brigham Young would have responded to seeing that? Can we call this the same church that he led?
Brigham Young would have been appalled both by seeing black men in front of the congregation and by the doctrines taught to the church. It is hardly a logical leap to conclude that his theology is dramatically different from the modern discourse.
The Same Yesterday Today and Forever
Let’s root this idea in scripture. What do we know about God based on scripture?
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Hebrews 13:8-9
The belief that God is the same yesterday today and forever is inconsistent with the fact that churches often change policy according to societal pressures. If this statement holds truth, then the church cannot be of God. It changes. Even if you believe in God, the fact that all churches change over time indicates the true leadership of churches. Men lead them and not God.
Final Thought
Regardless of the conclusion that you draw from these thought experiments, it is interesting to think about the changes in any organization throughout time. After much study, this lazy learner decided that none of the early church members or leaders would consider the modern church to be the Mormon Church.
scarltondyer.com 
Leave a comment