One of the ironies of history is the transformation of the LDS church from a non-creedal, non-hierarchical (or at least, minimally hierarchical) religion into a rigidly orthodox, hierarchical and authoritarian religion.
I was re-reading JS-History and was struck by Joseph's characterizations of the churches of the day. Joseph states that the churches "used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error" regarding points of doctrine. Joseph's wonder upon reading James 1:5 suggests a culture in which preachers and priests were arbiters between God and man.
Today, though the mainline Protestant sects still disagree on some small points of doctrine, a spirit of ecumenicalism prevails. There is no - or at least very little - bickering about the smaller points of doctrine, e.g., proper mode of baptism, authority, free will vs. predestination. Indeed, there is so little disagreement that many churches often welcome pastors, ministers, and priests from other sects to preach in their services. Just a few months ago the mainline Protestant church I've been visiting had one of these "pulpit exchanges" with a local Catholic church.
Today, it is the Mormons that insist on pointing out the differences in doctrine between their faith and the rest of Christianity. We are the ones using "reason and sophistry to prove their errors."
As a missionary, when we taught about the apostasy, we'd demonstrate by building a small pyramid out of plastic cups. What happens when you remove one (or all) of the cups? The pyramid tumbles. So it was with the early church, we'd teach. Several of the apostles are killed, and the church tumbles.
And of course, this was bush-league persuasion. One only need visit FAIR or any LDS apologist site to witness sophistry in action.
Today, within much of Protestantism, despite the hierarchy within each sect, there is a distinct spirit of democracy. The LDS church, however, has only grown more rigidly hierarchical and authoritarian. Witness the growth of the Church Handbook of Instructions.
Much of the growth of this authoritarinism, at least over the past generation, stems from a talk then-apostle Ezra Taft Benson delivered at a BYU devotional in 1981, entitled "The Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet."
It has become such a part of LDS church culture that last October, in the church's semi-annual General Conference, not one, but two (!) different speakers quoted heavily from this non-doctrinal, non-canonical talk.
Of course, the worst thing about Benson's message is not that it's non-canonical and non-doctrinal; it's not even that it's utter nonsense and relies heavily on circular logic; no, the worst part is the sort of uncritical, unthinking obedience to authority it demands of the LDS membership.
If it weren't for the very real spiritual toll it has exacted, the transformation of the LDS church from a democratic, anti-dogmatic institution to it's mirror image would be amusing.
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