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“That was never taught.” Check the record. These case files show what Latter-day Saint leaders and publications taught, where to verify it, and how later teachings or policies differ.
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“There are sins that men commit for which they cannot receive forgiveness in this world, or in that which is to come, … and the smoking incense would atone for their sins.”Brigham Young, Church president · Journal of Discourses 4:53–54
“Blood atonement is not a doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Instead, the Church teaches that all redemption comes because of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.”“Religion vs. Violence,” Topics and Questions
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A Church-written introduction added in 1981 called Lamanites “the principal ancestors of the American Indians.” Later editions narrowed the claim to “among the ancestors,” and the Church’s essay now attributes the larger claim to early members and critics.
Read case fileBrigham Young repeatedly taught that Adam was “our Father and our God” and said God revealed it to him. Later leaders called it false doctrine “alleged” to have been taught, and a heresy the devil keeps alive.
Read case fileNelson called the 2015 exclusion policy “the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord.” In 2019 the Church reversed it, again citing the Lord’s will, while still teaching that the president cannot lead the Church astray.
Read case fileIn 1969 the First Presidency said Joseph Smith and all later presidents taught the restriction. The Church now says its records give “no clear insights” into the ban’s origin and disavows the explanations once taught.
Read case fileBrigham Young publicly taught that some sinners’ own blood could atone; twentieth-century leaders restated it as true doctrine. The Church now calls the teaching hyperbole and says it is not doctrine.
Read case fileSenior Church leaders tied plural marriage to godhood while Joseph Smith publicly denied it. Section 132 is still scripture, but entering plural marriage now requires withdrawal of Church membership.
Read case fileFirst Presidency-endorsed teaching condemned deliberate birth limitation and attached eternal consequences. The Church now leaves the decision to each married couple.
Read case fileSection 89 began as a “principle with promise.” Over decades, selected provisions became binding tests for baptism, service, and temple access.
Read case fileGeorge Q. Cannon called abortion unforgivable prenatal murder. Current policy distinguishes it from murder, recognizes possible exceptions, and promises forgiveness through repentance.
Read case fileNineteenth-century leaders publicly disagreed over whether God still gains knowledge. Later apostles rejected an ever-learning God, and current Church materials say He knows all things.
Read case fileThe published Book of Abraham and Joseph Smith’s retrospective history describe a papyrus translation. The Church now acknowledges that the surviving text does not match and proposes a lost source or revelatory catalyst.
Read case fileEarlier leaders used the language of earning, personal merit, and grace after human effort. Current teaching rejects earning while retaining covenant and obedience conditions.
Read case fileEarlier leaders supplied a natural, procreative explanation. Current curriculum retains virgin conception and literal divine paternity while cautioning that the method is unrevealed.
Read case fileA 1970 Church pamphlet instructed leaders to help cure homosexuality. Current Church guidance says changed attraction should not be expected or demanded.
Read case fileJoseph Smith approved women laying hands on the sick in 1842. Later leaders authorized women’s healing practices; the current handbook restricts administration to Melchizedek Priesthood holders.
Read case fileJoseph Fielding Smith called seer-stone translation evidence “all hearsay” in 1956 while the Church held the stone. Current Church publications affirm the stone and the hat.
Read case fileThe Church promoted “I’m a Mormon” and leaders called the nickname acceptable. In 2018 the Church president said sponsoring such nicknames offends the Lord.
Read case fileA signed 2019 First Presidency letter ended the one-year wait for temple sealing after civil marriage where that waiting rule applied.
Read case fileA January 1982 First Presidency letter condemned oral sex. An October letter restricted intimate questioning but did not expressly repeal the condemnation.
Read case fileUntil 1990 the endowment included penalty oaths and a minister paid by Lucifer to preach the creeds. Transcripts and contemporary reporting document their removal.
Read case fileWomen once covenanted to obey the law of their husbands. The wording was softened in 1990 and, by participant reports, removed in 2019.
Read case fileParticipant accounts describe an earlier open-sided shield and a 2005 change to wearing the garment first, with more limited physical contact.
Read case fileThe 1830 text, matching its manuscripts, called the Lamb of God the Eternal Father. In 1837 “the Son of” was inserted into four passages; other passages equating Christ with the Father were left unrevised.
Read case fileLecture 5 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants called the Father a personage of spirit and the Holy Spirit the shared mind of Father and Son. D&C 130 teaches an embodied Father; the lectures were removed in 1921.
Read case fileJoseph Smith called it “the great secret” that God was once a man, and Church manuals still print it. The Church’s 2014 essay says little has been revealed and “little is taught.”
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