FABULOUS CONCEPTIONS - Godbeite Transcription and Commentary
Notwithstanding the great time commitment needed to pull it off, this will hopefully be the first in a series of blog posts on the Godbeites, a schismatic Mormon organization active around the 1870s in Utah that split from orthodox Brighamitism out of a commitment to liberalism, progressivism, free thought, and antiauthoritarianism; who established several liberal institutions - including the newspaper that became the Salt Lake Tribune - but fizzled out after only a few decades. As Reform Mormons, a present group with a very similar set of foundational principles, many of us feel a strong kinship with these early heretics, and as such, my friend Evan Sharley and I have recently begun researching them in depth, beginning by reading through their writings printed in their official publications. So far, we have found many writings that largely resonate with us, even as we find many others, however intended with noble spirit, grossly miss the mark. Because of the great principles contained...