An Emerging LDS Theology: From Apollonian Augustinian-Protestantism toward a more Dionysian/Jehovian Christian-Platonism

 

The Emergent Mormon Perspective sees Mormonism as an emergent phenomenon growing from the Kirkland-Missouri phase (or the Smith-Rigdon phase) to the Smith-Pratt phase in Nauvoo when Joseph Smith began to fully embrace Renaissance Enlightenment Humanism. Thus we see an emerging development in the theology and interpretations of LDS Scripture as covered in books like “This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology by Charles R. Harrell and Line upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine by Gary James Bergera. For more details see my blog post here.

The Emergent Evolution of Christianity from the Markan Community to the Johanine Community

After I had resigned my membership in the Brighamite church around 2004, and after then becoming a skeptic, I then reconstructed a non-fundamentalist philosophical Christian position after being influenced by the writings of Marcus Borg and John Spong. In particular, Spong's books:

• Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism

• Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy

• The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.

Spong's book on biblical literalism introduced me to the concept of midrash, which led me to do a deep dive into the ancient Jewish practice of midrash. I then learned from many other biblical scholars that the apostle Paul and the Gospel authors were basically creative artists using midrash or what Richard Hays calls figural reading. In other words, rather than merely direct "revelations" from a deity, the content of Paul's letters and the Gospels had more to do with the intelligence and innovative creativity of Paul and the Gospel authors themselves. This knowledge would later allow me to reexamine Joseph Smith's scriptural creations and appreciate them as similar works of midrashic art through Smith's own intelligence and creativity.

The last book by Spong above, on the Johannine Community led me to further research biblical studies and I began to realize there was a distinct difference between the Pauline-Markan Christian worldview and the Johannine Christian worldview. For example, in the Gospel of John (produced by the Johannine Community) there is no mention of casting out demons, a major feature in the synoptic gospels, like in Mark. According to Where Have All the Demons Gone?: The Role and Place of the Devil in the Gospel of John (2017) by Andre van Rheede van Oudtshoorn:

John's Gospel is marked by a complete absence of demons. This is not due to John reflecting a more secular worldview than the Synoptics. ... Through Jesus' death on the cross, the devil has been exorcised from the whole world.

Since I do not believe in a literal "Satan character" or demons, after studying the origin of the devil character, John's demonless gospel began to appeal to my rational sensibilities.

Instead of fear mongering through apocalyptic language, John's Gospel also presents eternal life as more of a present moment experience of having Divine Life in abundance here and now. This appealed to my new found practice of mindfulness meditation (or present moment awareness in the Now).

Christian scholar Elaine Pagels discusses the theological message of the Gospel of Thomas and how it's basically describing a divine light as the Source of the Universe and that Jesus is a conduit of this Divine Light; and that you yourself are a spark of this Divine Light and if you get in touch with that inner divine light, you can become enlightened; and so you don't need a church or pastor, and there's no "Second Coming" because the Divine Realm is inside you and all around you; and so she says you can pretty much be a spiritual freelancer with the Gospel of Thomas. She also discusses the similarity in spirituality between the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas. Finally, she ties this all together in her scholarship by pointing out that Paul spoke about secret mysteries, which ties into the Gospel of Mark speaking of secret mysteries and the concept of a secret gospel that Paul did not write about publicly; and that the secret gospel is experienced in visionary states, which she compares to Kabbalah in Judaism, which has connections to early Mormonism. This led me to wonder if that secret gospel is the ability to ascend into the throne room of God, transcending all ecclesiastical leadership. See my blog post on the Book of Mormon as an ascension text. So I realized there is a version of Mormonism where you can treat it like a "freelance spirituality," as Dr. Pagels puts it, just like a Christian treating the Gospel of Thomas as a legitimate gospel and abiding by its mystical message.

This led to my forming a Christian stance which is a more about inner enlightenment or a mystic version of Christianity, after realizing the three texts below had a similar message:

• Gospel of John: No Exorcisms; Eternal Life is here and now, "life in abundance" per John 10:10.

• Gospel of Thomas: Saying 3, "Jesus said, 'If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' ... Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known...." and 77, "Split a piece of wood: I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me there."

• Book of Mormon: Ascension text; 2 Nephi 9:41, "and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; ..." Note that D&C 88 and the original LDS doctrine of The Lectures on Faith describe a process of enlightenment where a diffused fluid substance as light and intelligence fills individuals so that they are glorified (glow in splendor) just as Jesus smiles and shines on his disciples in 3 Nephi. As Joseph Smith himself, said, "This first comforter, or Holy Ghost, has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is …powerful in expanding the mind [and] enlightening the understanding."

This new understanding, that the holy books above differed with the synoptic gospels, and that each gospel was a distinct and different version of Christianity in many ways, released me from feeling the dire need for a systematic theology and instead being a possiblilian on such matters.

My differentiating between the Johannine Gospel and the synoptic Gospels was further augmented by my appreciation of Nietzsche's dionysian philosophy and learning about how the Johanine Community may have or even likely based their gospel in part off of the dionysian mythos (see the book The Dionysian Gospel); which is why in the Gospel of John for example, Jesus is presented more as a festive Party God turning water into wine, to basically keep the party going. In fact, according to biblical scholars, the clay jars were meant to represent religious jars of ceremonial water; so Jesus turning purity jars of water into party wine symbolized an affirmation of song and dance and sexual relations in marriage over being a life long celibate and practicing only stifling purity rituals. Thus the water into wine was basically representing a "holier than thou" type attitude in contrast to a playful and joyful attitude. So the episode is all about a celebration of life. Similar to how the god dionysus represented passion-filled Life. So the Johannine Jesus is clearly a different Jesus from the Pauline Jesus who was primarily an exorcist encouraging celibacy if one was able in the context of apocalyptic end times (see 1 Corinthians 7; Mathew 19:12).

This philosophical worldview-move toward considering myself open to the Johanine perspective (over and above the synoptics), led me to further realize that Joseph Smith was simply expanding this ongoing Christian tradition of midrashic modification and expansion of earlier religious texts into new ones. For, Joseph Smith could be seen doing the same thing with his own updated version with a more "Abrahamic gospel." I began to see that just as the Gospel of John can be seen as making corrections and changes or even improvements upon the earlier Synoptic Gospels, Joseph Smith's "fifth gospel" so to speak, could be seen as a midrashic attempt to move Christianity further forward toward a more science-based, body-affirming, naturalistic worldview.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I put together this visual to present how I see Mormonism emerging over time toward a more dionysian and/or Abrahamic theo-philosophy:

Click image to enlarge

The image on the far left in the visual above is the book Radical Martyrdom and Cosmic Conflict in Early Christianity by Paul Middleton. A book I read that helped me see that the Gospels and most of the New Testament, are apocalyptic radical martyrdom texts. The next image is the book cover of The Dionysian Gospel, that shows how just as Mathew presents Jesus as a new and greater Moses, the writers of John’s Gospel portray Jesus as a new and greater Dionysus; in doing so some of the Dionysian mythos enters into the Christian tradition. Interestingly, Nietzsche spoke favorably of the Gospel of John for this reason.

 To represent the Book of Mormon, I presented a painting of Captain Moroni by Arnold Friberg. Note that a core theme of the Book of Mormon is one’s direct ascent to the throne-room of God, thus bypassing Protestant membership requirements, Creeds and Preachers’ alleged “authority.” This is very similar to the message of the Gospel of Thomas.

Next, in the image above I depict the image that Joseph Smith chose to depict God the Father, which is an image from the pagan Egyptian scrolls of a phallic deity representing sexual potency and fecundity.

Finally, I depicted Orson Hyde’s diagram of God’s Kingdom. This is a more dionysian kingdom of growth and becoming, via Abrahamic expansionism just as Life itself evolves through ascending hierarchical growth and expansion. As Abraham 3: 16 puts it, “If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; …” Thus the Mormon restored gospel emerged out of being a more Apollonian structure with only an emphasis on “resting in the Lord” -- in a static Protestant heaven, and a focus only on utopian leveling -- and overtime moved more toward a dionysian becoming and a form of will to power.

In other words, Hyde's diagram signifies an ever increasing merit-based hierarchical expansion in manly enthronement as a form of will to power: rising upward in rank, growing in power and dominion dynastically: a compounding of power, kingdom upon kingdom, expanding the lineage of kings with an increase in acquired wealth, strength, status, friendships and relationships; as represented in each pronged section pointed upwards toward the crown. For more details on Orson Hyde’s diagram see here. So just as life itself is organic beings ordered by rank in hierarchies, the affirmation of hierarchy in later Nauvoo Era Mormonism, was the affirmation of life itself.

Understanding the Evolution of Ideas

Marcus Borg's book Evolution of the Word: A Chronological Look at the New Testament, is the popular NRSV translation but puts each New Testament document in chronological order. This helped me see a clear evolutionary development within the Christian communities, culminating in the emergence of the Gospel of John. This allowed me better appreciate a similar chronological evolution in Mormonism, from the early 1830s to the 1840s; for, Joseph Smith, as a midrashic artist himself, clearly evolved from a more Protestant mindset pre-1835, to a more Abrahamic Life-affirming mindset post-1835. Thus the title for this blog, the Emergent Mormon Perspective.

The Emergent Mormon Perspective embraces and applauds this evolution and sees Joseph Smith maturing overtime as a writer, thinker, and creative artist; with his Nauvoo Era Mormonism being the pinnacle of his more fully emerged and matured philosophical development: wherein he fully moved toward synthesizing science and biblical spirituality and affirming life in the body.

Mormonism as a Gateway to Renaissance Enlightenment Humanism & Christo-European Mythos: How Joseph Smith evolved from Protestant Christian to a Renaissance Humanist Christian-Platonist -- which can act as a Model for one’s own Spiritual Growth away from Augustinian Dualism toward Spiritual Humanism:

According to Google AI (retrieved Sept. 2024):

“Renaissance Enlightenment Humanism” refers to a philosophical movement that emerged during the Renaissance period, emphasizing the value of human potential, reason, and the study of classical Greek and Roman texts, which continued to influence thought during the Age of Enlightenment, where ideas about human agency and rational inquiry were further developed and applied to various fields like science and politics; essentially, it marked a shift in focus from solely religious doctrine to a more human-centered approach to understanding the world.


Key points about Renaissance Humanism:


Focus on Classical Studies:

Humanists heavily studied ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, and art, believing they held the key to achieving a well-rounded life and understanding human nature.


"Studia Humanitatis":

This term refers to the core subjects studied by humanists, including grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and ethics.


Individual Potential:

Humanists emphasized the importance of individual development and the ability of humans to achieve great things through education and self-improvement.


"Renaissance Man":

The ideal of the "Renaissance Man" embodied the humanist belief in cultivating diverse skills and knowledge across various disciplines.


How it connects to the Enlightenment:

Shared Values:

Both movements placed high value on reason, critical thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge as a means to improve society.


Scientific Inquiry:

The Renaissance's renewed interest in classical texts paved the way for scientific advancements during the Enlightenment, where scientific investigation became a central focus.


Social Reform:

Humanist ideas about individual rights and human dignity contributed to Enlightenment thinkers advocating for social and political reform

Orson Hyde taught Joseph Smith  grammar and and this began a further pursuit of knowledge in the School of the Prophets. Where the early LDS leaders basically studied indirectly Renaissance Enlightenment Humanism and biblical scholarship. They studied history and science and studied the Hebrew language which led to Joseph Smith moving from monotheism to polytheism after 1839 (see D&C 121:28).


According to historian Dan Vogel, Joseph Smith began as a true believer, a pious convert to Evangelical Christianity. But he quickly modified his beliefs during the composition of the Book of Mormon as he was basically a pragmatic Christian Universalist. We can see how Joseph justified his religious myth-making for the greater good, where in D&C 19, he claims that the use of Protestant Hell language in the Book of Mormon was used to basically scare people; but that such language was only metaphorical and was not to be taken literally. The section further encourages Martin Harris to basically keep this view private so that the Hell language in the book can go on to motivate the Protestant readers of the Book of Mormon.

I think it is clear and obvious that after Joseph became a Universalist and kept that a secret for awhile, Joseph Smith then secretly became a Renaissance Humanist and Pantheistic Polytheist by 1839. Here is a bullet point summary of just a few pieces of evidence of this from 1835 to 1844:

• Smith postpones the Second Coming till he is 85.

• Smith tells Nancy Rigdon that God is more "liberal in his views," and teaches a form of moral relativism by arguing that whatever God declares is right is right and how God at one point said to utterly destroy after previously saying don't kill. Thus, he explains to Nancy that his new plural marriage doctrine is true as revelation, even though it goes against her puritanical Protestant sensibilities as found in Joseph's earlier revelations like the Book of Mormon.

• Smith stopped preaching from and quoting from the Book of Mormon. I interpret this as he moved beyond its monotheistic Trinitarian Protestant theology; but he still saw it as a "correct book" as a proselyting tool and a form of proof of his seership abilities as prophet and seer.

• His conversion to Freemasonry solidified his Hermetic Deism and/or Pantheistic Polytheism.

• His move from Dualism to Monism (i.e. spirit-matter)

• Joseph's move from the Book of Mormon teachings on Protestant “saved by grace" and finding static "rest in the Lord” to a hermetic gnosis (i.e. being saved by knowledge and intelligence) and ascending exaltation to exaltation in imitation of the kingly Gods.

• Smith removed fear of demon possession by positing you can shake hands with good angels; and used the fear of demons to push Mormons to embrace Abrahamic Expansionism via learning that God the Father has a body in the temple through giving secret hand claspes.

• Smith utilizes Peter's keys of binding, which he saw as a loophole for getting clever and binding/sealing friends and lovers (as wives and concubines) in order gain a celestial kingdom; and thus earn high status enthronement exaltation to exaltation. For example, he told his scribe Clayton that if Clayton's plural wives are frowned upon by LDS members, he will excommunite him and just rebaptize him soon after. 

We can see that Joseph moved beyond Augustinian dualistic apocalypticism and toward nondualistic/monist spiritual naturalism. Of course, he could not fully reject all of Augustinian dualism, as the Book of Mormon used such dualistic language, but it is clear that he has abandoned the Augustinian puritanism in the Book of Mormon; even contradicting the Book of Mormon with D&C 132 wherein he justified King David and Solomon in practicing polygamy. Joseph Smith even removes the words attributed to Jesus about plucking out your eye in the JST. We see further evidence of this move away from puritanism and toward pro-body Enlightenment Humanism, when apostle Parley P. Pratt writes an essay, Intelligence and Affection in the 1840s: which rejects the Book of Mormon's conceptual language of "carnal, sensual, and devilish," as basically Protestant superstition. Orson Pratt then writes Absurdities of Immaterialism which rejects immaterial spirits and is referenced in the 1891 D&C. As the Protestant view of dualistic matterless spirits is replaced with pantheistic spirit-atoms and one Great God, which acts like the Force in Star Wars. For more details, see my blog series on the original Mormon Godhead here.

So I see Mormonism as actually a case study in the process of one man's renaissance-enlightenment through Joseph Smith’s spiritual development away from dualistic Augustinianism and toward Renaissance Enlightenment Humanism. Thus to read Mormon scripture as a whole, as an emerging evolutionary development, is to move from dualistic Protestant theism toward monist/pantheistic polytheism: which aligns more with the God of the ancient philosophers, of the Greeks (i.e. Stoics), Norse mythos, and ancient Hebrews, etc., prior to the effect of Zoroastrianism on Judaism.


Joseph Smith held his pro-body polytheism and monist/pantheist-ish views private for the most part, in fear of losing his prophetic status. After all, it was believed that he was channeling the voice of Jesus. But by 1844, he "let the cat out of the bag" with his King Follett Discourse. 

He knew the power of perceived revelation and I think he felt justified in moving the consciousness of his people toward renaissance enlightenment ideas. He thus mixed and synthesized several ideas into one, but his consistent direction was the affirmation of the sensual body and joy in this world here and now. Like the ancient Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, for Smith, happiness was the object and design of our existence and man is that be might have joy. By 1844, this meant that joy was to be experienced in the physical body here and now, rather than postponing joy, laughter, and festivity for the afterworld (as was taught in puritanical Protestantism).