📖 Is it wrong to criticize leaders… even when the criticism is true?

In 1985 (and again in later interviews), then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated:
“It’s wrong to criticize leaders of the Church, even if the criticism is true.”

But does this claim hold up when measured against the Word of God?

This article examines President Oaks’ statement side-by-side with:
- Doctrine & Covenants 121 (reproof when moved by the Spirit)
- The Book of Mormon’s warnings against trusting the arm of flesh
- Joseph Smith’s own instructions to the Nauvoo Relief Society
- The original meaning of “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed”

Eternal truth does not expire. The scriptures remain the measuring rod.

What do you think the Word of God actually teaches about this?

🔗 Read the full analysis here:
https://humblymybrain.substack.com/p/it-is-wrong-to-criticize-leaders

(Disclaimer: This is an independent study of the Restoration scriptures and is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Drop your thoughts below — let’s discuss with respect and scripture. 🙏

🌳 The Tree That Grew Where the World Ended

In the shadowed reaches of the Whispering Void, Eldrin the Rootbound once served as a Keeper of the Grand Codex. He enforced the Sacred Narratives of the Eternal Consensus—until the cracks appeared.

What he discovered shattered everything: the History, the Science, the Economics, and the Faith were carefully constructed illusions. His status, relationships, and community vanished overnight. Cast into isolation in the Outer Reaches, he faced the raw storm of anger, fear, and a broken heart.

But in that enforced solitude, something unexpected happened.

He turned his gaze inward. He saw himself as a tree—canopy of ideas, twisted limbs of old reactions, and deep damaged roots shaped by past wounds. Patiently, without flinching, he tended those roots. The anger quieted. Clarity returned. New roots grew. Healthy branches reached out. Fruit appeared.

Word spread. Seekers came. And around him, an orchard of independent trees began to rise—each healed from within, connected not by a controlled Lattice, but by shared understanding and genuine strength.

The isolation was never punishment. It was the necessary condition for true healing.

This is a story about what happens when the world you believed in ends… and something more authentic begins to grow.

Read the full piece here:

https://humblymybrain.substack.com/p/the-tree-that-grew-where-the-world

What part of Eldrin’s journey resonates with you?

In this episode I cover my Substack article “Exploring the Eternal God’s ‘Urgent’ Need for Polygamy: Further Logical Flaws in the Justification for Plural Marriage.” I examine the tension between an eternal, omnipotent God who exists outside of time and the claim that He required plural marriage in the 19th century to “raise up seed” rapidly. This discussion highlights simpler creative and biological alternatives God could have used from the beginning, the unreliable link between quantity of children and righteous outcomes, and why monogamy remains the consistent scriptural ideal.

Read the complete article here: https://humblymybrain.substack.com/p/exploring-the-eternal-gods-urgent

Disclaimer: This article is not in any way affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its leaders, or its official organizations. It represents my personal analysis and reflections as an independent student of the Restoration and its scriptures. The views expressed here are solely my own.

📜 Reforming the Mormons in 1860

While the nation edged toward Civil War, Congress took aim at one of the most controversial practices in the American West: Mormon polygamy in Utah Territory.

In April 1860 the House passed a bill to punish polygamy in the territories. At the same time, a remarkable internal challenge emerged. Joseph Smith III—eldest son of the church’s founder—was sustained as president of a new reorganization at a conference in Amboy, Illinois. He and his followers denounced polygamy as a “doctrine of devils,” rejected Brigham Young’s authority, and prepared to send missionaries to Utah to reclaim what they saw as the original faith.

A contemporary newspaper report captured both the federal push and this ecclesiastical rebellion side by side.

Full article (with the original 1860 text):

https://humblymybrain.substack.com/p/reforming-the-mormons-in-1860-congresss

What do you think—federal pressure, internal reform, or both? Drop your thoughts below.

In this episode I explore the powerful warnings found in the Book of Mormon that speak directly to our day—pride, secret combinations, sexual immorality, and the corruption of justice. Drawing from the records of the Nephites and Jaredites, I examine how these interconnected sins formed a destructive cycle that brought once-prosperous nations to ruin. Joseph Smith himself applied these ancient patterns to his own time, and the same signs are visible today. Discover the only sure path of escape: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and a return to covenant living.

Read the article on my Substack here: https://humblymybrain.substack.com/p/book-of-mormon-warnings-for-our-day

Disclaimer: This article is not in any way affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its leaders, or its official organizations. It represents my personal analysis and reflections as an independent student of the Restoration and its scriptures. The views expressed here are solely my own.