Description

Over the last two centuries, Mormonism has faced repeated historical, scientific, and ethical challenges. Rather than collapsing under those pressures, it has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to reinterpret, reframe, and redefine its claims. This session explores a pattern: when foundational assertions become difficult to defend in their original form, they are often expanded, softened, relocated, or re categorized.

Drawing from examples such as the Book of Abraham’s shift from being framed as a literal translation to being a “catalyst,” the move from the Lamanites being framed as “principal ancestors” of Native Americans to “among the ancestors,” revising the location of the Hill Cumorah, reframing prophetic fallibility, redefining celestial marriage, and recasting financial or institutional accountability, we will examine how theological elasticity can render truth claims increasingly difficult to evaluate.

At what point does adaptive reinterpretation blur into something indistinguishable from a fraud? And how does a faith tradition maintain credibility when its core claims are repeatedly adjusted to accommodate contrary evidence?

This presentation is not an attack, but an inquiry into institutional survival mechanisms, epistemology, and the psychology of belief maintenance in modern Mormonism.

Bill Reel is the Executive Director of Mormon Discussion Inc. and co-host of Mormonism Live, The Mormon Newscast, and Almost Awakened. A longtime student of Mormon history and institutional development, he focuses on examining difficult or controversial issues within the Latter-day Saint tradition. Bill is also a somatic trauma-informed coach and founder of Awaken & Thrive Coaching, where he supports individuals navigating religious deconstruction and identity shifts. His work centers on critical thinking, institutional accountability, and the psychology of belief.