Item Detail
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26716
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0
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0
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English
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Common Consent and the Rights of the Governed
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Restoration Studies
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15
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Independence, MO
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John Whitmer Historical Association; Community of Christ Seminary Press
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74-81
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Michael J. Stevens puts the history of Joseph Smith Jr. and the restoration within the context of the American and French revolutions. Stevens documents the development of an "autocratic and hierarchical form of Latter-day Saints (LDS) organizational governance" under the leadership of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, creating a "deeply entrenched culture of obedience and submission" in the LDS Church. Stevens concludes by encouraging LDS Church members to "reclaim the Law of Common Consent by challenging our deeply held cultural norm of near-universal acquiescence to proposals put forward by leadership in our LDS church meetings."