The LDS church is quietly distancing itself from past presidential statements and Journal of Discourses rather than formally changing doctrine — 'plausible deniability.'

The LDS strategy is to narrow the canon of authoritative sources — emphasizing only the 'standard works' (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) and discounting everything else. By ignoring prophetic statements in the Journal of Discourses and similar sources, they create plausible deniability for distinctive and controversial teachings. Mike gives an example: a Mormon in a debate claiming it's not necessary to believe God was once a man — a direct reversal of Smith's 'first principle of the gospel.'