Aren’t there any set of dogmas that would not allow that type of flexibility? That looks a bit weird to build your worldview up on…
Nope. You’d think the teachings of their “prophets” would be. You’d think that their lesson a manuals and official publications would be. You’d even think that their scriptures would be. You’d be wrong. Things are selectively followed and those things change from decade to decade, from stake to stake, from ward to ward. You’d be hard pressed to try to pin an LDS down on committing to anything other than “I know Jospeh Smith to be a prophet of God, the Book of Mormon to be true, and that the Church is the true living restoration of Christ’s church on Earth.”
The missionaries are unreliable as they are 19 year old kids who barely know they’re own faith. They are pressure driven by numbers, how many can they or have they baptized. At that age, they are mostly there because it is what is expected of them.
There is an out of print book called: The Book of Mormon Doctrine that was at one point considered authoritive. You’ll find it it still referenced in talks and lessons. Another is: A Marvelous Work and A Wonder that was something all new converts were strongly encouraged to read and considered a library essential for LDS. The Journal of Disscourse and Lectures of Faith are key in thee creation of the lesson manuals, and the book Priesthood and Church Government is a good read to understand how the LDS church is supposed to function. Articles of Faith is another good book for how LDS teach point by point their Articles of Faith found in their Scriptures. Jesus the Christ is a good read for those position on how they view Jesus and the Trinity as whole.
Yet none of that is official in the eyes of the LDS. Never-you-mind that those who wrote them where Apostles or Presidents of the LDS church, or that those people wrote some othe them in a “temple” under the supposed guidance of the Holy Sprit, or that the words of the LoF and some of the JoD come right from Jospeh Smith acting as the “prophet” of the church, or from his “successor” Brigham Young speaking with the same authority and in the same capacity. Because even though LDS claim authority of office and obedience to priesthood authority is key to their religion, they simply don’t follow what isn’t popular at the time. Because, it’s what’s best for the corporate entity, not about being “true to the faith.”
LDS members are often confused and you’ll find contradiction in the beliefs and unity of the members. To the extent that while the lessons being taught all come from the same manual, they are often very different in message from ward to ward. And this is encouraged by their “called to Teach” manual.
