took me a while, but:

since there's NO consistency in how Mormon 'doctrine' / teachings, esp. "church discipline" is applied... Isn't it about the same thing in rank-and-file experience, LDS presentation?

I think it is. Whatever is meted out is hit-and-miss, depends on the predilections of your local leaders!

Inspiration = Discernment? not likely.

arbitrary, capricious? Yep.

I don't recall that we every taught that!

I don't know that we emphasize it. We don't know much about that.

Plural Marriage? Blood Atonement? Seed of Cain? Lamanites the primary ancestors of the American Indian?

Its become the Church of the Pot Calling the Kettle Black of Latter Day Saints.

That's not docrinal, it's little fecks of history!

I so agree with you! The arbitrary nature of the church involving temple ceremony, blacks and the priesthood, and the advice/counsel/disicpline is and was something that always disturbed me, even when I was active. Isn't truth supposed to be eternal? One minute people are slashing and disemboweling themselves, and then, oops! we don't do that anymore. A change for the better, I admit, but why have it in the first place if it isn't really necessary in the long run? Now we find out that blacks were denied the priesthood for 126 years out of sheer bigotry, thanks to BY. And then, some people screw around compulsively and barely get a tap on the knuckles after a compulsory confession, while other very honest, sincere people get put on probation or WORSE for some petting incident that happened decades ago. I've witnessed things like this first hand, and always felt they were just not right.

The church is so capricious and controlling, it's truly terrifying...