[lcall]

Actually, I am not aware of anything anywhere that says that about the 1800s as the Church's stance, but rather that we should keep God's commandments (such as those the Lord gave in the sermon on the mount (meekness, the Golden Rule), the 10 commandments, honesty, etc). The scriptures (and Handbook) are open for all to consider, as are the talks given in our 2x/year General Conference, decades of official announcements, etc, and that is what I at least have found influential, and am working at. In any large group there is a variety of imperfect individuals, of course, who like me are not official reps.

The principles of US Constitution, and honesty, and doing what Jesus Christ actually taught, are really important doctrinally for the Church.