The purpose of this investigation and research project has been to discover the answers to certain problems connected with the religious philosophy of the Latter-day Saint people of a given geographical area, through appropriate research methods and procedures. The problems to be answered are as follows:(1) What is the philosophy of religion of these people as it pertains to predestination and fatalism?(2) Does the philosophy of these people tend to be fatalistic, especially as it is reflected in their concept of the role of fate or God or providence in certain life and death situations?(3) What is the established doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it pertains to free will or free agency and fatalism or predestination in general, and more especially, what is the doctrine of the Church with reference to a special kind of fatalism, being appointed to die at a particular time. More specifically, does the doctrine of the Church hold to the concept that when a person dies it is because his time was up and the Lord took him in death according to a pre-arranged plan?(4) Is the religious philosophy of the people of the survey area out of harmony with the established doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?(5) If the religious philosophy of these people is out of harmony with the doctrine of the Church to which they belong, does this constitute a heresy?The major thesis problem to be solved in connection with this work, properly and formally stated is as follows: This thesis will be the consideration of a possible heretical trend developing in the religious philosophy of the Latter-day Saint people of a given geographical area.

This study makes a consideration of four related concepts of Deity, each of which is accepted as doctrine by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims to have received these doctrines from Joseph Smith. On the other hand, each of these concepts is rejected as doctrine by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims that Joseph Smith did not teach them.