I was brought up to believe that all religion is a little crazy, and that Mormonism is the best thing around (but still crazy). In reality, it was the only thing around in my hometown, but I'm still partial to it.
So, when I see something historical in Mormonism that doesn't add up, it doesn't affect my relationship with the modern Church. The only thing that affects my relationship with the modern Church is what the Church does today. I guess that's because I'm not preoccupied with historical authenticity of anything in Mormonism. To me, it's an inspired religious philosophy (if you subtract out cultural stuff), and that's all that matters.
As awful as polygamy is/was, it's difficult for me to picture exactly what Mormon polygamy was like 150 years ago. Did it resemble the FLDS? I'm pretty sure it did not. My own great-grandparents were polygamists, and they sounded like pretty normal folks, other than the multiple wives thing. For me, issues like polygamy are curiosities, and they only affect my relationship with the Church when I see remnants of polygamist philosophy in modern Mormonism.
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