There would be no purpose for the Church if we simply "fit in". However, I've found that only the hyper-senstive often political left wingers have any problem with the way I talk about the Church.Your problem, BC, is that your religious and political views are indistinguishable. You may not see it yet.
I think anyone who has read just a few of my posts would agree that I DO see it. In fact, I have made the connection many times on this and other boards.
So, do you think Hugh Nibley was an apostate for being a Democrat?
Maybe, maybe not. He's in that era of transition. We could, however examine his stated political beliefs and decide for sure.
Right. :) I'm not sure the church will have much success winning converts (and improving public relations) by following his example, comparing dissenters/opponents to Satan’s minions.
The problem with this logic is that it's really all about the quality of the convert, not the quantity. The Church has indeed dropped the ball on this from time to time erroneously assuming that the slack would be picked up elsewhere when concentrating on quantity.