A great quote from Lou Midgley, made even better by Charity

[_Dr. Shades]

Charity posted a quote from Lou Midgley, cantankerous apologist extraordinaire, at (where else?) FAIR. Her commentary after the quote was priceless.

First, the quote from Midgley (emphasis Charity's):

"Brother Joseph is very much present in the ideologies and demonologies of many who in diverse but related ways detest everything associated with him. Even perhaps providentially, disbelief and incredulity, if not outright hatred and hostility, have done much to keep him alive in the memories of the covenant people of God. Indeed, the Saints seem to have actually needed enemies who, without even knowing it, are dedicated to keeping them from slipping back into the fog of the currently fashionable world by forcing them to confront the content and grounds of their faith, thereby refining, testing, and proving them. For this we can thank Joseph's many critics—both past and present." (Editor's Introduction, Knowing Brother Joseph Again, Louis Midgley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2006. Pp. xi–lxxiv

My reaction to the quote:

Yes, Brother Midgley, I will continue to work arm-in-arm with the Church to "refine, test, and prove" the "covenant people of God" by "forcing them to confront the content and grounds of their faith."

I'll even go one step further, Brother Midgley: In order to keep the Saints from "slipping back into the fog of the currently fashionable world," please tell all your fellow Saints about my website, http://www.mormoninformation.com and this site, MormonDiscussions.com. I pledge to work hard to help you achieve your vision for your fellow Latter-day Saints!

And now, on to Charity's fantastic addition to the Midgley quote:

Are any of you critics thinking about dropping your critical activites now that you know that your actions are counterproductive?

Oh, boy! Now I "know" that my actions are counterproductive! And all it took was one little quote from Professor Louis Midgley to set me straight!

So how about you, Nortinski? Care to tell Charity how "counterproductive" your "critical activities" are?

[_Runtu]

That has to be the stupidest quote yet from Midgley. I don't know much about that guy, but every quote I've read of his just makes him sound dumb as a post. Which would explain why he gets quoted on FAIR.

[_The Dude]

Oh, boy! Now I "know" that my actions are counterproductive! And all it took was one little quote from Professor Louis Midgley to set me straight!

So how about you, Nortinski? Care to tell Charity how "counterproductive" your "critical activities" are?

I would only consider my activities "counterproductive" if they obscured the truth and made people dumber.

[_Gazelam]

Dude,

So when will you stop smoking pot?

Gaz

[_Tal Bachman]

LOL

That is hilarious...and I suppose the increasing number of devout members who are discovering that Joseph Smith did not tell the truth about his stories, and who are then leaving or radically scaling back their church activity, are also doing everyone in church a big favour, right?

You know, I've referred loads of wondering people to the FAIR board hoping they come across the likes of Pahoran, Midge, Petey, and others. I wonder how many wondering people Midgley's referred to the UTLM website or Deconstructor's website, in order to "refine their faith"? I'm sure the answer, if not zero, is very close thereto; and if so, that would tell us all we need to know about how much Midgley really buys what he himself is saying.

[_The Dude]

Dude,

So when will you stop smoking pot?

Gaz

LOL!

I wouldn't agree that smoking pot "obscures the truth" but yeah, it does make you dumber for a good 3-4 hours.

[_Mister Scratch]

You know, I've referred loads of wondering people to the FAIR board hoping they come across the likes of Pahoran, Midge, Petey, and others. I wonder how many wondering people Midgley's referred to the UTLM website or Deconstructor's website, in order to "refine their faith"? I'm sure the answer, if not zero, is very close thereto; and if so, that would tell us all we need to know about how much Midgley really buys what he himself is saying.

Hence the reason why, in my opinion, John Lynch and others have taken such great pains to "dis-affiliate" FAIR from the institutional church. The church needs FAIR, as Steve Benson's conversation with the Brethren demonstrates, and yet there can never be any way to link up the controversial material discussed on FAIR with the actual church. Thus we see this strange cloak of "plausible deniability" which is afforded certain semi-authoritative things under the aegis of the church. The church needs FAIR, but it can never be made responsible for FAIR. BYU and BRM's Mormon Doctrine are other things that come to mind that also fit this "plausible deniability" bill.

[_Polygamy Porter]

Dude,

So when will you stop smoking pot?

Gaz

Gaz,

So when will you stop sipping the koolaid?

-PP