Another Reason For Book of Mormon/Lamanite Change
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:30 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/world/asia/18islands.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=science_&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
For years I was taught that the Polynesian people got there from Hagoth, the Book of Mormon builder of ships. They WERE LAMANITES. They were not categorized under the "Black" rule, therefore could receive the Priesthood.
Wait a minute... Woops! No Israelite DNA in the Polynesian people... Looks like they came from Taiwan instead.
Don't you just hate it when your Cult teaches you for decades, and then suddenly one day retracts their statement with a brush off like it is no big deal? Suddenly decades of lessons you were taught to believe are wiped away and you are just expected to go along with it - no questions asked.
Mormonism, isn't it grand?!
A great post on this from RFM from Nigel:
Polynesian dancing and singing was always the mainstay of the "Lamanite Generation" group at BYU.
General Authorities in the past always referred to Polynesians as Lamanites.
I personally know Polynesians who would "bear testimony" of their Lamanite heritage and the story of Hagoth.
Now, it's all an embarrassment for the Church. There will be no official retraction. There will be no official correction of incorrect doctrine.
As per the typical modus operandi of the LDS Church, there will be a hush and sweeping of traditional teachings under the rug. Remnants of the past generations of Polynesian Mormons will be allowed to continue talking to themselves about their Lamanite heritage. They will not be corrected or reprimanded by the Church leadership.
More importantly, though, they will also not be encouraged or supported in their traditional beliefs by the Church leadership. There will be no more talks by General Authorities that refer to Polynesians as Lamanites (except for the occasional aberration that may occur when a junior GA has failed to get the internal memo). There will be no more articles in Church publications that speak of Polynesians as Lamanites.
Eventually, the older generations of Polynesian Mormons will fade away and apologists will encourage their children to think that the stories about Hagoth and Lamanite heritage were just lovably kooky ideas that the older generation hatched themselves and that it was never doctrine or offical teaching of the LDS Church itself.
For years I was taught that the Polynesian people got there from Hagoth, the Book of Mormon builder of ships. They WERE LAMANITES. They were not categorized under the "Black" rule, therefore could receive the Priesthood.
Wait a minute... Woops! No Israelite DNA in the Polynesian people... Looks like they came from Taiwan instead.
Don't you just hate it when your Cult teaches you for decades, and then suddenly one day retracts their statement with a brush off like it is no big deal? Suddenly decades of lessons you were taught to believe are wiped away and you are just expected to go along with it - no questions asked.
Mormonism, isn't it grand?!
A great post on this from RFM from Nigel:
Polynesian dancing and singing was always the mainstay of the "Lamanite Generation" group at BYU.
General Authorities in the past always referred to Polynesians as Lamanites.
I personally know Polynesians who would "bear testimony" of their Lamanite heritage and the story of Hagoth.
Now, it's all an embarrassment for the Church. There will be no official retraction. There will be no official correction of incorrect doctrine.
As per the typical modus operandi of the LDS Church, there will be a hush and sweeping of traditional teachings under the rug. Remnants of the past generations of Polynesian Mormons will be allowed to continue talking to themselves about their Lamanite heritage. They will not be corrected or reprimanded by the Church leadership.
More importantly, though, they will also not be encouraged or supported in their traditional beliefs by the Church leadership. There will be no more talks by General Authorities that refer to Polynesians as Lamanites (except for the occasional aberration that may occur when a junior GA has failed to get the internal memo). There will be no more articles in Church publications that speak of Polynesians as Lamanites.
Eventually, the older generations of Polynesian Mormons will fade away and apologists will encourage their children to think that the stories about Hagoth and Lamanite heritage were just lovably kooky ideas that the older generation hatched themselves and that it was never doctrine or offical teaching of the LDS Church itself.