Ray A wrote:There is a battle going on to maintain faith, and retain members, but I don't see this as being very realistic if it involves whitewashing or denial. Members need to be exposed to the "meat", to historical facts and controversies, and to be advised even before joining the Church that there are controversial issues which are not settled. And they need to be advised early! The Book of Mormon should be presented to investigators of the Church as a religious claim, not a "historical fact". They should also be told that there is no solid evidence from archaeology which supports the Book of Mormon, and some of it is even contrary to Mormon claims, and that they are accepting the Book of Mormon purely on faith. The lack of archaeological evidence doesn't necessarily make the Book of Mormon untrue, but the investigator should have an honest picture of the real situation, which is that there is not a single non-Mormon archaeologist who accepts the Book of Mormon claims to being an ancient American record. They should also be exposed to Mormon apologists who claim otherwise, and then weigh the two opposing views. All this should be done before the person accepts Mormonism.
Wow! Quite a stark contrast to his earlier, insane suggestion that a Mormon holocaust was just over the horizon. I have to say, I applaud Ray for this return to reason and logic. It is good to see him writing in a healthy and clear-eyed way. Here's to you, Ray!
This, by the way, is the link to his blog:
http://spotlightonmormonism.blogspot.com/