Tyler Anderson and the Problem of Heroification

[_Doctor Scratch]

During his recent series of posts here, Pahoran was accused of "butt kissing," and of engaging in hostility for the sake of scoring brownie points with the Mopologetic powers that be. This raises an important question: How important is "heroification" to the Mopologetic cause? How much of the behavior of junior apologists can be attributed to a certain neediness--a certain desire to look good in the eyes of DCP, Midgley, Gee, and Hamblin?

As I was mulling over this issue with some of my colleagues at Cassius, I remembered an interesting case from a couple of years ago--namely, the launching of a Facebook fanpage devoted to Dr. Peterson:

http://www.Facebook.com/pages/Daniel-C- ... 3339358484

The proprietor of this site is named Tyler Anderson (he posts on MAD / the-ironically-named-Mormon-Dialogue board as "kolikopi09," and perhaps some other monikers, too). Interestingly, a perusal of this Facebook page shows some startling errors, such as the fact that young Mr. Anderson repeatedly bungled several important facts, such as DCP's birthday. There are also embarrassing typos, such as when Anderson describes DCP as having a "manevolent testimony."

But what's most troubling about the site is the sheer volume of buttkissing that it represents. One has to ask: what does this sort of heroification accomplish for the Mopologists? What does it reveal about their psychology (and I think you'll agree that this display is, to paraphrase a now-famous cliché, "psychologically fascinating")?

Clearly, this reveals the well-defined hierarchy that separates the upper-tiered apologists from the lower-tiered. But it may represent some deeper problems as well. Obviously, as a fan page, one can't expect this to have much substance or depth, but we can nonetheless offer up an argument against heroification. Perhaps a good place to start is James Loewen's best-selling pop-critique of U.S. history textbooks, Lies My Teacher Told Me. Loewen explains that there are many reasons why heroification happens: "pressure from the 'ruling class,' pressure from . . . committees, the wish to avoid ambiguities, a desire to shield children from harm or conflict, the perceived need to control [people] and avoid . . . disharmony, pressure to provide answers." Loewen goes on to say that "the results of heroification are potentially crippling."

In all fairness, it needs to be pointed out that young Mr. Anderson hasn't done anything with the site in some months, though if he's reading this, I hope he seriously reconsiders his venture, and the consequences it's likely to have. Presenting Dr. Peterson as a shining, wart-free Mopologetic hero (a "powerful apologist," as the site describes him), rather than the complex and frequently controversial figure that he is, will likely have a devastating effect on hundreds of young Mopologetic wannabes.

[_The Nehor]

Scratch! We need you on the thread about your blog. It's disappearance is causing consternation and confusion. Are you in fact guilty of some crime as many suspect?

I bumped it up. Have a look.

Thanks.

[_Doctor Scratch]

Hi, Nehor. I've sent you a PM.

[_thews]

During his recent series of posts here, Pahoran was accused of "butt kissing," and of engaging in hostility for the sake of scoring brownie points with the Mopologetic powers that be. This raises an important question: How important is "heroification" to the Mopologetic cause? How much of the behavior of junior apologists can be attributed to a certain neediness--a certain desire to look good in the eyes of DCP, Midgley, Gee, and Hamblin?

To answer the question, very important. The one thing Pahoran didn't factor in to his plan, was that he was used to the mods helping him out after he blathered on for so long the retort was too exhausting to keep up with. Pahoran is a joke and a bad spin doctor. Just look at his and Simon's attempt to "answer" who made the "Ham" part of the Kinderhook plate translation. They are both backed into a corner and have now fled... intellectual dishonesty at its finest.

[_Doctor Scratch]

That's an interesting observation, Thews.

[_The Nehor]

Hi, Nehor. I've sent you a PM.

PM returned. The package has been delivered. I await payment.

[_Eric]

I can confidently say that I've probably spent more time reading material from ... Hugh Nibley, Richard Bushman, Terryl Givens, William Hamblin, and Daniel C. Peterson, than I have reading material pertinent to my Bachelor of Science degree in Communications.

I remember it well. It was a cold winter night. I was snuggled up on the couch with my dog, looking on the Internet for distractions from work and finding them easily. I stumbled across a Facebook group discussion/debate thread involving Tyler Anderson, Walker Wright, and some non-Mormons. I was instantly fascinated by the round faced BYU Idaho student and dedicated DCP follower. Below is what I learned from spending an hour or so on his blogs, which I recommend for a good laugh if you're ever feeling blue.

--

Tyler Anderson describes himself as "a budding historian of American History, particularly events surrounding the Latter-day Saint faith" and his interests include "Near Eastern Studies, Mormon History, American History, Theology, and Philosophy."

He also says:

I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Apologetics (defending the faith) is something I take very seriously. I'm an avid reader on subjects related to Near-Eastern Studies and LDS Church History. I am an undergraduate at Brigham Young University-Idaho majoring in Communications with a minor in Philosophy. I've been active in LDS apologetics since 2008 and am happily married to former Kacey Alleman of The Colony, Texas.

I find Tyler's wording " something I take very seriously" to be very ominous. Is this what the new generation of FARMS character assassins will look like? When Midgley is gone will Tyler be the one to fill the much needed book store ambassador role?

Will he be the Mopologist to post the death certificate of a Christian minister on the Internet to mock him?

A few things stand out regarding Junior Mopologist Anderson:

His Blog

Tyler's blog posts usually consist of one or a combination of the following themes:

1. Mopologist worship

2. Attacking "Anti-Mormons"

3. A boring, blow-hardish, autobiographical narrative of some sort.

For instance:

In his brilliant "response to Lifetime's inaccuracies", Tyler describes how his wife found the movie so objectionable that it made her sick (although he finds September Dawn much worse), paints Ann Eliza Young as a sexually promiscuous divorcee, and proclaims that the movie is an "anti-Mormon story".

Tyler Anderson is careful to point out that:

This same Ann Eliza, now twice divorced...soon encountered an older, wealthy man, Mr. Moses R. Denning, with whom she dined on the silver anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Denning. This same Ann Eliza, the champion of all things virtuous, the crusader against the "horrors of adultery" convinced Mr. Denning to leave his own wife and pursue her...though they eventually divorced as well.

In another blog entry about TLC's polygamy reality show shot in Utah County, Sister Wives, Tyler declares that he and his fellow apologists at FAIR are taking care of things, thank you very much:

Are we asking the honest questions [about polygamy]? Are we digging in to these statements through exegesis? Both my fellow apologists and myself agree...this is precisely what we're doing. Thank you for your concern Jeff, but we've got that taken care of. http://en.fairmormon.org/Polygamy/Requi ... exaltation

I like how he links to the ironically named FAIR website, and then boasts that "we've got that taken care of." Interesting.

Gospel Doctrine Teacher and Green-Jello Mormonism

Tyler, following in the footsteps of his upperclassmen, harbors great resentment for "Chapel Mormons". Tyler confesses to being told repeatedly to dial back the apologetics and stick to the manual in his Gospel Doctrine class. It became such an issue that Tyler, finally fed up with being chastised, asked to be released from his calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher.

My conflict with Green Jell-O Mormons has led me to the conclusion that I can no longer teach Gospel Doctrine in a setting where I can feel comfortable expressing my beliefs. As popular as our classes had become (we packed our Relief Society room every Sunday) I feel like I'm walking on egg shells.

(Tyler calls Chapel Mormons "Green Jell-O Mormons)

[Green Jell-O Mormons live] in a bubble. They don't let their kids play with others outside the faith. They hang on to every word said by celebrity-General Authorities (regardless of the context) as though it were literally God himself speaking. These General Authorities by the way, are infallible and disagreeing with them on even peripheral issues is  to be guilty of apostasy. They read from (and never deviate from) any word contained in the Church's Sunday School manuals and consider these manuals to be scripture in and of themselves. They assume that Priesthood  holders who fail  shave or wear a white dress shirt to Church must be either unworthy or in open rebellion (often both).

More often than not, Green Jell-O Mormons have fundamentalist interpretations of scripture and the world around them. They hold the Constitution of the United States (and the country's founders) to be fully inspired and on par with scripture. They tend to be far-right conservatives (i.e. Tea Party "Patriots") politically and theologically. In short, they like their world, but don't like anything "different."

I am different.

We'd been warned a few times before. It seemed like every Sunday School Presidency meeting was focused around teaching "only what was written in the manual." Eventually my wife and I used the Sunday School manual exclusively, (occasionally referring to the Institute manuals) but that wasn't enough. We'd had a few formal and informal discussions with members of our Bishopric that essentially laid out the same thing.

I have asked to be released from my calling as a Gospel Doctrine instructor. It has come to my attention that my academic pursuits and personal beliefs have come into conflict with my ability to teach the class in a manner that all members of the class can appreciate.

Later, Tyler describes changing his mind and returning to his post as the alternating Gospel Doctrine teacher.

I've spoken with my Bishop and my wife and have opted to continue teaching the New Testament Gospel Doctrine class in our ward in spite of previous reservations I had held regarding whether or not I felt academically free to explore the texts through the lenses of modern scholarship (talk about a run-on sentence!)...Our kind and understanding Bishop noted that while academically stimulating lessons have their place in the wider spectrum of Mormon thought, he felt some of my lessons may have "gone over [class members'] heads.

Hatred for Meldrum

Like his Mopologist heroes, Tyler regularly expresses his contempt for FARMS rival Rodney Meldrum.

I told you six months ago that ... Rod Meldrum had gone off the deep end. Thank you factual science.

Facebook

Tyler Anderson's devotion to Daniel Peterson became much more strange on October 20, 2009 when Tyler decided to create an unauthorized Facebook page for Peterson* and began posting from it.

Thread: Daniel C. Peterson Fan Page - Facebook.com

*Note: Dan denies knowing the person behind his Facebook Fan Page.

Book Reviewer

In one of his reviews, Anderson compares the Evangelical Christian writer Carole Whang Schutter to Hitler's associate and accomplice, Nazi Minister of Propaganda Paul Joseph Goebbels. He calls Sally Denton's award winning American Massacre as "shoddy at best" and a "ham-fisted polemic". One has to wonder how much longer Anderson can perfectly emulate Peterson and the FARMS Review with literary critiques like the two I mentioned before he's called on to dress with the Varsity Mopologists.

--

Mr. Anderson, despite his efforts, doesn't seem to be getting much love or even acknowledgment from the upper-tiered Mopologists. As for the reason why, I think Doctor Scratch brings up a very interesting point:

Interestingly, a perusal of this Facebook page shows some startling errors, such as the fact that young Mr. Anderson repeatedly bungled several important facts, such as DCP's birthday. There are also embarrassing typos, such as when Anderson describes DCP as having a "manevolent testimony.

[_Doctor Scratch]

This has been an incredible post, Eric. I think Mr. Anderson may merit canonization in The Encyclopedia of Mopologetics. If our committee here at Cassius deems him "worthy," would you mind terribly if I rather shamelessly borrowed from your excellent research here?

[_Eric]

This has been an incredible post, Eric. I think Mr. Anderson may merit canonization in The Encyclopedia of Mopologetics. If our committee here at Cassius deems him "worthy," would you mind terribly if I rather shamelessly borrowed from your excellent research here?

Of course, Doctor Scratch, I would be honored to have my modest work appear in such a prestigious publication.

I wish I had more time to discuss Mr. Anderson, because he genuinely intrigues me, but unfortunately I'm headed out the door to have dinner with some friends from the Olympic peninsula in Washington (as opposed to the Olympic peninsula in New Jersey), which will be followed by a Chanticleer concert and perhaps even some hot cocoa. Toodles.

[_Dr. Shades]

I wish I had more time to discuss Mr. Anderson, because he genuinely intrigues me, but unfortunately I'm headed out the door to have dinner with some friends from the Olympic peninsula in Washington (as opposed to the Olympic peninsula in New Jersey), which will be followed by a Chanticleer concert and perhaps even some hot cocoa. Toodles.

"Chanticleer?" Isn't that the rooster from The Canterbury Tales?