DiscussMormonism.com

What a completely biased and poorly written article. Daniel Peterson was one of the people on FAIR and FARMS that unfortunately treated me and a few other people I know with contempt and hatred for just having a question on the forums there, as active searching members trying to make sense of the 'nonsense' we had learned about our own church. He despised anyone that did not accept his answer as gospel truth. Thankfully not everyone on FAIR and FARMS is just like him but I believe a large majority of them are. Only one person there was sincere enough to want to help me and even he had to close his mind to the many inconsistencies within the Church in order to stay a faithful, active member.

Possibly the worst article from Denial C Peterson yet. If nobody can explain LDS theology and doctrine clearly, then the fault lies with the person to whom the inadequate explanation was given. Then he alludes to St. Augustine, no doubt a great thinker, but Perterson refers to one of his worst ideas ever: "just believe, then you'll get it." And finally, Brother Peterson helps us to pick out the enemies of the church by pointing out one of their consistent characteristics--eloquence. I think Denial Peterson has got this last point right. Apologists like himself have done more to damage testimonies with their eloquence and their crossing of words than most critics of the church could ever hope to do.

This is just great. Make appalling charges, but make them sufficiently general that they can cover everyone and anything you don't like and sufficiently vague that you don't have to argue, or take responsibility for the implications, of anything you write.

I returned to the Church after 18 years of inactivity despite apologetics. Peterson and his type do more damage to testimonies than good.

Their arguments were SO weak....and I found out SO many more things I hadn't known about the church, it's almost laughable. The wonderful thing is...it's church approved....so members aren't frightened to go there and look.

Agreed. After spending months, days, and hours studying their viewpoints, I had to stop as their arguments and polemics were convincing me otherwise.

I also was genuinely looking for answers. I was accused of being a troll. And yes, FAIR and FARMS were some of the last straws for me.

Again, for me, the issue is less the charges themselves than the manner in which those charges are made. I would have a certain grudging respect for Daniel Peterson if he wrote: "John Dehlin, you are an enemy of the Church, and here are the three main reasons I believe this." But no, it's all innuendo and half-assertions.

Though I know Daniel Peterson and his colleagues at the Maxwell Institute consider themselves courageous defenders of religious truths in an increasingly hostile and secular world, this is about as cowardly a piece as I can imagine anyone writing.

These guys (especially DP) wreak of pious pride more than anyone I ever met in the church. It is no exaggeration to say that when I initially had doubts, and turned to the only "source" I felt like I could trust at the time (LDS Apologists), they contributed more to the disintegration of my testimony more than any "anti-mormon" literature ever could have.

Their inability to address tough issues and all-out childish and personal attacks on anyone who raises questions they don't have answers to immediately turned me off. I don't know if they realize how transparent their attacks and lack of logic are, and this article is no exception.