SLT does article on Don Bradley

[_Kevin Graham]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/ ... h.html.csp

Comments?

[_zeezrom]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54790798-80/bradley-mormon-faith-smith.html.csp

Comments?

The title of the article warmed my heart. Thank you, SLT for calling him a once doubter and not a once apostate. For some reason, that struck a chord with me.

Of all the people that could help me back into the culture, I think it would someone like Mr. Bradley.

[Guest]

This is the kind of scholar the Church needs defending its beliefs.

With a resume of past beliefs and friends like that he would appeal to the most die hard critic and faithful member alike.

[_zeezrom]

This is the kind of scholar the Church needs defending its beliefs.

Yeah, why doesn't the Church use him more?

[_Brackite]

Of all the people that could help me back into the culture, I think it would someone like Mr. Bradley.

Yes, me too.

[_Tobin]

I've had some very good and honest discussions with Don and he's been very smart in how he phrases his comments and excellent when posting his sources and material. Thank you for posting this piece on him. It is nice to get a better picture of the person I've spoken with on here.

[_The Dude]

Don's a really nice guy, super thoughtful, and interesting to talk to.

[_Equality]

Great article. Don and I have a lot in common. His story and mine have striking parallels (though I am in the phase he was after turning in his resignation--I can't imagine ever going back). And that classics professor friend of his described in the article sounds like an erudite fellow. Wish he would post here.

[_huckelberry]

I found the article interesting and was glad to read it. It left me as incredulous at the end as the beginning however. In one sense the article propose a clear explainaton of the direction taken.

"He felt drawn to the one book he knew would bring him even closer to Jesus, the Book of Mormon. I didn't believe in the Book of Mormon but he said if it had worked so well for me before why not use it now?"

I guess that explains it. But for me this sounds so alien. There are a couple of people who have posted their views who struggle with faith with a strong attachment to the book. I can not touch any memory which shares such a view for my self. What do people find that draws them.?

I remember that it is more unified in its view than the Bible is. It has less barbaric paganism than the Old Testament. It always sounded protestant to my ears.

[_Kevin Graham]

First of all, let me say I like Don. A lot. I've had lunch with him and we've chatted over the phone. I think he is genuine and one of the best people I know.

However, I have mixed feelings on this issue that are hard to pin-point. When I read about his back and forth, coming and going, I see a lot of Darrick Evenson and other folks I know who ended up out of the Church when all was said and done.

With the constant retelling of his conversion/reconversion story, I feel like I'm presented with this subtle suggestion that, because a genius returned to Mormonism after having "doubts," that there shouldn't be any doubts that cannot be overcome by inferior minds.

I've spoken to Don about this to some extent and he wasn't able to explain to me, using any kind of evidence or argument, why I should believe the Church is true. Contrary to what some may think, this wasn't about Don finding evidence to overturn his previous doubts. Or evidence that would overturn doubts others may have (the issues that led Don out of the Church aren't necessarily the same things that led others out). It was about finding a new way to approach the issues as to make those doubts seem less relevant. For Don, and all the other genius Mormons, it all boils down to a "spiritual experience," just as it does for all the non-genius Mormons. So why bother to point out his advanced intellect as if this had some kind of role to play in overcoming doubts? It didn't. It was about emotion, as it is for most Mormon conversion stories. If his mind was doing anything, then maybe it was trying to justify a return in spite of the evidence, not because of it. Can Don accept this possibility?

And what about the social element of the (re)conversion process? Does Don need to feel acceptance by his Mormon peers, and would that in any way influence his decision to "see the light" again? And if it did, would he be able to notice it, and accept it on its own terms, outside of his ability to reason intellectually?

When I spoke with Don last year, it was well after his second baptism, and yet I got the strong sense that he was still worried about ticking off the wrong people in the Church by associating with known apostates, or even worse, co-publishing with them on issues that ultimately damage some apologetic claim; even if it is an argument he agrees with entirely. Though I stopped short of doing so, I wanted to scream at him at the top of my lungs: "So how the hell can you say they're so forgiving and accepting when it obviously comes with strict conditions on your behavior and associations"???

Why isn't Peggy Fletcher writing about those folks who came into Mormonism flying high on cloud nine, who then dropped it like a bad habit once they found out it was a fraud? Are their experiences less valid, less genuine, etc? No, but it doesn't exactly play to the Utah audience.

I'm not trying to down Don or his experiences in any way. Whatever makes a person happy, I'm all for. Even if it means living a life in a Church designed by a con-man. Many people go through the motions in Mormonism and make it work for them. But some of the lesser intellects like myself, actually care if the damn thing has already been proven via evidence, to be false.