False Dilemmas and the Faltering of Faith

[_Kishkumen]

Thanks for the kind words, friends. Were it not for the informative, insightful, eloquent, and humorous folks here, I would not continue to return. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to associate with you all, even when we have been cross with each other and disagreed heatedly.

I aspire to live up to your generous praise.

Consul, I have to agree with you regarding the fallacy of assuming the middle is always where the truth is at. Honestly, this is, I think, sometimes a kind of appeasing rhetorical move. Sometimes it's just intellectual laziness. That said, when it comes to spiritual society, there may be a place for the gesture of bridging the gap between potentially contentious differences. And, the language of nuance can, in addition to being weasel words, be a place holder that embraces possibilities not yet fully grasped. I am not saying you are entirely wrong (in fact, the word is overused in progressive Mormon circles).

I am still trying to understand all of this Mormon stuff. Admittedly, there is some navel gazing here. Would I be so interested if I had not been born into it? Certainly not in the same way. I like the idea of the middle not just as a place between two other possible truths or falsehoods, but also as a place between where I came from and where I may end up. The fun for me is learning and being surprised by what I find.

[_cafe crema]

“Keep the eyes of the mission on the leaders of the Church. … We will not and … cannot lead [you] astray.

“And as you teach your missionaries to focus their eyes on us, teach them to never follow those who think they know more about how to administer the affairs of the Church than … Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ do” through the priesthood leaders who have the keys to preside.

“I have discovered in my ministry that those who have become lost [and] confused are typically those who have most often … forgotten that when the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve speak with a united voice, it is the voice of the Lord for that time. The Lord reminds us, ‘Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same’ [D&C 1:38].”5

Sammy,

The continued dichotomizing baffles me. I really don't see what good people expect to come from this rhetorical posture.

Don

It baffles me, why does the LDS church continue to dichotomize this? Those are recent quotes from conference that push that dichotomy right up front.

[_honorentheos]

It baffles me, why does the LDS church continue to dichotomize this? Those are recent quotes from conference that push that dichotomy right up front.

Since I donated to Obama's 2012 campaign I frequently receive requests for not only more money but support of whatever issue is important to the White House at the time. The latter often takes the form of requesting I sign petitions in favor of some issue or action with little to no information as to the pros and cons of the actual issue. It's always assumed that I've bought into the political dichotomy that is our messed up system. At times I've returned the request to comment that were there to be a petition in opposition of the action I'd be happy to sign it instead, due to x, y, and z. Obviously wasted effort on my part. But still, perhaps some resistance to the tyranny of the convenience of the dichotomy in any venue is at least a meager action in favor of a healthy form of expression in society lacking mostly the force of numbers that demand information and the option to have real choices; where the power players prefer we believe in the ludic fallacies they present rather than in a reality composed of (yup, I'm going to say it) nuance and co-existing variety.

[_grindael]

To further make my point, Dallin Oaks just proclaimed,

Stand fast with the leadership of the church. I heard President Hinckley in describing a revelation he had received concerning the building of small temples form which he will soon benefit in this part of the world that he did not claim perfection that there was only one perfect person who had ever lived upon this earth and even the prophets of God were not perfect. But, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, on a great occasion, ‘there is no error in the teachings.’Spoken under the influence of the spirit of the Lord, witnessed to be true in the hearts and minds of those who have the gift of the Holy Ghost, those teachings are the Lord’s will to his people. And I testify to you that these teachings are true and that if we hold with and follow the current leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, we will stay on the path toward eternal life. (Dallin Oaks, “Boise Rescue Transcript”, 117, On tape, 1:12:38)

They are STILL claiming doctrinal infallibility.