harmony wrote:The idea that the FARMS apologists are in charge of the henhouse, not the GA's, is very disturbing. Apologists have no stewardship, no calling, no setting apart that gives them the mantle and keys needed to declare doctrine.
We're all in trouble, if Daniel's in charge.
I don't know that I would go so far as to say that they are "in charge," so much as that they function as a buffer for the doubting/unsure GAs. For example, let's suppose some of the GAs---Oaks, Eyring, and Uchdorf, let's say---have looked over all the DNA evidence (or lack thereof) and have come to the conclusion that it would be wrong-headed, and bad for the Church, to continue claiming that Indians are the "pricipal" ancestors of the Lamanites. They decide, further, that it's time to change the intro to the Book of Mormon. Now, will this fly with the membership? Perhaps; perhaps not. But they have a bit of help: namely, FARMS. FARMS and its various sister organizations, such as FAIR, and even, arguably, MAD, exist to figure out ways to smooth over this stuff, and to pave the way for the various earth-shattering alterations that take place every so often within the Church.
What I'm getting at is this: the *real*, nitty-gritty changes occurring in the Church largely happen in total secrecy. It seems clear (as per DCP's remarks in the Z thread), that the Brethren secretly worry about and doubt many aspects of Church orthodoxy. They cannot reveal their doubts in public, though, and so this doctrinal and spiritual journey gets worked out mostly in the realm of apologetics. DCP, Hamblin, Sorenson, Clark and others work at "testing the waters," as it were, in order to see how evolutions in the Church will go over with the faithful. Perhaps they are sitting on damning evidence pertaining to Kinderhook, for example, and are just waiting to see if the apologists can figure out a way to "gently" ease this frightening ship into the waters.
There was once a story, as I recall, that Elder Hugh Brown wanted to do away with the Book of Abraham. According to other accounts, some of the current Brethren feel this way as well. It could very well be that in John Gee we are seeing the "Last Stand" of the Church's defense on this front. The apologists will fail to answer all of the many critical charges, and will begin a tactical retreat, ala LGT. Then, after enough time has passed, we will see some other gradual acknowledgment from on high, which demotes the Book of Abraham to a lesser status within the canon.
I just find it interesting how FARMS gets to play "middle man" in all of this, all so that TBMs like charity can continue to insist that the Church never changes.