Paul Osborne wrote:They just locked the Mick Jaggar thread on the other board.
Paul O
Yes, asking a question appears to make the other board MAD. A question there = an unsubstantiated accusation. I was warned about it. Here is the explanation of closing the thread, first quoting me and then explaining:
"'I did not ask if anyone cared, just if anyone had checked those journals.'
"Do not come on here and make unsubstantiated accusations. This is a warning and suggest you not do it again."
I e-mailed a question to that moderator. I have asked how it is that asking a question amounts to an accusation, unsubstantiated or otherwise. I do not expect an answer--the moderator will no doubt interpret the question in my e-mail to be another 'unsubstantiated accusation' and ignore or rebuff it.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said on September 12, 1993 to students at BYU Law School and some already lawyers, that:
"The children of God have always been commanded to seek the truth and to say what is true. The Ten Commandments the Lord gave the children of Israel include: 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbour' (Ex. 20:16). The 13th Article of Faith declares that 'We believe in being honest [and] true.' To be 'true' includes appearing to be what we really are. To speak the truth is to give an accurate account of the facts (see D&C 93:24)."
Doctrine & Covenants 93:24 (and 25) read:
"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are come;
"And whatsover is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning."
Elder Oaks noted that clergymen sometimes lie:
"The lies of public officials, like the lies of religious leaders, are also extremely damaging in the way they degrade the moral tone of the entire community. Officials' lies and clergymen's lies are especially damaging to impressionable young people."
Oaks noted that Hugh Nibley had roundly condemned Christian theologians like Origen (if some good should come from it) and Jerome (employing sometimes useful deceptions).
Oaks makes clear:
"I suppose most mortals employ some exaggeration and a little of what someone called 'innocent after-mindedness.' But does this mean we condone deliberate and important misrepresentations of fact in a circumstance in which they are clearly intended to be believed and relied upon? Never! Lying is sinful, as it has always been, and there is no exempt category for so-called 'lying for the Lord.' Lying is simply outside the range of permitted or condoned conduct by Latter-day Saints—members or leaders."
Oaks puts it succinctly, "We must not lie. I know of no category of justified lies."
In light of this standard, it seems rather cavalier of MAD to take offense at someone asking about verification of a fact. To paint such a request as an 'unsubstantiated accusation'.