I have a hard time with historians because they idolize the truth. The truth is not uplifting; it destroys. I could tell most of the secretaries in the church office building that they are ugly and fat. That would be the truth, but it would hurt and destroy them. Historians should tell only that part of the truth that is inspiring and uplifting
Quinn (ed), Faithful History: Essays On Writing Mormon History, p 103, fn 22
I am not sure what is more disturbing, his analogy, which compares personal discretion to historiography, or the fact he thinks most of the women he works with are ugly and fat. /boggle
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
SteelHead wrote:Is that quoting Oaks, BKP, or is Quinn the original source?
That quote is from Packer.
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
Cylon wrote:Mormonthink has updated the Polygamy page, they now link to that FAIR rebuttal. That's because they only want people to know anti-mormon spin, right?
Or it is because they realize that they have not been fair with their interpretation. Here is the point. The site is not faith promoting. The facts about polygamy or any other event can be faith promoting. But in the mormonthink case, I see no faith promoting stance at all. And for people who are still members of the church it is not good to lead people away. Thus, their problem with the church authorities.
And when they realize they have not been fair, they work quickly to correct it. I don't see how that reflects badly on them. If you can find an instance of FAIR doing the same thing, I will be impressed.
You keep harping on the "it's not faith promoting" point, and if you take the position that upholding faith is the only goal of the gospel, then you are right to do so. However, that was never my view of the gospel. My testimony and participation in the church was always based on the understanding that the church was true, and that all truth was a part of the gospel. Joseph Smith's statement that "One of the grand fundamental principles of “Mormonism” is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may" was inspiring to me, as was the inscription "the glory of God is intelligence" on the outside of the Harold B. Lee library at BYU. That was the Mormonism I embraced. Even if it turns out I am wrong in my interpretation of the facts of history, I cannot embrace a religion that values protecting the faith of its members over giving them the freedom to see the presentation of facts and draw their own conclusions.
You keep harping on the "it's not faith promoting" point, and if you take the position that upholding faith is the only goal of the gospel, then you are right to do so. However, that was never my view of the gospel. My testimony and participation in the church was always based on the understanding that the church was true, and that all truth was a part of the gospel. Joseph Smith's statement that "One of the grand fundamental principles of “Mormonism” is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may" was inspiring to me, as was the inscription "the glory of God is intelligence" on the outside of the Harold B. Lee library at BYU. That was the Mormonism I embraced. Even if it turns out I am wrong in my interpretation of the facts of history, I cannot embrace a religion that values protecting the faith of its members over giving them the freedom to see the presentation of facts and draw their own conclusions.
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That's what I believe too.
In the words of Sir Walter Scott:
O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!
"It's a little like the Confederate Constitution guaranteeing the freedom to own slaves. Irony doesn't exist for bigots or fanatics." Maksutov
Why Me has yet to contribute to the thread challenging posters to find something on Mormon Think that isn't factual or can be considered to be written in a non faith promoting way....
“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.” Keith McMullin - Counsellor in Presiding Bishopric
"One, two, three...let's go shopping!" Thomas S Monson - Prophet, Seer, Revelator
"My excommunication court has been canceled!!" David Twede on RFM 27th September 2012
“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.” Keith McMullin - Counsellor in Presiding Bishopric
"One, two, three...let's go shopping!" Thomas S Monson - Prophet, Seer, Revelator
