Interpreter Radio: Richard Bushman is a Hack

[_Philo Sofee]

Serious question. Have any of them produced anything near as massive as RSR?

Well! (sputtering) John Gee's 99 page Guide to the Book of Abraham comes in a close 345,657th! That just has to mean something to them.....

[_Gadianton]

One thing to remember is that this theory, at least according to shades, originally had no ties to Mopologetics or apologetics at all. Skousen is a kind of purist operating in his own world.

I’m not sure even the original speculations about the spirit committee were apologetic driven, but perhaps more like,” what does this crop circle mean? “ Rather than, “how can we account for this crop circle?”

What does Mopologetics want from this effort that it paid such a big price? I could provide maybe three different answers to that question that sound plausible but in the end, I think it’s a mystery of its own. It must be the heaviest funded theory to date.

I’m open to suggestions.

[_Jersey Girl]

Serious question. Have any of them produced anything near as massive as RSR?

Well! (sputtering) John Gee's 99 page Guide to the Book of Abraham comes in a close 345,657th! That just has to mean something to them.....

Sounds useful.

[_Doctor Scratch]

What does Mopologetics want from this effort that it paid such a big price? I could provide maybe three different answers to that question that sound plausible but in the end, I think it’s a mystery of its own. It must be the heaviest funded theory to date.

I’m open to suggestions.

I can't help but wonder if some of this is just plain old hubris. Back in the good ol' days of fully-fledged, Maxwell Institute-endorsed Mopologetics, one of the more far-flung criticisms you used to hear was that the apologists thought that they were "better" than the Brethren. You can't deny that that tension was always there: What business did the apologists have giving answers concerning doctrine? They don't have the keys, after all. And the discomfort of this was all over their posts: they used to put that silly disclaimer (and, in fact, I think they still use some variation on it) about how their views don't have any connection to the "official" Church. (Meanwhile, nowadays, the Church actually hands out "endorsements" of certain cites, blogs, and organizations.) Then again, as monomaniacal defenders of the "faith," they sort of had to adopt that mantle--sometimes in obviously unscrupulous ways (such as the 2nd Watson Letter). The tension was weird from the other direction, too: you sort of knew that (at least some of) the Brethren were openly supportive of the Mopologists--Packer and Maxwell, e.g. But there were clearly things that the apologists were doing that rattled others among the 15 (hence why they got kicked out of the MI). You could tell that some of the Brethren worried that aggressive apologetics was driving people away.

What I'm getting at is that the Mopologists often seemed to feel as if they had a chip on their shoulders: they couldn't claim inerrancy or that they had the true power of an "official" Church spokesman, and yet they felt like the Brethren *were* asking them to take on this role to a certain extent. And how would you feel if you were the one tasked with constantly cleaning up the Church's historical, theological, and PR messes? Plus, imagine that you have a certain degree of arrogance, and you think that the Church's PR tactics are third-rate, and that if given the chance, you yourself could come up with something that's ten thousand times better.

So, yeah: it makes a certain degree of sense that the apologists would hop on board Skousen's project, since it was a direct finger in the eye to the Brethren, who tried to stop it. And I think it's fairly clear that at least some of the Mopologists view themselves as being in direct competition with the Church's propaganda arm. (Yet another reason for the sensitivity to the label of "Stalinist," I would imagine?) The constant plugging of substance-free material; this production of a million-dollar+ "film" on the Witnesses; cruises to Israel; the commitment to quantity over quality; etc. This feels like a full-court-press marketing campaign: a hardcore, free-market capitalist response to some of the more collectivist impulses governing the Church's authority structure. ("We must all face the same way.")

Skousen's "Ghost Committee" theory has all the earmarks of this insubordination: it lays claim to being the most authoritative interpretation of the crucial Restoration scripture (as DCP admitted, they don't even bother with the Bible). It stands as a semi-public rebuke to the Brethren's authority. And it also shows the apologists crafting doctrine and theology on the spot. It almost seems as if they're treating this as a trial run: if a lot of the rubes and dopes who follow their blogs are on board, it will mean that they are every bit as persuasive as the Brethren, and the vast PR machine that they control. Simply put: this is an attempt to re-craft central aspects of the LDS master narrative.

[_grindael]

Mormon Apologists are a community of fiction writers. There are so many genres, like fantasy, science fiction, romance, and they have theirs, the Book of Mormon, Abraham, etc.

Like with many writers of fiction, you can get some really bizarre and bad ideas for a story, but the majority of these are stopped at the publishing house by good editors.

Unfortunately, there are none in the Mopologist world. (Good editors). Any flimsy, stupid, inane thing will be published and broadcast to the world as long as it supports their view of the Book of Mormon, Abraham, etc.

But when a better storyline comes along, they are not shy about throwing the old ones under the bus. They simply get line by lined, and discarded to the trash heap of inspiration? that was written without further light and knowledge.

This works very well with "revelation". Even if the brethren are opposed to some of these wacky stories, they won't try very hard to squash them because even bad storylines are better than what the critics are churning out. And they can claim that such stuff was never authorized.

But every once in a while something really bad gets through, like this fantasy show from the CW, called "The Outpost", https://www.cbr.com/review-the-outpost-cw-bad-fantasy/

I mean, you can tell they have glued on pointy ears, etc. It's simply horrible in every way. This is on par with what the Mopologists produce, Skousen in particular, if one were to do a comparison.

Unfortunately, all the Mopologist offerings are at this level. And yet, they are so pleased with themselves and are flocking to Skousen and his "Ghost Committee".

[_Gadianton]

since it was a direct finger in the eye to the Brethren, who tried to stop it.

Could you elaborate? My memory isn't so good, professor. If this has been discussed I just don't recall it.

Simply put: this is an attempt to re-craft central aspects of the LDS master narrative.

Well this is interesting. The best theory I had was that the project was picked up personally by DCP to "out Shakespeare" the critics once and for all. Recall that long ago, rather than take a position on something or answer a question, he'd quote Shakespeare at length. Such knowledge revealed who controlled the board, and so imagine if Shakespeare himself was part of the committee that wrote the Book of Mormon. It would automatically become the most dignified book on the planet, and if critics persevered, it would show their lack of familiarity with the classics, to their eternal embarrassment.

You suggest a grander vision than lobbing mud balls at old rivals, something I hadn't even considered as a possibility. The hardest part for me to believe about your theory is, how does it get that kind of reach? Well, I think the answer might be, once the books are published and the coast is clear, the ghost committee theory must sneak into the Chapel. Quite honestly, just as any serious TBM knows the founding fathers requested their temple work to be done, the suggestion that key historical figures actually played a direct roll in bringing the Book of Mormon forth from beyond the veil might go viral and offer a serious challenge to Meldrum's theory. As the LTG theory has pretty much been abandoned by the Mopologists anyways, it could be ancillary to this, ignored, or even rejected for the Heartland model, as such a theory would gate even the Heartland model.

It could prove to be a real victory I suppose, even though a long shot. One wonders if tensions will arise as John McNaughton paints Shakespeare and others studying the Gold plates from beyond the veil. Interesting.

[_grindael]

I see it more like they are all huddled around a glowing stone and the gold plates, with Moroni there to "translate", with the middle ages personalities making suggestions on what words to use, and Smith on the other end with his head buried in a hat, the edges glowing the same ethereal color as the one in the "Spirit World", receiving the text.

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

Even so, can you imagine the non-LDS community's reaction to this? "Oh, so there's 16th Century language in the Book of Mormon? You don't say!" Part of the reason this project is so hilarious is that it is virtually impossible to see how this fits into any kind of faith-promoting paradigm.

But the real clincher is, as you alluded to, Dean, the huge expenditure. They have sunk over a hundred-thousand dollars into this thing. Talk about pure folly! Skousen openly defied the Brethren; the project seems totally disconnected from anything faith-promoting, and, in fact, actually seems like it could pose a threat to testimonies; the Mopologists seem clueless about who the audience is supposed to be for this; and they have spent (or wasted?) a not-inconsiderable sum of money on it. This is one of the most perfect examples of pure Mopologetics that we've ever seen.

I wonder if this "Ghost Project" will be remembered as the "Heaven's Gate" of Mopology? The Mormon Interpreter is already in severe financial distress and now they have used every widow's mite on this Ghost Project.

So far, this Ghost Project has been overwhelmingly met with confusion, ridicule and disbelief. And, this is only from the members, both Chapel and Internet Mormons alike. Just think what will happen if news of this Ghost Project leaks to the non-Mormon academic community. Mormons will viewed as even more peculiar than they already are thanks to DCP.

Just when you think the life and time's of DCP couldn't get much more ridiculous or irrelevant.

[_Doctor Scratch]

since it was a direct finger in the eye to the Brethren, who tried to stop it.

Could you elaborate? My memory isn't so good, professor. If this has been discussed I just don't recall it.

Dr. Robbers:

I do believe that you may have forgotten one of your own legendary posts. There was another thread as well--by either myself or Tom--that dealt with "intel" concerning the Brethren's disapproval of Skousen's work.

Simply put: this is an attempt to re-craft central aspects of the LDS master narrative.

Well this is interesting. The best theory I had was that the project was picked up personally by DCP to "out Shakespeare" the critics once and for all. Recall that long ago, rather than take a position on something or answer a question, he'd quote Shakespeare at length. Such knowledge revealed who controlled the board, and so imagine if Shakespeare himself was part of the committee that wrote the Book of Mormon. It would automatically become the most dignified book on the planet, and if critics persevered, it would show their lack of familiarity with the classics, to their eternal embarrassment.

You suggest a grander vision than lobbing mud balls at old rivals, something I hadn't even considered as a possibility. The hardest part for me to believe about your theory is, how does it get that kind of reach? Well, I think the answer might be, once the books are published and the coast is clear, the ghost committee theory must sneak into the Chapel. Quite honestly, just as any serious TBM knows the founding fathers requested their temple work to be done, the suggestion that key historical figures actually played a direct roll in bringing the Book of Mormon forth from beyond the veil might go viral and offer a serious challenge to Meldrum's theory. As the LTG theory has pretty much been abandoned by the Mopologists anyways, it could be ancillary to this, ignored, or even rejected for the Heartland model, as such a theory would gate even the Heartland model.

It could prove to be a real victory I suppose, even though a long shot. One wonders if tensions will arise as John McNaughton paints Shakespeare and others studying the Gold plates from beyond the veil. Interesting.

Indeed. I don't know if the Mopologists' plot will work out in their favor, but it is certainly interesting to speculate.

Edited to add: this is one of the other relevant threads I mentioned above.

[_moksha]

I see it more like they are all huddled around a glowing stone and the gold plates, with Moroni there to "translate", with the middle ages personalities making suggestions on what words to use, and Smith on the other end with his head buried in a hat, the edges glowing the same ethereal color as the one in the "Spirit World", receiving the text.

That is so cynical. Look, if Mormon scholars think a committee of 16th Century protoMormons were given the calling of assisting Joseph Smith in coming up with the Book of Mormon, then their idea should be examined with an open mind. This spiritual assistance brigade may have been instrumental in not only writing the Book of Mormon but also in transporting the Golden Plates from the Yucatan to Upstate New York. It only becomes preposterous if you let it be so.

So what of Brother Bushman in all of this? Have posters at the former Mormon D&D board come to his rescue?