Quote:
Originally Posted by ERCougar
I was young at the time, but my understanding is that they became public only after the bombings and as they became part of the investigation.
EDIT: I guess I shouldn't say "public" as the contents were public from the outset. But I think there were many who were concerned that the Church's motive in purchasing the document was to "bury" it; the contents then became widely known with the bombings and subsequent investigation. I have no idea if this is a fair accusation, but there are some smart people ( and active members of the church) who feel that there is at least some validity to it. If it's true, I don't really like it, and that's all I meant by the original post.
|
I recall the docs being widely public long before the bombings. Hoffman had become some kind of historical super sleuth, finding all kinds of Mormon docs dating back to the beginnings of The Church. Eveything he found became fairly well circulated quickly. Ute4ever's time line shows that the cat was out of the bag way before The Church finally purchased the document, even after The Church declined to buy it twice (thus confirming the rule of all salespeople that one must be rejected at least twice before getting the sale). The Church didn't seem in a hurry to buy it to bury it. Once it was purchased, it was out there for all to see and examine, bringing on very interesting arguments from apologists about salamanders as heavenly messengers.
I can certainly accept that The Church has not always been forthcoming, and has tried to keep certain aspects of its history from public view (certainly bothersome), but I don't know that this particular episode is part of that grand conspiracy. But I can understand why some might believe otherwise. Some people still think Danny Ainge bit Tree Rollins.