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Originally Posted by Tex
Very interesting discussion.
While I find the "filling the void left by the GAs" position a bit tenuous, I've seen first-hand more than once the dissatisfaction that accompanies the "we don't know" explanation.
The problem is, filling the void with one's own explanation is really just covering the issue up. It might make the investigator feel better--and who am I to judge, if that works--but is really no better than the next man's conjecture. Heck, it's very satisfying to just tell people polygamy was instituted because so many men died crossing the plains and the families left behind needed support, but that's really not true.
I blanch a little at the comparison of the priesthood ban to Judah sleeping with a harlot, or David committing both adultery and murder. Peter's struggles might be a slightly more compatible comparison--the gospel being blocked from the Gentiles during Jesus' mortal life is usually my explanation for the priesthood issue (and I acknowledge it's no more based in "offical" statements than any other).
It seems more like such a list is kept in case one wants to remind fellow Mormons just how imperfect their church really is. To that motivation, I agree with Gordon, "It's behind us."
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I tell people what I sincerely believe and certainly won't apologize to the likes of you for doing so. I don't put my views forward as "this is the answer" and certainly don't think of them as filling the "void." I do, though, know something of what I speak as I've studied the subject in depth.
In contrast, your assumptions, "conjectures," and commentaries seem, as usual, pulled right out of your backside.
Please treat all of us to more of your belligerence.