Area Authority (Sweden) goes public on doubts

[MikeWaters]

As reported by the NYT. There is a blurb in the SLT as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/us...anted=all&_r=0

At some level it's kind of amazing that he had never encountered any of these things before he was an old man. But I've seen it before. The "suddenly curious" member, i.e. the person who didn't know a thing about church history other than the stories they learned in primary and Sunday school who then discovers JS was a polygamist etc. and it rocks their world.

We have discussed the idea for a long time on this of "innoculation". That is, better that these things be upfront and not hidden.

In the article you see a lot of the usual players. Joanna Brooks getting in her thing about women. Gregory Prince (McKay biography). Teryl Givens (book and lectures on doubt and merits of Mormonism). And of course John Dehlin, the disaffected self-appointed "savior/pied piper" of the doubter.

One thought here is that perhaps we suffer from not having a robust history of actually doing history. Look at BYU, and the relative lack of historians. I don't think you can argue any longer that the sanitized sunday school approach is a workable strategy.

[RedHeadGal]

I had a colleague at work point this article out to me and ask me about it. He found the article odd because he thought things like doubt and coming to terms with crazy/upsetting things from a religious history is nearly a universal part of the religious experience.

It surprises me a bit that one could grow up as Hans Mattson did and never hear about polygamy. I grew up knowing about it. So did that inoculate me? It's hard to say because I don't know the experience of uncovering it at a later stage. And even knowing it all my life, I remain troubled by it. . . I remember visiting a Community of Christ sit in Nauvoo and discovering, for the first time, that they refuse to conceded JS as a polygamist, so I found that interesting at the time.

For me, one of the primary problems is that we, as a culture and religion, seem to fail to embrace the struggle of faith. What seems meant to inspire belief is typicall based on provoking emotional reactions and then speaking in absolutes. It feels less than genuine when those in charge seem to insist on a position that won't acknowledge past mistakes. So it might make me feel better to hear something like "JS had more wives than God probably ever intended, and maybe he was prone to an abuse of power in that way. . ." I don't know.

[MikeWaters]

I've never been an absolutist myself. But I don't begrudge the people whouse that language, if that is what they feel.

there's a fair number of people walking around with blinders on. both willfully and unknowingly. I think some let down the blinders when they have motivation to do so. So you want an open marriage? May be time to reconsider this Mormon thing.

Some. not all. my limited experience is that none of these looked for reasons to stay. they didn't talk to people who might have been able to speak to their concerns. they wanted out, and wanted to feel justified.

sometimes people come back. Life is messy. why shouldn't religion be the same?

you can have doubts and still engage in this faith.

[Archaea]

Good thoughts.

I like the line in Life of Pi, when the visitor inquires if there is room for doubt in Pi's house of faith, "There is doubt in every room...."

I don't remember the rest of the monologue but it seemed to say that doubt coexisted with belief and each keeps the other honest.

[ChinoCoug]

An atheist friend (never been a Mormon) of mine posted this on my wall.