“A New Church History Seminary Manual” by Steven Densley at the FAIRMormon Blog discusses the new seminary manual just released by the Church. This sounds like a real breakthrough that will help young people better understand some of the difficult issues in Church history and be better prepared for the kind of challenges they are going to face on their missions or later in life. This is great news.
This comes on the tail of the Church’s statement which deals directly and intelligently with complex issues involving DNA and the Book of Mormon, providing valuable resources for those who care about the topic. I can’t help but wonder what interesting steps we’ll see next from a Church that clearly cares about some of the intellectual challenges its members have faced. Maybe a new priesthood and Relief Society manual extracted from The Mormon Interpreter? Now that would be fun.
It is time to start worrying about today and leave dust laden history alone. Concentrate on the Saviour and his mission. If we treated blacks poorly so be it. If. Joseph's Polyandry and Polygamy was out of order so be it. Only HE is perfect. The question is where are we today?
Forget our dust-laden history, Anonymous? Kind of hard to want to do when we have plenty of scriptures instructing us that we have a religious duty to remember our history.
See, for example, 1 Nephi 17, Alma 5:6, Alma 36:2, Doctrine and Covenants 21:1, etc.
It is nice to see these changes. I did not learn some of these things until I went to Institute classes and read stuff on my own. My testimony is in the doctrine.
The LDS critics (anti's) are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back by claiming that the lawsuit against Pres. Monson by Tom Phillips (of Mormon Think) caused these changes. Yeah, right.
In order for new topics to be in manuals and printed for this year, it was in the works long before the lawsuit. What arrogance the critics have.
MetalMouth
"The LDS critics (anti's) are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back by claiming that the lawsuit against Pres. Monson by Tom Phillips (of Mormon Think) caused these changes. Yeah, right."
I guess you don't think that when a Stake President, Financial Director of the church's UK holdings and someone who has had a Second Annointing goes through the process of becoming disaffected they'd communicate their concerns to the church over the course of several years alerting them to potential problems. I suppose, then, that the church didn't learn anything from the doctrinal crisis in Northern European dating from 2010 or so that came to be known as The Swedish Rescue.
Nope. All this editing and reinterpretation of the most perfect book ever sprung spontaneously from the COB.
Riiiiight.
Anonymous, no one here has yet implied that things like that played no part in the equation. On the contrary, the increasing volume (and perhaps even more so, visibility) of members becoming disaffected has certainly contributed to efforts to be more transparent about historical and doctrinal sticking points and to provide a faithful framework to address them.
What is being addressed is the claim that the recent lawsuit was the catalyst for publishing the new seminary manual, which is patently absurd, as pointed out above. Elder Snow, the Church Historian, has been talking about this seminary manual since at least November, months before the lawsuit hit the news.
Again. you choose to pretend that there was no communication between Tom Phillips and the Apostles who conferred the Second Annointing him at any point prior to November. How naive or willfully blind to think that someone who had personal relationships among the Seventy and the Fifteen didn't communicate with anyone as questions became doubts and doubts became evidence!
For one thing, he had to resign his church offices over Europe. You don't think that provoked conversation?! …but then that would explain why people are able to buy the whole nonsense about an angel with a flaming sword coming down to order Joseph to scratch his itch.
It doesn't really matter what prompted the new manual's content, but I think it is amazing that the church is doing this for everyone. The added content is very welcome. I know I have studied much of the difficult subjects from different sources and would have welcomed a more open source from the church. This manual will be a blessing to the rising generation!
Yes, remember our history then drop it. Get on with life. Look at the words defenders of the faith call those who challenge. Antis, arrogant, naive, willfully blind. Leave your condescending terms at home. Read and re-read the sermon on the mount. Try simple kindness when you speak.
I hope you do not use those ugly terms in front of your kids.