A significant part of the attention, in my opinion, comes from a rather childish fascination with garments that members of the Latter-Day Saints movement consider sacred.
In addition to the press release about garments and (most of the) temple clothing, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints added three new essays to the Gospel Topics section of the lds.org website on 10/22.
They are:
Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo
The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage
The first essay may be a major re-write of a previous essay, but I can't find a corresponding essay on any wayback device.
These three essays introduce (to many) or confirm (to many) issues not generally taught by the church and facts not found on the lds.org website on 10/21. "Like what?" you ask. Smith practiced polyandry and polygamy, with 30-40 wives, or at least not since the seven-volume History of the Church was removed from the website. Examples? Smith may have had two or three children from his marriages other than to Emma. Marriages were kept secret from Emma. Others in Nauvoo practiced polyandry. Post-Manifesto polygamous marriages in the US involving names you would know. That's scarcely the tip of the iceberg contained in the new, official LDS essays, but nothing in the essays (except some of the polygamy is not polygamy explanations) is new to a historian of the Latter-Day Saints movement.
The information is no longer 'anti-Mormon propaganda'; it is stated as fact by the COJCOLDS on the lds.org website, with footnoted references to the faithful resources.
The church cites as resources books one would not have expected the church to use as resources, such as In Sacred Loneliness by Todd Compton.
The different explanations for why denial of the practice of polygamy were technically correct are interesting.
The COJCOLDS should be commended for its year+ long campaign of releasing essays on history and doctrine, even though historians and theologians may say the essays are not fully transparent nor complete.
There was no press release with the publication of these new essays; I wouldn't expect one, although some of the new essays have been accompanied by press releases.
Of the new Gospel Topics essays only the Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be found by using the search function at lds.org or within Gospel Topics.
The new Gospel Topics essays Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo and The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage can't be reached through Gospel Topics topics or the lds.org search engine. They are only accessible through links in the Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints essay, so someone searching for these topics can't find them. They can only be reached by someone stumbling across them when reading another Gospel Topics essay.
There are things I would add to, clarify, or dispute within the essays, but that's me. In all, I believe the new essays are important if faithful sources of information. Thanks, lds.org.
I apologize for the length of this post. I happy to discuss this, but I have no desire to discuss theology.
Ah..
Press releases...
Ya gotta have 'em to clarify things...
*The following is a letter from Elder Lance B. Wickman, General Counsel of the Church to publishers of major newspapers, TV stations and magazines. It was sent out on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.
Recent events have focused the media spotlight on a polygamous sect near San Angelo, Texas, calling itself the “Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” As you probably know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has absolutely no affiliation with this polygamous sect. Decades ago, the founders of that sect rejected the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were excommunicated, and then started their own religion. To the best of our knowledge, no one at the Texas compound has ever been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Unfortunately, however, some of the media coverage of the recent events in Texas has caused members of the public to confuse the doctrines and members of that group and our church. We have received numerous inquiries from confused members of the public who, by listening to less than careful media reports, have come to a grave misunderstanding about our respective doctrines and faith. Based on these media reports many have erroneously concluded that there is some affiliation between the two – or even worse, that they are one and the same.
Over the years, in a careful effort to distinguish itself, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gone to significant lengths to protect its rights in the name of the church and related matters. Specifically, we have obtained registrations for the name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” “Mormon,” “Book of Mormon” and related trade and service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding agencies in a significant number of foreign countries.
We are confident that you are committed to avoiding misleading statements that cause unwarranted confusion and that may disparage or infringe the intellectual property rights discussed above. Accordingly, we respectfully request the following:
Stated simply, we would like to be known and recognized for whom we are and what we believe, and not be inaccurately associated with beliefs and practices that we condemn in the strongest terms. We would be grateful if you could circulate or copy this letter to your editorial staff and to your legal counsel.
We thank you for your consideration of these important matters.
Sincerely,
Lance B. Wickman
General Counsel