Quit pestering us, church leaders tell membership in letter

On October 24th, the LDS First Presidency (led by Prophet Thomas S. Monson) wrote several letters that were to be read in Mormon Sunday services around the world. According to examiner.com, the first letter was “likely spurred by Boyd K. Packer’s most recent General Conference talk entitled ‘Cleansing the Inner Vessel.’ Church Headquarters has been receiving an increased amount of correspondence from its members about doctrinal issues. Because of this influx of correspondence, the First Presidency reminded and encouraged LDS church members to utilize their local church authorities – bishops, branch presidents, stake presidents, etc — before resorting to contacting Church Headquarters.”

In other words, the Mormon laity was told to quit bothering their church leadership on issues related to doctrine. We can only wonder why the church is apparently receiving so many inquiries. Could it be that Christians are asking their Mormon friends and family members difficult questions who are unable to provide satisfactory answers? Regardless, the leadership apparently feels the number of questions is overwhelming their resources. I just can’t imagine Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi writing in the Old Testament, “You people are asking too many questions. We’re too busy doing other things, so leave us alone.” Yet this appears to be the attitude of Monson and his two advisers.

Since Monson and his counselors are supposed to have a direct connection with God—they are, after all, leaders of God’s supposedly restored church—it would seem that they have the necessary resources at their disposal to provide answers. Just direct the general authorities speaking at the biannual general conferences to deal with these befuddling issues. But Monson and the other leaders weren’t born yesterday. They know that deferring to local leaders means the hierarchy can distance themselves from any answers brought forth by bishops, stake presidents, and others below the general authority level. Their answers can not be considered official doctrine, so if they come up with unpopular responses or even contradict Mormon teaching, nobody will call their answers “official doctrine.” Letting the lower leaders take the heat keeps the pressure off those in Salt Lake City. Smart move.

I can only imagine the questions being asked that the LDS leadership would rather avoid, including:

* Is it true that Joseph Smith was married to some 34 different women at the same time, 11 of whom were already married to other men and 11 who were teenagers?

* How do I answer my Christian friends who have been showing me this DNA video saying there is no scientific connection between Native Americans and the Lamanites talked about in the Book of Mormon?

* President Monson, there must be archaeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon story, but I’m being told there’s none. Can you please direct me to these artifacts?

* Is it true that three of the apostles have been spiritually married in the temple to second wives for eternity?

* If we believe in free agency, then why is our church trying to buy a street in Manti in order to keep Christians from sharing their faith near the pageant grounds?

* I’ve been shown some very difficult verses in the Bible about salvation, as my Christian friends say it’s possible to know that we are forgiven because it’s not based on my efforts. It seems to contradict the way I’ve been taught. How can I answer?

* Why does our church emphasize Gethsemane for the atonement rather than the cross?

* I need direction on the Virgin Birth. We don’t believe there was some type of physical union between Heavenly Father and Mary, do we?

From the article: I can only imagine the questions being asked that the LDS leadership would rather avoid, including:...* How do I answer my Christian friends who have been showing me this DNA video saying there is no scientific connection between Native Americans and the Lamanites talked about in the Book of Mormon? * President Monson, there must be archaeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon story, but I’m being told there’s none. Can you please direct me to these artifacts?

'Tis a reason that there's almost not a week goes by that Michael Ash doesn't have to devote an apologetics piece about Book of Mormon geography and/or BoM historicity in his Deseret News column.

(Simply put: It's because (a) the sheer volume of questions coming up on the matter; and (b) the LDS general authorities, based upon what they circulated Oct. 24, 2010, don't want to have to deal with those questions directly!)

Top 2010 FR Lds threads dealing with these issues:

* The Fight Over Book of Mormon Geography [Top categorical thread of the year: 1,067 replies]

* Book of Mormon geography articles by Joseph Smith? [125 replies]
* Two points about Book of Mormon geography
* Book of Mormon geography stirring controversy
* DNA doesn't prove Book of Mormon historicity, either
* Anthropological Problems in the Book of Mormon

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Some of them claim being some sort of special witness to you as being supposedly former Mormons. So someone who is an ex-member of any organization would never have an axe to grind or have reason to try to justify their actions by any means? Perhaps not but perhaps so. The LDS Church gains members from other denominations as well as others faiths all the time. This doesn't make them an expert on anything and you certainly won't hear them attacking their forner Church.

Frequently they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address or answer our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you? They often state that these sites provide no answer. They just don't want you looking. It is as simple as that.

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

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