FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Mormonism and Church discipline/Scholars: Difference between revisions
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:Another article that Buerger was preparing for publication apparently caught the attention of the First Presidency of the LDS Church, and he was asked once again to explain his personal religious views to ecclesiastical authorities (p. 7). After this incident, Buerger's ties to the church "became increasingly tenuous. When he presented his paper on the temple endowment ceremony at the August 1986 Sunstone Symposium, he had to borrow a temple recommend from a friend to, as he put it, 'ma[k]e me look like a card-carrying member.' Research became increasingly difficult [for him] when he was officially banned from entering the LDS Church Archives and Library in the summer of 1986" (p. 8). By 1987, the year that his article on the temple endowment was published in Dialogue, Buerger was losing his interest in Mormon history (p. 8). In 1992 he contacted LDS authorities and requested that his name be officially removed from the records of the church (p. 10). - {{FR-10-1-4}} | :Another article that Buerger was preparing for publication apparently caught the attention of the First Presidency of the LDS Church, and he was asked once again to explain his personal religious views to ecclesiastical authorities (p. 7). After this incident, Buerger's ties to the church "became increasingly tenuous. When he presented his paper on the temple endowment ceremony at the August 1986 Sunstone Symposium, he had to borrow a temple recommend from a friend to, as he put it, 'ma[k]e me look like a card-carrying member.' Research became increasingly difficult [for him] when he was officially banned from entering the LDS Church Archives and Library in the summer of 1986" (p. 8). By 1987, the year that his article on the temple endowment was published in Dialogue, Buerger was losing his interest in Mormon history (p. 8). In 1992 he contacted LDS authorities and requested that his name be officially removed from the records of the church (p. 10). - {{FR-10-1-4}} | ||
One activity which often leads a member to be critical is engaging in inappropriate intellectualism. While it would seem the search for and discovery of truth should be the goal of all Latter-day Saints, it appears some get more satisfaction from trying to discover new uncertainties. I have friends who have literally spent their lives, thus far, trying to nail down every single intellectual loose end rather than accepting the witness of the Spirit and getting on with it. In so doing, they are depriving themselves of a gold mine of beautiful truths which cannot be tapped by the mind alone. | |||
{{Ensign1 | author=Glenn L. Pace | article=Follow the Prophet|date=May 1989|start=25}} | |||
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==Conclusion== | ==Conclusion== | ||
Revision as of 05:11, 23 July 2008
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Criticism
- Critics claim that the Church excommunicates or disfellowships scholars who publish historical information that is embarrassing to Church leaders.
- It is often claimed, despite the fact that these discplinary actions are carried out by local leaders, that they are in reality instigated by general authorities.
- Critics claim that the Church is silencing honest people for telling the truth.
- The Church is claimed to take a "dim view" of intellectuals.
Source(s) of the criticism
- Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, (New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), Chapter 21. ( Index of claims )
- Simon Southerton, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2004) 207. ( Index of claims )