
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.
Wiki Wonka (talk | contribs) (reformat) |
Wiki Wonka (talk | contribs) (→Timeline: mod) |
||
Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
*'''October 2009: Twede joins Postmormon.org as "Jesus Smith."'''—Twede publicly linked his "Jesus Smith" account on Postmormon.org to his real name on September 22, 2010, when he claimed ownership of David Twede's photographs. {{ref|otphoto}} | *'''October 2009: Twede joins Postmormon.org as "Jesus Smith."'''—Twede publicly linked his "Jesus Smith" account on Postmormon.org to his real name on September 22, 2010, when he claimed ownership of David Twede's photographs. {{ref|otphoto}} | ||
*'''August 2010: Twede poses as questioning member "cryophil" in communication with FAIR'''—On August 30, 2010, Twede sent a message to FAIR posing as a questioning Church member. He sent his message to FAIR using the identifier "'''cryophil'''". He wrote, "Hi, life member of LDS church. I am concernced about claims by anti-mormons saying that there is evidence suggesting that a lot of human sacrifice happened in mesoamerica during the period of great peace and Christ centered society of 4 Nephi... {{ref|fair.cryophil}} | *'''August 2010: Twede poses as questioning member "cryophil" in communication with FAIR'''—On August 30, 2010, Twede sent a message to FAIR posing as a questioning Church member. He sent his message to FAIR using the identifier "'''cryophil'''". He wrote, "Hi, life member of LDS church. I am concernced about claims by anti-mormons saying that there is evidence suggesting that a lot of human sacrifice happened in mesoamerica during the period of great peace and Christ centered society of 4 Nephi... {{ref|fair.cryophil}} | ||
*'''January 2011: | *'''January 2011: "Jesus Smith" tells "Postmormon.org" that he is posing as questioning member "cryophil" on the Mormon Apologetic Discussion Board (now MormonDialogue)'''—(Note, the references to the "book of moron" and "profits" are not typographical errors—they are simply common derogatory terms used by ex-Mormons on message boards when they talk of "The Book of Mormon" and "prophets.") "Jesus Smith" said, "Ok, over at MADB the question was asked about what archaeology supporting the book of moron exists....Yes, the Moaps have made serious compromises to get to where they are: forcing the BoM to fit science. They argue that traditional interpretations were just that all along--including Joe Smith's take on the BoM. He and all profits are not enlightened like the Moaps.....'''BTW, I am cryophil. But keep that a secret please. ;-) If any of you can add to the MADB discussion, my alter ego would appreciate the assistance.''' I've posted several more times today... {{ea}} {{ref|jesussmith.cryophil.mddb}} | ||
*'''February 2011: Twede talks about his interaction with FAIR with his friends on "Postmormon.org"'''—Note that the term "moap" is Twede's contraction of "Mormon apologist," and the term "Danny Boy" is a diminutive reference to Daniel C. Peterson. "Jesus Smith" comments on Postmormon.org, "So I am sitting in my recliner, smoking a stogie, enjoying a snifter of scotch while I converse cozily with one of the elite FAIR moaps. I'll keep his name out of it for now. Here's how it started. Posing as a questioning member (which I am, just not active), I asked a question at FAIR's page. A Moap emailed me--someone who works with Danny Boy. This game is a bit different than the one you can play with the kindergarten missionaries at Mormon.org. Many of you know I have angst over 4 Nephi. The part where this society from heaven on earth has peace for almost 200 years? My question started out: 'I am concerned about claims by anti-mormons saying that there is evidence suggesting that a lot of human sacrifice happened in mesoamerica during the period of great peace and Christ centered society of 4 Nephi...{{ref|cozing.postmormon}} | *'''February 2011: Twede talks about his interaction with FAIR with his friends on "Postmormon.org"'''—Note that the term "moap" is Twede's contraction of "Mormon apologist," and the term "Danny Boy" is a diminutive reference to Daniel C. Peterson. "Jesus Smith" comments on Postmormon.org, "So I am sitting in my recliner, smoking a stogie, enjoying a snifter of scotch while I converse cozily with one of the elite FAIR moaps. I'll keep his name out of it for now. Here's how it started. Posing as a questioning member (which I am, just not active), I asked a question at FAIR's page. A Moap emailed me--someone who works with Danny Boy. This game is a bit different than the one you can play with the kindergarten missionaries at Mormon.org. Many of you know I have angst over 4 Nephi. The part where this society from heaven on earth has peace for almost 200 years? My question started out: 'I am concerned about claims by anti-mormons saying that there is evidence suggesting that a lot of human sacrifice happened in mesoamerica during the period of great peace and Christ centered society of 4 Nephi...{{ref|cozing.postmormon}} | ||
*Responding to questions from other posters regarding his motives in interacting with FAIR, "Jesus Smith" goes on to state, "Truth is, I am not officially resigned, and this is an issue for me--one of my biggest. Posing as a fully active Mo is the only real gray area. I've resolved it for myself, but always wondered how Moaps handle it. Questioning allows me to see this....I felt that a little subterfuge would allow the experiment to run its course better than direct discussion as an exmo. Perhaps that is not appropriate, perhaps it is." {{ref|perhaps.it.is}} | *Responding to questions from other posters regarding his motives in interacting with FAIR, "Jesus Smith" goes on to state, "Truth is, I am not officially resigned, and this is an issue for me--one of my biggest. Posing as a fully active Mo is the only real gray area. I've resolved it for myself, but always wondered how Moaps handle it. Questioning allows me to see this....I felt that a little subterfuge would allow the experiment to run its course better than direct discussion as an exmo. Perhaps that is not appropriate, perhaps it is." {{ref|perhaps.it.is}} | ||
Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
*'''September 24, 2012: lds.net moderators ban Twede's accounts after identifying him as "starlight012"'''—A moderator at LDS.net posted, "The person who started this IS the person who writes the blog, whose deception here will tell you all you need to know about his sense of ethics." {{ref|eowyn1}} The reason for the ban was that it was discovered that the new account that Twede created under his own name at "lds.net" used the same IP address as the account created by "starlight012" - the person who originally reported that a "bad member" was running MormonThink. | *'''September 24, 2012: lds.net moderators ban Twede's accounts after identifying him as "starlight012"'''—A moderator at LDS.net posted, "The person who started this IS the person who writes the blog, whose deception here will tell you all you need to know about his sense of ethics." {{ref|eowyn1}} The reason for the ban was that it was discovered that the new account that Twede created under his own name at "lds.net" used the same IP address as the account created by "starlight012" - the person who originally reported that a "bad member" was running MormonThink. | ||
*'''October 3-4, 2012: Twede is asked on the MormonDiscussion message board whether or not he is "starlight012"'''—Twede responded, "No, these are silly accusations. But the information there is interesting. Either a family member outed me or they're making excuses." {{ref|twede.mdb.oct.3.2012}} Various posters responded with questions, but Twede never reappeared on the thread. On October 4, 2012, MormonThink's founding editor appeared to explain Twede's absence, "I won't attempt to speak for David but I will say that he has a life outside of these boards. You have no idea of the number of requests he continues to get bombarded with by those with questions, reporters who want to do follow-up stories, endless emails, etc. You only see one side of the media frenzy. I've seen the hundreds and hundreds of emails this has generated to MT. We literally cannot keep up with it. With work, family etc. taking up most of his time, I doubt he has even looked at this thread since he last responded so you can't blame him or anyone else that has a busy life for not responding to every inquiry on every thread on every board where people ask him questions. {{ref|spongebob.nov1}} | *'''October 3-4, 2012: Twede is asked on the MormonDiscussion message board whether or not he is "starlight012"'''—Twede responded, "No, these are silly accusations. But the information there is interesting. Either a family member outed me or they're making excuses." {{ref|twede.mdb.oct.3.2012}} Various posters responded with questions, but Twede never reappeared on the thread. On October 4, 2012, MormonThink's founding editor appeared to explain Twede's absence, "I won't attempt to speak for David but I will say that he has a life outside of these boards. You have no idea of the number of requests he continues to get bombarded with by those with questions, reporters who want to do follow-up stories, endless emails, etc. You only see one side of the media frenzy. I've seen the hundreds and hundreds of emails this has generated to MT. We literally cannot keep up with it. With work, family etc. taking up most of his time, I doubt he has even looked at this thread since he last responded so you can't blame him or anyone else that has a busy life for not responding to every inquiry on every thread on every board where people ask him questions. {{ref|spongebob.nov1}} | ||
*'''October 20 and 23, 2012: Twede is asked by Postmormon.org moderator who "starlight012"'''—When a moderator at Postmormon.org asked Twede if he had addressed the claim that he might have "set the entire chain of events in motion himself through a sockpuppet at LDS, Inc.,"{{ref|brad1postmo}} Twede first responded by indicating that this was a "smear" tactic by FAIR President Scott Gordon. Twede stated, "I didn't know how to address something I didn't understand (at first). I have since (some of the understanding just came over the weekend) received nearly unequivocable evidence that a family member contacted Scott Gordon. Because they share the same last name and other things in common with me, that is likely the source of his confusion about it being me. The evidence is unfortunately is very personal, could get another family member in very hot water. A few people, some at the conference, have heard it directly. There are a few others I will share it with on a personal level if I can trust they never release it or give away the details that can create more problems for us. If Gordon insists on continuing his smear, but it protects family, I can live with that." {{ref|twedesmear1}} Twede deleted this post several hours after it appeared. Followup questions were asked regarding starlight012 and what exactly Scott Gordon was saying that constituted a "smear." After threatening to withdraw MormonThink support for Postmormon.org, and specifically for the moderator who dared to ask him the questions, {{ref|twedewithdrawl1}} Twede's final response was, "Now...I will state again one last time: These are silly accusations. This is my last post." {{ref|twedewithdrawl2}} In order to avoid any possibility that FAIR is misrepresenting any of the Postmormon.org comments here, we refer anyone interested in any of the additional comments to the link to Postmormon.org contained in the endnote. {{ref|bradthorn}} | *'''October 20 and 23, 2012: Twede is asked by Postmormon.org moderator who "starlight012"'''—When a moderator at Postmormon.org asked Twede if he had addressed the claim that he might have "set the entire chain of events in motion himself through a sockpuppet at LDS, Inc.,"{{ref|brad1postmo}} Twede first responded by indicating that this was a "smear" tactic by FAIR President Scott Gordon. Twede stated, "I didn't know how to address something I didn't understand (at first). I have since (some of the understanding just came over the weekend) received nearly unequivocable evidence that a family member contacted Scott Gordon. Because they share the same last name and other things in common with me, that is likely the source of his confusion about it being me. The evidence is unfortunately is very personal, could get another family member in very hot water. A few people, some at the conference, have heard it directly. There are a few others I will share it with on a personal level if I can trust they never release it or give away the details that can create more problems for us. If Gordon insists on continuing his smear, but it protects family, I can live with that." {{ref|twedesmear1}} Twede deleted this post several hours after it appeared. Followup questions were asked regarding starlight012 and what exactly Scott Gordon was saying that constituted a "smear." After threatening to withdraw MormonThink support for Postmormon.org, and specifically for the moderator who dared to ask him the questions, {{ref|twedewithdrawl1}} Twede's final response was, "Now...I will state again one last time: These are silly accusations. This is my last post." {{ref|twedewithdrawl2}} In order to avoid any possibility that FAIR is misrepresenting any of the Postmormon.org comments here, we refer anyone interested in any of the additional comments to the link to Postmormon.org contained in the endnote. {{ref|bradthorn}} | ||
=={{Endnotes label}}== | =={{Endnotes label}}== |
A FAIR Analysis of: MormonThink A work by author: David Twede
|
Posing as a questioning member (which I am, just not active), I asked a question at FAIR's page. A Moap emailed me--someone who works with Danny Boy. This game is a bit different than the one you can play with the kindergarten missionaries at Mormon.org.....Posing as a fully active Mo is the only real gray area. I've resolved it for myself, but always wondered how Moaps handle it. Questioning allows me to see this....I felt that a little subterfuge would allow the experiment to run its course better than direct discussion as an exmo. Perhaps that is not appropriate, perhaps it is.
David Twede posting as "Jesus Smith" on Postmormon.org, February 1, 2012.
== Notes == NOTE: FAIR's normal policy is to not link directly to websites which are critical of the Church. In this instance, however, we have suspended that restriction. All of the links below are active, including those that link to ex-Mormon message forums Postmormon.org and MormonDiscussions.com.
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.
We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.
Donate Now