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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Use of sources/Gordon B. Hinckley Understands Doctrine
Chapter 17, Is Mormonism Christian?: Gordon B. Hinckley Understands Doctrine
The Quote
One Nation under Gods, page 389 (hardback)
None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly.45
The Reference
Endnote 45, page 603 (hardback)
45. Gordon B. Hinckley, October 1997 General Conference Address. Quoted in Internet Thread article on Hinckley, online at www.lds-mormon.com/gbh.shtml. In an attempt to cover-up Hinckley's disingenuous answer to Time, the Mormon church is officially stating that Hinckley was taken out of context. However, a follow-up investigation and information obtained from both Time magazine and Richard Ostling (the journalist who conducted Hinckley's interview), reveal that the LDS church president was not taken out of context at all. For the text of several letters dealing with this issue, see documents reproduced in the Internet article "Dodging and Dissembling Prophet?," published by the Institute for Religious Research, online at www.irr.org/mit/hinckley.html.
The Problems
It is interesting and instructive that the author's documented source in the endnotes is an anti-Mormon message board. He uses this to document the quote from Hinckley. Why would an author of a "comprehensive," and "detailed" history, a "scholarly" work (all adjectives used to describe the author's book, on the back cover), document a quote from a Church leader using an anti-Mormon message board, instead of using direct original sources?
I can't think of any honest and forthright reason an author would do so, considering the widespread availability of this quote. It seems as though the author does everything he can to avoid using a pro-LDS source, while finding every opportunity to lead his readers to anti-Mormon sources, especially the more easily accessible sources like Web sites. This is not the practice of an honest and objective journalist, reporter or author.
(Side Note: For a more complete and fair treatment of President Hinckley's comment taken out of context, go to http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Does_President_Hinckley_Understand_LDS_Doctrine.html.)