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| − | {{draft}}
| + | #REDIRECT[[The Church's approach to history]] |
| − | ==Criticism==
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| − | Critics claim that the church has "whitewashed" some of the information about its origins to appear more palatable to members and investigators. Some feel that this is done intentionally to hide negative aspects of church history. Others feel that it is done to focus on the good, but that it causes problems for believing members when they encounter these issues outside of church curriculum.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Source(s) of the criticism===
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Ostling:Mormon America|pages=Chapter 15}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Smith:Nauvoo Polygamy|pages=xiii-xv, 5, 57, 75, 88, 103, 119, 137, 185, 289, 356, 453, 473}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Southerton:Losing|pages=136}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=Chapter 2}}
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| − | *This criticism originates from many fronts, both non-members, ex-members and members.
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| − | | |
| − | ==Response==
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| − | {{SeeAlso|One_Nation_Under_Gods/Use_of_sources/Boyd_K._Packer_on_the_truth|Boyd K. Packer/The Mantle and the Intellect|l1=Boyd K. Packer on the truth|l2=Boyd K. Packer's talk: "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect"}}
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| − | ===The presentation of "new" facts from Church history===
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| − | Many critics will present a faithful member with some fact of church history and would have them believe that this is a new discovery. The reality is that there are very few new discoveries related to Church history. In fact, most, if not all of these documents have been well known to church historians for many years. Occasionally, a new document will be discovered which sheds additional light on some aspect of Church history. One such example is the discovery of documents that clarify that the Church was actually organized in Fayette rather than Manchester, as some have claimed. Situations such as this are rare, however. When the critic presents a "new" historical fact, you can rest assured that this very same "fact" has been discussed by LDS scholars for many years. There is truly little ''new'' information for the critics to draw from.
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| − | The critic presents these historical facts in order to shake the member's testimony, hopefully to the point of leaving the church. The attempt to present contradictions, such as "Joseph Smith drank wine at Carthage Jail, and therefore violated the Word of Wisdom." They attempt to catch Church leaders in deceit or portray them as hypocrites. Yet, there are many LDS experts on Church history that remain fully aware, faithful, actively attending church members. There are no facts that unarguably disprove the authenticity of the church. As always it comes down to faith and a personal witness between an individual and the Lord.
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| − | ===Has the Church deliberately hidden facts from members regarding its history?===
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| − | Critics routinely accuse the Church of suppressing and hiding uncomfortable facts from its own history. Yet, these very same critics quote Church sources in order to provide proof of their claims. This concern often rests on a misunderstanding. It is true that the Church's teachings are primarily doctrinal and devotional—Church lessons are neither apologetic nor historical in scope or intent.
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| − | It is remarkable, however, how many of the issues which critics charge the Church with "suppressing" are discussed in Church publications. Various issues are listed in the subarticle below, with references to Church sources which mention them. So, has the Church been suppressing the truth? You might be surprised to find out where some of these facts are actually hidden.
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| − | {{ReadMore|/Hiding the facts|l1=Hiding the facts in Church history}}
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| − | | |
| − | ===How does the Church approach its own history?===
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| − | Elder Dallin Oaks discusses the issue of church history and facts that are not discussed frequently in church approved curriculum during an interview with Helen Whitney (HW) for the PBS documentary, ''The Mormons'' {{ref|pbs1}}. He gives a good description of this dilemma and the church's method for confronting it. {{ref|oaks1}}
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| − | Referring to the importance of not focusing on a person's negative aspects while learning of their history Elder Oaks said,
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | ...See a person in context; don’t depreciate their effectiveness in one area because they have some misbehavior in another area — especially from their youth. I think that’s the spirit of that. I think I’m not talking necessarily just about writing Mormon history; I’m talking about George Washington or any other case. If he had an affair with a girl when he was a teenager, I don’t need to read that when I’m trying to read a biography of the Founding Father of our nation.
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| − | </blockquote>
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| − | Elder Oaks is then asked how the church deals with imperfections of early church members and current members coming across this information themselves on the internet rather than through teachings of the church. Elder Oaks responds,
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | It’s an old problem, the extent to which official histories, whatever they are, or semi-official histories, get into things that are shadowy or less well-known or whatever. That’s an old problem in Mormonism — a feeling of members that they shouldn’t have been surprised by the fact that this or that happened, they should’ve been alerted to it. I have felt that throughout my life.
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| − | There are several different elements of that. One element is that we’re emerging from a period of history writing within the Church [of] adoring history that doesn’t deal with anything that’s unfavorable, and we’re coming into a period of “warts and all” kind of history. Perhaps our writing of history is lagging behind the times, but I believe that there is purpose in all these things — there may have been a time when Church members could not have been as well prepared for that kind of historical writing as they may be now.
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| − | On the other hand, there are constraints on trying to reveal everything. You don’t want to be getting into and creating doubts that didn’t exist in the first place. And what is plenty of history for one person is inadequate for another, and we have a large church, and that’s a big problem. And another problem is there are a lot of things that the Church has written about that the members haven’t read. And the Sunday School teacher that gives “Brother Jones” his understanding of Church history may be inadequately informed and may not reveal something which the Church has published. It’s in the history written for college or Institute students, sources written for quite mature students, but not every Sunday School teacher that introduces people to a history is familiar with that. And so there is no way to avoid this criticism. The best I can say is that we’re moving with the times, we’re getting more and more forthright, but we will never satisfy every complaint along that line and probably shouldn’t.
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| − | </blockquote>
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| − | | |
| − | ===Levels of knowledge regarding Church history===
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| − | LDS professor Daniel C. Peterson describes different "levels" of knowledge that members may have with respect to Church history.
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | Many years ago, while a graduate student in California, I heard the late Stanley B. Kimball (a Latter-day Saint scholar who taught at Southern Illinois University and published extensively on both European and Latter-day Saint historical subjects) speak to a small group about what he termed "the three levels of Mormon history."
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| − | <br><br>
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| − | He called the first of these "level A." This level, he said, is the Junior Sunday School version of church history, in which Mormons always wear the white hats, nobody disagrees, no leader ever makes a mistake, and all is unambiguously clear.
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| − | <br><br>
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| − | "Level B," he said, is the anti-Mormon version of church history—essentially a mirror image of level A or, alternatively, level A turned on its head. On level B, everything that you thought was good and true is actually false and bad. The Mormons (or, at least, their leaders) always or almost always wear black hats, and, to the extent that everything is unambiguously clear, Mormonism is unambiguously fraudulent, bogus, deceptive, and evil. Much in the level B version of Mormonism is simply false, of course; critics of the church have often failed to distinguish themselves for their honesty or for the care with which they've treated the issues they raise. But, in more than a few instances, level B approaches to Mormonism and its past are based on problems that are more or less real.
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| − | <br><br>
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| − | The church, Kimball reflected, tends to teach level A history. The trouble with this is that, like someone who has been kept in a germ-free environment and is then exposed to an infectious disease, a person on level A who is exposed to any of the issues that are the fodder for level B will have little resistance and will be likely to fall.
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| − | <br><br>
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| − | The only hope in such a case, he continued, is to press on to what he termed "level C," which is a version of church history that remains affirmative but which also takes into account any and all legitimate points stressed by level B. Those on level C are largely impervious to infection from level B. Level B formulations simply don't impress them....
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| − | <br><br>
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| − | Kimball said that he and his fellow historians operate on level C, and that, on the whole, that's where he (as a professional historian) would prefer members to be. He was deeply convinced, he said, that level C was essentially like level A, except that it is more nuanced and somewhat more ambiguous. (He emphatically denied that level A is "false," or that the church "lies" in teaching it.) He acknowledged, though, that, were he himself a high-ranking church leader, he would be hesitant to take the membership as a whole to level C by means of church curriculum and instruction for the obvious reason that moving people from level A to level C entails at least some exposure to some of the elements of level B, and that such exposure will unavoidably lead some to lose their testimonies. Still, he felt that those who make it through to level C are more stable and resilient in their faith than those who remain on level A. {{ref|dcp.levels}}
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| − | </blockquote>
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| − | | |
| − | ==B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon==
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| − | * {{Ensign1|author=Truman G. Madsen|article=B. H. Roberts after Fifty Years: Still Witnessing for the Book of Mormon|date=Dec 1983|start=11}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c30805481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | ==Book of Mormon and DNA==
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| − | * John L. Sorenson cautioned against reading the Book of Mormon text without care:
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| − | :One problem some Latter-day Saint writers and lecturers have had is confusing the actual text of the Book of Mormon with the traditional interpretation of it. For example, a commonly heard statement is that the Book of Mormon is “the history of the American Indians.” This statement contains a number of unexamined assumptions—that the scripture is a history in the common sense—a systematic, chronological account of the main events in the past of a nation or territory; that “the” American Indians are a unitary population; and that the approximately one hundred pages of text containing historical and cultural material in the scripture could conceivably tell the entire history of a hemisphere. When unexamined assumptions like these are made, critics respond in kind, criticizing not the ancient text itself, but the assumptions we have made about it....{{ref|sorenson.pt1}}
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| − | :Yet we need not feel self-righteous when the scholars are taken to task for their narrowness. Our people have exhibited a decided tendency to substitute comfortable “folk understanding” for facts on certain subjects, particularly having to do with archaeology. We must expect new facts and new interpretations about the ancient Nephites and Jaredites, for they are bound to come.{{ref|sorenson.pt2}}
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| − | * Church website {{link|url=http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/dna-and-the-book-of-mormon}}
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| − | | |
| − | ==Book of Mormon geography==
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| − | * John L. Sorenson discussed a limited geographical model for the Book of Mormon in 1984:
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| − | ** {{DiggingPt1}}
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| − | ** {{DiggingPt2}}
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| − | | |
| − | ==Book of Mormon translation==
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| − | We uncover the truth of facts about the Book of Mormon that are alleged to have been hidden or suppressed by the Church.
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| − | ===Joseph used a stone in a hat to translate===
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| − | ====Hidden fact: Joseph actually utilized a stone placed in his hat to translate====
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| − | Joseph actually used a stone which he placed in a hat to translate a portion of the Book of Mormon in addition to or instead of the "Urim and Thummin."
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| − | ====Where was this fact finally located?====
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| − | This fact was found hidden in the official Church magazines the ''Ensign'' and the ''Friend'' on the official Church website lds.org:
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| − | *1974: "To help him with the translation, Joseph found with the gold plates “a curious instrument which the ancients called Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.” '''Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone.'''" ([http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=5250e07368d9b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=21bc9fbee98db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD “A Peaceful Heart,”] ''Friend'', Sep 1974, 7)
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| − | *1977, Richard Lloyd Anderson: "There he gave his most detailed view of 'the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated': “'''Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light.'''" (''Richard Lloyd Anderson, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=5a921f26d596b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD “‘By the Gift and Power of God’,”] ''Ensign'', Sep 1977, 79) {{ea}}
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| − | *1993, Russell M. Nelson: "David Whitmer wrote: ' '''Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light'''; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine.'" (Russell M. Nelson, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=05169209df38b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD “A Treasured Testament,”] ''Ensign'', Jul 1993, 61) {{ea}}
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| − | *1997, Neal A. Maxwell: "Martin Harris related of the '''seer stone''': 'Sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin'" (Neal A. Maxwell, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=e491dbdcc370c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD “‘By the Gift and Power of God’,”] ''Ensign'', Jan 1997, 36) {{ea}}
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| − | We also actually found this hidden fact in a book published by Elder Neal A. Maxwell:
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| − | <blockquote>
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| − | Jacob censured the "stiffnecked" Jews for "looking beyond the mark" (Jacob 4:14). We are looking beyond the mark today, for example, if we are more interested in the physical dimensions of the cross than in what Jesus achieved thereon; or when we neglect Alma's words on faith because we are too fascinated by the '''light-shielding hat reportedly used by Joseph Smith during some of the translating of the Book of Mormon'''. To neglect substance while focusing on process is another form of unsubmissively looking beyond the mark. - Neal A. Maxwell, ''Not My Will, But Thine'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1988), 26.
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| − | </blockquote>
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| − | ====The verdict====
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| − | The fact that Joseph used a stone in a hat to translate was indeed hidden....in the Church's official children's magazine the ''Friend'', the official magazine the ''Ensign'', on the official Church website "lds.org" and in a book published by apostle Neal A. Maxwell.
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| − | ==Brigham Young a polygamist==
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| − | *Michael Parker, "The Church's Portrayal of Brigham Young" {{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/apol/misc/misc26.html}}
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| − | ==Changes to D&C revelations==
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| − | * {{Ensign1|author=Marlin K. Jensen|article=The Joseph Smith Papers: The Manuscript Revelation Books|date=July 2009|start=46–51}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=51d61d7888312210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | *{{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=We Believe All That God Has Revealed|date=May 1974|start=93}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1974.htm/ensign%20may%201974.htm/we%20believe%20all%20that%20god%20has%20revealed%20.htm?fn=document-frame.htm$f=templates$3.0}}; also in {{CR1|author=Boyd K. Packer|date=April 1974|article=We Believe All That God Has Revealed|start=137}}
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| − | *{{Ensign1|author=Melvin J. Petersen|article=Preparing Early Revelations for Publication|date=February 1985|start=14}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/library/lpext.dll/ArchMagazines/Ensign/1985.htm/ensign%20february%201985.htm/preparing%20early%20revelations%20for%20publication.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0}}
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| − | *{{Ensign1|author=Robert J. Woodford|article=The Story of the Doctrine and Covenants|date=December 1984|start=32}} {{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1984.htm/ensign%20december%201984%20.htm/the%20story%20of%20the%20doctrine%20and%20covenants.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0$q=$x=$nc=8554}}
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| − | *{{Ensign1|author=Robert J. Woodford|article=How the Revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants Were Received and Compiled|date=January 1985|start=27}} {{link|url=http://library.lds.org/library/lpext.dll/ArchMagazines/Ensign/1985.htm/ensign%20january%201985%20.htm/how%20the%20revelations%20in%20the%20doctrine%20and%20covenants%20were%20received%20and%20compiled.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0}}
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| − | ==First Vision==
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| − | | |
| − | * Critics charge that the existence of multiple accounts of the [[First Vision/Accounts|First Vision]] has been hidden. A review of just some of the sources demonstrates that this is simply false:
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| − | **{{IE|author=James B. Allen|article=Eight Contemporary Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision–What Do We Learn From Them?|date=April 1970|start=4|end=13}}
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| − | **{{OpeningtheHeavens|author=James B. Allen and John W. Welch|article=The Appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith in 1820|start=35|end=75}} See also ''BYU Studies'' version:{{pdflink|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?prodid=1954&type=7}}
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| − | **Milton V. Backman, ''Joseph Smith’s First Vision: The first vision in its historical context'' (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1971).
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| − | **Milton V. Backman Jr., ''Joseph Smith’s First Vision: Confirming Evidences and Contemporary Accounts'', 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980).
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| − | **{{Ensign1|author=Milton V. Backman, Jr.|article=Joseph Smith's Recitals of the First Vision|date=January 1985|start=8}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1985.htm/ensign%20january%201985%20.htm/joseph%20smiths%20recitals%20of%20the%20first%20vision.htm}}
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| − | **{{Ensign1|author=Ronald O. Barney|article=The First Vision: Searching for the Truth|date=January 2005|start=14–19}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d7805ef93e84b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | **Church Educational System, “Additional Details from Joseph Smith’s 1832 Account of the First Vision,” in ''Presidents of the Church: Student Manual'' (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2003), 5–6. {{link|url=http://institute.lds.org/manuals/presidents-of-the-church-student-manual/pres-ch-01-03-1.asp}}
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| − | **Church Educational System, “The First Vision,” in ''Church History in the Fullness of Times: Student Manual'' (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2003), 29–36. {{link|url=http://institute.lds.org/manuals/church-history-institute-student-manual/chft-01-05-3.asp}}
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| − | ** Dean C. Jessee, ''The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision (Mormon Miscellaneous reprint series)'' (Mormon Miscellaneous, 1984).
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| − | **{{PJSVol1|start=6|end=7, 127, 272–73, 429–30, 444, and 448–49.}}
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| − | ** {{PWJSOrig|start=5|end=6, 75–76, 199–200, 213}}
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| − | **{{PWJS|start=9|end=20}}<!--Jessee-->
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| − | **Dean C. Jessee, “The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision,” in Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., ''Studies in Scripture, Volume 2: The Pearl of Great Price'' (Salt Lake City: Randall Book, 1985), 303–314.
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| − | **Adele Brannon McCollum, “The First Vision: Re-Visioning Historical Experience,” in Neal E. Lambert, ed., ''Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience'' (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1981), 177–96.
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| − | ==Kinderhook plates==
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| − | * {{Ensign1|author=Stanley B. Kimball|article=Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax|date=Aug 1981|start=66}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=b6a8aeca0ea6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | ==Martyrdom==
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| − | | |
| − | *[[Joseph_Smith_as_a_martyr|Joseph Smith fired a pistol]]: prior to his murder at Carthage
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| − | ** ''History of the Church'' tells about the pistol x 2.
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| − | **{{Ensign1|author=Larry C. Porter|article=I Have A Question: "How did the U.S. press react when Joseph and Hyrum were murdered?"|date=April 1984|start=22–23}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=ed0c05481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | ** {{Ensign1|author=Reed Blake|article=Martyrdom at Carthage|date=June 1994|start=30}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=35b6425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | ** “Lesson 37: Joseph and Hyrum Smith Are Martyred,” ''Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants: Church History'' (1997), 210. {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=048ba41f6cc20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=637e1b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}} [Note that the pistol is here described even in a childrens' lesson manual!]
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| − | ** Lesson 32: “To Seal the Testimony”, ''Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual'', 183. {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c2719207f7c20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=32c41b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | ==Plural marriage==
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| − | *Michael Parker, "The Church's Portrayal of Brigham Young" {{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/apol/misc/misc26.html}}
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| − | ===Joseph Smith, marriages to younger women===
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| − | * {{Ensign1|author=Dean Jessee|article=‘Steadfastness and Patient Endurance’: The Legacy of Edward Partridge|date=Jun 1979|start=41}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=a40b615b01a6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
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| − | | |
| − | ==Word of Wisdom==
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| − | | |
| − | * [[Word_of_Wisdom|Joseph and others drank wine]] at Carthage.
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| − | ** This fact is presented without apology in {{HoC1|vol=6|start=616}}:
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| − | ::Before the jailor came in, his boy brought in some water, and said the guard wanted some wine. Joseph gave Dr. Richards two dollars to give the guard; but the guard said one was enough, and would take no more.
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| − | ::The guard immediately sent for a bottle of wine, pipes, and two small papers of tobacco; and one of the guards brought them into the jail soon after the jailor went out. Dr. Richards uncorked the bottle, and presented a glass to Joseph, who tasted, as also Brother Taylor and the doctor, and the bottle was then given to the guard, who turned to go out. When at the top of the stairs some one below called him two or three times, and he went down.
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| − | ==Writing History==
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| − | *{{BYUS1|author=David B. Honey and Daniel C. Peterson|article=Advocacy and Inquiry in the Writing of Latter-day Saint History|vol=31|num=2|date=Spring 1991|start=139–79}}
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| − | *{{FR-18-1-16}}
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| − | {{Epigraph|"The distinctiveness of religion demands methodological astuteness if we want to understand its practitioners, lest we misconstrue them from the outset. In seeking to explain religion, many scholars have employed cultural theories or social science approaches in ways that preclude its being understood. Instead of reconstructing religious beliefs and experiences, they reduce them to something else based on their own, usually implicit, modern or postmodern beliefs....<br>What people believed in the past is logically distinct from our opinions about them. Understanding others on their own terms is a completely different intellectual endeavor than explaining them in modern or postmodern categories. . . . I fail to follow the logic of a leading literary scholar who recently implied, during a session at the American Historical Association convention, that because he "cannot believe in belief," the religion of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century people is not to be taken seriously on its own terms. Strictly speaking, this is an autobiographical comment that reveals literally nothing about early modern people. One might as well say, "I cannot believe in unbelief; therefore, alleged post-Enlightenment atheism should not be taken seriously on its own terms.<br>Could bedfellows be any stranger? Reductionist explanations of religion share the epistemological structure of traditional confessional history. Just as confessional historians explore and evaluate based on their religious convictions, reductionist historians of religion explain and judge based on their unbelief...." - Brad S. Gregory, ''Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe'' (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999), 9.{{ref|gregory.1}}}}
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| − | ==Conclusion==
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| − | Church historians and church hierarchy are fully aware of its history, yet they maintain strong testimonies of the authenticity and authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Problems arise when faithful members can't reconcile a perfect Savior and his church being led by imperfect people. Developing an understanding that all people, even prophets of the Lord make mistakes. Only Jesus Christ himself was perfect.
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| − | ==Endnotes==
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| − | #{{note|oaks1}} "Elder Oaks Interview Transcript from PBS Documentary," ''LDS.org'' (accessed 21 August 2007) {{link|url=http://lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f11cb868474e3110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD}}
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| − | #{{note|pbs1}} "The Mormons," ''PBS.org'' {{link|url=http://www.pbs.org/mormons/}}
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| − | #{{note|dcp.levels}} {{FR-19-1-1}}
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| − | #{{note|sorenson.pt1}} {{DiggingPt1}}
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| − | #{{note|sorenson.pt2}} {{DiggingPt2}}
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| − | #{{note|gregory.1}} Cited in {{FR-18-1-16}}
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| − | ==Further reading==
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| − | ===FAIR wiki articles===
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| − | {{LyingWiki}}
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| − | ===FAIR web site===
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| − | {{LyingFAIR}}
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| − | | |
| − | ===Video===
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| − | {{Video:Bitton:2004:Dont have testimony of history}}
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| − | | |
| − | ===External links===
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| − | {{LyingLinks}}
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| − | ===Printed material===
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| − | {{LyingPrint}}
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