Difference between revisions of "Detailed response to CES Letter, Other"

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=="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"==
 
=="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"==
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|claim=The author states, "In the Church’s Sunday School manual, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, the Church changed the word “wives” to “[wife]”.
 
|claim=The author states, "In the Church’s Sunday School manual, Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, the Church changed the word “wives” to “[wife]”.
 
....the manual deceptive in disclosing whether or not Brigham Young was a polygamist...."
 
....the manual deceptive in disclosing whether or not Brigham Young was a polygamist...."
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|answer=
 
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*{{antispeak|liars}}
 
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*{{Incorrect}} The author seems to suggest that the Church has been attempting to "fool" its membership into thinking Brigham was a monogamist, when it is fairly common knowledge, both inside and outside of the Church, that he was not. Many US history textbooks used in public high schools mention Brigham's polygamy, for example, and most news stories and other mentions of the Church in modern media will mention polygamy, so it would seem odd (and a bit futile) for the Church to attempt to rewrite this aspect of its history by means of a single lesson in a single manual.
 
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*Furthermore, the use of square brackets is an accepted editorial convention when a later author wants to use an earlier author's words but change them slightly to fit a different purpose without changing the overall message of the quote. In the case of the quote in question (which is not quoted in the "Letter to a CES Director"), Brigham Young is giving counsel to a group of men on how they can be good leaders in their families, which for many of them at the time would have included polygamous marriages. In the modern church, members would only have one spouse, yet the counsel on how to be good leaders of families is still relevant, though it would require an editorial change (clearly marked in square brackets) to change "wives" to "wife".
 
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*{{antispeak|misunderstand}} Note also that a careful reading of the quotations as shown in the manual or in their original sources (which is clearly referenced in the manual) will show that Brigham is not actually referring to his ''own'' wives and family in these quotes but to the families of the ''people he was addressing'', so the suggestion that this quote somehow recasts Brigham as a monogamist is somewhat puzzling.  The fact that the author of the letter mentions changing "wives" to "wife" in the Brigham Young manual without sharing the actual quote, which provides this additional explanatory context, suggests that this criticism is borrowed from elsewhere, since many sectarian critics of the church picked up on this story when the manual first came out and characterized it in similar terms and without the proper context, as the author has done here. A FAIR publication by Mike Parker, [http://www.fairlds.org/authors/parker-mike/the-church-portrayal-of-brigham-young "The Church’s Portrayal of Brigham Young,"] explains further:
 
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In Chapter 23, “Understanding the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage,” two instances of the term “wives” were modified to “[wife],” with brackets included to notify the reader of the editorial change. Since the statements <span style="color:blue">did not refer to Brigham’s own wives, but were part of his counsel to men regarding their marriages</span>, the edited reading is easier for today’s Latter-day Saints, none of whom are married to more than one wife.
 
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<br><br>
 
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The next manual in the instructional series–Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith–includes this clarifying statement in the “Historical Summary” of President Smith’s life:
 
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This book is not a history, but rather a compilation of gospel principles as taught by President Joseph F. Smith. However, in order to put the teachings in a historical framework, the following list is provided to summarize some of the milestones in his life that have most immediate relationship to his teachings. This summary omits some important events in his personal life, including his marriages (plural marriage was being practiced in the Church at that time) and the births and deaths of his children, to whom he was devoted.10
 
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This explanation, which is almost certainly directed at detractors of the Brigham Young manual, clarifies that the purpose of the series is not biographical or historical, but didactical. Other Church publications that are historical discuss the subject of plural marriage and its practice among the Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century.11
 
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The Brigham Young manual and the manuals that followed it include selected teachings on selected subjects that have application to subjects of concern to today’s Latter-day Saints. They do not teach history, but how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite the complaints of its detractors, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not engaged in a cover up, nor is it attempting to hide an “embarrassing past.”
 
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</blockquote>
 
 
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[[File:Brigham the monogamist.jpg|800 px]]
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{{:Brigham Young/Polygamy/Hiding history}}
  
 
=="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==
 
=="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==

Revision as of 19:48, 9 May 2014

  1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Response to "Other Concerns & Questions"


[[../Scriptures Concerns & Questions|Scriptures Concerns & Questions]]
A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]]
 		[[../Conclusion|Conclusion]]


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Response Section

2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty

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"Zina Diantha Huntington Young"

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"Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"

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  1. REDIRECTAlleged_whitewashing_of_polygamy_in_Church_history#Modern_day_example

"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"

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Church Finances

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Tithing

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Names of the Church

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The Church changed its name twice during its history


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"Some things that are true are not very useful"

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"the scary internet"

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"Going after members who publish or share their questions, concerns, and doubts"

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Strengthening the Church Members Committee

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"When the prophet speaks the debate is over"

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Notes

  1. [note] Samuel Katich, "A Tale of Two Marriage Systems: Perspectives on Polyandry and Joseph Smith," Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2003.


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