The premise of Tad Callister’s talk was, “[A]ttempts have been made by some to focus upon or magnify some MINOR weaknesses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but in that process they too have missed the mark, the man, and his mission.”
- By “minor”, does he mean practicing polygamy behind his wife’s back?
- Committing adultery with teenage girls?
- Marrying and having sex with 14- to 18-year olds?
- Marrying and having sex with other men’s (including non-Mormons) lawful wives (after in some cases sending them away on missions)?
- Coercing women to marry him and/or have sex with him by saying an angel with a sword was going to kill him if the women did not cooperate?
“Yet sorrowfully, on occasion, some are willing to set aside the precious gospel truths restored by Joseph Smith because they get diverted on some historical issue or some scientific hypothesis not central to their exaltation, and in so doing they trade their spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage. They exchange the absolute certainty of the restoration for a doubt, and in that process they fall into the trap of losing faith in the many things they do know because of a few things they do not know. There will always be some seemingly intellectual crisis looming on the horizon as long as faith is required and our minds are finite, but likewise there will always be the sure and solid doctrines of the restoration to cling to, which will provide the rock foundation upon which our testimonies may be built."
Too many comments could be made about that gem, but I will sum it up with one note: It seeks to divert members totally away from the value of the intellect in analyzing historical issues, current science and Mormon doctrine. By “bracketing” the word intellectual with the words “seemingly” and “crisis”, Callister sends Mormons back to the path of learning ultimate truth through the emotions alone. Seemingly = the problems with the church are just on the outside, apparent but not actually an issue, of no real substance. Crisis = hyperbole, but the reality is that the problems with the church are minor and not really a big deal.
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