apologetics

Planet Kolob to Mormons: It’s not our weird beliefs, it’s our credibility

January 10, 2008
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We know there’s a problem. Here’s how the bulk of us as Mormons see the problem: SYMPTOMS: Americans have an anti-Mormon bias which manifests itself on the right with Evangelicals who call Mormonism “non-Christian” (and who cost Mitt Romney the Iowa Republican Caucus) and on the left with secularists and atheists decrying Mormonism’s foundational stories as an obvious “fraud.” DIAGNOSIS: Mormons are “persecuted” by non-Mormons for their “weird” beliefs. RECOMMENDED TREATMENT: De-emphasize (or eliminate) weird beliefs. Explain Mormonism using highly-nuanced language, which we (as Mormons) believe will satisfy non-Mormon ears (“milk before meat”). We keep going back to the...

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Episode 15: Inoculating the Saints — Listener Feedback

September 9, 2007
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Today Eric Soderlund (Equality) and Mayan Elephant join John Hamer, Ann Porter and I discussing their reactions to our “Inoculating the Saints” discussions. A big thanks, as always, to Clayton Pixton for providing the wonderfully inspirational bumper music for this podcast.

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Episode 14: Our Discussion on Inoculating the Saints Pt. 2

August 31, 2007
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In part 2 of this episode David King Landrith, Blake Ostler, John Hamer and I discuss the recent Sunstone panel entitled, “Inoculating the Saints”. A big thanks, as always, to Clayton Pixton for providing the wonderfully inspirational bumper music for this podcast.

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Episode 13: Our Discussion on Inoculating the Saints Pt. 1

August 29, 2007
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In this episode David King Landrith, Blake Ostler, John Hamer and I discuss the recent Sunstone panel entitled, “Inoculating the Saints”. A big thanks, as always, to Clayton Pixton for providing the wonderfully inspirational bumper music for this podcast.

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Episode 12: Inoculating the Saints (with Kevin Barney, Blake Ostler and Mike Ash)

August 26, 2007
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With this episode we begin a 3-part series dealing with the idea of “Inoculating the Saints.” This first episode hails from the 2007 Salt Lake Sunstone symposium. The abstract reads: Would fewer members leave the Church if they were taught about the stickier issues of LDS history and theology in faithful, institutional settings rather than stumbling upon them on the Internet or from other sources? Perhaps fewer members would feel “betrayed” by the Church when they encounter troubling information after being in the Church for years without being taught about discrepancies. But were the Church to more proactively engage...

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