I, too, am looking forward to this series, but perhaps with a little more trepidation than others. I think it will boil down to whether the series ends up being a good foray into "the glorious doctrines of the restoration" or more of a deflection to try to distract from "The Imperfections of the Prophets". As I look at my own and others' troubled relationships with the Church, so many of the difficult issues boil down to how to understand the imperfections of prophets and apostles and the revelatory process that is so foundational to our epistemology. A series that is merely an attempt at deflection or distraction from these difficult issues is going to be a lot less useful than a series that will eventually integrate into a solid understanding of how prophets can bring forth truths (like this series wants to cover) and also present some mistakes as if they were truths.
I think Ben Spackman encapsulates the concern so well in his Gospel Doctrine post on the book of Philemon. Dealing with the issue of slavery and why the Biblical authors seemed so unwilling to condemn slavery, he writes, "Scripture simply doesn’t reflect the eternal ideal, as we understand. How do we account for this? What model of scripture, revelation, and prophets allows “God’s word,” God’s prophets, and Jesus himself to do or allow something so… inhuman?"
Pat ThomasOctober 15, 2020
Looking forward to this series. I have a child who no longer “believes.” My heart aches. I’m hoping I’ll have better understanding. Thank you
Lisa ReisingOctober 15, 2020
Beautifully conceived series - I look forward to it! It thrilled me to the core to read the comment about Joseph Smith and the quality and sincerity of his questions I have often thought how wonderful it seems that he retained throughout his short life such a childlike approach to a relationship with God - it was all about trust. And honest, sincere questions. This is the debt of gratitude we owe him. The described conversation with your daughter is likewise beautiful. Someone in our overly sophisticated society we need to discover how to trust each other with heartfelt questions again.
ReedOctober 15, 2020
The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions.
Anthony Jay
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MrShortyOctober 18, 2020
I, too, am looking forward to this series, but perhaps with a little more trepidation than others. I think it will boil down to whether the series ends up being a good foray into "the glorious doctrines of the restoration" or more of a deflection to try to distract from "The Imperfections of the Prophets". As I look at my own and others' troubled relationships with the Church, so many of the difficult issues boil down to how to understand the imperfections of prophets and apostles and the revelatory process that is so foundational to our epistemology. A series that is merely an attempt at deflection or distraction from these difficult issues is going to be a lot less useful than a series that will eventually integrate into a solid understanding of how prophets can bring forth truths (like this series wants to cover) and also present some mistakes as if they were truths. I think Ben Spackman encapsulates the concern so well in his Gospel Doctrine post on the book of Philemon. Dealing with the issue of slavery and why the Biblical authors seemed so unwilling to condemn slavery, he writes, "Scripture simply doesn’t reflect the eternal ideal, as we understand. How do we account for this? What model of scripture, revelation, and prophets allows “God’s word,” God’s prophets, and Jesus himself to do or allow something so… inhuman?"
Pat ThomasOctober 15, 2020
Looking forward to this series. I have a child who no longer “believes.” My heart aches. I’m hoping I’ll have better understanding. Thank you
Lisa ReisingOctober 15, 2020
Beautifully conceived series - I look forward to it! It thrilled me to the core to read the comment about Joseph Smith and the quality and sincerity of his questions I have often thought how wonderful it seems that he retained throughout his short life such a childlike approach to a relationship with God - it was all about trust. And honest, sincere questions. This is the debt of gratitude we owe him. The described conversation with your daughter is likewise beautiful. Someone in our overly sophisticated society we need to discover how to trust each other with heartfelt questions again.
ReedOctober 15, 2020
The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions. Anthony Jay
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