- Stephen Fleming on What Does Hollywood Think About Latter-day Saints?: “The movie, Heretic, which does focus on Mormonism, has a companionless missionary go check on the trapped sisters. Such a no no! But I do think the line for Burn after Reading is very funny and a good point. “Compared to you, everyone has a drinking problem!”” Oct 22, 18:01
- on The Caretaker Behind the Curtain: “I think the reason church members often resist contemplating leaders’ mistakes is that the discussion almost always seems to veer toward “…so that’s why I stopped going to church/don’t actually have to follow the law of chastity.” If people retained faithfulness and obedience as basic assumptions, the discussion might go differently. It seems to me that analyzing Brigham Young as a caretaker with regards to the priesthood ban gets us to about where we are today anyway. As the presiding high priest, Brigham Young was authorized to organize the priesthood, and he did so according to his best knowledge and belief (only those beliefs included racism, at a racist time in a racist country that was about to tear itself apart over questions of race); today, we reject the racist beliefs, but we don’t reject as invalid the priesthood as administered by Brigham Young.” Oct 22, 17:51
- on The Ancient Greek Endowment: “Oliver, a couple notes: The evidence that Joseph Smith didn’t use the plates actually isn’t all that strong. There are statements in favor of both his using the plates and not using them, including contradictory statements in favor of both from David Whitmer. See here. There were both official and unofficial witnesses to the plates’ physical existence. People felt them and lifted them. They were heavy and metallic. I think it is virtually impossible that we will celebrate Lent or Ash Wednesday anytime soon. What other churches think of us has almost nothing to do with what we think of them. That would presuppose that they even notice what we’re saying, which they don’t. I don’t believe anyone was excommunicated up for bringing up seer stones.” Oct 22, 17:26
- on “Truth and Treason” and Today: “I was a Republican until sometime during the George W. Bush presidency. When they started lying about the effects of tax cuts, I quit. Since that time, they have lied about pretty much everything, and now, under Trump, lying is required. Just look at the nonsense that comes from Mike Johnson or Karoline Leavitt. After several years as an unaffiliated voter, I became a Democrat because they were standing up for the things I care most about: combatting global warming, making health care available to as many Americans as possible, taxing the wealthy, ending racism, preserving clean air and water, holding corporations responsible for their crimes, upholding the Constitution, and on and on. The GOP opposes all of these things and is now subservient to a completely amoral president who cares only about himself. What a sorry party. Trump is never satisfied, so don’t be surprised at how he will continue to move closer and closer to Nazi Germany. Many of his followers are already praising the Nazis. And look at the types of criminals Trump is pardoning. Their crimes are a reflection of his own. There is absolutely no place in the current GOP for any believing Latter-day Saint. So, take a stand before it’s too late.” Oct 22, 15:52
- on “Truth and Treason” and Today: “Kent, I understand. Culturally, we value obedience to church leaders so highly that anyone who has a different opinion than a local church leader, including on political matters, is apostate. I hope our church culture can mature beyond such a mindset. I also understand that part of Pres. Monson’s desire to contain the story was the church’s budding relationship with East Germany, and his desire to portray all Latter-day Saints as quiet and law-abiding. Anyway, I am glad for individuals who are remembering Hübener’s story, because the church as an institution certainly and purposefully did not.” Oct 22, 15:51
- on “Truth and Treason” and Today: “I saw the play while I was at BYU, with Karl-Heinz Schnibbe in attendance. It definitely made you think. ji, I suspect the Church was hesitant to tell the story because while Huebener was heroic, his branch president was not. But we’re a bit more open to admitting mistakes by leaders these days, and the story is featured in Saints. To preempt an objection: Hitler was almost uniquely evil, and no, Trump is not like Hitler. It’s very unlikely Trump will be directly responsible for the murder of millions (though hundreds seems likely). He’s more like Pinochet, or Franco. That’s not okay either.” Oct 22, 15:32
- on What Does Hollywood Think About Latter-day Saints?: “Yeah, The Holdovers calls to mind the original play version of The Whale, where you have a companion-less Mormon missionary as one of the main protagonists, or American Dreamer where the Peter Dinklage character was “adopted by a pair of Mormon missionaries.” *Eyeroll*” Oct 22, 14:57
- on “Truth and Treason” and Today: “my apologies, my remarks above conflate two posts I read this morning” Oct 22, 12:31
- on “Truth and Treason” and Today: “Perhaps similar to the OP, I have always been more on the Republican side of the aisle. But I have great respect for our republic, and I have great respect for our traditional patterns and processes. And I still believe that a Democrat can also be a good fellow citizen — when I lived in Georgia, I voted for Sam Nunn’s re-election as senator (but otherwise, I am an 85%+ Republican voter). I am saddened by the coarseness and disregard for tradition that Donald Trump has exemplified, and I see him (and those who obsequiously follow him) as real threats to the long-term health of our republic. I did not vote for him in the 2016 Republican primary, but I did in the general election — but I did not vote for him in 2020 or 2024. I now live in a VERY red (Republican) area, and I participated in the 50501 rally and both No Kings rallies in my area. No one in my extended family has joined me there, and I have never seen another Latter-day Saint there. I think the comparisons between Trump today and the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s are foreboding and chilling — certainly, I think they should be cause for concern for all good Americans. I am aware of the Hübener story and how his fellow LDS branch members considered him both as a traitor to the country and as unfaithful to the church, and how these feelings persisted for many years after the war. I have not seen the movie yet because I don’t generally like sappy movies, but I have just decided that I think I will see this movie just to be supportive — and maybe, I might like it! Regarding the church in the 1930s, I want to show as much charity as I can for those in the past. The church counseled members in Germany to do the best they could. I have wondered if I lived in Germany in the 1930s, what side would I have supported? Assuming I was not a Nazi myself, would I have become a resister with the risks that go with that, or would I have wanted to always be present to support my family through hard times? I respect young brother Hübener’s decisions, and I salute him as a good young man living in difficult times. Regarding today, I cannot provide a satisfactory explanation for Trump’s support among church members. I want to show as much charity as I can for them, too. One thing that I do see, though — among some of those who support Trump, I think the driving reason is less their support for Trump but rather far more their intense dislike for Democrats and everything they associate with Democrats. I am okay with people having opinions, and I have some myself, but I still want to think that we’re all Americans first. There is room in the public square for all of us, and there is room on the playground for all of our children. Anyway, back to Hübener’s story — there is another story, and that is why the church itself never celebrated one of its own and even suppressed the Hübener story. I understand a little of that, but I think enough time has passed that the church could choose to re-claim him and celebrate him.” Oct 22, 11:31
- on The Ancient Greek Endowment: “carey F. Yes they were- but no one saw them. Joseph had a cabinet maker make a box Given the dimensions which is known- the plates would have weighed about 100 lbs. But he ran–out ran- a gang trying to get them, and was able to get away and hide them in a barrel of beans or corn. I challenge anyone to run carrying 100 lbs of metal with sharp edges and corners, thru woods–not a road or trail, and outrun 4-5 people. I’m 70, I will chase whoever wants to carry them. Get a 20 yr old olympian.” Oct 22, 09:58
