Close Topic Options

Mormons - When Shall We Defend? Mormon Publicty - Page 3

I consider myself: I'm Active
Years a Member: lifetime

I was wondering, since I haven't been on here for awhile, if any of you had heard about the incident which happened during the last general conference.  The incident which I'm refering to is a conference goer who was arrested when he approached a picketer who was waving garments around, using them to blow his nose and in other profane ways, and wrestled him to get the garments away from him.   If you haven't heard about it, here are a couple of places you can read about it:

Conference Clashes Result in 2 arrests
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,5150...5038162,00.html

Clashes Result in 2 arrests
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,5150...5036683,00.html

Provoan Accuse of Battery in S.L.
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,5150...5037450,00.html

Provo man is Hero, Not A Criminal
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,5150...5038630,00.html

This one is an article from a little later on:

Pastors' Condemn Preachers' Acts
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,5150...5038162,00.html

So, my question is.... how would you have handled this situation?  How do you handle dissenters and picketers and people who actively protest against the church?  Do you think what this guy did was appropriate and would you have done the same, or would you have handled it in a different way?

Publicty Mormon Defend We When Mormons

I think I would have just ignored the guy and acted like he wasn't there.  When we resort to violence, I think it just lets the other guy know they got the better of us.  Scripture tells us to turn the other cheek.

Yet, the Savior did drive the money changers out of the Temple and our garments are sacred.  So, I am not sure,  but maybe the guy who took action did the right thing.  I doubt I would have done it, but unless faced with that situation, I can't really be sure how I would act.

I would be curious to see what the Church's official position on something like this would be.  I know we have been counseled not to argue religion, etc., because the Holy Ghost won't stay with us during contention.  

However, it looks to me like all either of these men did was take the garments that were being defiled away from these heathen.  The first guy also took a megaphone which he should not have done, in my opinion.

As an aside, LDS mentioned that the Church does go after people for copywrite infringement.  And I think she was questioning why go after the copywrite and not defend the beliefs and the inaccurate information passed along.  Well, they have to do this or they will lose the copywrite.  If a holder of a copywrite doesn't defend it vigorously, they will be found not to actually have one.  It is a weird law, but that is probably why the Church so vigorously pursues copywrite violations and just ignores the other stuff.

Mormons - When Shall We Defend? Mormon Publicty Studies Doctrine Mormon

I don't know what I would do in a situation like that. My 'natural' human being deep inside will want to go and slap his face or worst...but at the same time if we are wise enough we will know that this is what Satan works (after all this guy is looking for that, attention and anger from the members). Maybe I would just ignore him but if he continues and persist teasing me, I may slap him or tell him something not really nice.
What can I say, it depends on my mood that day. I think that's why the Church nowdays is making so much emphasis about respecting other religions and points of view...they don't want us to get involved in trouble.

Page 3 Publicty Mormon Defend We When Mormons

QUOTE

What can I say, it depends on my mood that day.

LOL.  That is probably the best answer, yet!  It would certainly depend upon my mood too.  We know what we are supposed to do or how we should act (or do we  ???), yet it often depends upon what else is going on with us at the time, how we will react.

Publicty Mormon Defend We When Mormons

One response that I heard of from this last conference was rather profound I thought.  I guess as the men were leaving the Priesthood session the protesters were yelling and getting rather loud.  Spontaneously the men started singing "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" and drowned out the protesters.  Can you imagine the sight?  1000's of men walking down the street singing!  I would have loved to have been there to see and hear that.

Mormons - When Shall We Defend? Mormon Publicty

QUOTE

Spontaneously the men started singing "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" and drowned out the protesters.  Can you imagine the sight?  1000's of men walking down the street singing!

Beautiful! I wish I was there too to see this...

Mormons When We Defend Mormon Publicty - Page 3

Off topic replies have been moved to [link=https://www.bordeglobal.com/cgi-bin2/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=oil;action=display;num=1067904503]This Thread[/link] by JB@Trinidad.

Mormons When We Defend Mormon Publicty Mormon Doctrine Studies - Page 3

It is my opinion that we must first define what is Scholarly apologetics and what is "defending the faith' and after we achieve this understanding we need to realize that Scholarly apologetics does not consist of nor should of any negative connotation about another's beliefs.  In short, to be a true apologist one must realize that he or she must be objective about the beliefs of others and subjective about his or her own beliefs but in so doing he/she needs to provide sources, references, and well documented and scholastic work.

As to 'defending the faith' which occurs mostly on a regular daily basis or through other gospel conversations with people (and this includes much of what is on the internet) we need to realize that scholastic research is not acceptable and is not appropriate.  If we were to start to write scholarly works or to begin a scholastic conversation with someone of another faith we are no longer 'defending the faith' but instead creating a relationship with the other person which places us one step above them.  This is in itself manipulative and does not consider the faith of the other person.  I always remember to put my knowledge behind me for a moment and attempt to assist them in understanding my view and why I chose to have that view.  I attempt to build on common ground and to focus on what we have in common rather then on what we don't have in common because what we don't have in common is best left to the scholarly research that takes time and effort and is not appropriate in a gospel conversations.  It gets frustrating at times to have someone tell you so and so said this or that, and that such and such book or study said this or that because if you have not had the opportunity to recently read what has been written or have no idea who the source is being cited then you are at a disadvantage.  This unforunately is a technique of the Tanner's and they put it off as scholarly research and well documented.  Let me assure you that when reading anything put out by the Tanners I do so with a grain of salt knowing that it in all liklihood is not well researched.  As people who do not dedicate our lives to researching the gospel or to 'apologetics' it can become difficult to respond to such statements with a basis of knowledge and thus I refrain from doing so.  I do not mean anything negative about the Tanners when I say that it is best that we simply not associate scholarly with people like this, and that it is best to respond to them only when their efforts is resulting in much confusion, mis-information and is harmful to members of the Church.

You will find that I do not resort to apologetics on this board, nor do I tend to refer to scholarly sources unless it is beneficial to the discussion.  Istead I understand that faith is far more important and that information and knowledge and the research and other information that I chose to seek out is left on the table and doesn't come to this computer.