The following was recently posted on the D.C. area YSA (Colonial) listserve. It is interesting that the title of the event on the listserve does not reference "doubt" while the Temple and Observatory Committee website labels it "Belief and Doubt in Mormonism."

Two questions I would like to see clearly answered by Bushman and the Givens are:

1. What exactly do they believe? They already recognize that there are historical issues with the Church. Instead of vague testimonies about feeling God's love or saying the Gospel (without definition) is true, what specific doctrines of Mormonism and Christianity do they personally believe are literally true? Or even inspired truth? Or what?

2. Why do they remain in the Church? Again, looking for an answer that is more specific than merely saying that they feel good in the Church. Is it for family? Because their careers are tied to it? Out of stubbornness/inertia? For social prestige? Due to aspirations for higher callings? Because an angel appeared to them? Why?


***begin quote***

You have been invited to the following event.

Title: FAITH CHALLENGES - Richard Bushman, Fiona Givens, and Terryl Givens

"Give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light": Navigating LDS Faith Challenges

A presentation, Q&A, and lunch with Richard Bushman, Fiona Givens, and Terryl Givens

Saturday, October 19, 2013
10:00 A.M. — 3:30 P.M.
2124 Polo Pointe Drive
Vienna, VA 22181
(lunch provided)

[better link added: http://templeandobservatory.org/?sc_event=dc-event]
("The Temple and Observatory Group is an independent organization with no formal affiliation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We hold small seminars where believing Mormon intellectuals like Richard
Bushman, Terryl Givens, and Fiona Givens share their perspectives on issues of doubt, faith, and discipleship.")

***end quote***

Return and report?

As much as I'd like to cross the river and pin down these squirrels, I have better things to do with the bulk of a Saturday.

I don't trust any of them to be forthright and candid
in their arguments for promoting Mormonism.

Somewhere inside of their supposedly cosmopolitan,
educated brains, they still believe in Lamanites as
much as Porter Rockwell did -- they still work to
bring about Mormon dominance as faithfully as Elder
Jedediah M. Grant did.

If these LDS elites really wished to embrace the truth,
they could easily find role models in modern Catholicism
or in other realms of Christianity, where enlightened
members stood up against absurd doctrines and harmful
leaders, to try and effect meaningful change -- or, at
the very least, the option of promoting some shreds of
truth in a sea of lies.

Let them weasel their way through questions and propositions
which The Brethren have already decided, long in advance;
despite some smiles and happy rhetoric, it all stays the same

UD

There "answers" will amount to "we're smart people, we've examined all the issues, and we still believe. So, what's wrong with you?"

The fact that this is a group "with no formal affiliation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" gives them freedom to claim all kind of nonsense that can later be denied as "not official" by TSCC.

So most people will ignore it?