the Jan/Feb article by McKay Coppins (life-long LDS) mentions this possibility;
refer to the January/February issue of The Atlantic.

isn't 'religion' becoming as fragmented as politics?


You can't always go home, Dorothy

(I'm going to read the article again before I post a review)

Coppins scored an interview with Russ Nelson, writes about him being a Doc, but the scope is adoration, enhanced by the process of getting admitted to the interview site.

There wasn't much personal information regarding Mr. Nelson; I don't recall any mention of his personal life, wife, children...

btw, were any of Russ' handlers in the room during the interview? Were all questions required to be submitted in advance?

This was like a Softball Game! It was as far away from Mike Wallace / Gordon Hinckley as one could possibly be!

MISSING was the hardball question: 'Are you a prophet of God?' ... to which as most recall, GH replied (NOT an Answer!) "I am sustained as such".

The photos were top-notch, I wondered if the photographer (Michael Friberg) was also LDS. As a past semi-pro photojournalist, it's my opinion that they captured very favorable images of Russ Nelson (church supplied?) and several
temples.

There was a photo of a black women who's captioned saying that she thought an apology for LDS racism was warranted...

- Coppins mentioned Haun's Mill (17 LDS deaths) but didn't mention the MMM; curious. All told, it was a very sympathetic telling of persecution but lightly mentioned the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor leaving me (other readers?) wondering Why was it destroyed.

- He mentioned JSs 32 wives, but omitted that some of them were previously married to men who were currently serving missions, 14 years old.

- Coppins mentioned JSs brief run for POTUS in a sympathetic context of Mormon frustration for federal government disregard for LDS hardships.

The implication was that since the Feds were negligent, the LDS were 'justified' in their efforts to produce a new constitution / system of governing.... OK!

- He touches on racism, paints JS as an abolitionist (was this the JS of the North, reversed in the South?)
He doesn't mention the 'curse of darkness' found in LDS scriptures... Hmmmm He mentions JSs plan to buy freedom for the Africans, but didn't that idea end with Blacks being sent 'back to Africa' (documentation asked, TY)?

- He didn't mention the autocratic rule of BY.



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2021 11:33PM by GNPE.

If there was no religion, someone would create one, then another, then another.

We want to know where we came from, what we're doing here. Anyone with a decent answer may get followers. People are bored with logic and science. They want something special that shows us that God is there and is thinking about us (not necessarily doing anything or listening though).

For many people, religion provides the answers they're looking for, true or not.

the article I referred to could have been titled:

What if there is no mainstream (common cultural -religious meeting place 'ground') for Mormonism to achieve?

IMHO, this article misses the mark, not even close.