I've taken opportunities to inform Mormon missionaries about the essays, if they don't already know about them. I've also suggested that maybe the MTC could print out the essays and give each new missionary a binder containing them to take with him or her into the mission field. But I've not heard that anything like that is in the works.
You're playing the game by mormon-defined rules. You can't win that way. Rather than a scholarly rebuttal, all you need to do is to point out the conflicts. For example, on the essay called "becoming like god" just ask your active kids if in the church, they were taught that some day they could themselves become gods. After establishing that the answer is "yes", then just ask why the church has to write multiple paragraphs on the topic in their essay, and still not give a clear answer, or an answer of "no" if anything. Why all of the smoke and mirrors? Because they're a cult, and they're afraid to admit what they really believe publicly. Let them know that your opinion is unchangable, based on your own observations and critical thinking skills. Encourage them to do the same.
One of the infuriating things about the essays is the use of that hackneyed apologetic phrase "more careful": things that any outsider can plainly see are damning to the church suddenly require "...a more careful study..." or "...a more careful approach..." In other words, they say "Let's take a step back, before we jump to any conclusions, and we'll take you by the hand and answer the question you *should* have asked..."
Then, like an alcoholic trying to explain away why he's he always in some kind of trouble because of everything *but* too much booze, they build a wall of Legos, tiny brick by tiny brick, and say "Don't look over there at the the nasty anti's, look here at our plain and precious truths" and build the wall higher and higher with twisted nonsense. Sometimes they are more blatant, and flat out do a Baghdad Bob and say: "There are no American tanks in Baghdad" while the tanks rumble by in the street below; example from the 'DNA' essay: the BoM explicitly states more than once that the New World is empty, "reserved" for all the folks written about in the BoM, but the essay says nothing in the book precludes others being there before the Jaredites and Mulekites and Nephites and Cronkites and whatever -ites JS & Co. cooked up. Then the essay goes on to say that "Nothing is known about the extent of intermarriage and genetic mixing between Book of Mormon peoples or their descendants and other inhabitants of the Americas, though some mixing appears evident, even during the period covered by the book’s text."
What!? Ancient Jews were *extremely* careful about intermarriage, and would certainly note, even in a religious history, the introduction of a completely different branch of the human family into the Lehi/Nephi family. So where is *that in the BoM?? And if the Lamanites had joined forces with, say, the Mayans, the BoM certainly would noted the addition of a huge adversarial force--but no, God changed them into a dark and loathsome people.
Funny how the rest of that particular essay doesn't go into how God changed the Lamanites; maybe I need to re-read it with a more careful study....
"Nothing is known about the extent of intermarriage and genetic mixing between Book of Mormon peoples or their descendants and other inhabitants of the Americas, (and now folks completely disregard what we just said in this the very same sentence!) though some mixing appears evident, even during the period covered by the book’s text." (Wait! But you just said? Now there is evidence and the mixing of races happened? But, but, but?)
Welcome to Mormonsim! This is a perfect example of the complete and utter BS that Faithful Mormons put into FAIR Apologetics and LDS Essay writers. BS of the highest order. How the actual F…k is it that anyone and I don’t care who, thinks for one second that my personal integrity is worse for rejecting thousands of asinine apologetic excuses and theirs a higher moral decision because they decided to accept and ignore and remain faithful in spite of absolute blatant lying?
Mormon Scholars Testify my ass. No human that calls themselves scholar can read that apologetic sentence then call themselves better than others and maintain a microdot of integrity.
The glory of God is intelligence? Anyone who accepts such outrageous BS stomps on any such theology.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2017 04:16PM by AmIDarkNow?.