I have recently heard from a reliable Utah source some interesting claims about the reason for Daniel C. Peterson's sudden firing as editor at the BYU-based/Mormon Church apologietics outfit, the Maxwell Institute.

Note of the claims of why Peterson was supposedly shown the door by the Maxwell Insitite was made during a conversation about the Mormon Church's track record of denying and changing its track record relative to its embarrassing history and doctrine.

According to my source, Peterson left the country for the Middle East without having resolved an apparent ongoing dispute
with the Maxwell Institute regarding his future status as editor at the Institute. While in Jerusalem, Peterson was fired by directive from Provo, with Peterson subsequently sending out his own email defense to 18 colleagues.

(For Peterson's internet posting of his version of events, see "Of Gratitude, and Its Expression," under "Sic et Non," 22 June 2012, at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2012/06/of-gratitude-and-its-expression.html)
_____


Now, for the backstory of what allegedly was the actual impetus behind Peterson getting the boot.

I was talking with my source about how the Mormon Church is seeking tactical advantage in projecting a new-and-improved image of the Mormon Church through use of Mormon Mitt's run for the White House roses.

Our conversation focused on how Romney has had a significant history of flip-flopping on issues, and how this apparent tendency on Romney's part to reverse field at a moment's notice for political advantage does not serve him well in presenting himself to larger society as a Mormon supposedly committed to telling the truth and maintaining a consistent moral standard.

We also talked about how Romney steadfastly refuses to discuss with reporters in any meaningful detail the official doctrines (and their related history) of the Mormon Church but, rather, insists on speaking only about his personal experiences in the Mormon Church as what he describes as an LDS "pastor" position, as well as his experiences and beliefs as an individual member.

My source observed that Romney simply could not address matters of Mormon doctrine and history because it would render his campaign untenable.

Then, according to my source (who said the following had been relayed to the source by a staff employee at the Maxwell Institute), the Mitt Romney campaign had contacted the Maxwell Institute to complain that the extreme Mormon apologetics of Peterson were hurting the Romney presidential campaign.

Subsequently, the source said, Peterson was fired from his editor position at the Maxwell Institute.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2012 08:22PM by steve benson.

This was posted on a NOM forum on May 11:

For those of you who read through apologetic material during your faith crises, were there any specific defensive arguments that you found offensive, incredible, or in direct contradiction to what you had been taught in the church?

Two members of FAIR have issued public requests for information in this regard as the claim was made by John Dehlin that his informal research shows apologetics as conducted by these and other LDS groups to have harmed struggling church members more than helped.

If you have examples and post them in this thread, I will send copy them and get them to the folks at FAIR, a couple of whom have been more than understanding and quick to correct errors when pointed out.

-------------------------

This post indicates to me that Bradford was reconsidering how effective the Peterson style apologetics were and likely confirmed that they aren't very effective.

Not that this precludes pressure from the Romney campaign...

Offensive when they label everyone as "anti-mormons". When I still had even a tiny bit of faith in the church left, my concerns that I was looking to address, I felt like I was already labeled as such.

Mormon apologetics are really only answers for the gullible. They truly insult people's intelligence. I felt like those are the answers one would expect when in defense of a lie. They're not going to lay down and die by admitting the truth, so they'll instead come up with answers like these.

I read one extremely offensive piece of apologetic once when I was still believing. I wish I kept it cause I don't remember where I found it.

It was about tithing and it just ragged on anyone who ever had concerns about tithing, and at the end it said "why is it that the only people who have an issue with tithing are the people that aren't paying it?"

At the time I was still paying, but finding it extremely difficult with 4 kids, in addition to the fact that the numbers aren't disclosed. It was a complete hinderance to how I was feeling. Helped me decide to really find out what the church is all about.

So is it that the press, unable to get anything from Mitt, were digging around in Maxtitute stuff for answers? If not, then why would it matter what Mopologists were publishing?

I see they also removed the wonderful article by Mike Ash about how the Lamanites may have dragged horsemeat on a travois.

I clicked on the link I had posted and it said the article was missing. Thank Goodness I saved it a long time ago.

I don't blame the R-money campaign either. I mean, if the average person goes to the FAIR website and reads that article and many others, they would think that the mormons were a bunch of friggin' idiots.

See, I told you the Romney campaign was a good thing.

He certainly doesn't need any help!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2012 09:05PM by munchybotaz.

Firing DCP is not going to solve anything. His theories are already out there. They will continue to do damage long after he is gone. And I agree that Romney does need any help torpedoing his own campaign.

Some people seem worried that the church will tell Romney what to do.

This confirms that Romney tells the church what to do.

We are still waiting for the 100 page hit piece on Dehlin. Mitt isn't going to let that ever see the light of day.

I only wonder what else he is telling them to do to make him look better.

"This confirms that Romney tells the church what to do."

The exercise of influence is seldom one-sided: a favor done, a debt incurred.

And, more to the point: both sides of the transaction had their Eyes on the Prize: getting a mormon into the Oval Office.

Complaints from the Romney campaign may have tipped the scales - but it is unlikely that Peterson's negative impact on mormon/Romney PR was unnoticed in the LDS corridors of power.

We had lunch together the day after Peterson's dismissal went down, and we both agreed that was the likely impetus... Too much attention and publicity of the "wrong sort," and they felt it was better to put faith-promoting efforts on hold rather than be exposed to the spotlight.

Okay, now am I missing something, or am I just not seeing the volume of "Internet Mormonism per Elder Ballard" that we were seeing until a month or so ago? Was there a quiet "suggestion" to avoid such topics for a while?

I haven't been in a "real Internet gunfight" on the subject of "historical Mormonism" for a month now, and I confess to tossing out the occasional "provocation." Last guy that took the bait was a guy who lectured me on how sometimes God ordered polygamy to be practiced, and sometimes he didn't, and it wasn't our place to question something like that.

Anyone want to start a new thread on that subject? I don't have anything more to say...

Reporting from "the middle of nowhere"

SLC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2012 10:51PM by SL Cabbie.

Man, I love that you are part of RfM. Your reporting skills are impeccable. Keep it coming . . . all the way to November, baby!

;o)

P.S. Note to newbies: Steve Benson is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and the grandson of the late "Prophet," President Ezra Taft Benson. Love him or hate him, his insider information is always accurate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2012 10:12PM by shannon.

"

what Shannon said.


And if I go back to praying I only pray this story is twoo.


Delicious grist for the mitty mill.

"a new-and-improved image of the Mormon Church through use of Mormon Mitt's run for the White House"

so... greedy, ruthless, and totally out of touch?

it warms my exmo heart that mitt the twit is getting the message out for us

too much detail?

I doubt there would be much detailed analysis into the depths of Mormon doctrine and/or apologetics. The only feasible exception to this Might Be for the Ultra-Christian Right-Wing fundys who have NO FEAR in attacking or at least exposing Mormonism. IOW, I don't see this hitting the pages of the NYT or the WP, etc (any credible news outlet).

National Review? doubt it.

Peterson's theories? REALLY?

to my POV, his main tactic was to confuse people.

Back-Room deal department:

Which GA is 'humble' enough to let WMR call some/any shots?
are they so naive they think he has a shot at Winning?

Sorry, Steve; this one strikes out, at least with me.
Perhaps you've had sources try to gain favor with you before.

(for the GA's) needing a scapegoat.

The fact is, nobody is telling anybody what to do because neither Mitt Romney or any GA or COB committee has even one foot in the real world. That's why they are always asking people questions (even on this board).

They are CLUELESS. The idea, for example, that the Mitt Romney Mormon Moment would be a good thing for Mormons is pathetically flawed because THE MORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE CHURCH, THE LESS THEY LIKE IT.

Perhaps they even know this but are in denial. Like when they read the true history and find out that Joseph Smith is a lying, seducing conman, a person who offered to sells a guarantee of eternal salvation to a family in exchange for their teenage daughter. He makes the Catholic Church's selling of indulgence sound like a lemonade stand.

So you have the blind, asking the blind because --and this is the hilarity of the whole thing-- when you teach people from birth not to think for themselves, and couple that with the idea that they are gods in embryo, you get privileged elite puppets with no puppetmaster all bumping into each other and blaming one another while simultaneously proclaiming that there's nothing wrong.


Anagrammy

No presidential campaign can maintain full control over what their supporters do. But I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the war rooms of both major candidates' bureaus as they strive to make sure they're controlling the talking points out there, and not some renegade supporters or others with minds of their own. Sometimes around here we forget that we call the LDS empire the MORG for a reason. The Brethren don't have to tell Romney how to handle the religion issue or tell the TBMs with any influence on the Romney war room how to handle these matters either. And same goes for the powers over the NAMI regarding DCP and others in roles that might harm the march to 270. They all just kinda know what to do having been well correlated in their lives by the church. Now all we got to do is help motivate reporters and people in general to get to know Mitt's deeper faith and then warm up the popcorn.

@Alex71ut

"They all just kinda know what to do having been well correlated in their lives by the church."

Exactly right - and if Mitt Romney isn't "well correlated", I don't know who is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2012 10:27AM by 3X.

God, I hope so!

One, to be just a little more like the honest organization I hope it becomes someday (through force), and

Two, because their claims will never stand up to real research! It will be fun to watch. Bwaa-ha-ha-ha-ha

I'm sure Bradford and friends had many reasons.

One purpose of scholarship and universities is to mentor new students, to find the brightest and best, and to bring them into the discussion.

DCP and his group had a reputation that has put off new young Mormon scholars, and the coming up has had little interest in his style of apologetics, much less his personal vitriolic style.

BYU has a problem finding people in relevant fields that want to do apologetics. It sounds like Bradford wants to move to more scriptural based scholarship, but it turns out that Mormons who study scripture tend to leave the church. They learn too much.

Apologetics right now has a dearth of smart young students. Instead they have the likes of Schryver. DCP is getting some of the blame for that.

*

Mormonism is in a unique state on the world stage right now. It may never happen again. Things could turn out great for the church, or they could easily be a disaster for the world to see.

More than ever before, the church needs to control the script as much as possible. A big priority would be to tie down the big loose cannons. If Mitt should actually win, things could get even be more critical for the next 4 to 8 years.

If ever there ever was a BIG Loose Cannon, it would be Brother Peterson - he could become the "Champion defender of the faith" at exactly the wrong time in Mormon history.

Consider the Summer Olympics, Mitt is making enough mistakes on his own.

Was it not Peterson who claimed that there was no real or scholarly evidence to be found about Joseph Smith's practice of polyandry, polygamy and pedophilia?

I already leave BYU off of my CV because I am mortified by the lack of academic standards shown by BYU faculty like Peterson. (I list my graduate and post-grad schools -- USC and Walden.) (The only honest scholars I knew, or took classes from at BYU between 1977 and 1983 seem to have been excommunicated.)

Santa Monica School District, where I teach, uses BYU online as an alternative school. I think I am going to point out to Santa Monica that they are using an online school with faculty members who argue as if they belong to the flat earth society. Stir the pot a bit at least!

drwal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Was it not Peterson who claimed that there was no
> real or scholarly evidence to be found about
> Joseph Smith's practice of polyandry, polygamy and
> pedophilia?
>
> I already leave BYU off of my CV because I am
> mortified by the lack of academic standards shown
> by BYU faculty like Peterson. (I list my graduate
> and post-grad schools -- USC and Walden.) (The
> only honest scholars I knew, or took classes from
> at BYU between 1977 and 1983 seem to have been
> excommunicated.)
>
> Santa Monica School District, where I teach, uses
> BYU online as an alternative school. I think I am
> going to point out to Santa Monica that they are
> using an online school with faculty members who
> argue as if they belong to the flat earth society.
> Stir the pot a bit at least!


You should point out to them that BYU has been censured by the American Association of University Professors for its anti-intellectual/anti-academic freedom attacks on its own professors. BYU’s application to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa honor society for the liberal arts and sciences has been rejected three times because BYU was not deemed “academically mature enough”. PBK was of the stated view that BYU's "narrow mission statement precludes inquiry. . . . If students are unable to question, there is no liberal arts education." (see “The Lord’s University: Freedom and Authority at BYU” by Bryan Waterman and Brian Kagel)

They have regrouped.

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/

"Welcome to Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, a nonprofit, independent, peer-reviewed educational journal focused on the scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...."

Guess who the new editor of this fine online journal is - DCP!

Peer reviewed? Hahhhahhahhhahhahahahaaa!!! I wonder who they're going to consider peers.

Geee...I wonder why? (cough-its.not.defendable-cough)...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2012 02:58PM by a-no-nfor-sure.