DCP WasJoseph Smith sincere?

[_aussieguy55]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterso ... ncere.html

Dan quotes Arthur Henry King one of the few members of MormonScholarsTestify who were not born in the LDS church.

Interesting attack on John Dehlin from Louise Migley in letters section:-

"here is always the hope that those who turn away from God, will return to him. John Dehlin tried hard to recruit both Professor Peterson and me so that we could together help people stay in the Church, as he put it, by answering their questions properly. We should cease publishing what we see properly as scholarship, Instead, we should, he insisted, fashion short replies in which we feel the pain of those who have been stunned to learn things about our history that shock and offend people who have been lied to by the Church. He clearly had no intention of trying at all to bring people to Jesus Christ or back to him. The damage he has managed to do to himself, his extended family and to those who listened to his sophistry has been enormous. The war that started in heaven goes on here below. I have, I must point out, some very gifted and faithful students, who i have been blessed to know. But I must admit that those who have gone missing seem to me a bit like the loss of a loved member of my own family."

[_Kittens_and_Jesus]

It's not as though you can't fake being sincere. If so, there would be no actors or con artists. Being a sexual predator, Joseph Smith would have been quite skilled at faking sincerity.

[_consiglieri]

I really doubt that John Dehlin was sneering at Professors Midgley and Peterson behind their backs in the 1990s.

I expect John Dehlin was quite sincere in his goal at the time to actually tell the truth in addressing the questions some Mormons were having.

It does not appear either professor took John Dehlin seriously in this regard.

But it does give insight into the "hit-piece" Professor Peterson's The Interpreter did on John Dehlin a few years back.

Hell hath no fury like a BYU professor scorned.

Or something like that.

[_Philo Sofee]

The very first thought I had is, is Warren Jeffs sincere? In other words, the game playing Dr. Peterson is playing is useless, since he won't allow others of sincere conviction to be correct, but only Joseph Smith whom he has already decided, instead of allowing the evidence to speak. Sincerity is utterly irrelevant to truth, and Dr. "I like playing semi-intellectual games with people's minds" Peterson knows this. This is fundamentally the paid apologists way of thinking.

[_I have a question]

Joseph Smith, Sin Seer.

[_bcuzbcuz]

Joseph Smith, Sin Seer.

Love it! Accurate and funny.

[_DoubtingThomas]

The very first thought I had is, is Warren Jeffs sincere? In other words, the game playing Dr. Peterson is playing is useless, since he won't allow others of sincere conviction to be correct, but only Joseph Smith whom he has already decided, instead of allowing the evidence to speak. Sincerity is utterly irrelevant to truth.

He just wants to feel better about his beliefs.

[_fetchface]

The very first thought I had is, is Warren Jeffs sincere? In other words, the game playing Dr. Peterson is playing is useless, since he won't allow others of sincere conviction to be correct, but only Joseph Smith whom he has already decided, instead of allowing the evidence to speak. Sincerity is utterly irrelevant to truth, and Dr. "I like playing semi-intellectual games with people's minds" Peterson knows this. This is fundamentally the paid apologists way of thinking.

I am fairly certain that my grandfather has NPD. He is so hungry for admiration that when I was a child, he would frequently make up amazing, detailed stories about his life that he would tell when we were in a group setting. The family would just roll their eyes and play along but on a few occasions my parents would have adult friends around when he would break into storytelling mode. They would usually buy into all of it since he was a very convincing storyteller and appeared very sincere. Later when my parents would break the news to them that it was all made up, the friend would usually specifically comment on how sincere my grandfather seemed when he told the stories.

So I learned at an early age that liars with NPD can have an ability to lie and appear very sincere about it. I'm sure that Warren Jeffs' followers have no doubt of his sincerity.

Apparent sincerity and truth are two different things.

[_RockSlider]

The tar and feather scene is ironic when one knows the back story. Joseph Smith seemed very sincere about at least one thing ... young girls. His sincerity in that story about got him castrated.

[_moksha]

Mr. Dehlin's proposal of answering these points of concern with factual information rather than reinforcing legend was seen as too radical and perhaps even treasonous by apologists. The apologists had no way of knowing that the Church itself would pull the rug out from underneath the current apologetics with its series of essays. Apologetics in that era engaged in trench warfare which required its hardiest soldiers to routinely crawl through the mud. The apologetic corp motto Semper Lie stood in diametric opposition to Mr. Dehlin's so-called "idea".