Range of Perspective
Authors of books on "faith-promoting history" are criticized as generally avoiding more controversial topics in an effort to promote faith among members. This sort of history has generally been endorsed by the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was encouraged by Church Apostle Dallin H. Oaks.
Oaks is quoted as stating:
- "Criticism is particularly objectionable when it is directed toward Church authorities, general or local. . . . Evil-speaking of the Lord's anointed is in a class by itself. It is one thing to depreciate a person who exercises corporate power or even government power. It is quite another thing to criticize or depreciate a person for the performance of an office to which he or she has been called of God. It does not matter that the criticism is true. As President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve said in a conference address in April 1947: 'When we say anything bad about the leaders of the Church, whether true or false, we tend to impair their influence and their usefulness and are thus working against the Lord and his cause.' (CR April 1947, p. 24)"
- "Balance is telling both sides. This is not the mission of the official Church literature or avowedly anti-Mormon literature. Neither has any responsibility to present both sides."
On the opposite end of the spectrum are anti-mormon historians, which Oaks mentioned in the above quote. Anti-mormons generally write with the intention of disproving the claims of the Church, sometimes to the point of fabricating lies about the LDS Church. Though such historians would not be considered Latter Day Saints, they could be considered LDS historians as the LDS Church is the topic of their research. Many anti-mormons are, in fact, non-practicing ex-mormons and therefore may still consider themselves cultural Mormons.
Other historians reject both faith-promoting history and anti-mormon history, and seek to give a more objective analysis, basing their conclusions on actual evidence, rather than revealing selective evidence to reach their desired conclusions.
Read more about this topic: Historians Of The Latter Day Saint Movement
Famous quotes containing the words range of, range and/or perspective:
“Compared to football, baseball is almost an Oriental game, minimizing individual stardom, requiring a wide range of aggressive and defensive skills, and filled with long periods of inaction and irresolution. It has no time limitations. Football, on the other hand, has immediate goals, resolution on every single play, and a lot of violence—itself a highlight. It has clearly distinguishable hierarchies: heroes and drones.”
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“We must continually remind students in the classroom that expression of different opinions and dissenting ideas affirms the intellectual process. We should forcefully explain that our role is not to teach them to think as we do but rather to teach them, by example, the importance of taking a stance that is rooted in rigorous engagement with the full range of ideas about a topic.”
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“No one thinks anything silly is suitable when they are an adolescent. Such an enormous share of their own behavior is silly that they lose all proper perspective on silliness, like a baker who is nauseated by the sight of his own eclairs. This provides another good argument for the emerging theory that the best use of cryogenics is to freeze all human beings when they are between the ages of twelve and nineteen.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)