Resource Categories: Race and Truth Claims
On June 18th, 2017, I wrote to President Dieter Uchtdorf, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the sincere hope he might take the time to respond to several specific concerns I had about the truth claims of the Mormon church.
Uchtdorf was my choice, as I viewed him as one of a very few General Authorities that might have the intelligence and maybe even the courage to attempt to address my concerns.
A colleague remarked to me that not only would Elder Uchtdorf not respond to my questions, but he would likely never see my letter. Instead, I could expect a form letter response from an underling and a missive from my Stake President.
Sadly, and it would seem predictably, that is just what happened. I did receive a rather terse ‘form-letter’ riposte from Uchtdorf’s secretary who copied my Stake President.
It has been well over three years since I wrote to this Mormon apostle and during those three years I have not received any correspondence or had any contact with Uchtdorf or for that matter from local church leadership.
I certainly do not take offense and understand that in an organization the size of the LDS church with 65,137 employees (almost half that of Google or Microsoft), that their C-level officials cannot respond to every letter they receive regardless of the solemnity of the writer.
I can also accept that the church’s general authorities may have no answers beyond those their apologists propagate. But, as the church’s behavior during the Hofmann affair illustrates, those at the top are likely privy to secreted documents and data of an expository if not exculpatory nature that might help one evaluate the LDS church’s dominant narrative.
Several months ago, I took down this site as I felt that it might lead good people away from a church or community that, regardless of its veracity, brings them comfort and peace to many. As well, research shows, that when people leave the Mormon church, as they are in droves today, they also often vacate their belief in God, and I did not want to contribute to that action.
However, the recent aggressive, dishonest, and dangerous videos that the Mormon church’s current cadre of apologists at the church supported FairMormon website have led me to a change of heart. These hateful materials, disseminated by FairMormon, are clearly intended to harm and possibly incite violence against former church members, such as John Dehlin, and Jeremy Runnells. This has prompted me to again lend my small voice to those questioning Mormonism.
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