8/12/2011: An Evening With D. Michael Quinn

[mormonstories]

Registration now open.

http://mormonstories.org/?p=1787

Hope to see some of you there.

[BCSpace]

What contributions to Mormonism are D. Michael Quinn and John Dehlin making now? Nothing?

If you can't ask a question respectfully don't expect an answer.

[Libs]

They are offering their perspective. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

[ERayR]

They are offering their perspective. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

Who is Michael Quinn that I should trust him enough to place my eternal future in his hands? Or, for that matter, even pay heed to his perspective?

[Kenngo1969]

That's nice. What's Quinn's cut?

[Ron Beron]

Who is Michael Quinn that I should trust him enough to place my eternal future in his hands? Or, for that matter, even pay heed to his perspective?

His perspective, I am sure will reflect his unique if somewhat sad outlooks. If not then he is still a good and intelligent historian. Remember Alma 5:30 "And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions? Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the time is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be saved! "

[Libs]

Who is Michael Quinn that I should trust him enough to place my eternal future in his hands? Or, for that matter, even pay heed to his perspective?

I didn't say you had to have any interest in Michael Quinn, whatsoever...but, some people do have an interest. Each to his own.

[kolipoki09]

Who is Michael Quinn that I should trust him enough to place my eternal future in his hands? Or, for that matter, even pay heed to his perspective?

Is Michael Quinn inviting you to place your eternal future in his hands?

Enough Mormon scholars are still "paying attention" to his work that he's regularly invited to participate in symposia, sitting on panels with individuals you and I would gladly consider to be "faithful" Latter-day Saints.

John Dehlin, casting aside a number of his personal views, has done incredible work in fostering dialogue between dissenters and the faithful. As Hugh B. Brown noted years ago:

We should, of course, respect the opinions of others, but we should also be unafraid to dissent — if we are informed. Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought, and in that competition truth emerges triumphant. Only error fears freedom of expression...

...More thinking is required, and we should all exercise our God-given right to think and be unafraid to express our opinions, with proper respect for those to whom we talk and proper acknowledgment of our own shortcomings.

We must preserve freedom of the mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it. The church is not so much concerned with whether the thoughts of its members are orthodox or heterodox as it is that they shall have thoughts.

[Xander]

Is Michael Quinn inviting you to place your eternal future in his hands?

Enough Mormon scholars are still "paying attention" to his work that he's regularly invited to participate in symposia, sitting on panels with individuals you and I would gladly consider to be "faithful" Latter-day Saints.

John Dehlin, casting aside a number of his personal views, has done incredible work in fostering dialogue between dissenters and the faithful. As Hugh B. Brown noted years ago:

Well that was Hugh Brown's personal opinion, not official doctrine.... unfortunately.

[kolipoki09]

Well that was Hugh Brown's personal opinion, not official doctrine.... unfortunately.

Of course, not any more doctrine than Boyd K. Packer's "The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect."

But, you've got the First Counselor in the First Presidency, speaking on assignment of the First Presidency when David O. McKay was too ill to give the address himself. While certainly not "doctrine" in the strictest sense of the word (i.e. canonization), I think President Brown illustrated an important point.

I've heard President Brown's talk quoted by my LDS professors more than any other address.

Elder Packer's 1981 CES address (which I've seen quoted almost exclusively by Church critics) has never been mentioned, or implied.

I don't use President Brown's remarks as a reason to justify middle-way Mormonism as much as I do because I value the marketplace of ideas - a place where Quinn has done some great work.

Quinn is not without his critics, both in and out of the Church, but I do not see an inherent danger by allowing Quinn a podium (at a Unitarian Universalist Church of all places) to engage in dialogue with admirers and other interested persons.

[DH]

What contributions to Mormonism are D. Michael Quinn and John Dehlin making now? Nothing?

If you can't ask a question respectfully don't expect an answer.

You imply that Quinn and Dehlin are making no contributions to Mormonism, and then follow that up by insisting that people ask their questions respectfully? Really?

[DH]

Who is Michael Quinn that I should trust him enough to place my eternal future in his hands?

Where did that come from? Seriously, who said you had to place your eternal future in Quinn's hands?

For that matter, why would you place your eternal future in anybody's hands, Thomas Monson's included, other than your own and Jesus' hands?

Or, for that matter, even pay heed to his perspective?

Nobody has to, anymore than we have to heed your perspective. But there is a value to engaging in dialogue and learning others' points of view.

[Calm]

You imply that Quinn and Dehlin are making no contributions to Mormonism, and then follow that up by insisting that people ask their questions respectfully? Really?

Look at who edited the post. Usually if there is a moderating type comment in red, you can depend on it being a moderator who wrote it...in this case, Minos, not BC.

[DH]

Look at who edited the post. Usually if there is a moderating type comment in red, you can depend on it being a moderator who wrote it...in this case, Minos, not BC.

Ah, ok! Thanks for pointing that out, calmoriah.

[kolipoki09]

It would not surprise me (as it has already happened in the past) that some of these comments may find themselves read aloud in certain Sunstone and or FAIR lectures currently underway. But for those able to make it to the Quinn lecture, I'm sure it will be an enjoyable experience.

Even when Volgadon and I had lunch with Dehlin last year, we kept it respectful even if we are active believers and Dehlin isn't. We didn't use it as a battering ram, and Dehlin didn't use his position as a battering ram either. It was well worth the trip (even if I happened to blow $100 on used LDS books in the process ).

I'm glad Dehlin even posts here occasionally. If he did it more often, I think it might do a great deal toward fostering better dialogue between believers, reformers, and non-believers.

[Libs]

I wish John posted here more often, as well. I always enjoy his posts on Facebook. I have never met him, in person, but he just seems like a super nice guy.

[BCSpace]

You imply that Quinn and Dehlin are making no contributions to Mormonism, and then follow that up by insisting that people ask their questions respectfully? Really?

Look at who edited the post. Usually if there is a moderating type comment in red, you can depend on it being a moderator who wrote it...in this case, Minos, not BC.

And I notice a similar question was asked in a later post but with no moderation. It is a serious question. The link in the OP states that:

Mormon Stories presents an evening in honor and celebration of D. Michael Quinn, his life and his contributions to Mormonism. Proceeds will go to Michael and the Open Stories Foundation.

Considering the Open Stories Foundation site, are they really going to promote "alternative and affirmative" stories about the Mormon experience or will it still be about magic and same-sex dynamics among 19th century Mormons as promulgated by Quinn? Or is one just code for the other? Similar could be asked of Dehlin.

[Robert F. Smith]

And I notice a similar question was asked in a later post but with no moderation. It is a serious question. The link in the OP states that:

Considering the Open Stories Foundation site, are they really going to promote "alternative and affirmative" stories about the Mormon experience or will it still be about magic and same-sex dynamics among 19th century Mormons as promulgated by Quinn? Or is one just code for the other? Similar could be asked of Dehlin.

Be cautious in too readily finding fault.

Quinn regularly attends scholarly symposia and presents papers (this year at the Claremont Colleges, for example). Much to the consternation of the anti-Mormon community, Quinn has a strong testimony of the antiquity of the Book of Mormon and will bear that testimony. He is the strongest single defender of the authenticity of the 1820 First Vision. I recall a lecture he gave years ago in the Provo City Hall to a full house in which (during the Q&A) he pointed out that Fawn Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith was primarily motivated by her bitterness against the Church. He is brilliant, outspoken, and calls them as he sees them, but has definitely made some mistakes. Remember him in your prayers.