Asked to teach a class about answering and dealing with hard questions

[Jeanne]

43 minutes ago, Calm said:

FHE lessons are left up to the parent.  They can teach whatever they want.  The FHE manual is the same one since the 80s iirc, they have added a video supplement in the 90s iirc.  The manual is more for helping parents learn how to teach lessons than providing all the lessons you need.  I don't believe it has even a year's worth of lessons included.  More likely just enough to help the parent fill confident in their teaching.

Thank you.  I thought they got new manuals yearly.  This is good though. I feel as long as families are together!!

[Calm]

They used to back in the 60s, maybe some of the 70s.  But at least by 85 and probably before (I probably went looking in 82), it was the generic version.  It saves a lot of effort for the Church and encourages parents to tailor the lessons to the family, but they had some fun activities for the kids to do, so I missed them.

[Jeanne]

4 minutes ago, Calm said:

They used to back in the 60s, maybe some of the 70s.  But at least by 85 and probably before (I probably went looking in 82), it was the generic version.  It saves a lot of effort for the Church and encourages parents to tailor the lessons to the family, but they had some fun activities for the kids to do, so I missed them.

Yeah...the games were fun.  As a pre-teen, I remember using the "NewlyWed Game" as a way to get to see how much we know our family members.  Those were good times.

[rongo]

17 hours ago, Johnnie Cake said:

You might create an "issue" by admitting there are "issues". 

That risk is always better than trying to shield youth from issues. Especially in the internet age. It's best to expose them in a faithful environment (innoculation) rather than try to intervene once they have issues on their own.

In my experience, feelings of deceit and betrayal trump the questions and answers; that is, when people feel deceived and betrayed by the Church, it is very hard to help them, even when they acknowledge that the answers are good and their assumptions were faulty. The emotional response remains, and is very hard to overcome. 

I think the Church has tried to prevent issues by not admitting issues for a long time, and the pendulum is swinging the other way. Exposure and discussion is best done in a faithful manner (in other words, not the Bill Reel and consiglieri way), which is what stake leadership is trying to do with this EFY. I think this is, as B.H. Roberts said about the 1852 public acknowledgement of polygamy, "timely, and about time!"  

[Johnnie Cake]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

That risk is always better than trying to shield youth from issues. Especially in the internet age. It's best to expose them in a faithful environment (innoculation) rather than try to intervene once they have issues on their own.

In my experience, feelings of deceit and betrayal trump the questions and answers; that is, when people feel deceived and betrayed by the Church, it is very hard to help them, even when they acknowledge that the answers are good and their assumptions were faulty. The emotional response remains, and is very hard to overcome. 

I think the Church has tried to prevent issues by not admitting issues for a long time, and the pendulum is swinging the other way. Exposure and discussion is best done in a faithful manner (in other words, not the Bill Reel and consiglieri way), which is what stake leadership is trying to do with this EFY. I think this is, as B.H. Roberts said about the 1852 public acknowledgement of polygamy, "timely, and about time!"  

I like the Bill Reel and consiglieri way...but I also like that you are offering answers to difficult questions....as long as you don't hem the youth in with pre conceived conclusions.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Johnnie Cake

[Tacenda]

20 hours ago, Calm said:

They have been using the same primary lessons/manuals since the 90s, Primary will probably be the last manuals to change if it goes the way it has been in the past.  They change about every 20-30 years.

Something funny about this picture to me. Are apologists going to give people like me a break for once, when this shows that we're taught a different narrative (there's that word again) than the true one. Since members are supposed to have known about the seerstone and hat method of translation, along with JS's wives.

I hope this stands out now, to all of you on here that say we should know these things. If the church correlation didn't know of it, how are we? Or they did know and what some of us mention is true, it's hidden.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Tacenda

[rongo]

20 minutes ago, Johnnie Cake said:

I like the Bill Reel and consiglieri way...but I also like that you are offering answers to difficult questions....as long as you don't hem the youth in with pre conceived conclusions.

Oh, my conclusions are pre-conceived.  

But, there's a difference between "being a shill" or a "hack," and "giving a reason for the hope that is in you."

I don't think I'll have time to get into nuts and bolts details, just basic principles.

[Jeanne]

12 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Something funny about this picture to me. Are apologists going to give people like me a break for once, when this shows that we're taught a different narrative (there's that word again) than the true one. Since members are supposed to have known about the seerstone and hat method of translation, along with JS's wives.

I hope this stands out now, to all of you on here that say we should know these things. If the church correlation didn't know of it, how are we? Or they did know and what some of us mention is true, it's hidden.

My thoughts exactly though I didn't express them. What is a child to believe if what he/she is taught in nursery/primary differs from what parents teach in FHE?

Quote

 

 

[rongo]

Any recommendations to add to this list of resources (discussion will precede)?

1) Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the restored gospel).

2) Parents

3) Church leaders

4) Friends

5) http://www.lds.org

5a) https://www.lds.org/topics/essays

6) http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Contents

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

Any recommendations to add to this list of resources (discussion will precede)?

1) Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the restored gospel).

 

2) Parents

 

3) Church leaders

 

4) Friends

5) http://www.lds.org

5a) https://www.lds.org/topics/essays

6) http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Contents

I'm a huge fan of Jeff Lindsay.  His LDSFAQ section is a great resource for someone who wants to understand a topic without reading pages of stuff, which is probably most teenagers.

[gopher]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

Any recommendations to add to this list of resources (discussion will precede)?

1) Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the restored gospel).

2) Parents

3) Church leaders

4) Friends

5) http://www.lds.org

5a) https://www.lds.org/topics/essays

6) http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Contents

I think the Gospel Principles manual is invaluable - it has a section on the Church's teachings on homosexuality and SSM, and includes President Hinckley's counsel to the church to love gays and lesbians as sons and daughters of God.  It's also written so even teenagers can understand.

You aren't comfortable recommending this discussion board?   Even the believing members here often can't agree on anything. 

I like the idea of your class.  Even if you can't discuss each item in detail, it will expose the youth to the questions so they won't go through the struggle many have described after first hearing the issues as adults.  I like your approach of tackling the questions head on rather than sidestepping them.  I've already discussed most of them with my teenager so he could hear them from someone he loves and trusts and has his best interests at heart.

I thought there are some good questions posted by teens on the webpage for the upcoming Face to Face broadcast with Pres Eyring and Elder Holland.  Many are about faith, prayers, and testimony, but there are some other question that fit into your other categories.

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/face-to-face/eyring-holland?lang=eng

[rongo]

Good ideas, bluebell and gopher! I think I'll include Jeff Lindsay, True to the Faith, For the Strength of Youth, and Gospel Principles.

[hope_for_things]

3 hours ago, rongo said:

Any recommendations to add to this list of resources (discussion will precede)?

1) Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the restored gospel).

 

2) Parents

 

3) Church leaders

 

4) Friends

5) http://www.lds.org

5a) https://www.lds.org/topics/essays

6) http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Contents

How about good books by historians.  I believe Elder Ballard even mentioned this in his talk to the CES leaders last year.  We should seek out the best scholarship.  Much better than just online blogs and essays every time.  Also, what about MHA, Dialogue, BYU Studies, Maxwell institute, JWHA, etc.  

[rongo]

2 minutes ago, hope_for_things said:

How about good books by historians.  I believe Elder Ballard even mentioned this in his talk to the CES leaders last year.  We should seek out the best scholarship.  Much better than just online blogs and essays every time.  Also, what about MHA, Dialogue, BYU Studies, Maxwell institute, JWHA, etc.  

For teenagers? I was a reader, and my own kids are readers (my son has one of the CHC volumes with him at school today, in fact, and a copy of "An Enemy Hath Done This"), but LDS youth who read history are in very elite company. Heck, most adults don't, and won't. I wish they did, but the reality is otherwise. That is a large part of the problem causing Glaubensverlust and testimony problems. 

Those who want more meaty sources will find them through the linked to material. 

And, I only have 20 minutes with them . . .  

[Calm]

3 hours ago, rongo said:

Good ideas, bluebell and gopher! I think I'll include Jeff Lindsay, True to the Faith, For the Strength of Youth, and Gospel Principles.

Be sure to mention Gospel Principles is a quick way to check if something being taught is their personal speculation or doctrine.  It is not perfect, but covers most doctrines, so if it isn't in there they should be cautious in claiming it is doctrine until they have had time to research.

[rongo]

Report on how it went:

A h-u-g-e turnout: 242 youth. Last night was a fun activity night and the kids met their groups.

Today went very well --- kids were very well-behaved and attentive. They had classes in a rotating schedule (broken up by games, dancing lessons --- swing, waltz, line, fast dancing tips for the fast dancing challenged or self-conscious), etc., in groups of 20-30 mixed ages and genders 12-18 with couples from the stake over them  (classes alternating with physical activity). Each station was 20 minutes, plus a 10 minute "passing period." In addition to my class on hard questions, a member of the stake presidency taught a class on the enabling power of the atonement, the stake YW president taught a class on dealing with distractions, the stake YM president taught a class on goals and making progress, and a former seminary teacher taught on personalizing scripture study to fit personality, habit, strengths, and weaknesses. 

I had a fairly flimsy shelf mechanism set up for each class (very thin boards), and started putting objects on the shelf as I opened. I showed with a projector on a screen my 2nd companion on my mission (after being with my trainer for 2 months). He was 26, had a degree in economics, and I was his first junior companion. He went home after I was with him. His testimony was in tatters, but he was a hard worker. He refused to speak English with me, and constantly cross-examined my testimony relentlessly --- in a good way. He wasn't trying to tear my faith down, but he wanted to know how I could say that I knew and believed what I said I did. He was taking apart the watch and trying to understand how it worked.  We became good friends, and he had a lot of respect for me (he burned through companions who couldn't take his constant cross-examining, and my testimony, patience, and resilience reassured him). He was very good with people, and we were let in a lot and taught a ton because of his language skills as a native, and his sense of humor and intelligence.

We found, taught, and baptized his first and only baptism, a very spiritually-sensitive woman. He talked to her at a street display, and she undertook an intensive investigation of the Church, attending every meeting (including a stake Relief Society conference), and asking every member for their experience and impression of Mormonism. She compared notes from different people's testimonies and compared them to her own experience and spiritual confirmation. A dream investigator! He baptized her, and I confirmed her.

I worried about him, and was thrilled to run into him at General Conference a year later (GC is a big deal in Europe --- a chance to reunite with many people from all over). He was doing well, and active in the Church. Four years ago, he flew to the U.S. for a mission reunion, still doing very well. This did my heart good!

Then, I showed this picture from the 20098 FAIR Conference in Frankfurt. The lady on the far left had left her mission in Las Vegas early because of devastating testimony issues. She asked a lot of questions, and it was good to have her there. The man talking to her with his back turned was a government minister over "cults and new religious movements" who was keeping tabs on the goings on at the FAIR Conference. He was actually a very nice man, and even contributed some research leads in favor of the Church in some Münich museums in the Q&A for Jeff Bradshaw's presentation on the Apocalypse of Abraham.

I continued adding objects to the flimsy shelf as I talked about these stories and pictures, noting that there can be good outcomes and not-so-good outcomes when people have serious questions and concerns. Then, the shelf broke, and all of the objects fell (I had some heavy objects if the shelf needed some help at the end). The kids got the point, and easily discerned the two reasons for what happened: the shelf wasn't strong enough, and there were too many items/too much weight on it. 

The attached handout was given to each as they came in (many began reading when they sat down), and I briefly touched on each point: the 6 areas of questions; importance of faith, evidence, and argument; shelf maintenance, the law of the harvest; assumptions and expectations; Davis Bitton's FAIR Conference quote with a ball and mitt demo from me of learning to keep flies in front of me instead of them going over my head; resources (including an explanation of the FAIR Wiki and Jeff Lindsay). 

I asked for examples when they had used FtSoY or the PotF to answer questions for themselves, and many youth had stories (I keep copies of FtSoY and give them to students when they have questions and I sense that they want to read more. Often these students read the whole thing, because they are interested in what makes their Mormon friends tick. There is a mystique.  ).

The remaining time was reserved for questions. Some groups didn't have a lot of time; other groups had a lot more time. Here were questions I remember:

1. Lots of Word of Wisdom questions (why?).

2. Questions about what is done in the temple aside from baptisms and sealings.

3. Many gay marriage questions. The most memorable was from a girl who is less-active and comes from a bad home. She was apologetic for continuing to ask questions, but I encouraged her and told her her questions were good. She was sincere. I met her at girls camp this summer, and have covered for some of her teachers' classes on my free hour when needed. Once, when I heard her swear, I said to her, "Jasmine, CTR." People around her asked each other and me, "What does CTR mean?" and I answered, "She knows what it means." (I could see that she got the message and understood). Her grandparents had taken her out of the school because they didn't like the circle of friends influencing her. 

4. Some science vs. religion type questions.

5. A few Sabbath day questions.

6. *A lot* of modesty questions (including piercings, tattoos, clothing, etc.).

7. Two women and the priesthood questions. The kids actually gave the answers adult apologists would give on their own, without prompting. For one of the classes asking about this, I shared the fact of Eliza R. Snow's efficacious healings for cholera in Morgan, Utah (family history, plus a history of the stake in my possession). I emphasized that I have never been able to find where women who healed by the laying on of hands stated priesthood authority, and that it appeared that it was done by faith in this case as well. 

8. One kid asked a specific question about Book of Mormon names that showed some erudition on his part (background study and knowledge). I am getting back to him personally with information for him.

Difficult Questions and Testimony.pdf

[Duncan]

On 2/7/2017 at 3:09 PM, bluebell said:

My mother got pregnant with me out of wedlock in the late 70s.  I know people who got pregnant out of wedlock in the 50s.  Anyone who thinks that society is the same now as it used to be in regards to premarital sex and out of wedlock children is confused.

as long as it's come up, my Mom's Aunt got pregnant out of wedlock in 1909. They got married and had 2 more kids, waited five years had 3 more kids waited 3 years and had 3 more kids-From what I understand the family was more upset that the guy's name was Cuthbert than the fact that they had a child out of wedlock, Uncle Cuthbert? well, they moved out of town over that! but one of the middle kids joined the Church

Edited February 19, 2017 by Duncan

[carbon dioxide]

On 2/11/2017 at 9:44 PM, california boy said:

The California Supreme court RULED that gay couples have a CIVIL RIGHT to marry in the state of California.  That is why it was legal for gay couples to marry prior to Prop 8.  Prop 8 took away that civil right om the state of California.   So yes. gay couples did indeed have the civil right to marry and the Mormons decided they should pour millions of dollars to campaign to take away that civil right.  DON"T REWRITE HISTORY.  

 

Lets not rewrite history nor the law.

1.  Courts do not write laws or give rights.  They just interpret laws and say what is a right and not a right according to the law that exists at a specific moment of time. 

2.  The people of California disagreed with the decision made by the court.  They did not see the court having authority on the issue or agree with the decision.  They went through a LEGAL process to change a ruling they did not agree with.  That is the system we live in.  Courts don't make the final decision on issues.  There is ALWAYS options afterwards.

3.  The LDS Church did not author Prop 8.

4.  The LDS Church did put money into Prop 8 but more money was spent to defeat Prop 8 than the supporters.  If money buys the vote, Prop 8 should have not passed.  So regardless of how much money was used by LDS to pass Prop 8, it really did not decide the results.

5.  The voters decided Prop 8.  Not the LDS Church or Mormons.  In fact if every LDS voter in California stayed home on election day, Prop 8 still would have passed. 

Bottom line.  The non-LDS California voters passed Prop 8 even though more money was spent against their side.  This was not a California thing.  At one point it was 31-0 against gay marriage in states nationally.   When gay marriage gets shot down 31 times with no wins, that is not an LDS thing.  That is a national wipe out. 

[cinepro]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

Report on how it went:

A h-u-g-e turnout: 242 youth. Last night was a fun activity night and the kids met their groups.

Today went very well --- kids were very well-behaved and attentive. They had classes in a rotating schedule (broken up by games, dancing lessons --- swing, waltz, line, fast dancing tips for the fast dancing challenged or self-conscious), etc., in groups of 20-30 mixed ages and genders 12-18 with couples from the stake over them  (classes alternating with physical activity). Each station was 20 minutes, plus a 10 minute "passing period." In addition to my class on hard questions, a member of the stake presidency taught a class on the enabling power of the atonement, the stake YW president taught a class on dealing with distractions, the stake YM president taught a class on goals and making progress, and a former seminary teacher taught on personalizing scripture study to fit personality, habit, strengths, and weaknesses. <snip>

Sounds like an interesting day.  The handout is an interesting collection of quotes and could probably give them something to think about in their approach to questioning, and I would only have wished for sources for all the quotes (if only to reinforce to the kids that they should get sources for everything.)

Edited February 19, 2017 by cinepro

[hagoth7]

On 02/14/2017 at 7:08 AM, rongo said:

Any recommendations to add to this list of resources (discussion will precede)?

1) Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the restored gospel).

 

2) Parents

 

3) Church leaders

 

4) Friends

5) http://www.lds.org

5a) https://www.lds.org/topics/essays

6) http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Contents

7) Prophecy, an anchor to the soul....

[california boy]

9 hours ago, carbon dioxide said:

Lets not rewrite history nor the law.

1.  Courts do not write laws or give rights.  They just interpret laws and say what is a right and not a right according to the law that exists at a specific moment of time. 

2.  The people of California disagreed with the decision made by the court.  They did not see the court having authority on the issue or agree with the decision.  They went through a LEGAL process to change a ruling they did not agree with.  That is the system we live in.  Courts don't make the final decision on issues.  There is ALWAYS options afterwards.

3.  The LDS Church did not author Prop 8.

4.  The LDS Church did put money into Prop 8 but more money was spent to defeat Prop 8 than the supporters.  If money buys the vote, Prop 8 should have not passed.  So regardless of how much money was used by LDS to pass Prop 8, it really did not decide the results.

5.  The voters decided Prop 8.  Not the LDS Church or Mormons.  In fact if every LDS voter in California stayed home on election day, Prop 8 still would have passed. 

Bottom line.  The non-LDS California voters passed Prop 8 even though more money was spent against their side.  This was not a California thing.  At one point it was 31-0 against gay marriage in states nationally.   When gay marriage gets shot down 31 times with no wins, that is not an LDS thing.  That is a national wipe out. 

You made this claim.

Quote

 

You say the church was spending money to take away their civil rights to marry.  That is not really accurate.  The questions was whether they had a civil right to marry and the courts eventually had to decide it.  One can't take away a civil right when that right was not established.  It was not a clear that they had that right

 

 

That is absolutely false. Wrong.  Not True.  Gay couples did indeed have the civil right to marry in the state of California.  The constitution of California guaranteed that right and the Supreme Court of California has legally made that ruling.   The church members spent millions on Prop 8 taking away that civil right.  Period.  You do not offer any evidence to the contrary.  Instead you bring up how Prop 8 was fought and won.  Different issue entirely.  Different thread.  If you want to discuss how Prop 8 was passed, open a thread.  I have a lot to say about that issue as well.

In the mean time, quit rewriting history.  Quit spreading this falsehood that the civil right to marry was decided by the Supreme Court of California.  The church did indeed work vigorously to take away the civil rights of gay couples in California.  That is crystal clear.  And the church will forever be branded as the church that did such a travesty of justice.  It did indeed take a decision from the Supreme Court of the United States to correct and reinstate those civil rights.  

[smac97]

On 2/7/2017 at 10:47 AM, rongo said:

. . . for an upcoming stake EFY (two weeks).

The challenge is going to be time. They would like me to help equip youth and also take questions --- in fifteen minutes. Any one of the hard questions takes longer than 15 minutes to discuss --- especially if/when there are genuine concerns. 

I'm excited, though. It will be very interesting to see what the actual concerns are from stake youth. I know that my youth in my ward don't have "Gospel Topics Essays" concerns. 

This last week our ward's bishop had a youth fireside on this topic.  He preceded it by notifying the youth several weeks in advance what the topic was going to be (the topic being . . . "difficult topics"), and invited them to be thinking about whatever difficult questions they had about the Gospel, the Church, or whatever.  

He then went to their Sunday classes on the two Sundays before the fireside and invited them to write their questions/concerns on slips of paper and put them in a box he had made.  He asked them to submit the questions anonymously, so that they could feel comfortable asking any question they like.  He said that any topic or question was on the table except questions about sex and sexuality.  He explained that this topic did not lend itself well to group discussions, and that youth should talk to their parents about these topics, if possible.

The bishop went through the anonymously-submitted questions, researched them, and wrote up a handout.  The handout started with a "framework" section, and included suggestions on how the youth can approach difficult topics on their own.  The remainder of the handout was a list of each of the questions, each of which was followed by the bishop's response.  Most of the responses cited various resources (the Scriptures, General Conference talks, Church manuals, LDS.org content such as the Gospel Topics Essays, published materials from BYU, FAIR, Jeff Lindsay, and others, etc.).

The fireside went fairly well.  Almost all of the youth attended, and the bishop kept his remarks and review/discussion of the handout relatively brief (about 40 minutes), which was then followed by a closing prayer and some snacks.

Thanks,

-Smac

[smac97]

On 2/7/2017 at 10:59 AM, bluebell said:

That sounds awesome.  It also sounds like the people who have organized the event don't understand one of the main aspects of answering hard questions-it takes time! 

Very true.  Many challenging issues can, and generally are, framed as a short questions that demand long answers.  Understanding the context of the issue.  Re-visiting underlying assumptions.  Differentiating fact from fiction/rhetorical embellishment.  And most important of all . . . providing answers based on prayer, scripture, and substantive study and research, rather than off-the-cuff, just-take-my-word-for-it types of explanations.

In our world of soundbites, Wikipedia, on-demand media content, etc., some of us want a quick 'n easy answer.  That is not always possible, or even advisable.

Thanks,

-Smac

[rongo]

9 hours ago, hagoth7 said:

7) Prophecy, an anchor to the soul....

I think that is covered by my #1: Personal experience with the Holy Ghost (prayer, scripture study, living the gospel, etc.). That entails personal experience with prophecy, at least in my experience.

[Five Solas]

12 hours ago, rongo said:

Report on how it went:

A h-u-g-e turnout: 242 youth. Last night was a fun activity night and the kids met their groups. ...

.

The remaining time was reserved for questions. Some groups didn't have a lot of time; other groups had a lot more time. Here were questions I remember:

1. Lots of Word of Wisdom questions (why?).

2. Questions about what is done in the temple aside from baptisms and sealings.

3. Many gay marriage questions. The most memorable was from a girl who is less-active and comes from a bad home. She was apologetic for continuing to ask questions, but I encouraged her and told her her questions were good. She was sincere. I met her at girls camp this summer, and have covered for some of her teachers' classes on my free hour when needed. Once, when I heard her swear, I said to her, "Jasmine, CTR." People around her asked each other and me, "What does CTR mean?" and I answered, "She knows what it means." (I could see that she got the message and understood). Her grandparents had taken her out of the school because they didn't like the circle of friends influencing her. 

4. Some science vs. religion type questions.

5. A few Sabbath day questions.

6. *A lot* of modesty questions (including piercings, tattoos, clothing, etc.).

7. Two women and the priesthood questions. The kids actually gave the answers adult apologists would give on their own, without prompting. For one of the classes asking about this, I shared the fact of Eliza R. Snow's efficacious healings for cholera in Morgan, Utah (family history, plus a history of the stake in my possession). I emphasized that I have never been able to find where women who healed by the laying on of hands stated priesthood authority, and that it appeared that it was done by faith in this case as well. 

8. One kid asked a specific question about Book of Mormon names that showed some erudition on his part (background study and knowledge). I am getting back to him personally with information for him.

This is pretty insightful, rongo. 

Courtesy of "MormonLeaks" - we've learned the LDS Church has a big problem with retention among Millennials.  72% attrition by age 20 according to a speaker in one of the videos (I'm better at remembering numbers than names).  

That tells us a significant number of those kids aren't going to stick.  Perhaps not 72% in that particular room, but it will be a material number much greater than zero. 

As you fielded their questions, were there one or two topics where the audience reaction was less positive, more skeptical than with the others?  And on the basis of your experience, would you say the LDS Church's biggest problem related to Youth and YSA attrition is cultural (e.g., "modesty questions"), historical (e.g., multiple versions of FV), doctrinal/theological (including your temple questions, guidance on SSM), or something else?

I do realize that may be a lot to ask from a single data point. 

;0)

Appreciate you sharing,

--Erik