Available tonight…FAIR virtual conference on Church History

[Calm]

This year's virtual conference will be streamed free on our YouTube channel this Friday evening (Oct. 11) and Saturday (Oct. 12). The theme is "Understanding and Defending the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

If you can’t watch it live, I believe it’s available all weekend.

More details are here:

https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/virt_2024-history-2

 Very interested in seeing Ben Spackman’s presentation.  Sarah Allen and Craig Foster’s presentations look interesting as well.  While not something that grabs me, the others look worth the time.

Edited October 14, 2024 by Calm

[Dario_M]

What a good news is this. I'm always on youtube so i would def cats some bits here and there about the conference. 

[OGHoosier]

Oh thank heavens they have abstracts.

I agree, those three are the brightest lights. I'm also interested in Thompson - there were multiple Anthon transcripts? That's the kind of interesting out-there stuff I go for.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, OGHoosier said:

thank heavens they have abstracts.

Lol, yes!

[Kenngo1969]

Picture me as Spock, with raised eyebrow: "Fascinating."

[Calm]

Ben Spackman’s talk is fascinating.  Before the 1950, science is not dominant but more balanced with scripture/revelation, but the first presidency seek out help of two scientists for the statement on the Origin of Man; later these two are called as apostles along with another scientist/engineer.  In 1911, they created a standing committee  to work with a professor of geology at BYU who believes science and scripture will not conflict when properly understood.  This professor believed in an old earth, evolution, death being around forever.  They widely published a vetted talk given by Talmage, vetted heavily by the First Presidency and obviously based on this pro science POV.  Published worldwide. OTOH, Joseph Fielding Smith who is trying to push his own inerrant scripture POV, science is irrelevant, can be understood best by a surface reading of scripture is getting ignored, rejected even.  His talk opposing this view got published in the Utah Genealogical Society.

He, however, is the Church Historian.  And in the 1950s everything starts to get standardized.  Joseph Fielding is on the committee for church manual. Science is dumped….scripture is inerrant at its core.  Mark E. Petersen was called in the 40s and has a similar view.  Also Bruce R. McConkie.

So the first half of the century was much more progressive than the second though it started shifting back in late 1970s but really got going in 1990s.

Now it is recognized overclaims were made.  

Edited December 20, 2024 by Calm

[Dario_M]

I'm sure it's gonna be fun. And educational.  

Edited October 14, 2024 by Dario_M

[Ragerunner]

Really enjoyed Ben’s talk. I hope the church starts shedding some of the incorrect baggage from the past. They could start with the Old Testament Institute manual. It’s loaded with a lot of ‘overclaimed’ quotes.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Ragerunner said:

Really enjoyed Ben’s talk. I hope the church starts shedding some of the incorrect baggage from the past. They could start with the Old Testament Institute manual. It’s loaded with a lot of ‘overclaimed’ quotes.

It has been imo the most problematic institute manual from the beginning of its existence…especially the Genesis section, I would have put it first on the list to get redone myself. I can only imagine they wanted to do it right and there is a lot of debate on how to approach it…but I wished they had just done an intermediate version that removed the poor scholarship even if it didn’t add anything of value. Just that would have been helpful. Instead we got another 20 years of students thinking this is what you have to believe to be a good Latter-day Saint 

[Ragerunner]

2 hours ago, Calm said:

It has been imo the most problematic institute manual from the beginning of its existence…especially the Genesis section, I would have put it first on the list to get redone myself. I can only imagine they wanted to do it right and there is a lot of debate on how to approach it…but I wished they had just done an intermediate version that removed the poor scholarship even if it didn’t add anything of value. Just that would have been helpful. Instead we got another 20 years of students thinking this is what you have to believe to be a good Latter-day Saint 

Agree. I know it will require some ‘significant’ changes and I am sure that is part of the problem. But I really wish the Church would just ‘bit the bullet’ and make the changes.

[The_Monk]

Hey, glad you all liked it! I wrote about the OT Institute manual, its history and problems, at 
https://benspackman.com/2021/12/the-1980-old-testament-institute-manual-why-you-should-ignore-it-for-teaching-genesis/ 

[Calm]

10 hours ago, The_Monk said:

Hey, glad you all liked it! I wrote about the OT Institute manual, its history and problems, at 
https://benspackman.com/2021/12/the-1980-old-testament-institute-manual-why-you-should-ignore-it-for-teaching-genesis/ 

Has there been an updated manual yet or any word of one?  And if not, any guesses as to why?

Have you shared who Gary was yet?

Quote

On a spectrum, Gary’s political and religious views landed somewhat to the right of Ezra Taft Benson. Gary believed— because “scripture clearly taught”5 — that women should neither hold callings in the Church, nor vote in elections. He believed the US was already “lost” to the socialists, Marxists, and communists. BYU was more secular than the California state school system, and “fell in into the hands of the Babylonians through a conscious conspiracy…. by the Humanists.”

 

Edited December 20, 2024 by Calm

[The_Monk]

There is indeed a replacement in the works, but they're not called "Institute manuals" anymore. 

Also, Gary is revealed in my dissertation, https://benspackman.com/2024/12/dissertation/