The Gospel According to Jeffrey

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Michael R. Ash , you don’t know what you’re missing. Mike Ash is a member of FAIR (the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research) and the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome , a great book for those that have some basic unanswered questions about the Church. Mike also has a column on Mormon Times entitled Challenging Issues, Keeping the Faith , and it is this last one that brings us to this blog entry. In Mr. Ash’s latest column, Book of Mormon DNA issue one of science, not theology , Ash points out that “it’s ironic that critics—who do not believe in LDS prophets—claim Mormons must accept every word spoken by every LDS general authority as the inerrant word of God.” While I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment (as did President George Albert Smith, who expressly refuted the idea that “when our leaders speak, the thinking has been done”), I couldn’t help but disagree with one of his examples. I therefore post an open letter to Mr...

As a young boy growing up in Whitney, Idaho, young Ezra Taft Benson (or “T,” as he was known) learned to love the song I Am a Mormon Boy . Even eight or nine decades later, when “T” served as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he “often delighted youngsters of another generation by singing all three verses… in his clear tenor voice” ( President Ezra Taft Benson: A Sure Voice of Faith , Ensign 24:7:8 ff .). So why does it rub me the wrong way? Over the last few months, I’ve noticed what I can only describe as a rash of inappropriate use of the term “Mormon” on the web. The Church’s own media Style Guide is pretty explicit on what they will and won’t accept, but even Church-owned and -operated sites ( e.g. the Church News ) have started falling victim to the errors. I’ve sent multiple emails to Church News editor Gerry Avant—who incidentally agrees with me—but have been forced to content myself with responses such as the following email, dated 19 November 2009...