Mormon Heretic

Michael Quinn gave a fascinating interview on a wide range of topics on Mormon Stories.  There are a lot of topics I could discuss, but I was surprised to hear Quinn defend correlation.  In response to a question about correlation, Quinn said (at about the 29 minute mark of Part 2),

In correlation’s defense, it’s not a threat but it is a challenge.  The church, ever since the 1960′s has faced a fundamental challenge of centrifugal growth.  With that massive growth in the hinterlands of the church, in particular for different cultures where English is not the common language, it was a question of losing the identity of Mormonism that it might become what the Irish Church was to Catholicism and Rome, what the French Church was to Catholicism and Rome–national churches with their own way of doing Catholicism, sometimes in opposition to the Holy See in Rome.  Well, the leadership of the church didn’t want to re-live that experience, and that’s a major reason why correlation came into effect was to standardize the manuals, the instruction, and I”ve often said that–and this is unfair but I’ve said it–this is to make the General Authorities feel at home no matter where they are in the world.

But it’s also to make sure that Mormonism is the same, and that you don’t get a Mexican version of Mormonism, which happened in Mexico in the 1940s.   Read more…

Dramatization of ancient Jewish priests with blood on their clothes preparing another sacrifice at the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

National Geographic has put together a 3-DVD set about the life of Jesus in a series called Science of the Bible.  Each DVD contains a different aspect of his life.  In a documentary called “The Arrest”, they document the ancient Jewish practices at the temple and events leading to his arrest.  The producers of the documentary strive for an incredible detail of historical accuracy.  They try to show the people were dressed at the time, exactly how the temple looked, the sacrifices that were offered.

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Clay Painter of Mormon Expression interviewed Bob Price about his opinions of the Book of Mormon.  Not everyone believes the Book of Mormon is a truly divine document, but I found it interesting to hear that Bob finds value in the Book of Mormon, despite his being an atheist.  Regarding Mormon Expression, sometimes I find that it seems to be a rant against the church, but other times, it has some really interesting information.  This podcast was one of those good episodes, so I decided to transcribe the entire half-hour interview.  I’ll let Clay introduce Bob to you.

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