QUOTE: “I think in the past there was a tendency to keep a lot of the records closed or at least not give access to information. But the world has changed in the last generation—with the access to information on the Internet, we can’t continue that pattern; I think we need to continue to be more open. … You have to approach it with faith, and you’ve got to balance faith with reason. We hope people study Church history. We hope they study Church history a lot. But I would add, don’t forget what brought you to it in the first place. Don’t give up. Don’t jump out of the boat. Stay in the boat and rely on the faith and testimony that you do have. Because in my view, the more you study, the more your faith will grow and develop. There will be a few questions we are just going to have to put on the shelf and get to later. Some we will answer in this mortal existence, others we may have to wait. But the big questions, the important questions will get answered if we exercise our faith.” -Elder Steven E. Snow, Church Historian, from an interview published in the Religious Educator 14, no. 3 (2013): pp. 1–11. [source]
COMMENTARY: I applaud the church’s recent efforts to be more forthright with some of the historical issues that in the past they have refused to acknowledge. I just wish they had done so because it was the right thing to do and not because the internet is making them look bad when people have access to accurate information. “Do what is right; let the consequence follow” is what I was always taught. But what do I know? I’m just another apostate.
