Hm. Well, assuming that there was nothing else to annoy them, that’s sad. A charitable reading might indicate an unserious or overzealous moderator. Less charitably, your comment may not have fit the desired narrative. No doubt things will get uglier as the race continues, and especially so if Romney can establish a credible lead. We shall see.

Mogs

Members of the militia entered the shop and found ten-year-old Sardius Smith hiding under the blacksmith’s bellows. William Reynolds put his musket against the boy’s skull and blew off the top of his head. Reynolds later explained, “Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon.”
Seventy-eight year old Thomas McBride surrendered his musket to militiaman Jacob Rogers, who then shot McBride and hacked his body apart with a corn knife. Several other bodies were mutilated or clothing stolen, while many women were assaulted. Houses were robbed, wagons, tents and clothing were stolen, and horses and livestock were driven off, leaving the surviving women and children destitute.
By the end of the skirmish at least eighteen Mormons were dead: Hiram Abbott, Elias Benner, John Byers, Alexander Campbell, Simon Cox, Josiah Fuller, Austin Hammer, John Lee, Benjamin Lewis, Thomas McBride (78), Charley Merrick (9), Levi Merrick, William Napier, George S. Richards, Sardius Smith (10), Warren Smith, and John York. Thirteen more had been injured, including a woman and nine-year-old child. A non-Mormon sympathizer was also killed. Three of the 250 militiamen were wounded, but none fatally. After the massacre, the dead were placed in an unfinished well and covered with dirt and straw. The survivors and their wounded gathered at Far West for protection.

Things is…we believe weird stuff. Sure, all religions believe weird stuff, but Mormonism deviates further from the norm. Yet, we see in Mitt the opportunity to have that acceptance…and a Republican President ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

For Mitt to become Pres, we do not need people to convert, we just need them to like us a bit. This is better achieved by reminding people of their kind Mormon neighbor than by trying to explain Nephites and Lamanites.

So, I do not think this is in any way a cultural move away from historicity, but a change in our approach to how we present ourselves as citizens.

I have no idea if that is what you were nudging me to address…but there you go.

Josh, the church line is that the Book of Mormon is a historical ancient text. That is the line that Elder Holland was strong presenting in that one talk. However, I tend to view such statements the way the Catholics view Catholic Church statements about birth control.

In any case, most Mormons now living have not really been constrained to deal with the historicity of the BoM in a personal way, as those who study religion, Bible, history, etc., as either professionals or capable amateurs, must do. Thus, there was no advantage to questioning its historicity and many social advantages to going along with the flow.

Now, however, a new balance may be appearing, as there are now social advantages for leaving the historicity question more open…

Mogs

Note to Chris H.: We have discussed the possibility that you are intellectually and emotionally some distance from where the great body of the Saints might be on these matters. Among other things, I should expect that you have the emotional detachment to look at the issues I am raising and tell us what you see in the apologetic strands that are developing across the intertubewebz if it interests you…

Yeah, we are much bigger nerds.

It is quite easy to find folks on the B-nacle that have unorthodox views of the origins of the BoM, and to find GA responses to these ideas posted here. It’s one result of the community’s knowledge sharing functions. However, the B-Nacle is not a community of average Mormons.

So what I’m wondering, but lack the skills to really study, is how the apologetics that are now appearing all over the web are influencing a more general audience. These might be people who have never had a reason to consider such issues seriously until they now find themselves “under the microscope” and looking for a coherent response that doesn’t rely on argument from authority, appeal to personal revelation, or the like. Will the attention start to “mainstream” ideas that heretofore have been somewhat unorthodox?

And to be sure, BoM historicity is only an example. There may well be other facets that will end up being more interesting.

Mogs