“History vs Heritage: Maybe We Should Stop Saying That We’ve Been Lied to by the Church”

There are points here at which I disagree — I don’t, for example, concur with the description of the “September 6” excommunications as a “witch hunt,” and I’m considerably less condemnatory of the “heritage” that this article contrasts with “history” than the article itself seems to be  (see, for example, David B. Honey and Daniel C. Peterson, “Advocacy and Inquiry in the Writing of Latter-day Saint History”) — but, on the whole, I think that Brian Whitney’s balanced and thoughtful piece gets things right:

http://www.withoutend.org/stop-weve-lied-to-church/

I’ve long advocated more open, frank, and balanced Mormon history, and I’m pleased with recent examples of transparency.  That said, I think it’s rather silly to expect — as some critics seem to — that the Church itself should essentially become some sort of neutral, ongoing historiographical seminar.

Thanks to Renee Contreras De Loach for bringing Brian Whitney’s short essay to my attention.