LDS Discussions Blog
What's True and What Isn't? (Annotated) (May 8, 2019)
As we've been outlining on this site, if there's one theme in the church's talks over the last 6-9 months, it is to discourage doubts and to demonize critics. Over just the last months we have seen the following:
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The Renlund's worldwide youth devotional criticizing those with doubts and attacking critics of the church
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Elder Corbridge telling students at BYU to ignore the 'secondary questions' and just rely on the primary ones
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Elder Oaks telling young married couples going that "research is not the answer" to doubts about church history
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Henry Eyring told students at BYU-Idaho when having doubts about the church to first ask "Am I True?"
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A "Faith Crisis" fireside by John Halverson about "Keeping faith in an ever doubting world"
We could go on, but those are just a few of the more notable talks in recent months that have instructed church members (especially the younger members) to just not look outside of correlated information. This is especially troubling with a worldwide youth devotional by the Renlund's used cartoons to show how petty and ungrateful those with doubts are.
That was followed by Elder Corbridge using an 'appeal to authority' when telling BYU students they don't need to actually research the church because he had already read everything critical that is out there. It's a very disingenuous tactic to use on college students who are attending in order to learn more about the world around them, but it has become the standard operating procedure for a church that can no longer control the information that church members can access.
Which brings us to this article by Elder Carl B. Cook on LDS.org's Youth section: What Is True and What Isn't.
hope that anyone who has read this post will continue to research this topic and I absolutely think you should read apologetic arguments as well. Research is the only way to know the truth, and there's no way to find that truth unless you're willing to tackle both sides of the issue with an open mind
We've mentioned on many other posts how difficult it is to take in this new information, and we understand how painful it is to process. Please email us anytime at if you would like more resources to learn about these issues or if you are looking for people that you can safely talk to as you continue your faith journey.
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