Big Covenant

Before there was Big Love, there was Solemn Covenant (U. of Illinois Press, 1992). I think it's time to pull it off my bookshelf (where it has been sitting for a year) and actually read it. As a warm up (and for this week's online essay) go read Truth and Mistruth in Mormon History, an essay by Carmon Hardy, the author of Solemn Covenant. This one is well worth your time. Here's the first paragraph:

It was while doing research in preparation for a book on polygamy, especially post-Manifesto polygamy, that I encountered extensive resorts to purposeful mistruth by Mormon leaders and others. I will suggest that such practices have serious implications beyond the particular instances involving their employment. This was certainly the case, I believe, when dishonesty was used to defend polygamy.

Comments

[D-Train]

Good work, Dave. The discussion of being converted to falsehood in Hardy's essay was quite interesting and perhaps the biggest problem with the sanitized history that we're presenting.

I don't think the Church has any responsibility to dig up dirt on itself, but I sometimes think that we should either be honest or get out of the history business. We're not lying in a lot of official history, but we're also deliberately steering people away from a detailed examination in favor of faith-promoting narratives.

[Dave]

Thanks, D. I do think there's a place for faith-promoting narratives in the Church -- most members are more interested in faith than in history. But I think leaders are coming around to the idea that there's also a place in the world for a historian. The warm reception given to Rough Stone Rolling and the support given to the upcoming comprehensive volume on Mountain Meadows by three LDS historians are good signs.

[Hellmut Lotz]

I don't know about "we are not lying." If it could be established that a used car dealer is marketing his product the way we are presenting ourselves, the guy would go to jail.

It's a big deal to go to a foreign country and challenge people to antagonize their families and surrender their heritage. When you do that then you have a responsibility to tell the whole truth about your program. Half the truth is misleading. It's a lie.

[Ann]

This is the most subversive thing you've posted in quite a while, Dave. Good job! :)

[Dave]

Subversive? Moi? I suppose any historical narrative could be said to "subvert" alternative accounts, but there are better terms. Complement. Correct. Critique.

[annegb]

I don't think it's fair to ask present general authorities to deal with this problem and the way things were handled in the past. But, life isn't fair. It doesn't shake my faith, I just wish we could be frank and screw the consequences.