GA Steven Snow Admits Mormon Church Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet

steve benson Jan. 2014

Snow's confession [Mormon general authority]:

"I think in the past there was a tendency [by the Mormon Church] 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.”

_____

Note: The website, "Mormonthink," sources current Church Historian Snow's above admission to a yet-online-unposted interview he gave to the publication, "Religious Educator" (vol. 14, no. 3, 2013, pp. 1-11), in which Snow confesses to writers Richard E. Bennett and Dana M. Pike that the Mormon Church, through its leaders, has historically been in the information-suppression business. "MT" observes that Snow essentially admits that the Mormon Church would not be currently dribbling out some of its previously covered-up history if "it not for the internet."

("Church Historian Comments," under "Truth in Church History: Excerpts from the Religious Educator’s Q&A with Elder Steven Snow," at:http://mormonthink.com/introductionweb.htm#historian)

Heh.


baura
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Mormon Church Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet

Translation: "Our previous policy of dishonesty used to work
for us, but now with the internet that policy no longer works,
so we have been forced, against our will, into a policy of
limited honesty."


Smiling Dog
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
God prays to Google...

get her done
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Thanks, Steve and internet.


benjamin
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Don't get too excited, it's probably one of those times where he's not "speaking as a GA," whatever that means.


Shummie
Well, the Pope said it in words the Morg oughta understand....
"The internet is a gift from God."

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1145201

If you happen to know God that is.

But what the bleep do I know?

I do know the internet rocks and it rules, praise God.


Lasvegasrichard
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
I've always had the impression that they think that for the general membership ' what you don't know won't hurt you '.
jujubee
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Inte
but...but...you can't trust MAN made, inaccurate Google info! Don't put your faith in google, not God!

LOL


allpau
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Google is the only real God. That's what I tell my kids.
rt
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
The lame thing about admissions by the Mormon church is that they only admit to what is already known and only if they think they can no longer get away with denying it or lying about it.
steve benson
Which means he's probably not thinking as a rational human, either.

cheezus
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
"I think we need to continue to be more open.”

Spoken like a true and living propagandist. We are not open, have had very little openness in our history, But we should continue to be open. How Orwellian of him.


zenmaster
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
I watched the Snow interview several times. Has anyone done a body language analysis on this one? To me, he appears very shifty. I notice that he looks away while talking on a few occasions which a lot of times can indicate deception. I've watched a ton of episodes of "The First 48" where the police are interrogating suspects and I have began to be very tuned in to how people act when they are lying.

Has anyone else have impressions like this from the Snow interview?


zenmaster
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Also the whole "tapestry" line has me screaming "BS"!!!


oldklunker
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Church history will still be seen by TBMs with "Zombie Vision".

The dribbling out of information is very funny...the mental image is not funny.

Maybe the q15 need a little help shaking out the rest of the info...they could help each other out I am sure.


MarkJ
You're right - just imagine Google 100 years from now
It will know all, see all, be everywhere and nowhere. Your deepest fears and sharpest desires will be an open book to it. You will willing put your past, present, and future in its all-encompassing hands.
stoppedtheinsanity
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
" let's continue to be more open"

Because we were just so open before...


baura
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Bingo!

When Steve met with Oaks and Maxwell he mentioned the Church
hiding the different versions of the First Vision. Maxwell (I
recall) pulled up an Ensign article on the different accounts
spinning them as would be expected.

However the ONLY reason the Ensign mentioned the different
accounts was because the church had been outed years earlier
by the Tanners and the "different accounts" had become
standard fodder for critics.

It's also interesting to see how there's been a complete 180
regarding Elijah Abel--the "Black" who was given the
priesthood back in Joseph Smith's time. It USED to be that
Elijah Abel was mentioned by the anti-Mormons to show that the
"doctrine" had changed over the years. Now he's mentioned by
Mormons to show that, "see we never kepts Blacks from holding
the priesthood--look at Elijah Abel."

Any new-found honesty in the Church is the result of
anti-Mormons spreading truth that BKP found not to be "useful."


Dorothy
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
You’re a gifted translator Baura! I’ll bet you’re good at prophecy too. Seriously—the perfect summation of what’s going on here.


mormonthinker
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
It is clear that they are only doing this because they are forced to. Historian Turley said that he didn't think that 10 years ago, that any of the top GAs knew about the stone in hat but of course that's BS as we know Tanner quoted it (the only Church quote in 25 years to mention it by the way until the essay).

At least Snow is bold enough to state why they are forced to admit the true facts,

I have little doubt the brethren would have preferred all of the sheep to never know of these things - certainly Packer's mantra.


lostinutah
Re: GA Steven Snow Admits Morg Has Hidden Facts but Has Been Outted by Internet
Is he a descendent of the Snow who emasculated a young man so he could steal his to-be wife for himself? The same Snow who Snow College is named after as well as other places (Snow Canyon?).

If so, will his sordid family history be part of the new revelation of openness?

Doubt it....


badseed
Right. No one should confuse this admission with a change of heart...
if the Church wasn't forced into this corner by the advent of the Internet and Google it would be business as usual.

Spin, obfuscate, avoid if not hide less than useful truths.

For this reason I actually find the statement less than exciting.

"Recovery from Mormonism - www.exmormon.org"