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SALT LAKE CITY -- In a world of ever-increasing Internet use, some Mormons are stumbling upon facts or claims about their beliefs that leave them feeling blind-sided. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is trying to help church members understand more about their history.
Richard L. Bushman is the author of "Rough Stone Rolling" which was published in 2005, and is viewed by many as the definitive biography of LDS Church Founder Joseph Smith Jr. Bushman said some church members have a hard time finding answers to questions and lose trust in the church, and even faith in God. After his book was published, Bushman began receiving emails from people with questions about church history.
The problem is not so much that there are no answers to historical questions, but that people discover this or that historical fact that they had never heard before.
–- Daniel Peterson
"I've been aware that the LDS Church has been concerned about this for quite a while," said Bushman in an interview with the Deseret News. "And the church historian has been saying for quite a while that we just need to get this information out."
Elder Marlin K. Jensen is a member of the church's Quorums of the Seventy and also has served as the church historian. He has acknowledged how some people are surprised and troubled by what they read in church history, but that the church is trying to help Mormons understand more about their history.
Jensen reported that the church is working on improving church curriculum for the youth so that people are not surprised when they stumble across things about the church's history.
Daniel Peterson, a member of the LDS church and a BYU professor talked about Mormons not knowing church history.
You have to tell them to keep studying, keep looking, go to the depths of the problem.
–- Richard L. Bushman
"The problem is not so much that there are no answers to historical questions, but that people discover this or that historical fact that they had never heard before," Peterson told the Deseret News. "They then feel like the church had been hiding the fact and so lose a sense of trust."
Part of the effort to educate the members of the LDS church more fully is the Joseph Smith Papers Project that reveals further writings and teachings of the prophet.
Bushman advises anyone that has questions about church history or doctrine to not be afraid to ask or to search for answers. "You have to tell them to keep studying, keep looking, go to the depths of the problem."
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