The actual fact of the matter is that LDS scholars and apologists are well aware of the critical perspective of Joseph Smith, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, etc. Indeed, they are readily discussed in various settings.
LivingWaters - I realize I did not answer this in my post.
Yes, it appears with the use of internet among Mormons they are now addressing these issues.
This article (edited for length) is about Jensen’s (LDS church historian) visit to USU and his candid responses to those in attendance.
What really stands out to me is that the daughter of the LDS church historian didn’t know JS was a polygamist and that the LDS church “has a very progressive research and information division, with tremendous public opinion surveyors.”
(**bold **mine)
Special report -Mormonism besieged by the modern age
By Peter Henderson and Kristina Cooke
Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:59pm GMT
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A religious studies class late last year at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, was unusual for two reasons. The small group of students, faculty and faithful there to hear Mormon Elder Marlin Jensen were openly troubled about the future of their church, asking hard questions. And Jensen was uncharacteristically frank in acknowledging their concerns.
Did the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints know that members are “leaving in droves?” a woman asked.
“We are aware,” said Jensen, according to a tape recording of his unscripted remarks. “And I’m speaking of the 15 men that are above me in the hierarchy of the church. They really do know and they really care,” he said.
“My own daughter,” he then added, “has come to me and said, ‘Dad, why didn’t you ever tell me that Joseph Smith was a polygamist?’” For the younger generation, Jensen acknowledged,** “Everything’s out there for them to consume if they want to Google it.” The manuals used to teach the young church doctrine, meanwhile, are “severely outdated.”**
THE RESCUE
With defections rising, the church has launched a program to staunch its losses. The head of the church, President Thomas Monson, who is considered a living prophet, has called the campaign “The Rescue” and made it his signature initiative, according to Jensen. The effort includes a new package of materials for pastors and for teaching Mormon youth that address some of the more sensitive aspects of church doctrine. “If they are not revolutionary, they are at least going to be a breath of fresh air across the church,” Jensen told the Utah class.
Not since a famous troublespot in Mormon history, the 1837 failure of a church bank in Kirtland, Ohio, have so many left the church, Jensen said.
“Maybe since Kirtland, we’ve never had a period of - I’ll call it apostasy, like we’re having now,” he told the group in Logan.
Then he outlined how the church was using the technologies that had loosened its grip on the flock to reverse this trend.
**“The church has a very progressive research and information division, with tremendous public opinion surveyors,” he said. Among other steps, it has hired an expert in search-engine optimization to raise the profile of the church’s own views in a web search.
**
Researchers note a rising tide of questions from church members about the gospel according to Joseph Smith’s The Book of Mormon, the best known of the Latter-day Saints’ scriptures.
Over the years, church literature has largely glossed over some of the more controversial aspects of its history, such as the polygamy practiced by Smith and Brigham Young, who lead the Mormons to Utah.
Moreover, church leaders have taught that
the Book of Mormon is a historical document – not a parable – so the faithful are startled to find articles on the internet using science to contradict it.
“It’s a different generation,” Elder Jensen told the group in Logan. “There’s no sense kidding ourselves, we just need to be very upfront with them and tell them what we know and give answers to what we have and call on their faith like we all do for things we don’t understand.”
