Kishkumen wrote:It’s about time that he spoke frankly about the role of tithing and donations in Mopologetics. You were right all along, Doctor. You are completely vindicated here. Personally, I think the money is being poorly spent here. But I am not writing the checks, so who am I to complain? If the LDS Church wants to waste money on junk science and bad apologetics, that’s their business. As long as Lou is there to post accolades on Sic et Non, it’s all winning all the time.
Good morn' Reverend! And goodly morning to you too, Dr. Scratch.
This morning, as I trudged to the Ensign Peak in darkness, I could feel the cold air snap at my face and lungs as a sort of reminder that we often do things that are good in theory, but become folly in practice. I certainly regretted my decision to make this early morning pilgrimage to one of Utah's most iconic vistas, a place where Brigham Young himself reportedly stood as he looked out over the valley and exclaimed, "This is the place!" Fortunately for my soul I had enough foresight to bring my iPod and a thermos full of Finca El Injerto coffee, hand selected from my own reserves, to invigorate both my body and mind as I
trekked to this well-known summit.
As I stood atop the vista I was greeted with a sight to behold. The city and valley below shimmered in resplendent beauty, a sort of early Christmas present I suppose, where, as I listened to the aria Vallon Sonore from the opera Les Troyens by composer Louis Hector Berlioz I couldn't help but be reminded of Dr. Scratch's latest observations regarding man's follies as they seek fortune and fame. While standing silently atop this city on a hill, it struck me that in many ways, what we have here is something called a boondoggle. For our goodly readers, a boondoggle is work or an activity that is wasteful or pointless, but gives the appearance of having value.
As an object lesson in boondogglery, boy, I have to tell you two the revelation offered by Mr. Peterson that he has, in fact, taken monies from the Church to mingle scripture with the philosophies of men, and now, to represent the Church itself as a sort of 'goodwill ambassador' to the faithful abroad has dizzied my mind! Is this a calling, and if not, what role is he now being paid to do "unofficially" that the Brethren have ceded over to him? It appears that Mr. Peterson's mopologetic career has rewarded him handsomely with trips paid with the 'widow's mite' that include airfare, tony accommodations, sightseeing tours, and fame. What more could a humble BYU professor wish to achieve?
As I type that out I have to admit I chuckled a bit, and I'm reminded of my own forays into boondogglery while in service of our federal government. Why, there was one trip in particular, where I was sent to another city on a hill, Monterey, California, to participate in something called the Worldwide Language Olympics. I myself was paid handsomely to trip the light fantastic on the taxpayer's dime to discuss the finer aspects of bilingualism and the integration of which into military operations and doctrine. I, too, dined on the taxpayer's 'mite', toured the local sights such as the Hearst Castle, and passed time in a rental car, a topless emerald green Ford Mustang perfectly suited to racing up and down Highway 1 and the Carmel valley.
Perhaps it was an award for my faithful service? Perhaps Mr. Peterson's trips, where he's allowed to 'ooh and aah' at wonders the faithful tithe payer will never see, much less dream about, is a reward for his faithful service? What concrete good could possibly come out of his many trips, financed by those who choose to pay tithing instead of a heating bill, or go hungry so the Lord's anointed, Mr. Peterson in this case, can regale other religious luminaries, over the finest foods, with tales of Tariq ibn-Ziyad's Arab conquest and subsequent conversion to the One True Faith?
As I stood there atop Ensign Peak, where the wind coolly and without regard for my smallness, whipped and stung at my face, reminding me of my own insignificance, I received my own revelation, as it were. The Church too has no regard for the smallness of the widow and her mite. It spends money on folly, on hit pieces designed to destroy those it views as dissenters, or to ruin lives, and it rewards handsomely those who gleefully engage in this practice with these boondoggles to far away places, to 'wine and dine' with the religious intelligentsia simply to show the humblest among its flock that, "See? We're worldly, and accepted by the world." This is a strata most members will never know, a world that is far beyond their reach, just as the city below me this morning seemed apart and yet resplendent in its early morning luminescence, both observable and yet, out of reach.
- Doc