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BYU and Dr. Sites: A Complaint
Speaking of BYU professor Jack Sites, he was profiled in the Winter 2003 (as Justin pointed out) and Winter 2004 issues of BYU Magazine. Back in June 1986 his research was highlighted in BYU Today (a forerunner of BYU Magazine), and the article mentioned evolution. Paul C. Richards, a former director of Public Communications at BYU, recalled a letter that the university received in response.I am not only embarrassed but concerned almost to anger that our church university would support the activities and theories such as those of Dr. Jack W. Sites whose article appears on page 15. His work is funded in part by the church, meaning by the members' tithing.
The editor responded with a polite and somewhat conciliatory letter. Unsatisfied, the complainant responded with a letter containing the usual arguments of, creation took 6,000 years, no death before the Fall, and reproduction of life-forms after their own kind.
How can an activity antagonistic to the gospel truth of reproduction only after its own kind, as well as the very clear teaching of our Latter-Day Prophets...be sanctioned by BYU.Truth is truth, whether simplistic and perhaps naive to "the world" or not. Why shouldn't Dr. Sites and BYU rather be using our church resources to disprove evolution?
The writer also sent a letter to the president of the Church (Ezra Taft Benson).Since I cannot understand, accept, nor resolve in my mind what BYU is doing in this area, my Priesthood leader, not understanding it either, suggested I write to you.... How can BYU conduct research to prove speciation through "evolution" when the scriptures and our Prophets and Apostles teach that these are erroneous philosophies of men?
Although there may have been others, Richards only remembered complaints from this one individual.
President, I thoroughly support the inspired leadership of the Church by yourself and all general authorities.
Reference:
Paul C. Richards, "Does Paying Tithing Make You a Voting Shareholder? Brigham Young University's Worldwide Board of Trustees," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 26, Number 3, Fall 1993.
5 comments:
There are a lot of church members who have the same attitude as that person. I think it is the same attitude that caused people to oppose Harry Reid's recent visit to the school. Those people don't seem to understand the difference between a university and a Sunday School class.
What people opposed Reid's recent visit?
I'm just going from memory (with me that is a dangerous thing to do), and I thought I remembered negative comments, prior to his visit, about Harry Reid speaking at BYU. I don't remember if the comments were from letters to the editor, blog comments, or my personal contacts. The good news is there were no campus protests during his talk, and the audience was respectful while he spoke.
Jared,
Blogger recently added a "Poll" option as one of the "Page Elements". I think you should add it to your page. You could pose some interesting questions and find out what the readers of LDSSR think. Just a suggestion.
A Fan
A Fan,
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it.
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