25 years ago today - Nov 16, 1992.

The summer 1992 issue of Brigham Young University Studies (vol. 32, no. 3, 1992) arrives, including "a revision of portions" of Elder Maxwell's FARMS banquet address, and "the main part" of BYU Provost Bruce C. Hafen's address to the faculty in September 1992, "edited . . . for distribution to a wider audience." In it he warns "troubled" faculty, "Conscientious private communication may ultimately be of real help to the Church and its leaders, but public expression . . . may simply spray another burst of spiritual shrapnel through the ranks of trusting and vulnerable students." He adds, "The statement by the First Presidency and the Twelve . . . counseling against any participation in certain kinds of symposia . . . is not primarily a BYU matter--but it clearly speaks to BYU people. It is written in nondirective, nonpunitive terms, but its expectations are clear to those with both eyes open. . . . If a few among us create enough reason for doubt about the rest of us, that can erode our support among Church members and Church leaders enough to mortally wound our ability to pursue freely the dream of a great university in Zion."

[Source: Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]

No comments:

Post a Comment