Latter Day Struggles

159: LDS University Students Pressured to Not Ask Hard Questions

Sep 25, 2023

Elder Corbridge, Speaker at BYU, proposes primary questions as the only ones that matter in spiritual knowledge. Valerie and Nathan challenge this idea and discuss the importance of scientific inquiry and doubt in spiritual questing. They explore discomfort with unsanitized data and shift attitudes towards love, emphasizing the role of truth in avoiding deception and restoring love in the church's doctrine and theology.

40:23

Episode guests

Elder Corbridge

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The discomfort experienced when confronting challenging aspects of the Church's history and teachings should be seen as a sign of genuine quest for knowledge and understanding, rather than being dismissed as attacks or deceptions.

College-age individuals value truth, transparency, and authentic answers to legitimate questions, and dismissing their quest for knowledge can lead to disillusionment and a lack of generational loyalty to the Church.

Deep dives

The Speaker's Discomfort with Confronting Uncomfortable Truths

The speaker discusses feeling gloom and darkness when he had to read antagonistic material. He interprets this discomfort as a sign of being deceived by Satan. However, this discomfort is often experienced by those who are seeking truth and clarity, as they confront challenging aspects of the Church's history and teachings. The speaker's interpretation dismisses the genuine quest for knowledge and understanding as attacks or deceptions.

Introduction

3min

The Significance of Primary Questions

4min

The Church's Panic and Response to the Loss of Youth

7min

Navigating Uncomfortable Information

5min

Looking at the episode through the lens of love

5min

Shifting Attitudes Towards Love

15min

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Series Title: Analysis of E.Corbridge BYU Devotional “Stand Forever [Part I of II]

In the next two episodes Valerie and Nathan respond to a BYU address titled “Stand Forever” by E. Corbridge, where he proposes to university students that there are only four questions that even matter in one’s quest for spiritual knowledge in the LDS church.

According to him, once these “primary questions” are answered, no “secondary questions” need be asked.

In this series Valerie and Nathan challenge both the proposed four “primary questions” themselves and the premise that it is wrong to enquire about anything related to our unique faith journeys.

FRIDAY’S episode tackles Val’s and Nathan’s responded to E Corbridge’s proposal that scientific and other academic inquiry is not spiritual in nature and explore why the experience of doubt is evidence of spiritual questing and courage.

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