BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU) STAFF SLANDER OF OUTSIDERS
Anti-mormons visit BYU-Hawaii campus
Written by Karly Zobrist ~Staff Writer
Wednesday, 01 October 2008
If you have encountered anti-Mormon literature on campus in the past few weeks, you are not alone. Recent production of a DVD by an association called Search For Truth may be the cause for the influx of these pursuits on campus.
In the halls, at the library, and even at the temple visitor’s center, people have been surprised to find a negative opinion of the church and its doctrine on campus.
However, Professor Mark James, who has worked here since 1981, wasn’t
shocked, “Almost since the school was created, we have been a magnet
for this kind of activity.”
Anti-Mormon
literature and DVD’s are often found in the library. Yvonne Hernandez,
the circulation supervisor at the library, said, “They hide them in the
bathrooms as well as the shelves. They are nicely wrapped and so people
think they are put out by the library.” The library staff simply
removes these materials.
“The new DVD is slick looking,” Professor James states. The case dons a picture of Joseph Smith and the Salt Lake temple, similar to DVDs put out by the church. As for the content, Professor James recommends a website manned by volunteers who seek to investigate claims of anti-Mormons in a fair way, fairmormon.org. The website is not affiliated with the church but seeks to investigate points that may intrigue people who come in contact with these DVDs and pamphlets.
Sister Seleue, missionary from Samoa, has been on her mission for 17
months. After her brother Sam, a student at BYUH, met a non-member on
campus last week and referred him to her. The man arrived at the
visitor center with 12 other nonmembers, and she gave a tour to six of
them.
Sister Seleue said that the tour went fine, that the visitors were nice
but that she felt some tension and received some very one-sided
questions that, she felt, were asked to provoke an argument. She found
that being accepting and sincere was the best policy on her tour. “They
can debate principles but not a sincere testimony.”