It recently
came to my attention that Terry Givens has revisited the subject of doubt in an
interview from last January. I don’t follow him so I often learn about things
he has said later. Such was the case with his “Letter to a Doubter” (that was
so troubling) and an online interview, also troubling.
From what I
can see, in this interview he is trying to walk back (without it looking like
it) some of the things he has said about doubt being good in the past that have
disappointed knowledgeable and faithful members so much. Some years ago he
appointed himself to minister to doubters, a highly dubious proposition (for
reasons I will touch on below).
His academic standing has given him
enough prominence and following/disciples so that he somehow finds himself
speaking in various locations throughout the church on that subject and others.
I think it likely that many bishops and stake presidents don’t know in advance what
he is going to say to their audiences. I have learned that local priesthood
leaders often don’t know when a guest speaker might use the opportunity for
priest-craft (selling books, like the Tattooed Mormon), or to advance opinions
and agendas that aren’t in harmony with church teachings.
