I can often tell when some news item is going to be the next scandal to hit Mormondom. There's a likely candidate in the book, “Candid Insights of a Mormon Apostle,” edited by scholar Edward Leo Lyman published by Signature Books. I haven't read the book, but this op-ed piece by Doug Gibson in the Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner entitled, "Diary of LDS apostle includes tales of bribing a Supreme Court justice" gives me enough information to make the prediction. Here's the quote from the story:

Cannon’s diary entry of Dec. 17, 1892, records that at the apostles’ meeting “… the brethren were told that our success in the Church suits was in a great measure due to the fact that we have a partner of Justice {Stephen J.} Field of the Supreme Court of the United States in our employ, who is to receive a percentage of the money if the suits go in our favor, and the property is returned to us. …”
So, what do I have to say about this? Not much more than what I've said prior in, "Church History and the Limitations of Historical Research."


Judging the past by today's standards is always fraught with errors. I have little interest in it. If someone read my diary 100 years from now they would get a very jaded picture of me. Actually, I think the same would occur if they read it now. I've resolved to not live in the past, or revisit it.


We can't judge people and events fairly and impartially when we are talking to them, looking at them and living with them. How can we judge history when all we have are snippets? In fact, we can't judge fairly and impartially at all. I, for one, want to stop trying.



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