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The Stone and the Star: Fanaticism, Doubt and the Problem of Integrity

1984; University of Illinois Press; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/45225222

1554-9631

Richard J. Cummings,

Rhetoric and Communication Studies

characterized a revelation given the gospel through set Joseph forth by Smith the restored echoing Church the book as of a Daniel, characterized the gospel set forth by the restored Church as a veritable monolith: "The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth until it has filled the whole earth." 1The metaphor suggests the growth of the Church through the process of bringing the restored gospel to ever-increasing numbers until all mankind is converted.However, the image of the monolith has come to apply to Mormonism in ways which its young founder could hardly have foreseen.As the Church has grown in size, it has placed increasing emphasis on uniformity of purpose, belief, and behavior leading to such developments as the phenomenon of correlation and a massive public relations effort to project a homogenized image of righteousness and unity from top to bottom and from the external particulars to the inner core.I know of no more thoroughgoing nor thoughtprovoking characterization of the gospel as monolith than Elder Bruce R.