Doesn’t seem like much more than a case of copyright infringement to me, with another overzealous (no pun intended) lawyer sending out notices to sites for the ultimate crime of linking to infringing information. But I guess that wouldn’t get as many page views as “Mormons trying to hide their ‘secret documents'”. (If you read the comments in one of the linked articles, these so-called “secret documents” are available for purchase at any LDS distribution center.)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not try to protect its “beliefs” from public scrutiny. Why else would more than 50,000 missionaries labor to share their beliefs around the world, at their own expense?

I have, at times, been authorized to consult The Handbook of Instructions. But even if it should remain on the Internet I will not read it now, because I no longer have that authorization. It certainly contains nothing of a conspiratorial nature, or evil, or of any kind of threat to the public that might justify violating its copyright for any supposed “public good.”

Unlike most religions, The Church of Jesus Christ has no paid ministry. Its local leaders are lay members who have families and occupations. They do not ask to serve nor even plan to serve; rather, they are called to serve. They typically serve less than a decade. The Handbook of Instructions is a guide to leaders who come to their positions with no prior training. It is distributed to them to ensure that Church policies and procedures are uniform around the world. (By the way, only a few brief chapters pertaining to particular programs are available at Distribution Services.)

Unlike most other churches, we also do not decide which congregation we attend: we attend the ward in whose boundaries we reside. This obviously establishes a need for uniformity of policy and procedure. (You can learn the place and meeting times of your nearest congregation by selecting the link “worship with us” at mormon.org and entering your address.)

Any members of the Church who has a question about doctrine or policy can ask his bishop, who can consult the Handbook. However, leaders are encouraged to prayerfully adapt these guidelines to particular needs and circumstances.

If the Handbook were published, it could tempt some members to take a legalistic approach to policies and procedures and try to see just how close they could come to “crossing the line.” Publication could also tempt some members who have more time on their hands than their leaders to make a hobby of knowing the handbook “better” than them, which could undermining their efforts to prayerfully adapt policies to particular circumstances.

The Church has every right to control distribution of its Handbook of Instructions. Copyright protects not just the right to publish, but also the right not to publish.

hthalljr’gmail’com

me again,
couldn’t help but wonder when it says “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” if they really meant it. Hive Radical makes a good point, why did they keep the doors in Philly locked? A reporter should have been allowed in to comment on the proceedings if they were meaning it the way we take it today. I can’t for the water-filled life of me see that the press, or tabloids in most cases, or some random individual with crafty search skills being allowed to print whatever they want without regards to privacy of the individuals involved. If the documents are printed on public access, then fair game. But reporting what a secret military agency is doing, where a witness in a trial works and who his family is are not freedoms of the press covered by the Constitution. James Madison is rolling over in his grave. Think about what the words and meaning of those words meant to them back then. Apply them to what they mean to us today, and understand that people and organizations with hidden motives have stretched the aim of these sacred lines of text. The issue here is not relious or not. It is whether said organization has the right to have the information taken down. If the Constitution is a living document, then stop killing the meaning of the words. If it isn’t a living document,then start following the meaning of the words. Either way, this pond of ours is being taken over with algae……

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=144

I think that WikiLeaks is seriously misguided if they truly “wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations.” They are posting quite a bit of material about religious bodies and not much at all about seriously corrupt corporations. Maybe they should rethink the description on their about page.

Good one Topper

Amigos y amigas:

Es una lastima lo que se discute en este foro. No estamos juzgando correctamente si los mormones creen en Dios o no, se trata de un documento interesante como el “Manual General de Instrucciones” que deberian tener todas las iglesias y que gracias a Wikipedia esta disponible.

The Church does not pay for routine eye or dental care, eyeglasses, or nonprescription
medicines for any missionaries.

I know which church you are referring to. The Catholic religion is the oldest church in history. In that time very few people could read. Only the few who had the resources to be able to be schooled.