Hinckley fired BYU Prof. Scott Woodward over DNA

[_Maksutov]

According to Wikipedia, Woodward left BYU in 2003, having been on faculty since 1989. Doesn't BYU offer tenure? How could a professor who had been there for 14 years get fired?

BYU does not offer tenure.

That explains a lot.

[_grindael]

And this is the guy doing all the Joseph Smith DNA testing for possible children? How in the world can his work or motivation be trusted?

[_Hawkeye]

And this is the guy doing all the Joseph Smith DNA testing for possible children? How in the world can his work or motivation be trusted?

It can't. He's basically a credentialed Will Schryver.

[_moksha]

Yes but they do have the 'Honor Code' ... wow honor, much like love in a 'Court of Love'

The Honor Code is a misnomer. It is actually a formalized mechanism for punishment. The idea of an Honor Code was lifted from the United States Military Academy at Westpoint and applied as camouflage for this kangaroo court system of punishment.

[_Gadianton]

What I don’t get is the mentality of the Brethren. I understand excommunicating apostates. But faithful members whose research fails to support the party line? What is it that they are thinking?

If the researcher falsifies findings to be faith promoting then that just signals debunkers to move in for the kill. Providing the truth gives the Brethren a chance to get ahead of the game and spin.

This is extreme dictatorship mentality operating or better, cartoon leadership that we’d expect from Lex Luther or maybe Darth Vader, but I think Vader may have wanted to know the truth. Or maybe great, get the truth but then kill the messenger anyway just because you can.

I have to believe the Brethren know the Church is a scam, but stories like this are consistent with a belief that it is true.

Another possibly is they lash out because they didn’t want to go there I. The first place. But it’s still better to get out there and figure it yourself then allow an outsider to get to it eventually.

So yeah, I really don’t get it.

[_Simon Southerton]

What I don’t get is the mentality of the Brethren. I understand excommunicating apostates. But faithful members whose research fails to support the party line? What is it that they are thinking?

Just to be clear, he wasn't excommunicated, it was worse. He was kicked out of BYU and lost the prestige of being a BYU professor.

I heard that when he bore his closing testimony when he was released as bishop due to his departure from BYU (the hits keep coming), he talked about it in the context of sacrificing for the greater good.

[_Markk]

What I don’t get is the mentality of the Brethren. I understand excommunicating apostates. But faithful members whose research fails to support the party line? What is it that they are thinking?

If the researcher falsifies findings to be faith promoting then that just signals debunkers to move in for the kill. Providing the truth gives the Brethren a chance to get ahead of the game and spin.

This is extreme dictatorship mentality operating or better, cartoon leadership that we’d expect from Lex Luther or maybe Darth Vader, but I think Vader may have wanted to know the truth. Or maybe great, get the truth but then kill the messenger anyway just because you can.

I have to believe the Brethren know the Church is a scam, but stories like this are consistent with a belief that it is true.

Another possibly is they lash out because they didn’t want to go there I. The first place. But it’s still better to get out there and figure it yourself then allow an outsider to get to it eventually.

So yeah, I really don’t get it.

They just don't care Gad...I have a nephew who is borderline re-tard-ed...he was fired by BYU after 14 years in the landscape department. He has no life skills what so ever, and they just dumped him becasue he was a crappy gardener.

The poor kid went on a mission, served his 2 years, came home with gray hair becasue of the stress, was teased his whole life growing up in the church for being slow, then they basically kicked him to the streets.

I get BYU firing a professor, and a very slow minded gardener are two different things...but in the end it just shows they are just heartless pricks.

[_sunstoned]

BYU is going on 15 years of censure by the american association of university professors (AAUP) for lack of academic freedom. They haven't tried to correct this is any way. They just do not care.