LDS Church Handbook of Instructions

by What-A-Coincidence 14 Replies latest jw friends

What-A-Coincidence

http://www.provocation.net/chi/
LINK WILL NOT WORK IN IE...USE FIREFOX
The Book on Name Removal
and some relevant links
It seems that the LDS church has just picked a fight about the circulation of the documents on this site. Taking the example of the so-called "church" of scientology, the LDS church is claiming the exclusive rights to the documents, based on copyright.
By their nature, religious documents and documents pertaining to the practice of a religion can never be subject to exclusive use. Freedom of religion, i.e. the freedom to practice one's religion without interference and without the obligation to belong to and/or pay any particular church, is protected by the constitutions of most countries and takes precedence over copyright. This is particularly true in cases where copyright is not used to promote the spreading of the religious scriptures in question, but to suppress it instead.
Furthermore, the religious and other practices of any church are a public matter; they are everybody's business and everybody has the right to know and debate them. This is not only the natural consequence of the respect that religion enjoys in our Western democracies, but also a pre-requisite to it. Only if a church is open to public scrutiny can it claim the right to practise its faith undisturbed and - yet more - to proselityse. The freedom to operate that churches are granted in our democracies is not God-given, and it is rather disturbing to see that one church after another try to have it their way both ways. That's called "eating the pie and having it" and works very seldom. These considerations, together with the fact that the LDS church is trying to suppress the publication of the following documents, is the reason that they are published here. Complaints (and compliments) can be directed to
Zenon Panoussis
2e van Swindenstraat 188
1093 XA Amsterdam
The Netherlands
For more information about this book and the controversy around it, see Mirele's and David's pages.
The book in HTML format, divided in chapters.
The book in HTML format, all in one file.
Index in HTML format, but not linking back to the text.
The book in Folio Infobase format, all in one file.
This entire site, including this page, in ZIP format.
Download and peruse as you may need. Also, if you have the possibility to mirror this site, do so by downloading the ZIP file and unzipping it in any one single directory on your own server. The more mirrors there are around, the more difficult it will be for anyone to suppress this publication.
SirNose586

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Finally, a site that's biased for me instead of against me!
Well, if I ever wanted info on the Mormons, I know where to go now. Good looking out.
Qcmbr

"By their nature, religious documents and documents pertaining to the practice of a religion can never be subject to exclusive use."
Why not? What does 'by their nature' mean? Is this person claiming that all something needs is the tag 'religious' to remove copyright protection?

"Freedom of religion, i.e. the freedom to practice one's religion without interference and without the obligation to belong to and/or pay any particular church, is protected by the constitutions of most countries and takes precedence over copyright. This is particularly true in cases where copyright is not used to promote the spreading of the religious scriptures in question, but to suppress it instead."

What does this have to do with an internal handbook of instructions and guidelines? The handbook is not used as part of the worship services but provides guidance for those in positions of responsibility. It is not treated as scripture nor is taught. I would contend that your right to worship is not infringed by a religion's internal documentation.

"Furthermore, the religious and other practices of any church are a public matter; they are everybody's business and everybody has the right to know and debate them."

???? No, that's not true at all. Is this person seriously expecting that all organisations should be forced to publish all their rites and practices for public perusal even if one of the natures of the material in hand is that it is protected or relevant only too some members of the organisation? I can't see any right to the public to internal procedure especially of churches where that internal procedure does not contravene any laws of the land. If this wacko is right then why stop at religion, let's tip out the governmnet top secret draw, every company's internal handbooks, let's invite the public in to view training for any thing anywhere.

"This is not only the natural consequence of the respect that religion enjoys in our Western democracies, but also a pre-requisite to it."

Wrong - religion enjoys the respect that freedom of speech and thought protects which are upheld by the laws of our land. Religion does not enjoy 'democracy' because it is public. What a weak linkage.

"Only if a church is open to public scrutiny can it claim the right to practise its faith undisturbed and - yet more - to proselityse."

Wrong again - the nature of a free society cannot be built upon utter transparency. The entire marketing industry, life of companies, religious and private practise is built upon the distinct separation between what must be public and what is to be left private. If a church, or a company or any organisation complies with the laws of society it is liable only to public scrutiny in very closely defined areas - financial, legal, health and safety etc..

"The freedom to operate that churches are granted in our democracies is not God-given, .."

So what? Freedom to operate is not in question here. What is in question is the right to protect certain information by copyright.

"...and it is rather disturbing to see that one church after another try to have it their way both ways."

What? Seeking to protect its own publications by copyright to stop people misusing them?? Come on.

The LDS faith, like many other religions, has had its fair share of slander and allegations (and historically this slander and misquoting of information led to the entire exodus of the LDS people at tremendous physical cost including the death of many) it would be mad not to try and control how its own publications were used. The US has a black stain across its history with th emistreatment of the LDS people and they won't roll over again a second time and let nit wits like this play hard and fast with democracy.
Qcmbr

..that said - the handbook in question is an exemplary document that I'm not ashamed to be associated with.
LittleToe

Q:Your comments bewilder me. Why don't the alarm bells go off and help you realise that a lack of transparency = cult?
Even the Catholic church makes freely available the rules and regulations pertaining things like making Bishops and Popes, etc. Where is the perceived advantage in having something so hidden?
Qcmbr

LT - why do they bewilder you? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and suggest you read the 'hidden' handbook and then come back to me and tell me that its a cult handbook.

Copyright (the issue at stake here) isn't nullified due to it being religious.
LittleToe

Q:
The issue isn't the contents of the manual, since the WTS Elder's maunal is similarly reasonably innocuous. Its the fact that there need be a lack of transparency at all. It should set alarm bells ringing. Of course it never does, to the "faithful" of any cult
Qcmbr

To be honest the handbook sits in a cupboard that's fairly easy to get at in the church. I've never heard anyone make any effort to keep it secret or unused - in fact quite often I've been in an interview and on some point of procedure the bishop has pulled the book out to look up the process.

For balance at work I am not allowed to talk to any member of the press, any person from another company or even the customer about most of the internal dealings(haha -I deleted the words here by mistake!! I'll re-insert them)- in comparison the LDS church is as transparent as you can get without putting glass walls - within the loos.

I know people would 'love' to find some secrets to expose but the reality is just too boring. To me the essence of a cult is evidenced by most of the following:

1/ Non-optional fees that pay individuals within the cult.
2/ The relocation of individuals often to communes.
3/ Abuse as a method of control from blackmail through to physical coercion.
4/ Cut off from normal touchstones of society (family, non-members, media, mail etc..)
5/ Seige mentality coupled with the threat of imminent danger and or expectation of major event (attack/second coming/judgment/rapture etc..) with the members of said group playing a pivotal role.

In my LDS life so far I've only come across:

2/ and 4/ as a missionary but only for two years and involving extensive public exposure door to door. At all other times education (secular and religious) is extolled as a highest virtue.
5/ Historically (when the LDS where actually being killed and threatened with danger) and also in common with all christians regarding the second coming.

I don't think trying to retain the copyright to an internal procedural handbook is cultish or uncommon in the business/political world we live in.

..mind you if the handbook said we should sacrifice babies at midnight while wearing pink hotpants and chanting "Nike Coca Cola" I'd suggest you'd have a point.
LittleToe

Its ok, Q, I understand your need to obfuscate. I used to do that too. There's more held to be secret than just an operational manual, as you well know, though most of it is available on the Internet these days. Why don't you try explaining what a religion has to gain by not being totally transparent?
Qcmbr

I've just corrected my mistaken deletion above so it reads slightly better:)

Transparency isn't perhaps my beef here its the copyright law violation however, what does an organisation have to gain by not being fully transparent:

1/ Religion is often taught by layers. Milk before meat, grace upon grace, principle upon principle. Sometimes understanding cannot be gained without learning the context. Let's take a typical example that I see over and over again here with regards to the LDS. Joseph Smith is quoted by someone who has (possibly) read an anti-lds web site, yanks a shock and horror quote and many post here expressing their own (generally) uninformed dismay and yet the vast majority of posters here while happy to claim JS was a mendacious liar (Dawkins) have not read his history or any pro material - in other words they accept one conclusion without any context and to the exclusion of other possible conclusions. I am guilty of this myself.

2/ There are many people who seek to misrepresent and attack any belief system and are quite willing to do so using the targeted beliefs documentation almost exclusively out of context. Seeking to control one's documentation under copyright laws reduces the ability of people to misrepresent one's history. The LDS church has historically been slandered appallingly (should anyone wish to actually research LDS history and the endemic mobocracy of the early US.)

3/ Some beliefs are held sacred. The mention of the name of God was itself treated with great reverance and this reverance is normally only respected by holders of that belief (most people see no issue today with blaspheming continually and would happily lampoon any element of anyone's religion sometimes for no other reason than a quick laugh.) Let's take the example of the LDS temple - it is of no weight or matter to anyone else who is none LDS yet its very nature (it's treated with such extreme reverance by the faithful LDS) draws people who , unwilling to pay the contextual price (live by LDS standards and adhere to their beliefs) are very willing to mock, expose and lampoon. There truly is nothing that this society considers sacred anymore. Sacredness has to normally be learnt (its very rare for someone to have an inate reverance for a new idea or belief) and so often the ultimate target of that sacredness is arrived at after a preparation time or period of cleansing (Israelite temple ordinances for example.) The very nature of that preparation can look like secrecy. Well did Jesus teach regarding swine and pearls. Transparency is often in direct contradiction to sacred preparatory reverence.

LDS Church Handbook of Instructions

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