Mere Footnotes
Years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Elder Rasband in his office at church headquarters. He was cordial, warm, and inviting. I have no reason to think that he is anything but a good man.
But even the best people can be ill informed.
His remarks from General Conference show that he may be misunderstanding members of the church who find themselves on the fringes, and who may vocally express their discontent.
“There are naysayers who shout low here and low there just as they did in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s time,” he said. “However, they are and will be but mere footnotes in this noble work.” I assume he meant that to be a slight; that those who criticize the church will be nothing more than a faint and distant memory, their words lost in the margins, written in small, almost illegible text.
Though if one really considers what a footnote is, they will realize that they are the most important part of any good textbook.
Readers turn to the footnotes to verify that what the author is saying is backed by credible research and sources. In other words, footnotes confirm truth. They hold the author accountable. They are mandatory for a great research paper to hold any kind of merit.
I’ve once heard a researcher say that everyone ought to check the footnotes. Otherwise, we are believing another person’s (the author’s) interpretation of a subject matter, rather than coming to our own conclusions.
In fact, many members have left the church because of the footnotes found on the church’s own gospel topics essays.
“Mere” and “footnotes” don’t belong in the same sentence. There is nothing mere about them.
Rasband recalls Joseph Smith’s bold claim that no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. He claims that the church is growing in a multitude of ways.
Unfortunately, I find his claims to be lacking footnotes. Not the naysayer kind of footnote, but the research kind.
The church loves to tout its membership of 17+ million members, yet refuses to share the quality of said number.
How many of that 17 million attend church on any given Sunday?
How many are temple recommend holders?
How many are active, believing members?
Ward clerks diligently count church attendance in every ward and branch all over the world.
The church has a database that shows which members hold a temple recommend.
They have a reliable number of who, out of that 17+ million, are active believers.
Yet, the footnotes are missing.
Rather than trust the speaker who claims that growth is happening, I’d rather trust the footnotes that show the numbers; footnotes that the church is selectively omitting, but others have found a way to research.
By all available metrics, church attendance is low. More women are leaving than men for the first time in the church’s history. Secularism is on the rise and all religions are hurting for it.
Just because you build temples at an unprecedented rate does not mean that they are filled.
Just because you have thousands of missionaries in the field does not mean that many are listening to their message.
Just because you have converts does not mean that they are staying.
If the church is so proud of its growth, than show it. Give us the statistics. Give us the research.
Give us the footnotes.
It means little to me if the church is growing or not. I find that there are more important topics to discuss. But the church’s insistence on emphasizing growth with nothing to back it up is nauseating.
It is easy to claim “all is well in Zion.” It is soothing to hear that the church is growing and question it no further. It is effortless to call your critics “mere footnotes.”
Meanwhile, we footnotes will continue to do the hard work. We will look at the shadows of our institution; the dark and hidden places that some dare not go. We will confront the messy and the incomprehensible. We will ask the tough questions and raise the bar when it has fallen well short. We will mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep when the church’s mistakes cause harm.
Because thats what footnotes do. They dig, reveal, and dare to exclaim the quiet part out loud, even if nobody is listening.
Considering Rasband’s view on what a “footnote” is, I’m not convinced that he and his colleagues have much appreciation for what they can offer.
They’re not the ones reading the footnotes.
But thats okay. We know our worth.
His comment does not feel rooted in kindness and understanding. It is not in harmony with President Nelson’s call for peacemakers (though President Nelson has unfortunately fallen short of that call as well). It was an unnecessary statement that offered nothing to his core message. I’m not sure if his intent was to shame those who criticize, or to minimize their influence throughout Mormon history. Maybe it was a little bit of both. Either way, his remark shows that footnotes are seriously underestimated.
While the slander continues to come from the pulpit every General Conference, we lazy learners will continue naysaying and writing in the margins in the hopes that maybe someone out there is listening; that maybe we can finally build a community where everyone is welcome, even if they have a few questions or critiques.
The Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency are in need of footnotes. Badly.
Not just the research kind, but the naysayer kind, too.
