Real vs. Rumor Quotes

“Hiding beneath the details of each of these debates lies a common but harmful script—the myth that there are only two sides to every story and that we must give equal time to both sides in order to be fair, balanced, or truthful. This myth permeates our public culture as journalists report “both sides” of a story, politicians criticize the “other” party, and cable news hosts debate “for or against” the issue of the day. The biggest problem with this script is that the most important questions that we face usually can be approached in more than two useful ways. Many times, those who want to share misinformation will also invoke this false-balance script to demand airtime for ideas with little merit. We must actively work to resist this powerful myth. The antidote to oversimplifying into either/or options involves telling longer stories that embrace complexity and nuance.”
― Keith A. Erekson, Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths

“and becoming a general at age sixteen. Joseph Smith received an answer to his prayer at age fourteen. What happened? How did young people change from being responsible to reckless? The current stereotypical assumption of teenagers was invented in the United States after World War II. In the early 1900s, large cities sprouted up in which youth experienced crime, child labor, and emotional stress. To protect children from these ills, reformers pushed for mandatory schooling, which pooled young people together for the first time. In the early 1940s, the word “teen-ager” was coined, and after the war an explosion of births produced the largest number of youths in history in the baby boomer generation. Economic stability after the war gave American families more disposable income, and to attract more of that money, advertisers began to market things directly to teenagers—cars, music, clothing, magazines, and movies.11 The idea of a “rebellious teenager” was thus invented in the 1950s and 1960s and sold (literally) to the baby boomer generation of youngsters, who grew up and passed this invented “tradition” down to their children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren in the twenty-first century. If we assume young men and women will act rebelliously, then when they do, they are simply meeting our expectations! In rebellion against my cultural surroundings and in support of the divine nature and potential of my children, I frequently tell them that “I don’t believe in teenagers!”
― Keith A. Erekson, Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths

“Everyday Encounter:
Believing in Teenagers Many American adults assume that teenagers are rebellious, lazy, and shallow. However, in the past, humans between the ages of thirteen and nineteen accomplished marvelous things—Joan of Arc led her nation to victory at age thirteen, Louis Braille invented a way for blind people to read at age fifteen, Alexander the Great established his first colony at age sixteen, and Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at age seventeen. In the scriptures we read of Mormon being asked to keep the plates at age ten, seeing Jesus at age fifteen,”
― Keith A. Erekson, Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths

“It takes humility to change our assumptions after we learn they are incorrect.”
― Keith A. Erekson, Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths

“I always cringe when I hear people say something like “I know such-and-such through science or reason, but the rest I’ll have to take on faith.” This statement suggests that faith is not about evidence—after all of the evidence is gathered and found wanting, then a person turns reluctantly to something called “faith” to patch the holes. Elder Neil L. Andersen explained that faith “is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air.” Instead, our scriptures teach “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1; emphasis added). Joseph Smith changed the word “substance” to “assurance” in his inspired translation, and the underlying Greek word, hypostasis, may also be translated as “confidence.” “Assurance comes in ways that aren’t always easy to analyze,” Sharon Eubank observed, “but there is light in our darkness.” Thus, faith is not the absence of certitude, positive thinking, or a weak foundation of flimsy evidence. To have faith, Alma taught, means to “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). Anne C. Pingree described it as a “spiritual ability to be persuaded of promises that are seen ‘afar off.’”6 Faith develops through our relationship with God our Father, by His communications with us through the Holy Ghost. Faith is a type of evidence that can be strengthened by observations, reports, and inferences, but it also exists independent of them.”
― Keith A. Erekson, Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths