previous: Question 8
"Haven't you ever heard that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all? So why can't you just keep your mouth shut about us?"
I'm tempted to point out in answer that the Book of Mormon offers some of the most abrasively unkind statements in all the annals of sacred writing, particularly when it refers to what many people interpret as the Catholic Church as "the mother of harlots" and "the whore of all the earth" (1 Nephi 14:10-17). But that would be the glib response.
The fact is, if we all restricted our speech to only nice things, the world would become a far less nice place. It's not nice to accuse a company of fraud, or a politician of corruption, or a husband of assault. But sometimes it's necessary if we hope to preserve what vestiges of civility still remain in our civilization.
As for keeping my mouth shut, should I remain silent about something I see as a threat to my fellow man? Would you remain silent if you saw a blind man about to step into the path of a truck? To those of us who've been hurt by it, Mormonism is a speeding truck. You might get along fine if you're firmly on board, but woe to the unsuspecting victim standing pinned in its headlights. What kind of person would I be if I kept my mouth shut when I saw such a danger?
Not the kind of person who could sleep at night, let me tell you.
