Latter-day Saints enjoy high levels of social trust in their communities thanks to shared beliefs and values. This is a blessing, but it has made us vulnerable to bad actors who misrepresent their beliefs.
It’s more than mere disagreement we must tolerate. Tolerance means bearing the suffering of others and taking our own uncomfortable turn in history to face uncertainty and challenge.
What happens when most Americans stop trusting our institutions? We’re about to find out.
Provocative rhetoric has been sown in America’s discourse with an intentional aim to inflame tensions. Something similar took place in Utah in 1965.
When we free our beliefs from the constraints and obligations of truth, we lose our greatest defense against toxic polarization.
What if deeper conversation threatens my very sense of self? In most cases it is infinitely worthwhile to engage in such “rival contestation.”
We depend on headlines to quickly summarize the truth of a matter. When they do the opposite, like the Washington Post piece last week, the damage is real.
