We seek consensus about the Book of Mormon. Joseph F. Smith wrote, "If you have built for a man a better house than his own, and he is willing to accept yours and forsake his, then, and not till then, should you proceed to tear down the old structure. Rotten though it may be it will require some time for it to lose all its charms and fond memories of its former occupant. Therefore let him, not you, proceed to tear it away. Kindness and courtesy are the primal elements of gentility."
People usually have opinions about things they don't know much about. An article in the Wall St. Journal points out that many students change their minds about Palestine/Israel once they learn the facts.
"When college students who sympathize with Palestinians chant “From the river to the sea,” do they know what they’re talking about? I hired a survey firm to poll 250 students from a variety of backgrounds across the U.S. Most said they supported the chant, some enthusiastically so (32.8%) and others to a lesser extent (53.2%).
But only 47% of the students who embrace the slogan were able to name the river and the sea....
In all, after learning a handful of basic facts about the Middle East, 67.8% of students went from supporting “from the river to sea” to rejecting the mantra. These students had never seen a map of the Mideast and knew little about the region’s geography, history or demography. Those who hope to encourage extremism depend on the political ignorance of their audiences. It is time for good teachers to join the fray and combat bias with education."
"From Which River to Which Sea? College students don’t know, yet they agree with the slogan," by Ron E. Hassner.
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In most cases, once they learn about the New York Cumorah, how the text describes geography consistent with the New York Cumorah, how M2C originated, and how M2C consists of a combination of bias confirmation and "correspondences," they change their minds.
But even when they stick with M2C after learning all the facts, that's fine. People can believe whatever they want. But at least at that point they are making informed decisions.
