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One of the more difficult doctrines to defend is that of the family. I sat down with Tristan Mourier, an outspoken, punchy BYU graduate who made local headlines when he read the Family Proclamation aloud in response to a protest. Tristan talks about how his BYU experience was with respect to his fear of defending the Family Proclamation and how he learned to defend this particular doctrine. This interview is very raw and real. It was interesting to hear the perspective of someone who defends the faith on a practical level. Listen all the way through to hear how Tristan balances his criticism of ideas that run contrary to the Proclamation with compassion. Opinions in this interview do not necessarily represent the opinion of FairMormon or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tristan Mourier is a BYU graduate who strives to defend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.
The Gospel makes heroes.
Bravo Tristan! Thank you for your courage and for defending the Family Proclamation. We need more of young people like you in this world.
Great job Hanna and Tristan. Thank you so much for your courage in standing up for divinely inspired truth even when doing so is unpopular
Sister Hanna: You and Tristan were fantastic in all 59:00 of your podcast! Thank you and him for this recounting of his courageous defense of the family and your eloquent ruminations of the Church’s core beliefs. I avidly look forward to your future podcasts and writings. I have gotten my prior fill of all the CES discussions, but I will try to come out of retirement for your excellent perspectives too. Thanks again for your great work.
Wow, Tristan. My husband and I just listened to this. You have a gift for communicating your ideas with clarity and depth. This was a great interview and I was glad to hear the two of you talk about this event. As a BYU grad I sometimes feel confused by how campus controversies are portrayed in the news and on social media. I was relieved to hear your take and I hope you represent the larger student body. Keep defending the faith and put your brilliant mind toward good things.
And we wonder why people leave the church…the mystery continues. Which apostle was it that said the gospel wasn’t something to beat people up with? Hope you’re happy with yourself
Thank you for this! I appreciated Tristan’s frankness about just how deep the rot goes at BYU.
Well done Tristan! And thank you for the interview Hanna. Defense of revealed doctrine is not hate; it is saving and loving.
Whizzbang, anyone who would leave the church over this already had one foot out the door. If we cannot defend our faith at BYU – a church-funded institution – then where are we allowed to do so? In our closets?
Please provide the exact quote of this unnamed apostle who apparently said we should not defend our faith.
Meanwhile, ponder these quotes:
“Defend your beliefs with courtesy and with compassion, but defend them.” – Elder Holland
“Willingly defend the history of the Church, and do “not [be] ashamed of the gospel of [Jesus] Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Romans 1:16)” – Boyd K Packer
“If we do know what is right, have we the courage to stand up for it, to defend virtue, to declare the validity of our faith, to oppose false teachings, and to fight the unpopular battle? Have we the moral stamina to confront any and all opportunities and thus preserve truth, uphold cleanliness, and defend the cause of God?” – Mark E. Peterson
I really enjoyed listening to this episode. Tristan is a courageous individual. I understand he is from France, and I just hope that others’ voices, including those of guys born and raised in Utah, would be just as valued if they shared the same perspective as Tristan’s.
@ Matt Trey, it’s not the fact this one holier than thou(see the 43 minute mark) guy did this publicity stunt and is glorying in his alleged success, it’s the fact that he has taken it upon himself who is in the church and who is not, he doesn’t get to decide that. Absolutely not. At the 15 minute mark he says the POF principles have existed since Adam and Eve, tell me again how in the 19th Century members were told they had to live polygamy to enter heaven but then that all got changed.It’s all been unchanging, right, right. Why is Pres. Nelson sealed to two women? I further love his illogical idea of “true doctrine but not official”???? If the Gospel is for these ultra conservative crazies in the Church then it’s the rest of the Church. Why are you giving him a tower to spew nonsense like “not trying to sound self-righteous” okay but why then read the POF to people as if they don’t know it? Nobody elected him to be their Savior, they have one and it’s not Tristan Mourier-crap like would further push them away from the Church or remind people what they are not missing by being inactive. Goodbye to all that.
You asked for one Apostle, i’ll give you more than one
Elder Quentin L. Cook,
The Lord said regarding important doctrine, “Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me” (D&C 10:68) and “That which is more or less than this cometh of evil” (D&C 124:120). We are looking beyond the mark when we elevate any one principle, no matter how worthwhile it may be, to a prominence that lessens our commitment to other equally important principles or when we take a position that is contrary to the teachings of the Brethren.
(“Looking beyond the Mark,” Ensign, March 2003.)
from Pres. Ballard, Oct. 1993 Conference
“Those who hold the priesthood must never forget that they have no right to wield priesthood authority like a club over the heads of others in the family or in Church callings. The Lord told Joseph Smith that “when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man” (D&C 121:37).
In other words, any man who claims the special powers of heaven for his own selfish purposes and seeks to use the priesthood in any degree of unrighteousness in the Church or in the home simply does not understand the nature of his authority. Priesthood is for service, not servitude; compassion, not compulsion; caring, not control. Those who think otherwise are operating outside the parameters of priesthood authority.”
One from Pres. Packer
“We understand why some feel we reject them. That is not true. We do not reject you, only immoral behavior. We cannot reject you, for you are the sons and daughters of God. We will not reject you, because we love you (see Heb. 12:6–9; Rom. 3:19; Hel. 15:3; D&C 95:1).
You may even feel that we do not love you. That also is not true. Parents know, and one day you will know, that there are times when parents and we who lead the Church must extend tough love when failing to teach and to warn and to discipline is to destroy.”
Unless Tristan Mourier is a parent or a leader of the Church, he has no right, none whatsoever.
Have a nice day
@Matt Trey
What’s this about Whizzbang? Never heard of it.
Either way, interesting podcast.
I think that you would be interested in the position of Professor
Jordan B Peterson on the state universities and his stance against post-modernism. He has several YouTube presentations on these subjects.
Felicitations a tes parents pour t’avoir si bien eleve! (pas d’accents sur ce clavier)
Well done, Hanna and Tristan. You were direct and frank while also leaving room to assume the best about people who are fighting against the apostles. I’ve noticed that one doesn’t need to have a complex plan or rhetoric in moments like the one Tristan described; simply stating truth clearly is provocation enough. I also appreciated that you two demonstrate an awareness of the history and philosophy behind this massive societal problem (citing Foucalt, Derrida, etc.).
I see what’s going here, My rebuttal comments, with citations, as asked for are filtered out but not others? Nice. So much for “FAIR”. Tristan Mourier and the conservative nonsense taking over the Church, what a total joke.
The interview would have been stronger if Tristan had engaged with the arguments of sophisticated proponents of same-sex marriage/LGBT rights–individuals like Taylor Petrey and Bryce Cook in an LDS context and Jonathan Rauch and Jon Corvino, inter alia, in a “secular” context. This came off as more of a one-sided diatribe than a careful and informed engagement with “the other side,” imo.
Thank you for this podcast. I am in my 70’s and was born in the church, which is not so common for an Aussie of my age. As a teen, I remember being taught that we were a ‘peculiar people’ as church members. We even had a slogan which went, ‘ Dare to be different, Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm; Dare to make it known.” (President Monson quotes it slightly differently). My fear as the years have rolled by is that the difference between the church and the world has become somewhat blurred as we have moved closer to the world. It was somewhat disturbing to hear Tristan talk of the institution of BYU also seemingly following that trend. (Just my perception). I love the family proclamation. It is so clear and so relevant for our day and much needed as a guide for society to follow. As an adjunct, President Benson’s ‘To the Mothers in Zion’ and ‘To the Fathers in Israel’ contain wonderful council also. I’m sure these would raise a hornets nest as a topic of discussion. I’m grateful for Tristan’s courage and inspiration.
I have recently discovered Hannah and her podcast and became an immediate fan. But THIS. This was truly something. In all the gospel/church-related conversations about social issues on various podcasts and blogs, I have not heard such a bold, yet humble, testimony of gospel truths and of following the living prophets at this specific point in history. I think my jaw was on the table at some points as I listened here. This has deeply inspired me to stand up and choose my hills to go to battle on. Thank you so much for a glimpse into one heart of a member of the silent majority. Keep up the good work, Hannah. Your voice is being heard and it is making a difference.
This deserves to be made available as written transcript! ???
Great job, Tristan! Proud of you for standing up for your beliefs. For some reason we all accept the other side’s right to “protest” but don’t believe we have the right to express our beliefs.
Tristan is a very brave and outspoken young man. Kudos to him.
How can you say you defend the Church when you don’t even use the correct name of the Church. “The” is capitalized. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Kudos to Tristan for standing up in the midst of moral tumult. It really saddens me that so many are being lead away by post-modernist & communist type “theology.” To stand faithful to eternal doctrines; to be unmovable, even while extending and exerting love, is now passe for far too many. I can only imagine what Neil Maxwell would think of what BYU is becoming, which is just like the rest of the world.