--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To those who in their turn selectively…" description: "\"“To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon history and discourage our probing it in a number of areas, one needs to say (or at least to ask)..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/thomas-f-rogers-164786_belief_to-those-who-in-their-turn-selectively-h_1767953.jpg" --- # To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon… ![“To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon history and discourage our probing it in a number of areas, one needs to say (or at least to ask): Haven’t we been, if anything, overly cautious, overly mistrustful, overly condescending to a membership and a public who are far more perceptive…” quote by Thomas F. Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/thomas-f-rogers-164786_belief_to-those-who-in-their-turn-selectively-h_1767953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/thomas-f-rogers-164786_belief_to-those-who-in-their-turn-selectively-h_1767953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/thomas-f-rogers-164786_belief_to-those-who-in-their-turn-selectively-h_1767953.jpg) > ““To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon history and discourage our probing it in a number of areas, one needs to say (or at least to ask): Haven’t we been, if anything, overly cautious, overly mistrustful, overly condescending to a membership and a public who are far more perceptive and discerning than we often give them credit for? Haven’t we, in our care not to offend a soul or cause anyone the least misunderstanding, too much deprived such individuals of needful occasions for personal growth and more in-depth life-probing experience? In our neurotic cautiousness, our fear of venturing, haven’t we often settled for an all-too-shallow and confining common denominator that insults the very Intelligence we presume to glorify and is also dishonest because, deep down, we all know better (to the extent that we do)? Isn’t our intervention often too arbitrary, reflecting the hasty, uninformed reaction of only one or a couple of influential objectors? Don’t we in the process too severely and needlessly test the loyalty and respect of and lose credibility with many more than we imagine? Isn’t there a tendency among us, bred by the fear of displeasing, to avoid healthy self-disclosure—public or private—and to pretend about ourselves to ourselves and others? Doesn’t this in turn breed loneliness and make us, more than it should, strangers to each other? And when we are too calculating, too self-conscious, too mistrustful, too prescriptive, and too regimental about our roots and about one another’s aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual life, aren’t we self-defeating?”” [Thomas F. Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-f-rogers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive caution and self‑protection hinder honest inquiry, leading to isolation and missed growth. **In simple terms:** Overcaution blocks truth and connection. Key Takeaway Balance caution with openness. Themes caution truth growth Mood critical reflective Type Belief:0 Cautiousness:1 Common denominator:0 Faith:0 History:0 Lds:0 Loneliness:1 Mormon:0 Personal growth:1 Spiritual life:0 Truth:0 Loyalty And Respect:0 Conscious Mistrustful:1 Neurotic Cautiousness:1 Mistrustful Prescriptive:0 Reflecting Hasty:0 When to use this quote - historical research - personal relationships - spiritual exploration Key Concepts self‑reflection risk‑taking community building Questions to Reflect On - How does fear affect your honesty? - What steps foster genuine dialogue? A Different Perspective Too much caution can cause stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Cautiousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cautiousness/) [Common denominator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-denominator/) [Conscious Mistrustful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-mistrustful-1752441/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Lds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lds/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Loyalty And Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty-and-respect/) [Mistrustful Prescriptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistrustful-prescriptive-1752443/) [Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mormon/) [Neurotic Cautiousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic-cautiousness-1752442/) [Personal growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-growth/) [Reflecting Hasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflecting-hasty-1752444/) [Spiritual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-life/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“I have said it before. You are too cautious, Fitz. What if this, what if that? You hide from trouble that may never knock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-have-said-it-before-you-are-too-cautious-fitz-what-if-this-what-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Intelligence is knowing the right answer. Wisdom is knowing when to say it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/intelligence-is-knowing-the-right-answer-wisdom-is-knowing-when-to/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [I think it is more a cautiousness that protects me from enthusiasm about things. I tend not to get excited. People perceive it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dee/i-think-it-is-more-a-cautiousness-that-protects-me-from-enthusiasm/) [Jack Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dee/) > [“people often mistake cautiousness for cowardice. and vice versa.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazar-emiral/people-often-mistake-cautiousness-for-cowardice-and-vice-versa/) [Hazar Emiral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazar-emiral/) > [“So what was better for us all? 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Your adulthood has been a progressive retreat from curiosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-gemmell/no-one-except-your-husband-knows-of-the-cautiousness-at-the-heart-of/) [Nikki Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-gemmell/) > [Activity makes more men's fortunes than cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/activity-makes-more-men-s-fortunes-than-cautiousness/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the captive free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/it-is-not-our-free-will-but-it-is-the-lord-who-sets-the-captive-free/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [It’s funny now, trying to socialise with people. There’s this cautiousness about people which I just find really weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/it-s-funny-now-trying-to-socialise-with-people-there-s-this/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [The young suffer less from their own errors than from the cautiousness of the old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/the-young-suffer-less-from-their-own-errors-than-from-the/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [My donkeys are Jack and Don Quixote. They're very smart, very cautious. Much of what people consider stubbornness in donkeys is actually cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/my-donkeys-are-jack-and-don-quixote-they-re-very-smart-very-cautious/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [When safety is our priority, we live our lives being very, very careful, and we wind up having no lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-safety-is-our-priority-we-live-our-lives-being-very-very-careful/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“There is no control and no all-powerful creator, either – no more ‘God’ than man – but there is care, scruple, cautiousness, attention, contemplation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/there-is-no-control-and-no-all-powerful-creator-either-no-more-god/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [The only three things Aries truly want from their partners are trust, loyalty and respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-three-things-aries-truly-want-from-their-partners-are-trust/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon history and discourage our probing it in a number of areas, one needs to say (or at least to ask): Haven’t we been, if anything, overly cautious, overly mistrustful, overly condescending to a membership and a public who are far more perceptive and discerning than we often give them credit for? Haven’t we, in our care not to offend a soul or cause anyone the least misunderstanding, too much deprived such individuals of needful occasions for personal growth and more in-depth life-probing experience? In our neurotic cautiousness, our fear of venturing, haven’t we often settled for an all-too-shallow and confining common denominator that insults the very Intelligence we presume to glorify and is also dishonest because, deep down, we all know better (to the extent that we do)? Isn’t our intervention often too arbitrary, reflecting the hasty, uninformed reaction of only one or a couple of influential objectors? Don’t we in the process too severely and needlessly test the loyalty and respect of and lose credibility with many more than we imagine? Isn’t there a tendency among us, bred by the fear of displeasing, to avoid healthy self-disclosure—public or private—and to pretend about ourselves to ourselves and others? Doesn’t this in turn breed loneliness and make us, more than it should, strangers to each other? 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