LETTER: Be open to gain strength

Dear Editor,

An article in The Statesman told about the Clothesline Project where women expressed their feelings of abuse via artwork on clothing that was then hung on display.

The article mentioned some of the artwork had been critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that the display had been removed from BYU. Another recent article in The Statesman told about the historical papers presented to Utah State University by Arrington, and of how the church was trying to get control of many of those papers.

The implication from these articles is that the church is suppressing expression and inquiry in an effort to control its public image. This is understandable. It is similar to an individual being embarrassed about some of the things written in a diary years before, and so trying to control who reads the diary. However, suppression of open discussion and of information by organizations usually weakens those organizations in the long run, and is an insult to the members of those organizations.

Strength is gained by an openness to inquiry and criticism, and by a willingness to change. The church has shown an admirable ability at certain times in the past to change and improve. It would better maintain this ability, and would benefit itself and its members, by reversing the tendency toward suppression of expression and information.

Paul Harms