Getting Beyond Isolated Quotes

An interesting post the other day at Summa Theologica about the traditional text-centered dialogue about Mormonism as opposed to one that analyzes actual practice, ritual, and devotion in an attempt to understand a group of people.The post resonated with me because part of the reason I started this blog was because I was absolutely bored with the dialogue that so often accompanies Mormonism on the internet; pointless quibbling over trivial matters, picking out an isolated quote here and an isolated quote there and trying to disparage a people. I find such discussions a waste of time.Delving into the important questions of life and the unique Mormon answer to many of those questions is so much more complex and rich than getting tied up in obscure quotations of Brigham Young.Hopefully it is discernible from my posts that I like to take a step back and see themes, patterns, and parallels. I also often speak from a perspective slightly removed from the participants including speaking about Mormonism as a third party observer, which I most definitely am, while also being a participant. Outsiders will continue to be confused and frustrated with the Mormons until they can see them in the context of the complete religious/historical panorama.