I was appalled at the spiteful and contemptuous tone of the recent letter, “WRI Lies,” printed in Tuesday’s Daily Universe. Scornfully dismissing demonstrators who petitioned in support of the Women’s Research Institute by advising them to “stop crying about the loss of [their] feminist club,” the author went on to suggest that it is “morally wrong for us to question the judgment of our inspired leaders.”

While I firmly believe that the leaders of the LDS church and of this university are guided by divine inspiration, I am offended by and utterly reject the premise of this statement. Our Heavenly Father has endowed us with agency and with the ability to seek after truth and understanding for ourselves. Although I do not share the same concerns as these demonstrators, I understand their apprehension at what could be construed as an attempt to undermine and marginalize the important research conducted at the WRI, and thus support the efforts of concerned students and faculty members to petition and respectfully promote dialogue with the administration. Asking questions, when done sincerely and in the proper setting, is never a bad thing!

As President Uchtdorf said in a recent CES fireside: “My dear young friends, we are a question-asking people. We have always been, because we know that inquiry leads to truth. That is how the Church got its start, from a young man who had questions. In fact, I’m not sure how one can discover truth without asking questions.”

Daniel Fenn
Boise, Idaho