Is it a smart move to demean any faith tradition?

With over 16 million members worldwide, the Church has 36 well-established congregations in Scotland. Amongst the membership are found active participants in the electoral process and across the political spectrum (although the Church itself does not engage in party politics).

READ MORE: Heaven help us with these Scottish Tory MPs and their Unionism

The many thousands of Scottish Latter-day Saints would no doubt have been surprised by the way their beliefs were portrayed in the article.

We understand that respectful and healthy debate on matters of state is the bedrock of a democratic society. When it comes to our values and tenets, we are keen to set the record Straight.

The writer refers to the demographics of Church leadership – this commentary may have given the wrong impression. We are a global church with ethnic and cultural diversity, including membership across 160 countries.

The article also stated that “no-one else was allowed to look at” the original records from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Actually, 12 individuals were witness to the ancient record. Teachings from the Book of Mormon inspire positive actions today. Latter-day Saint missionaries, who share Christian principles from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, provide regular service in Scotland’s communities.

We understand that your newspaper’s objective is to provide accurate information to the readership, and we write in this spirit.

One final thought – at a time of avowed equality and diversity, is it smart to demean any faith tradition?

Malcolm Adcock
The Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints

IAIN K’s letter (January 30) asks the hugely important question: “Who would ever have thought a nation of passionate Celts would accept subordination to an Ango-Saxon bully?”

To answer this, we have to look first at the structure of Scottish society over the last few centuries. Landowners took us into the Union in 1707, followed by a trend of wealthy, educated families being attracted to London, absorbing English ways and speech and bringing them back home to Scotland, which in turn influenced the people around them. Then we had Culloden, with an aftermath of decimation and devastating laws in the Highlands and Islands, which turned clan chiefs into landlords, many of whom also absorbed Anglised ways.

READ MORE: Letters, January 30

Then Edinburgh created its 18th-century New Town, which divided the city’s rich from the poor and also absorbed a strong, Anglised style of living. All this was followed by the Victorian era, which turned the screw in the same direction.

But the effect of these trends almost pales into insignificance when compared to the use of our very own Mr Baird’s invention, the television, by the London-controlled BBC to promulgate the English culture in Scotland.

Tory MPs are now telling us that Scotland is just a region and the Secretary of State for England in Scotland, David Mundell, feels brave enough to tell us that we not even a partner in the UK, but only a part of it!

This process of language and culture erosion has undoubtedly impacted negatively on the “passion of the Celts”. However, if the UK media reported politics truthfully and objectively, larger sparks of passion would have been ignited in Scotland as they have been among the readers of The National.

Dennis White
Blackwood

I AGREE with the comments made by Bill Scobie and Stewart Robinson (Letters, January 29 and 30) that we should not underestimate the power of the written word in terms of letterS to newspapers. Certainly opponents of independence don’t, as we can see from the insidious efforts of the Unionist campaign group Scotland in Union.

READ MORE: Letters, January 29

In the current media climate we should be thankful for The National and Sunday National. We should also applaud the fact that these papers do not slavishly or uncritically follow the government or SNP lines. Without doubt they do give us supporters of an independent Scotland reasons to be both cheerful and hopeful.

Douglas Turner
Edinburgh

READ MORE: Letters, January 30

MAY I endorse Billy Scobie’s encouragement for us to keep writing letters to The National for the good reason he mentions.

Here is another reason. Before The Scotsman newspaper was ruined by Andrew Neil, it published a letter from an eminent academic (sorry, I cannot recall his name) in which he said: “Reporters and commentators have to say something; letter writers have something to say”.

Richard Walthew
Duns