An apology for the apologists:
I think we are being a little harsh on the apologists. Much of what I would throw into the apologist category (FARMS, FAIR, etc.) it written in response to specific issues raised in clearly anti-mormon literature and websites. When writing in response to material so clearly biased on the "anti-" side, it is not unreasonable to lean so heavily to the "pro-" side to address the issue at hand, i.e., to illustrate that other reasonable conclusions exist.
Obviously, there is a big variety in the quality of apologist work. I recall as a child asking about how dinosaurs fit into the creation story. My grandmother told me that the earth was made out of the remains of other worlds and the dinosaurs and other ancient fossils actually came from those other worlds and they didn't actually live on this world. Even as a young child, my B.S. meter was ringing on that one. On the other hand, I have read some apologist articles that I felt were quite reasonable and well-written.
As for LDS history in general, I tend to agree that there is a need for more open and honest writing.
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