Event: BYU Annual University Conference • Speaker: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland • Title: The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University • Date: August 23, 2021
Core Claim (critics): “Musket” was a call to violent action (esp. against LGBTQ individuals). Allegation of incitement
Word-for-word Quotes
“Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but ‘friendly fire’ is a tragedy.”
“We all look forward to the day when we can ‘beat [our] swords into plowshares, and [our] spears into pruninghooks’ and, at least on this subject, ‘learn war [no] more.’”
“As near as I can tell, Christ never once withheld His love from anyone, but He also never once said to anyone, ‘Because I love you, you are exempt from keeping my commandments.’”
Logical Questions
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What did “musket” mean in BYU discourse—physical violence or scholarly/apologetic defense?
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Are there textual anti‑violence signals in the same paragraph?
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Does the text satisfy the U.S. incitement standard (Brandenburg)?
Core Finding
Context negates violence. In the very passage critics cite, Holland warns against “friendly fire” and invokes plowshares / learn war no more—explicit peace imagery that undercuts a literal‑weapons reading (see quotes above). The metaphor reprises the well‑known BYU/Maxwell line about scholars who both build and defend the faith; President Dallin H. Oaks employed the same metaphor in a BYU leadership address about doctrinal defense—clearly figurative, not physical. Oaks 2017; Maxwell quote.
Legal standard. Under Brandenburg v. Ohio, speech is unprotected incitement only if it is directed to and likely to produce imminent lawless action. Nothing in the text approaches that threshold. LII: Brandenburg test; Justia: Brandenburg (1969). The “plowshares” line cites Isaiah 2:4, a canonical call to peace.
Bottom Line
False. “Musket” is a long‑standing metaphor for verbal/intellectual defense of doctrine, explicitly bounded by love and peace language.
Core Claim (critics): The address singled out LGBTQ people as divisive. Interpretation
Word-for-word Quotes
“We hope it isn’t a surprise to you that your trustees are not deaf or blind to the feelings that swirl around marriage and the whole same-sex topic on campus—and a lot of other topics.”
“In that spirit, let me go no farther before declaring unequivocally my love and that of my Brethren for those who live with this same-sex challenge…”
“[W]e are trying to avoid—and hope all will try to avoid—language, symbols, and situations that are more divisive than unifying at the very time we want to show love for all of God’s children.”
Core Finding Around Targeting LGBTQ People as The Problem
Holland addresses BYU employees about stewardship and mission alignment while explicitly affirming love for LGBTQ individuals. That is not “targeting” a population; it is clarifying institutional doctrinal boundaries while urging charity. Within the Latter‑day Saint framework, marriage doctrine is anchored in the Family Proclamation. BYU’s mission/aims are stated transparently (Aims).
Bottom Line Misleading. The text frames a stewardship directive + charity, not an attack on identity.
Bottom Line Evaluation Of Issues
| Start | End | Claim Summary | Category | Evaluation | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:26:33 | 00:28:23 | “Holland incited violence with ‘musket’.” | False | Metaphor framed by anti‑violence cues (friendly‑fire warning; plowshares) and Christ‑anchored love; fails Brandenburg test. | Transcript L79, L85; LII: Brandenburg test; Justia (1969); Isaiah 2:4 |
| 00:22:50 | 00:25:33 | “He targeted LGBTQ people as the problem.” | Misleading | Addressed employee stewardship and charity while upholding revealed doctrine on marriage. | Transcript L67, L70, L73; Family Proclamation; BYU Aims |
| 00:23:47 | 00:23:47 | “Valedictorian line suppressed identity.” | Disputed / Mixed | Podium‑norms / ceremony‑neutrality claim, not denial of dignity. | Transcript L70 |
| 00:21:33 | 00:21:33 | “‘Musket’ rhetoric is inherently dangerous.” | Not Provable (opinion) | Maxwell → Oaks → Holland metaphor about scholarly defense; peace‑language counter‑signals violence. | Transcript L61; Oaks 2017; Maxwell quote |
| 00:18:53 | 00:19:32 | “Talk kills academic freedom at BYU.” | False / Partial Truth | BYU uses a mission‑anchored freedom model; different from secular campuses, not absent. | Transcript L49–L52; BYU Academic Freedom; BYU Studies |
| 2024‑03 | 2024‑04 | “Required reading = harm.” | Not Provable | Assignment exists; “harm” depends on classroom framing and paired materials. | SL Trib (Mar 15 2024); BYU Universe (Apr 3 2024); Fox 13 (Mar 17 2024) |
Legal & Logic Analysis
- Incitement: The address does not advocate imminent lawless action or make such action likely under Brandenburg. Risk: Low — LII, Justia.
- Defamation (accusers’ risk): Asserting as fact that Holland “called for violence,” contrary to the text, could raise actual malice issues under New York Times v. Sullivan if aimed at harming reputation. Risk: Moderate — LII / Oyez.
- False‑light / deceptive implication: Quoting “musket fire” while omitting same‑paragraph peace/love qualifiers materially distorts meaning. Risk: Moderate.
- Rhetorical fallacies observed in critiques: equivocation (metaphor → literal violence), post hoc ergo propter hoc (incidents after speech ⇒ caused by speech), straw man (podium norms ⇒ “silencing identity”), motte‑and‑bailey (“I dislike the metaphor” ⇒ “legal incitement”).
Bottom Line
Read in full, the address is a trustee‑level stewardship reminder to BYU employees to love every student while keeping BYU aligned with revealed doctrine on marriage and family. The “musket” phrase is a long‑standing academic‑defense metaphor immediately bounded by calls to unity, love, and peace (“plowshares”). Claims that Holland endorsed violence or singled out LGBTQ people as enemies are unsupported by the text and fail under the governing First Amendment standards.
Sources
- Official text/video: BYU Speeches — Holland, “The Second Half of the Second Century of BYU” (Aug 23, 2021). speeches.byu.edu
- Oaks, “Challenges to the Mission of BYU” (Apr 21, 2017). speeches.byu.edu
- Maxwell quote (trowels and muskets), Faith & Learning (BYU). faithandlearning.byu.edu
- BYU Academic Freedom Policy. policy.byu.edu
- Aims of a BYU Education. aims.byu.edu
- BYU Studies: “Individual and Institutional Academic Freedom.” byustudies.byu.edu
- Scripture: Isaiah 2:4 (“beat swords into plowshares”). churchofjesuschrist.org
- Family Proclamation (official text). churchofjesuschrist.org
- Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) — LII / Justia. law.cornell.edu • justia.com
- New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) — LII / Oyez. law.cornell.edu • oyez.org
- Required‑reading coverage: Salt Lake Tribune • Fox 13 • BYU Universe
Sources Consulted
Primary: BYU Speeches (Holland; Oaks); BYU policy pages; ChurchofJesusChrist.org (Family Proclamation; Isaiah 2). Secondary/perspectives: SL Trib, Fox 13, BYU Universe; BYU Studies (academic freedom). Legal primers: Cornell LII; Justia; Oyez.