The FAIR Journal

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THE FAIR JOURNAL                                         February 2002
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        The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
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   Apologetics: The branch of theology that is concerned with
   defending or proving the truth of Christian doctrines. (The
   American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
   Edition, 2000.)


INSIDE THE JOURNAL
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   * TURNING STUMBLING BLOCKS INTO STEPPING STONES: Responding to
     Challenging Issues in Mormonism. FAIR announces this year's
     conference to be held at UVSC in Orem Utah on Friday August 9th
     and Saturday August 10th.  

   * CALL FOR CONFERENCE PAPERS. We are looking for speakers for this
     year's conference. If you have a topic in mind, contact us. 

   * 'The Seer:' Reliable Source? A quick look at the validity of
     "The Seer" as a source of LDS doctrine. Author Lance Starr
     examines why so many anti-Mormons quote this publication.

   * HEBREW NAMES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON. A new FAIR Paper by John A.
     Tvedtnes discusses the Hebraic roots of some of the names used
     in the Book of Mormon. This paper was first presented in
     Jerusalem, August 2001, at the Thirteenth World Congress of
     Jewish Studies.
   
   * WHEN THE PROPHET SPEAKS, IS THE THINKING DONE? An examination of
     an often-used criticism of the Church that is used to label LDS
     with blind obedience.

   * FAIR APOLOGETICS INDEX. The Index continues to grow.

   * FAIR WEBSITE HACKED. The message board was taken off line.
     Additionally, we had a hard drive crash.
   
   * BOOKSTORE SHIPPING SALE. Shipping is still free at the FAIR
     bookstore.

   * GET FREE BOOKS. Learn how you can earn free books, just by
     signing people up for the FAIR Journal.

   * ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS. Interested in writing for FAIR? Learn how
     you can have your apologetics work published.

   * PUBLISHING NOTES. Learn how you can become more involved in FAIR
     and how you can reuse the material we publish.


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TURNING STUMBLING BLOCKS INTO STEPPING STONES:
Responding to Challenging Issues in Mormonism
 
FAIR announces this year's conference to be held at Utah Valley State
College (UVSC) located at 800 West University Parkway in Orem Utah on
August 9th and 10th. This location is just off of the freeway and is
easily accessible. Last year's conference was a big success, so we are
following the same format.  

The conference will be from 10-4 on Friday, August 9th, and from 9-3
on Saturday, August 10th. Lunch will be included each day. This gives
an opportunity to renew friendships and to eat lunch with the
speakers. After you factor in the price of lunch and the
accessibility of the conference speakers, you will agree that the
FAIR conference is one of the best bargains out there.

The price of the conference is as follows (including 2 lunches):

   Purchase in advance:
     $45.00 per person (full conference)
     $75.00 per couple (full conference)
     $27.50 per person (single day)

   Pay at the door:
     $65.00 per person (full conference)
     $95.00 per couple (full conference)
     $37.50 per person (single day)

We also offer discounted student tickets, but you must show a student
ID at the door. The student prices will be:

   Purchase in advance:
     $35.00 per person (full conference)
     $55.00 per couple (full conference)
     $22.50 per person (single day)

   Pay at the door:
     $55.00 per person (full conference)
     $75.00 per couple (full conference)
     $32.50 per person (single day)

Last year's conference was a lot of fun. We believe this year's
conference will be great and we look forward to seeing you there.

Sign up for this conference at the following address:

     http://www.fairlds.org/conf02.html

If you have a business and are interested in sponsoring a booth at
the conference conference contact us.


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CALL FOR PAPERS

We look forward to many of you suggesting and presenting papers for
this year's conference. The focus is on dealing with topics that are a
little more involved in their answer than just pointing to a scripture
in the Bible. Some examples of the types of papers we are looking for
would be: blacks and the Priesthood, black contributions to the
Church, the Book of Abraham, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, polygamy,
the banking "scandal," the trial of Joseph Smith, or any other
historical or social issues.

Certainly we are open to other papers that don't exactly fit the theme
if we feel it has exceptional merit. If you have an idea for a talk,
or would like to speak on one of these topics, please contact us through our Web site, at
this page: www.fairlds.org/contact.psp.


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'THE SEER:' RELIABLE SOURCE?
by Lance Starr

Many anti-Mormons make extensive use of this publication in framing
their accusations against the Church. Many members of the Church have
not even heard of this publication, much less are familiar with its
origins. The Seer was published in England by Orson Pratt, and he used
the publication to provide a printed pulpit for his own ideas and pet
speculations. It was never considered official LDS doctrine, nor was
it ever published by or endorsed by the Church. Elder B.H. Roberts
wrote the following in response to those in his day who were heralding
the writings of The Seer as representative of official LDS doctrine:

   The Seer, by formal action of the First Presidency and Twelve
   Apostles of the Church was repudiated, and Elder Orson Pratt
   himself sanctioned the repudiation. There was a long article
   published in the Deseret News on the 23rd of August, 1865, over
   the signatures of the First Presidency and Twelve setting forth
   that this work--the Seer--together with some other writings of
   Elder Pratt, were inaccurate. In the course of that document, after
   praising, as well they might, the great bulk of the work of this
   noted apostle, they say: "But the Seer, the Great First Cause, the
   article in the Millennial Star, of Oct. 15, and Nov. 1, 1850
   contains doctrine which we cannot sanction and which we have felt
   to disown, so that the Saints who now live, and who may live
   hereafter, may not be misled by our silence, or be left to
   misinterpret it. Where these objectionable works or harts of works
   are bound in volumes, or otherwise, they should be cut out and
   destroyed."

The next time you see an anti-Mormon argument, look carefully at what
they cite as the sources, if any. There is a good chance their sources
will be from The Seer. Interestingly, they almost never use official
sources of LDS doctrine to level their accusations.

The reason, of course, is very simple. Anti-Mormons are not
interested, for the most part, in addressing the real beliefs held by
Mormons or the real doctrines embraced by the Church as contained in
our official sources of doctrine. They choose instead to focus on
carefully selected excerpts from obscure writings to provide the sole
foundation for their accusations. Not only is this approach dishonest,
it is outright deceitful. But such is their methodology and modus
operandi. Obscure, repudiated writings from the fringe of an
individual's personal speculations simply sound more damning. The fact
that the Church publicly denounced them is simply a bothersome detail
they correctly assume most people won't take the time to find out.

See this article on the FAIR Website at:

     http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Is_The Seer_a_Reliable_Source.html


------------------------------
HEBREW NAMES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON. 

In the last issue of the FAIR Journal we presented notes from John
Tvedtnes's talk on Mormonism in scholarship and scholarship in
Mormonism. This month we have a paper that Brother Tvedtnes recently
presented at the Thirteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies in
Jerusalem in August 2001. The paper discusses the Hebraic roots of
names used in the Book of Mormon. What is truly amazing is how well
this paper was received by the audience of non-LDS scholars.

To read this paper, go to the FAIR Website (www.fairlds.org) and
click on link to the Hebrew Names article (under "What's New"). The
article is in pdf format.


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WHEN THE PROPHET SPEAKS, IS THE THINKING DONE? 

This is an examination of an often-used criticism of the Church that
is used to label LDS with blind obedience.

This short article gives the full text and background of the quote and
a letter of explanation by President George Albert Smith.

Don't be caught off guard by this tactic. Go to the FAIR Website
(www.fairlds.org) and click on the link under "What's New" to read
this article.


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FAIR APOLOGETICS INDEX CONTINUES TO GROW AND GAIN POPULARITY

We continue to add content to the Apologetics Index. Now we not only
have the Ensign articles on the various topics indexed, but we also
have many of the LDS Websites on the Internet indexed. The Apologetics
Index includes Website articles, many articles from the Encyclopedia
of Mormonism, the FARMS free site, and some electronic books.  

Next time you have a gospel question, you no longer have to try to
remember which Website the answer might be on. Instead, you can go to
www.fairlds.org, click on the Apologetics Index link, click on that
one topic and find a list of great responses from all over the
Internet. You can also search the index by keyword.

The use of the Apolgetics Index continues to rise. We have Sunday
School teachers and Seminary teachers using it now to help prepare for
their lessons. We hope this will be a great resource for you.


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FAIR WEBSITE HACKED

We've been hacked! Yes, unfortunately for the second time in our
organizational life someone who "loves us" decided to hack into our
Website and delete part of the message boards. After a week of working
with our ISP, we were finally able to get it restored.  

Since we were having trouble with our message boards, we took the
opportunity to evaluate and change some of the rules to make it more
usable to members and non-members alike. 

Check it out at http://www.fairlds.org/message.html

Unfortunately, my own hard drive also crashed this past month. I had
backups of almost everything, so other than time I didn't loose much.
There was one article that someone e-mailed me that I completely lost.
If you sent me an article in the past few months, and you have a "PhD"
after your name, send it to me again! I'm not ignoring you.


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GET FREE BOOKS

We are working on expanding our mailing list of the FAIR Journal. To
further this effort, for a limited time we will give you a FREE copy
of "They Lie In Wait to Decieve," a $12.95 value, for every 10 (ten)
qualified e-mail addresses you give us to add to the FAIR Journal
mailing list.

By "qualified," we mean people you have already asked if they might
be interested in being on the list for the monthly e-newsletter. If
we send them the Journal and they e-mail us asking "Why did you send
this to me?", we won't send you a book. We are looking for real people
who don't live with you.

There are four volumes of "They Lie In Wait to Deceive." For more
information on the books see the following page:

     http://www.fairlds.org/Lie_in_Wait_to_Deceive/

To participate, send your e-mail addresses to webmaster


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ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS

We welcome article submissions for the FAIR Web site. If you would
like to submit an article, please review the editing guidelines at:

     http://www.fairlds.org/EdStyle.pdf

Submit your article to the FAIR Journal Editor. An appropriate
article would be one that affirms the truthfulness of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

While LDS apologetics (in the broadest sense) deals with refuting
critics of the Church, articles don't necessarily have to deal with
anti-Mormonism, but may deal with some new evidence of the Book of
Mormon, some interesting scripture interpretation, a viewpoint or
quote from the early Christian Fathers or other historical figure,
an interesting lesson idea, an inspiring missionary story, Church
history, or your view on a current event related to the Church or a
piece from a historical journal.

We may also accept articles from people who are not members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that may not necessarily
meet the guidelines of supporting the church if it is a topic of
general interest to people involved in apologetics.

A submission may range in length from several pages to a single
paragraph. 


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PUBLISHING NOTES

FAIR is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided
in the FAIR Journal and on the FAIR Web site (http://www.fairlds.org)
are the sole responsibility of FAIR, and should not be interpreted as
official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.

If someone has forwarded this e-journal to you and you would like to
join you should go to www.fairlds.org and click on the Membership
link.

If you are very interested in apologetics and would like to actively
participate in FAIR you should consider joining our apologetics e-mail
list. Visit www.fairlds.org and click on the Membership link to join
this list as well.

If you manage your own e-mail list, and wish to include some of these
thoughts or articles on your list, contact us through our Web site, at
this page: www.fairlds.org/contact.psp. We have a fairly liberal policy of using our
material so long as you contact us first to gain permission and
clearly identify that your source was FAIR.

If you would like to sign up to receive the FAIR Journal automatically, click here.

To return to the index of past FAIR Journal issues, click here.

FAIR is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of FAIR, and should not be interpreted as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.

If you like what FAIR does and you agree with our mission, we invite you to support FAIR in any way you are able. You can make a donation, or visit our Membership page for additional support ideas. FAIR only succeeds through the efforts of our gracious volunteers.

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Last Updated June 12, 2006
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