 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
 |
The FAIR JournalThe FAIR Journal is published monthly. It contains information about new apologetic information at the FAIR Web site. 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.
THE FAIR JOURNAL June 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------
* NEW AT THE CONFERENCE: MARGARET BLAIR YOUNG TO SPEAK. The author
of the play "I Am Jane" and co-author of the "Standing On the
Promises" trilogy to speak at the FAIR Conference this August.
* WHAT MAKES THE FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE SPECIAL? A look at the five
points that make the FAIR LDS Bookstore special.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: LOOKING THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL--EXAMINING
A CURIOUS LINGUISTIC CLAIM. Ed Decker claims that the word
"Mormon," in Chinese, means "gates of hell." What is the truth?
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE CORRUPTION OF SCRIPTURE IN THE SECOND
CENTURY. When were "plain and precious things" removed from
scripture? An analysis of events in the second century A.D.
helps to answer the question.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: UP IN SMOKE--A RESPONSE TO THE TANNERS'
CRITICISM OF THE WORD OF WISDOM. Do the Tanners' criticisms of
the Word of Wisdom hold up under scrutiny? This in-depth analysis
answers the question once and for all.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: RIGHT ON TARGET--BOOMERANG HITS AND THE BOOK
OF MORMON. A great presentation that focuses on evidences first
thought to disprove the Book of Mormon, but later serve to prove
its truth.
* FAIR ANNOUNCES A NEW BOOKSTORE AFFILIATE PROGRAM. Earn money and
help to promote FAIR’s mission.
* MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, SCOTT GORDON. Bringing you the best
of past FAIR Conferences.
* BOOKSTORE SPECIALS
Build your gospel library with great offers from the FAIR LDS
Bookstore. All of our selections are prescreened for quality so
you can make your purchases with confidence.
* 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.
* FAIR JOURNAL ARCHIVES
------------------------------
THE AUTHOR OF THE PLAY "I AM JANE" AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE "STANDING ON
THE PROMISES" TRILOGY TO SPEAK AT THE FAIR CONFERENCE
FAIR is pleased to announce that Margaret Blair Young will be speaking
at this year's FAIR Conference. Margaret Young’s presentation will be
titled: Black Latter-day Saints: A Faith-FULL History.
Margaret Blair Young is a writing instructor at Brigham Young
University and has published two short story collections and six
novels, including the Standing on the Promises trilogy, which she
co-authored with Darius Gray, president of the Church's Genesis Group.
The trilogy is historical "faction"--fictionalized as needed and
supplied with copious endnotes. The three books (One More River to
Cross, Bound for Canaan and The Last Mile of the Way) cover the
history of several great Mormon pioneers of color. Margaret has also
authored a play about Jane Manning James, titled I Am Jane. She is
married to Bruce Young and has four children.
For more information: http://www.fairlds.org/conf03a.html
------------------------------
WHAT MAKES THE FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE SPECIAL?
The FAIR LDS Bookstore provides a unique service among all other LDS
bookstores in these five ways:
1. FAIR has a extensive collection of high-quality gospel books
designed for in-depth study of scriptures, Church history and
other Church and religious issues. Novels and books for light
reading are missing from our shelves. Instead we have worked
hard and collected books from BYU Studies, FARMS, Utah State
University Press, Oxford Press, University of Illinois Press and
other publishers to give you as many reliable resources for your
studies as possible. We are continually looking for more books
that meet our standards to add to our product line. We believe it
would be difficult to find another bookstore that offers our
particular selection.
2. Books in the FAIR LDS Bookstore have been reviewed by our members
and other LDS and non-LDS scholars for quality and depth. While
not all books are written at the same scholarship levels, you can
be reasonably assured that the books offered through FAIR are
worthwhile and sound. We offer a wide range for the novice to the
experienced researcher.
3. FAIR offers books at an excellent price, discounting
significantly where possible in order to increase opportunities
for study among our customers. Our intent is not only to provide
revenue for FAIR, but to get this information out to the widest
audience available.
4. FAIR is supportive of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. We look for books of sound scholarship, but don’t offer
books that tear down the beliefs and faith of the LDS membership.
5. Proceeds from the sales of books help further the mission of
FAIR. Because FAIR is an all-volunteer organization, no one draws
a salary. All of our profit goes toward the operating expenses of
FAIR. You can guarantee that your contribution will be spent on
producing our many worthwhile projects.
Visit the FAIR LDS Bookstore here:
http://store.fairlds.org
- The FAIR Bookstore Staff
------------------------------
LOOKING THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL: EXAMINING A CURIOUS LINGUISTIC
CLAIM
by Steve Willoughby
Stop the presses! Shocking new discovery reveals hidden connection
between the Mormon Church and the forces of darkness! The truth is
revealed in examination of the name of the Mormon church when spelled
out in Chinese characters. "In Chinese, 'Mormon' means 'gates of
hell,'" reports Ed Decker in his popular exposé, The God Makers.
Or, at least, that's what some critics of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, such as Ed Decker, would have you believe. How
could such a thing be? Is the Church trying to hide its true nature by
writing it in Chinese in the hopes that nobody would notice?
Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Looking_Through_the_Gates_of_Hell_Examining_a_Curious_Linguistic_Claim.html
------------------------------
THE CORRUPTION OF SCRIPTURE IN THE SECOND CENTURY
by John Gee, Ph.D. (Presented at the 1999 FAIR Conference)
While Latter-day Saints have often discussed the removal of plain and
precious things from scripture, sometimes our ideas about the process
whereby this occurs have suffered from a lack of clarity and of
historical knowledge. Sometimes we think that the medieval monks
changed the text of scripture. They may have, somewhat, but not
drastically. The changes came long before. We neither need to nor
should look later than the second century for these changes. By the
early second century, Christianity had fragmented into dozens of
splinter groups with each group charging that the other possessed both
forged and corrupted texts. I shall limit this discussion to
documenting changes and corruptions of scripture during the second
century.
Read the presentation: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/1999_Corruption_of_Scripture_in_the_Second_Century.html
------------------------------
UP IN SMOKE: A RESPONSE TO THE TANNERS’ CRITICISM OF THE WORD OF
WISDOM
by Michael R. Ash (Presented at the 2000 FAIR Conference)
Chapter twenty-six of Jerald and Sandra Tanner’s Mormonism: Shadow or
Reality? is devoted to impugning Doctrine and Covenants 89--the Word
of Wisdom. Not surprisingly, the Tanners claim that Joseph did not
receive the Word of Wisdom by divine revelation and that, although
others were excommunicated for nonobservance, he (and apparently
Brigham Young) flaunted the fact that they didn’t observe it.
According to the Tanners Church leaders were also guilty of violating
the Word of Wisdom by not only condoning the sale of proscribed
items--primarily alcohol--but by producing and selling them as well.
Although the Tanners charge Joseph with hypocrisy, and imply that
Brigham was a hypocrite as well, they never reveal why they believe
that Joseph and Brigham would casually indulge in publicly consuming
alcohol. Their actions appear very little like hypocrisy, but rather
suggest that they had a different understanding of Word of Wisdom
observance than we do today.
Read the presentation: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2000_Up_in_Smoke.html
------------------------------
RIGHT ON TARGET: BOOMERANG HITS AND THE BOOK OF MORMON
by Matthew Roper (Presented at the 2001 FAIR Conference)
One morning, several years ago, I had to acquire some materials for a
research project I was working on. In company with two friends, I
visited a small Salt Lake City bookstore operated by a well-known
anti-Mormon couple. The woman, the co-proprietor of this
establishment, was most helpful in assisting me in my aim. While there,
I had the opportunity to witness and also engage in a most interesting
conversation with this woman. During our conversation the question
arose as to what, in her view, would constitute acceptable evidence in
support of the Book of Mormon. She struggled with this question for
several minutes, so we asked if some kind of inscription would do. This
would depend, she said. One of my companions then gave her a
hypothetical scenario: Let’s suppose non-Mormon archaeologists found an
inscription in highland Guatemala dating to the early sixth century
B.C. with the name Nephi written in Reformed Egyptian. If verified,
would such a find then constitute evidence for the Book of Mormon? Yet
our kind host was unwilling to grant that even this would constitute
such evidence, allowing only that, "it might be a topic of discussion."
In leaving her store it was unclear what if anything would constitute
such evidence.
Read the presentation: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2001_Boomerang_Hits_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html
------------------------------
FAIR ANNOUNCES A NEW BOOKSTORE AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Become a FAIR LDS Bookstore Affiliate and earn some extra dollars and
help further the mission of FAIR. As an affiliate, you receive 5% of
the purchase amount of any customers who access our store through the
Bookstore link you provide on your Web site. FAIR takes care of all
the customer service, shipping, and handling of products while all
you need to provide is the affiliate link on your Web site. Of course,
if you do a little promoting on your Web site, you have the
opportunity to make more money. The more you promote FAIR and the
FAIR LDS Bookstore, the more money you can make.
For more information: http://www.fairlds.org/affiliate.html
------------------------------
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
In our June and our July FAIR Journals, we are concentrating on
bringing you transcripts of FAIR conference talks from prior years.
That way you can see the high quality of information that is brought
to us by means of these conferences. We hope you enjoy these talks
and plan on joining with us on August 7 and 8 in Orem.
If you believe that FAIR offers items of value, please make a donation.
FAIR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so donations are tax
deductible. We also have no paid employees and everyone, including the
FAIR Board of Directors, FAIR officers, FAIR authors, Webmaster,
bookstore managers and all other FAIR workers donate their time and
talents. At this time, preparing for the summer conference is
significantly draining to our funds. If you would like to support this
cause, please go to http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s001.
We could use your help.
-Scott Gordon
President, FAIR
------------------------------
BOOKSTORE SPECIALS
Our FAIR LDS Bookstore specials are short but sweet this month. With
the FAIR Conference rapidly approaching, we are continuing to focus on
this year's presenters.
* Craig Foster: "Penny Tracts and Polemics: Anti-Mormon
Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860." Retail $39.95, on
special at $34.95.
* Armand Mauss: "The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle
with Assimilation." Retail $29.95, on special at $24.95.
* John Tvedtnes: "The Most Correct Book." Retail $16.95, our price
only $13.95.
Check our specials page http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s002
for more info and browse the store to catch other great bargains.
And we hope to see you at the Conference!
- The FAIR Bookstore Staff
------------------------------
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS
We welcome article submissions for the FAIR Journal and website. 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, Cooper Johnson
(FAIR contact page). An appropriate article would be one that
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.
------------------------------
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 and by adding a link to the
FAIR Web site (www.fairlds.org).
--------------------------------
FAIR JOURNAL ARCHIVES
For past issues of the FAIR Journal, go to www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Journal/
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.
|
|
Welcome |
Topical Guide |
FAIR Publications |
Join & Support FAIR |
Message Boards
Last Updated
June 12, 2006
You can send comments/suggestions using our contact page. |
