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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 August 2003
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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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* FAIR IN THE NEWS. It has been a busy few weeks as FAIR has made
the airwaves and the printed page. Be sure to check out the
latest press coverage of FAIR.
* FIFTH ANNUAL FAIR CONFERENCE WILL BE HARD TO TOP. The thoughts
and impressions of D.E. Neighbors, who attended the recent FAIR
Conference.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE IMPACT OF MORMON CRITICS ON LDS
SCHOLARSHIP. Presented by Mike Ash at the 2002 FAIR Conference,
this is an examination of what effect the critics have had on
the Church in general and apologetics in particular.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE CHURCH'S PORTRAYAL OF BRIGHAM YOUNG.
In an effort to prove that the Church whitewashes its history,
critics jumped on the 1998 release of the instruction manual for
priesthood and Relief Society classes. What is all the fuss
about, and do the critics have a point here?
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THEIR "LITTLE CORNER OF CYBERSPACE." An
analysis of the caliber of discussion evident on the Recovery
from Mormonism message boards, along with an example of how
tolerant the board really is.
* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: LUCIFER, THE BROTHER OF JESUS? A short (one
page; two sides) brochure that examines the beliefs of the LDS
Church about the relationship between Jesus and Lucifer.
* MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, SCOTT GORDON.
* FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE. Reminders about the resources available
through the FAIR LDS Bookstore.
* 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
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FAIR IN THE NEWS
The last few weeks have been an exciting time for FAIR. Not only have
we just finished a successful conference, but FAIR has been mentioned
many times recently in the news.
Those interested in FAIR and its mission will want to review an
article that appeared in the August 16 issue of the Church News. In a
full-page article entitled "Intellectual Defense of the Faith," staff
reporter R. Scott Lloyd recapped the beginning, mission, and work of
FAIR. He also provided summaries of presentations by three speakers,
Daniel C. Peterson, Roger Keller, and Michael Rhodes. Be sure to share
the article with your friends and neighbors who may wonder exactly what
it is that FAIR does. (A subscription is required to view the Church
News website.)
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m101
On the front page of the BYU Daily Universe we find this article
written by Maren Layton.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m102
Across the valley from BYU, UVSC (Utah Valley State College) carried
FAIR at the top of their front page with this article by Erin
McPherson.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m103
The Ogden Standard Examiner carried an article written by Janae Fracis
that brought several new people to the conference who have never
attended before.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m104
The Provo Daily Herald carried this article written by Karen Hoag.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m105
Kristen Moulton of The Salt Lake Tribune focused in on the DNA issue
with this article.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m106
On the Internet, Meridian Magazine ran a number of articles on FAIR,
including several of our past conference talks. Meridian Magazine can
be found at www.meridianmagazine.com. A partial listing of the "not to
be missed" FAIR articles Meridian Magazine carried includes:
* George Potter and Richard Wellington on the new evidences of the
Book of Mormon.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m107
* Craig Foster on Understanding the "Stages of Grief" of Former
Members Who Attack the Church.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m108
* Scott Gordon on the Book of Abraham film.
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m109
On the radio, Martin Tanner hosted Scott Gordon, president of FAIR, on
his Sunday Religion Today program. That program airs regularly on KSL
radio 1160 at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Van Hale discussed the FAIR conference
with Lance Starr and Mike Ash of FAIR on his Religion on the Line
program which airs on KTKK radio 630 Sundays at 5 p.m.
You can still listen in to one radio program that should not be missed.
Lance Starr, Kevin Barney and Scott Gordon appeared on Radio West with
Doug Fabrizio on KUER public radio. You can still listen to that
broadcast here:
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?m110
If you know of any other mentions of FAIR in the news, be sure to let
us know. Send your comments to FAIR President.
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FIFTH ANNUAL FAIR CONFERENCE WILL BE HARD TO TOP
by D.E. Neighbors
[Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles by Don
Neighbors, a member of the FAIR Apologetics list and a first-time
conference attendee. Don was asked to share his impressions about the
conference so that FAIR Journal subscribers who missed the event will
get a fresh perspective. Future installments in the series will appear
in both the September and October issues of the FAIR Journal.]
This year's FAIR Conference at Utah Valley State College in Orem,
Utah, got off to a spiritual start when several members of FAIR
visited the Provo Temple Wednesday afternoon, the day before the
conference. Later that evening, many attended a social, where all had
a good time.
Thursday morning the conference opened to a crowd that was a mixed bag
of scholars, students, branch, ward, and stake leaders, and "rank and
file" members of the Church from all over the country and all walks of
life. FAIR's president, Scott Gordon, began Thursday's session by
welcoming everyone and helping to set the tone for the conference.
It would be hard to say if any one of the presentations given on
Thursday and Friday were better than the rest, as all were high-
quality talks. Matt Roper started the morning discussing ancient texts
and the people of the Book of Mormon lands. He was followed by an
emotional and spiritually moving presentation by Margaret Young with a
little help from her partner Darius Gray. Her presentation on the
faithful black Saints of the early Church was an excellent rebuttal of
charges of racism in the Church. She was followed by an energetic
presentation by John Tvedtnes, who spoke on the subject of racism in
the Book of Mormon. After lunch, Trent Stephens raised a few eyebrows
and piqued the audience's interest in a talk on evolution and LDS
theology. After his talk, Brant Gardner spoke on the Book of Mormon,
highlighting religious reforms that were underway in Lehi's time, and
made it clear to the audience that the Book of Mormon is not, in fact,
a nineteenth-century book reflecting Joseph Smith's theology.
Following a break, Roger Ekins and his wife gave what could best be
called a performance in which they took sides in the California Mormon
Newspaper War of 1856 and 1857. The polemics leveled at the Church by
the editor of a California newspaper were not only howlingly funny to
the audience, but the presentation served to show that little has
changed since then. George Potter and Richard Wellington topped the
day off with an excellent production about the work they have done
following Lehi's trail. The material they had on hand could have kept
us enthralled for much more than the hour in which they had to present
it.
After Thursday's session many of the participants on the FAIR
Apologetics list retired to Magleby's, a local restaurant, for the
annual speakers' dinner. Everyone ate well and proved to the rest of
the customers that Mormons can indeed be a bit rowdy. The dining room
was packed with a lot of Saints having a wonderful time.
Friday morning began with Kevin Barney and Mike Ash teaming up to give
an "Apologetics 101" class for those new to the field or curious in
knowing more about it. Logical flaws used by the critics of the Church
were presented, but this was tempered by a warning to all to avoid a
few treasured "Mormon myths" that many of us know. Jeffrey Meldrum
followed with a talk on DNA and the Book of Mormon peoples. He ended
his presentation by stating clearly that it is unlikely the children
of Lehi will ever be found using DNA analysis. Michael Rhodes gave a
technical, but very informative talk on the Book of Abraham and the
critics thereof. He closed his presentation by asking the audience if
they wanted to live their lives based on the opinions of scholars.
Roger Keller gave a moving speech that revealed his thoughts on the
field of apologetics. He recounted his involvement as a non-Mormon
with the NCCJ (the National Council of Christians and Jews) and their
review of "The God Makers," which he described as "religious
pornography." He made no bones about the fact that he feels those
involved in apologetics should avoid polemic attacks, but should seek
rather for dialogue and attempt to inform, rather than argue.
Between Brother Keller's talk and lunch, John Lynch took care of some
FAIR business, and spoke a little about FAIR's mission to inform, not
to bash, and to strive to add to the beliefs of others, not to take
away. Immediately after those remarks, he awarded Sharon Bunch the
John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award for the work she has done in
developing the bookstore for FAIR during the past year.
After lunch, Gene Sessions spoke about the Mountain Meadows Massacre,
which is currently a hot topic darling with the press and the subject
of two new books, Will Bagley's Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young
and the Mountain Meadows Massacre (Norman, Oklahoma: University of
Oklahoma Press, 2002) and Sally Denton's American Massacre: The
Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857 (New York: Knopf, 2003).
While Sessions felt Bagley's book demonstrated good research and
knowledge of the sources, he said the interpretation and analysis was
lacking. In regard to Denton's book, he could not find any redeeming
value. Craig L. Foster followed with a presentation on the
"unchanging ways" of the anti-Mormons. His talk did an excellent job
of punctuating the performance given by the Ekins' the previous day.
In the course of his presentation, he took on Jon Krakauer's Under
the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (New York: Doubleday,
2003), neatly placing the book where it belongs: among other similar
poorly researched anti-Mormon literature of past and present.
After a break we were treated to a talk on the subject of blacks and
the priesthood ban, by Armand Mauss, who has just published a book on
the subject that is the fruit of forty years' work. His presentation
proved to be quite up to providing insightful answers during the
question and answer period. The day closed with Daniel C. Peterson,
whose off-the-cuff presentation was at once thought provoking and
incredibly funny.
After all was said and done, and the work commenced in putting away
the unsold books and cleaning up after the conference, Sharon Bunch
said "We plan for this for an entire year, then it's over in two
days." There is no doubt that all involved had a good time. The crowd,
which peaked at 230 people, more than filled the room we used, so
there is talk of another venue for next year's conference.
Yes, it was a great couple of days.
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THE IMPACT OF MORMON CRITICS ON LDS SCHOLARSHIP
by Michael R. Ash
It is reported that Hugh Nibley once said: "We need more anti-Mormon
books. They keep us on our toes." At the 2001 FAIR Conference Ross
Baron mentioned Neal Postman's recently coined word, Columbusity.
While serendipity means finding something of value by accident,
Columbusity is the opposite; it means having found something of value
and not knowing it. "We've hit some 'Columbusity' with regards to
anti-Mormons," Baron said. "They're a great thing for us. Do you
realize the scholarship of the Church, the convert baptisms, the
strengthening of the members, as a result of anti-Mormons? ...They've
been one of the greatest blessings."
So begins the 2002 FAIR Conference presentation of Mike Ash, where he
demonstrates that despite being an impediment to Gospel growth,
critics fill a necessary role as part of the gospel plan and often
times positively influence Latter-day Saint scholarship.
Read the presentation: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_Impact_of_Mormon_Critics_on_LDS_Scholarship.html
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THE CHURCH'S PORTRAYAL OF BRIGHAM YOUNG
by Mike Parker
In January 1998 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
introduced a new curriculum for men's Priesthood and women's Relief
Society classes: Lessons would be taught by gospel subject using
selected statements and teachings of latter-day prophets. The first
two years (1998–1999) focused on President Brigham Young.
An April 1998 Associated Press story was picked up by secular and
sectarian critics of the Church and used as proof that the Church was
covering up embarrassing historical facts.
Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Church_Portrayal_of_Brigham_Young.html
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THEIR "LITTLE CORNER OF CYBERSPACE"
by Bill Hamblin
One of the phenomena attendant to The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is the vehemence with which its detractors approach
anything having to do with the Church. One such example is the popular
Recovery from Mormonism message board, which receives up to 1,000
posts per day by a disgruntled collection of Mormon dissidents.
This article highlights an analysis of the message board, along with
the author's attempts to have the analysis posted on the board. The
question is asked whether self-proclaimed tolerance really is a
guiding practice at the Recovery from Mormonism message boards.
Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Their_Little_Corner_of_Cyberspace.html
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LUCIFER, THE BROTHER OF JESUS?
by Michael Reed
In times past, anti-Mormons have picketed numerous events, from LDS
temple dedications to the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City. If you
have ever witnessed such a gathering, you might remember--amongst the
picket signs, scattered pamphlets, sensational statements yelled
through megaphones, etc.--a declaration proclaiming, "Mormons believe
in the wrong Jesus: A Jesus that is BROTHERS with Lucifer." This
criticism is arguably the most common of all made against the LDS
Church.
While it is unfortunate that many critics use such "shock talk" to
scare people from investigating the LDS Church further, there is no
question that the tactic can be effective.
Read the brochure: http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?c105
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I would like to thank all of those that made the FAIR conference a
huge success. The speakers all did an outstanding job. We had many
people who worked behind the scenes to make sure we had everything we
needed. We had donations of product, time and money from book
publishers, Webmasters and many others.
I would like to say a special thank you to Marshall McDonald who set
the mood of the conference by playing wonderful piano music prior to
the start of the conference. I encourage everyone to pick up one of
his CDs from your local LDS bookstore.
For those of you who would like to hear the conference, we are
working diligently to have the audio CDs produced. We anticipate they
will be available by next month's FAIR Journal.
The challenge that FAIR has for next year is to provide a conference
that will be as good as or better than this year's. We already have
some speakers lined up and we think we are off to a good start.
See you next year at the FAIR conference.
-Scott Gordon
President, FAIR
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FAIR ONLINE BOOKSTORE
The FAIR Conference was a huge success. If you couldn't make it, you
can still take advantage of many of the special deals available to
conference attendees. This month we are featuring the following
books, all at a substantial discount.
* Standing on the Promises, Book 1: One More River to Cross, by
Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray. In this critically
acclaimed book, the authors bring to life the stories of Elijah
Abel and Jane Manning James. From marvelous beginnings, through
nearly unendurable hardships, to the bursting forth of more light
with the revelation on the priesthood in 1978, the story of
African-American Latter-day Saints is deeply affecting, one that
will resonate with members of the Church everywhere.
* Standing on the Promises, Book 2: Bound for Canaan, by Margaret
Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray. From the challenges of
colonization and the lure of the gold rush to the Emancipation
Proclamation and the poverty and prejudice of life in Zion, this
second volume in the award-winning Standing on the Promises
trilogy traces the extraordinary lives of several prominent black
Mormon pioneers from 1838 to 1891.
* Standing on the Promises, Book 3: The Last Mile of the Way, by
Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray. In book three of the
Standing on the Promises trilogy, the black Saints come full
circle as Aidan Gray looks down Parley Street in Nauvoo, where
Elijah Abel and Jane Manning James walked more than 160 years
earlier. This astonishing story of loyalty in the face of trials,
steadfast courage in times of humiliation, and obedience in an
era of deprivation will fill your heart with compassion and new
understanding.
* Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church?, by Brad Brase. A
personal examination of the teachings that set the LDS Church
apart from the world and invite people to come unto Christ.
For these specials, visit the FAIR LDS Bookstore:
http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s002
- 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.
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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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