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Thoughts and commentary from the apologetic frontlines.

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Questions about polygamy and the Mormons? Find your answers here.

Bible vs. the Book of Mormon
A common-sense review of the anti-Mormon video from Living Hope Ministries.

The Truth About "The God Makers"
Classic, line-by-line examination of this anti-Mormon film and book.

DNA and the Book of Mormon
Does DNA evidence disprove the Book of Mormon?

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The FAIR Journal

The 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.

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THE FAIR JOURNAL January 2004
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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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* MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT. FAIR has announced the dates and
location of its 6th annual apologetics conference. Check the
details below and mark your calendars!

* ANTI-MORMON TACTICS USED ANCIENTLY. Two articles, one serious
and one humorous, examine how anti-Christian activities of the
first century resembled anti-Mormon activities in our day.

* FAIR'S TOP 25 ARTICLES FOR 2003. Check the list below for the 25
most often accessed articles on the FAIR website. Are there any
that you may have missed this year?

* FAIR ONLINE BOOKSTORE. Check out the monthly specials available
in 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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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

This August FAIR will be hosting its 6th annual FAIR Conference. The
conference will be held on Thursday August 5 and Friday August 6 at
the South Town Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah. We have some
outstanding speakers lined up. More information about the speakers
will be forthcoming.

Don't forget to mark your calendars now!

If you missed any of the previous conferences, you can view online
copies of some earlier FAIR Conference presentations here:

http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/

This year's FAIR Conference location:

South Town Exposition Center - 9575 So. State St., Sandy, Utah 84070

This is a really nice facility and we are happy to have our conference
here this year. It will give us more room and it is easily accessible
by freeway and by the Salt Lake City transit system. There are also
several hotels in the area that provide a shuttle to the conference
center.

Pictures of the conference center are viewable here:

http://www.southtowneexpo.com

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ANTI-MORMON TACTICS USED ANCIENTLY

Sometimes we forget about the wonderful resources available on the
FAIR website. Aaron Christensen has contributed a fascinating paper
that discusses how Celsus, the ancient anti-Christian, worked to
attack and undermine the early Christian Church. Not surprisingly,
his methods closely resemble those of modern anti-Mormons.

Christensen points out the Celsus used a variety of techniques to
attack and defame the budding Christian religion. For example, Celsus
claimed special, first-hand knowledge of the inner beliefs and
practices of the Christians. Celsus uses derogatory language and
ridicule when describing the Christian writings, accusing the
Christians of plagarism, stupidity, and gullibility. He argues that
the theology of the Christians is ungodly, devilish, and degrading.
And of course, Celsus claims to be doing this in the best interest and
for the benefit of the deceived Christians. All of this should sound
eeriely familiar to anyone acquainted with anti-Mormon ministries and
literature.

If you have not yet read this fascinating comparison of modern and
ancient tactics, you can view Aaron Christensen's "Celsus and Modern
Anti-Mormonism" at

http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Celsus.pdf

In a similar but humorous vein, John Tvedtnes presents a
tongue-in-cheek expose of the first-century "Christian cult" as seen
through the eyes of a first century anti-cult activist.

To view John A. Tvedtnes's "Newly Discovered First-Century Document"
go to

http://www.fairlds.org/Humor/Newly_Discovered_First-Century_Document.html

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FAIR'S TOP 25 ARTICLES FOR 2003

FAIR keeps track of how often each web page and article is accessed
over the Internet. This helps us know how the web site is being used
and which services are most needed by FAIR members and visitors. At
this time of year it is good to look back to see what we did over the
last 12 months. Here is the list of the 25 most popular articles on
the FAIR website last year.

1 The Truth About "The God Maker's" By Gilbert Scharffs
www.fairlds.org/The_God_Makers

2 Without The Walls of Temple Square By Tiffany Wilde
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Without_the_Walls_of_Temple_Square.html

3 Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early
Christianity" By Barry Bickmore
www.fairlds.org/Restoring_the_Ancient_Church

4 Dr. Scott Woodward, "DNA and The Book of Mormon"
www.fairlds.org/pubs/woodward01

5 Mormonism 201
www.fairlds.org/Mormonism_201

6 "They Lie in Wait to Deceive"
www.fairlds.org/Lie_in_Wait_to_Deceive

7 Anti Mormon Protestors at October 2003 General Conference
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/2003_October_General_Conference.html

8 Anti Mormons at Temple Square(cartoon)
www.fairlds.org/Humor/Anti-Mormons_at_Temple_Square.html

9 Ask the Apologist: The Word of Wisdom
www.fairlds.org/Misc/Word_of_Wisdom_Caffeine_and_Hypocrisy.html

10 "DNA and the Book of Mormon" By Cooper Johnson
www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/DNA_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html

11 Ross Baron Presentation
www.fairlds.org/pubs/baron01

12 "DNA and the Book of Mormon" (cartoon)
www.fairlds.org/Humor/DNA_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html

13 "The Tempest in a Teapot DNA Studies and the Book of Mormon" By
Brant Gardner
www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/DNA_Studies_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html

14 "Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ: Understanding
Homosexuality According to the Doctrine of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints" By A. Dean Byrd
www.fairlds.org/pubs/byrd.html

15 "Answering the Bible Answer Man" By J. Cooper Johnson
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Answering_the_Bible_Answer_Man.html

16 "When the Prophet Speaks, Is the Thinking Done?"
www.fairlds.org/Misc/When_the_Prophet_Speaks_is_the_Thinking_Done.html

17 A Brief Review of Murphy and Southerton's "Galileo Event" By
Kevin Barney
www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/Brief_Review_of_Murphy_and_Southerton_Galileo_Event.html

18 "Blacks and the Priesthood" By Marvin Perkins
www.fairlds.org/Misc/Blacks_and_the_Priesthood.html

19 "Motivation, Behavior, and Dissension" By Allen Wyatt
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Motivation_Behavior_and_Dissension.html

20 "Are Books of Scripture Missing from the Bible?"
www.fairlds.org/Bible/Are_Books_of_Scripture_Missing_from_the_Bible.html

21 "Spotting an Anti-Mormon Book" By Davis Bitton
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Spotting_an_Anti-Mormon_Book.html

22 "How About Tolerance For All?" By Bob Lonsberry
www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/How_About_Tolerance_For_All.html

23 "Does President Gordon B.Hinckley Understand LDS Doctrine?" By
Michael W. Fordham
www.fairlds.org/Misc/Does_President_Hinckley_Understand_LDS_Doctrine.html

24 "The Church's Portrayal of Brigham Young"
www.fairlds.org/Misc/Church_Portrayal_of_Brigham_Young.html

25 Ask the Apologist: The Spaulding Manuscript
www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/Solomon_Spaulding_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html

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FAIR ONLINE BOOKSTORE

Many books and articles in the popular press present journalistic
accounts of the Latter-day Saints but typically, these distant views
accentuate interesting but obsolete or external factors. When
Latter-day Saints read these popular accounts, they scarcely recognize
themselves in what is being said, for it so often fails to describe
the heart and soul of what it means to be a committed follower of
Christ in the tradition of the Latter-day Saints. The articles in
_Latter-day Saint Essentials: Readings from the Encyclopedia of
Mormonism_ attempt to correct that deficiency.

You can read more about this book and others on sale this month by
visiting the FAIR Bookstore:

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s002

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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, Paul McNabb
(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.

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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 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
http://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.

Last Updated June 12, 2006
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