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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 April 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. The 2004 FAIR Conference is just over
three months away. Scott Gordon gives an advance look at this
year's speakers and some of the topics that will be addressed at
the conference. If you haven't already bought your ticket, now
is the time!

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: ANTI-MORMON PROTESTORS. Allen Wyatt provides
a set of photo essays about recent anti-Mormon protests at the
April 2004 General Conference and the 2004 Mesa Easter Pageant.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE 1826 TRIAL OF JOSEPH SMITH. Russell
Anderson responds to critics who attempt to use the 1826 "trial"
to impugn the reputation and character of Joseph Smith.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE PROTEAN JOSEPH SMITH. Dan Peterson looks
at the history of the theories of how the Book of Mormon came to
be, and concludes that nothing the critics have offered is as
believable as Joseph Smith's own explanation.

* 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 year's FAIR conference on August 5th and 6th will be something
that you won't want to miss. We have an excellent group of speakers
with a wide range of topics. Our speakers include Dr. Richard Lloyd
Anderson, Dr. Davis Bitton, Dr. Daniel Peterson, Dr. Dean Byrd, John
Tvedtnes, Dr. Roger Keller, Brant Gardner, Dr. David Paulsen, Mike
Ash, Kevin Barney, Alex Boy�, Dr. Andrea Radke, and Dr. Margaret
Young. Each speaker has been invited because of his or her knowledge
of the subject and because of his or her ability to convey that
knowledge to others.

To see information about this year's speakers, to go

http://www.fairlds.org/conf04b.html

Our talks will be on the Book of Mormon witnesses, the historicity of
the Book of Mormon, the basics on the Book of Abraham, the LDS nature
of God, the issues related to women in the LDS church, the apostasy,
the black LDS pioneers, and homosexuality.

Those of you who have been to past FAIR conferences know that this
will be an event you won't want to miss. This year we have even
scheduled in a "meet the speakers" time so you can speak to the
various people one-on-one.

We have also moved the conference to a new location just off the 90th
South freeway exit in Sandy Utah.

For a complete description of the conference go to this link:

http://www.fairlds.org/conf04a.html

If you sign up now, you can get a discount on your purchases at the
FAIR Bookstore at the conference.

For those who are traveling to our FAIR conference, we have negotiated
a special room rate at the Hampton Inn in Sandy Utah. The rate is good
for August 4, 5 and 6. The rooms are $69 which includes a deluxe
complimentary breakfast, complimentary high-speed wireless Internet,
free local calls, in-room hair dryers, a new exercise room and a free
shuttle to and from the conference.

To make reservations, you can call the Sandy Hotel directly at
801-571-0800 or you can call 800-HAMPTON, or you can sign up at
www.hamptoninn.com and use the group/convention code: FAI

We do need help promoting the conference this year, so if you have a
website, please consider posting a link up for the conference. We
will be working on the flyers soon and we will let you know when they
are available for download.

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Anti-Mormon Protestors
by Allen L. Wyatt

Each April and October, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints attend General Conference to be inspired, motivated,
and instructed. Along with the tens of thousands of faithful saints
on Temple Square there is always a contingent of clamorous,
disrespectful, and obnoxious protesters. Although most Latter-day
Saints are aware that these protestors appear at General Conference,
many do not realize that similar protests, often by the same
individuals, occur at nearly every public Church event.

For several years, Allen Wyatt and other FAIR members have observed
and documented many of these demonstrations. The intensity of the
antagonism towards Latter-day Saints and the Church and the vitriolic
criticism of LDS beliefs and practices are shocking to those
unfamiliar with the anti-Mormon tactics.

Wyatt has put together a collection of pictures from the April 2004
General Conference and the 2004 Mesa Easter Pageant. He includes
comments and explanations for many of these photos, along with
responses to many of the attacks on the LDS faith.

The photo essay of anti-Mormons at General Conference can be seen at

http://www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/2004_April_General_Conference.html

The photo essay of anti-Mormons at the Easter Pageant can be seen at

http://www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/2004_Mesa_Easter_Pageant.html

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The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith
by Russell Anderson

Critics of the Prophet Joseph Smith often raise the issue of a
supposed trial in 1826 where it is claimed that Joseph was tried and
found guilty of various offenses, including vagrancy, disorderly
conduct, and "glass looking." Anti-Mormon critics attempt to prove
Joseph's low moral character and propensity to dabble in magic by
appealing to records found relating to this "trial."

In his analysis of the events surrounding the legal action in
question, Anderson argues that this was not a trial, that Joseph was
not found guilty, that the reports are garbled and contradictory, that
early anti-Mormons did not view this as damaging to Joseph Smith, and
that the evidence seems to indicate that Joseph Smith did indeed
appear to have acted as a seer.

Undoubtedly this attack on the character of the Prophet Joseph will
continue to be raised by those who reject his divine calling, but
Anderson successfully demonstrates the weakness of this anti-Mormon
chestnut.

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html

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The Protean Joseph Smith
by Dan Peterson

At the 2002 FAIR conference, Dan Peterson surveyed the attempts of
non-believers during the last 170 years to explain how Joseph Smith
was able to produce the Book of Mormon. After all, the book clearly
came into existence during the 1820s and there is no doubt that the
young Joseph played a critical role in that process. So one would
think that it would be a simple matter for critics to come up with a
reasonable and generally acceptable explanation for how Joseph Smith
did it. Interestingly, however, that is not the case.

Peterson traces the failed attempts to explain away the Book of
Mormon, beginning with the "Joseph clearly wrote it all and the book
was obviously written by an ignorant fraud" theory. When it became
apparent that the Book of Mormon could attract thousands of believers
who found it to be both convincing and self-consistent, critics began
looking for a new (and secret) author, someone who had the ability to
write a 500-page book of history, sermons, and religious discourse.

Unfortunately for the critics, the early candidates for the secret
author of the Book of Mormon all seemed to fall short. The size of the
conspiracy needed to produce such a hoax was too great to be
believable, and there were too many problems with trying to show that
this gang of deceivers could even have known each other during the
proper time period.

The single most popular theory during the first hundred years of the
Book of Mormon was that Solomon Spaulding's book, Manuscript Story,
was the basis for Joseph Smith's work. Aside from the fact that it was
highly unlikely that Joseph was ever aware of Spaulding's book, the
theory seemed to be the best answer to the Book of Mormon's origin.
Except, of course, that when a copy of Manuscript Story was eventually
located in 1884 it could be seen by even the most casual reader that
the two books were unrelated.

Over time, new theories had to be proposed, such as Joseph Smith was a
charismatic literary genius--leaving for us to choose if he was a
conscious fraud; a sincere, pious, and self-deceived fraud; or a
demon-influenced fraud.

The most recent theory has Joseph consciously creating a fraudulent
manuscript using themes and material from his cultural environment,
but somehow ending up with a book that has the power to convince
millions of readers of its truth and spiritual power. Peterson points
out that this latest theory is both self-contradictory and can't
explain the large number of witnesses to the physical evidences
associated with the production of the Book of Mormon.

As Peterson says, "critics of the Book of Mormon have not yet been
able even to formulate a coherent counterexplanation, a unified global
theory, with which to challenge the traditional story of the book's
origins." So far, the best and most satisfactory explanation for the
Book of Mormon is the one that was given by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_Protean_Joseph_Smith.html

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FAIR ONLINE BOOKSTORE

**> Voices From the Dust: Book of Mormon Insights

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s120

Add a new perspective in looking at old favorites. S. Kent Brown's
"Voices From the Dust: Book of Mormon Insights" takes the standards of
the Book of Mormon, reexamines them and gives increased depth to our
appreciation of them. From the topic of spirituality and revelation to
the appearance of Christ in the New World, from cultural and
sociological analyses to theological instruction, Brown pulls together
scripture, research and personal insights to create a work that will
appeal to both the beginning scriptural student and the dedicated
scholar. It is also available in audio cassettes and CDs. Currently
available through FAIR for $15.15 (20% savings off retail price of
$18.95).

**> LDS Church Chronology: 1805-1914

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s121

This is a definite must for the LDS history buff. Big savings at 40%
off retail ($24.95), $14.95 will get you a 452-page resource of
detailed genealogical and historical data. This includes a listing of
pioneer events on a day-to-day basis that creates an effective
historical context for the researcher. Originally complied by Andrew
Jensen, appointed Assistant Church Historian in 1897, this work has
been revised by JRC Nebeker and is recommended also for genealogists
looking for information about their pioneer ancestors.

**> Deseret Morning News 2004 Church Almanac

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s122

This is the latest edition of the perennial resource for statistics
and information about the Church, this year's book includes coverage
of the extensive Church Welfare system along with the usual historical
and administrative data. Considering how much effort it saves one's
memory and fingers to have this all in one place, it's well worth the
$12.95 to find some space for it on your reference shelf.

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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
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 figures, 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 website (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 "Join &
Support FAIR" 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 "Join & Support FAIR"
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 as 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 website (www.fairlds.org).

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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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