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Polygamy Resources
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?

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.

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

THE FAIR JOURNAL February 2005
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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. Scott Gordon announces the 7th Annual
FAIR Conference and notes the sad and difficult events involving
the Nibley family this month.

* REMEMBERING HUGH NIBLEY. Scott Gordon looks back on Hugh Nibley's
impact on LDS apologetics and the lives of LDS apologists.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "Fantastic Fiction." Tom Kimball reviews
Martha Nibley Beck's book about her relationship with her father
and the Church.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "Loss and Sadness Among the Saints." Allen
Wyatt also reviews Martha Nibley Beck's book "Leaving the
Saints."

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "Leaving the Saints or Leaving Reality?"
Scott Gordon provides a third review of Beck's "Leaving the
Saints."

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "Dealing with Demographics." Tim Heaton's
2003 FAIR Conference presentation, focusing on demographics and
the Church, is now available.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "Monotheism, Messiah, and Mormon's Book."
Brant Gardner's 2003 FAIR Conference presentation is now
available.

* RESOURCES ON THE WEB: "Is the MSN Search Engine Equation
Anti-Mormon?" Scott Gordon narrates his experience with using
MSN's search engine to find official LDS websites.

* ASK THE APOLOGIST. Got a question you are dying to ask? Here's
how.

* FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE. The FAIR Bookstore has discounted a number of
items that you will want to have in your personal libraries.

* 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

We have an eventful journal for you this month. We are announcing our
Seventh Annual FAIR Conference on August 4th & 5th at the South Towne
Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah. The FAIR Conference is an event that
you won't want to miss. The FAIR speakers consistently provide
outstanding presentations on a wide range of topics defending The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For information about the conference go to

http://www.fairlds.org/conf05a.html

We will be updating this site as we finalize plans for our program.
There is a special discount for purchasing your tickets in advance, so
sign up soon and start making your plans!

This month we also mourn the passing of Hugh Nibley and have included
a statement about that in this Journal. It is sad to note that Hugh
Nibley's death coincides with the publication of Martha Nibley Beck's
book on her life and her memories of her father, Hugh Nibley. This
month's Journal includes three separate reviews on Beck's book
"Leaving the Saints."

We invite you to visit our website to learn more about the restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ and to take advantage of the articles and books
that are available there.

- Scott Gordon
President, FAIR

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FAIR relies on your kind donations to remain in business. Now is the
time to make a donation. FAIR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so
if you are in the United States, your donation is tax deductible.

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s147

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Remembering Hugh Nibley
by Scott Gordon

We at FAIR are greatly saddened by the passing of Hugh Nibley. He was
a great man, a great scholar, and a great apologist. His example has
led many to study the scriptures, to study ancient languages and
cultures, and to deepen their understanding and faith. Many FAIR
members credit Hugh Nibley for inspiring and motivating them to go
into the world of apologetics. In reference to Nibley's profound
impact on a generation of LDS scholars, Juliann Reynolds, one of
FAIR's co-founders, stated, "Nibley can probably be credited for FAIR."
Juliann said that she was inspired to delve into New Testament
scholarship and go to graduate school because of a book written by
Nibley. Many other FAIR members have similar stories.

We mourn his loss; we celebrate his life; we honor his work. Our
condolences go out to all members of the Nibley family.

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Fantastic Fiction
by Tom Kimball

In his review of Martha Nibley Beck's "Leaving the Saints," Kimball
notes that he went from "kindred spirit to unfamiliarity, to
puzzlement, and, finally, to frustration." Kimball points out that
Beck's approach is "reminiscent of nineteenth-century anti-Mormon
narratives" and that her enjoyable writing style was misused in
writing what Kimball suspects is "most likely heavily laced with
fiction."

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Reviews/Rvw200501.html

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Loss and Sadness Among the Saints
by Allen L. Wyatt

In our second review of Martha Nibley Beck's "Leaving the Saints,"
Wyatt attempts to "look at the quality of the evidence provided [by
Beck], along with its internal consistency and credibility." Wyatt
points out that Beck is consistently inconsistent, with a story that
is well-told but fascinating in its self-contradictions and
unbelievable in the face of conflicting evidence.

Wyatt concludes that although "Beck's tale is a fantastical journey,"
he believes "the willingness of readers to assign credibility to such
a story may ultimately reveal more about the reader's proclivities"
than the allegations in Beck's book.

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Reviews/Rvw200502.html

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Leaving the Saints or Leaving Reality?
by Scott Gordon

In our third review of Martha Nibley Beck's "Leaving the Saints,"
Gordon looks at three issues: the Oprah Winfrey e-mail campaign,
Beck's allegations of molestation, and Beck's attacks on the Church.
Gordon points out that Beck's claims of molestation by her father are
difficult to believe given the home situation and the testimony of
other family members. Gordon also points to several areas where
Beck's charges against the Church are demonstrably false.

Gordon concludes that Beck appears to be "a troubled person" and he
hopes "that she one day finds peace," but as for Beck's book, "it is
difficult to find anything of value in its pages."

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Reviews/Rvw200503.html

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Dealing with Demographics
by Tim Heaton

Dr. Tim Heaton's presentation at the 2002 FAIR Conference is now
online. In his presentation, Heaton conducts an information discussion
with the FAIR audience about Church demographics and how they are
used. He discusses various trends in a variety of areas of interest to
apologists.

Read the presentation: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_Dealing_with_Demographics.html

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Monotheism, Messiah, and Mormon's Book
by Brant A. Gardner

Gardner's presentation at the 2003 FAIR Conference is now available on
the FAIR website. In his paper, Gardner traces the development of
monotheism in Israelite theology during Old Testament times, with a
focus on the relationship between Elohim (father), Yahweh (son and
father), and the nation of Israel (sons). Gardner points to
theological developments and conflicts occurring at the time of Lehi
and notes that the Book of Mormon fits well into this cultural and
religious environment.

Gardner concludes that "when we approach the Book of Mormon text from
the viewpoint of the historical context that it declares to be its
origin, we find an absolutely consistent theology of God."

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2003_Monotheism_Messiah_and_Mormons_Book.html

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Is the MSN Search Engine Equation Anti-Mormon?
by Scott Gordon

Search engines use equations to determine site ranking. On the MSN Web
site it states, "The MSN Search ranking algorithm analyzes factors
such as page content, the number and quality of sites that link to
your pages, and the relevance of your site's content to keywords. The
algorithm is complex and never human-mediated."

That's why I was so surprised on February 1, 2005 when I typed in the
word "Mormon" I found page after page of Web site listed, but
www.mormon.org was nowhere to be found. I went through several pages
of links, and didn't find it.

Next I typed in "LDS." Once again, the Web site www.lds.org wasn't on
the list. I scanned through several pages of links and it simply
wasn't there.

Concerned about this issue, I typed in the words "Baptist",
"Catholic", "Presbyterian", "Methodist" and "Jewish". In each of those
cases the first link that came up was an official Web site for the
organization. In contrast, for "LDS" the first link was anti-Mormon.

I next tried my experiment on Google and Yahoo. On both of those
search engines, www.lds.org and www.mormon.org were the first two Web
sites listed when I typed in either "Mormon" or "LDS".

I sent an e-mail to MSN and received the following response, "Please
do not worry, I will forward your concern to the MSN Search Product
Specialist Team for proper attention."

Sure enough, the next day they added the links www.lds.org and
www.mormon.org to their list of links that show up on the first page.
I appreciate that.

Now my next questions are why do they show up as the VERY LAST links
on that first page, and why don't they have ANY text associated with
those links as every other link does?

I exchanged several e-mails with MSN on this issue, but the only other
suggestion I got was that I might want to "submit" my Web site
(www.lds.org?) to the search engine.

Maybe I will just have to stick with Google and Yahoo.

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ASK THE APOLOGIST

FAIR invites the public to submit questions relating to LDS beliefs,
practices, and history. Some questions are asked sincerely by members
and investigators, others are clearly hostile questions challenging
the veracity of the Church and its teachings. Many of these responses
may end up on the website as a FAIR paper or brochure. If you have a
question, simply mail it to our Contact address.

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FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE

Now that you have settled into a new year and have finished paying for
all those Christmas gifts, it's time to start looking at expanding
your library. This month the FAIR Bookstore is offering a number of
fascinating books and other items at substantial discounts.

--> The Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts

This book by Kent P. Jackson is hot off the press. It gives both the
history of the Book of Moses and an analysis of the text as it was
presented by the Prophet Joseph Smith. A must-read for those who want
to understand how the scriptures came to be. This book retails for
$19.95, but is available from the FAIR Bookstore for $15.95, a 20%
savings!

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s161

--> The Faith of an Observer: Conversations with Hugh Nibley (DVD)

With the recent passing of Hugh Nibley, we are reminded again of the
tremendous contributions he made to LDS scholarship. In this DVD (VHS
is also available) you can explore various aspects of Hugh Nibley's
life and teachings. This item retails for $14.95, but it is now
available from the FAIR Bookstore for $11.95, another 20% savings.

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s162

Many other books by Nibley are available from the FAIR Bookstore. Let
us know if there is something you are looking for but just can't seem
to find!

--> Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies

This guide defines over 300 terms relating to the Bible and Biblical
studies. An important reference for most libraries, this is being
offered at the FAIR Bookstore for $5.60, a 20% discount from its
retail price of $7.00.

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s163

--> Turning from Truth: A New Look at the Great Apostasy

This brand new book by Alexander B. Morrison provides a new LDS
perspective on the Great Apostasy. Elder Morrison draws on contemporary
scholarship and early Christian writings to explain how the Gospel was
lost and why the Restoration was necessary. This book normally sells
for $19.95, but is now available from the FAIR Bookstore for $16.95, a
15% discount.

http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s164

We hope that you will use these and other Bookstore items to expand
and improve your study of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

- The FAIR Bookstore Staff

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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 interested in apologetics and would like to participate
actively 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 at
webmaster. 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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