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Thoughts and commentary from the apologetic frontlines.

German FAIR
Need resources in German? Find them at the German FAIR site.

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.

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THE FAIR JOURNAL December 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 introduces the new
FAIR on-line bookstore.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: "George Q. Cannon and the Apostates." Davis
Bitton summarizes President George Q. Cannon's statements on
why people apostatize and how apostates should be viewed.

* NEW ON THE WEBSITE: " Shining New Light on the Mountain Meadows
Massacre." In his 2003 FAIR Conference presentation, Gene
Sessions discussed the Mountain Meadows Massacre and how the
story of the horrific event is often distorted by anti-Mormon
authors.

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

* FAIR TOPICAL GUIDE. The Topical Guide on the FAIR Web site is
one of the most popular resources offered. Learn what is
available and help us expand our references.

* FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE. With the changes in the on-line bookstore,
browsing and ordering is faster and easier than ever. Check
out the new format and this month's special offerings.

* 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. All of the FAIR Journal issues since
October 2001 are on the FAIR web site.

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

We are pleased to introduce our FAIR bookstore in a new format. With
the number of books we carry (over 1600), plus the number of visitors
we have to the bookstore, we continually exceeded our bandwidth and
disk storage space with our third-party bookstore Web site provider.
So we moved the bookstore to the FAIR server and implemented a new
format more in line with the rest of the FAIR Web site. The result is
a much faster bookstore. You can see it at

http://bookstore.fairlds.org

It is still in the beginning stages, so there are features that aren't
yet active. We plan to add a search feature in the near future. If you
have other suggestions, feel free to pass them our way by sending an
e-mail to the bookstore.

We appreciate the many hundreds of hours of volunteer labor that goes
into the FAIR bookstore, and we hope that our guests to the FAIR Web
site find it to be a valuable resource.

We rely on volunteer labor and on your donations to keep FAIR up and
running. But given our growth and size, this sometimes becomes
difficult to manage. If you are able to make a charitable
contribution this year, and if you feel that FAIR is a valuable
resource, please consider making a donation to FAIR at

http://store.fairlds.org/bi071.html

We appreciate all of the support we receive. Thank you!

We at FAIR hope you all had a good Christmas and wish you a happy
year.

--Scott Gordon
President, FAIR

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FAIR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so if you are in the United
States, your donation is tax deductible. Without your donations, FAIR
would cease to exist. Thank you for your support.

http://store.fairlds.org/bi071.html

------------------------------
George Q. Cannon and the Apostates
by Davis Bitton

President George Q. Cannon lived during some of the most intense
anti-Mormon activity in Church history. His perspective on apostasy
and apostates is still highly relevant for our time. In this paper,
Bitton looks briefly at some of the anti-Mormon events witnessed by
Cannon, and Bitton gives Cannon's four causes of apostasy. Bitton
gives examples of statements by Cannon on apostates and demonstrates
that Cannon spoke boldly and uncompromisingly about the dangers and
tactics of apostates.

"We have here analyzed George Q. Cannon's different pronouncements on
individual apostasy. But he did not stand alone. On all the essential
points other Church leaders from Joseph Smith to Lorenzo Snow
expressed similar views."

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2005_George_Q_Cannon_and_the_Apostates.html

If you are interested in further reading, the following related items
are available from the FAIR Bookstore.

George Q. Cannon: A Biography (hardcover)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1573454907.html

George Q. Cannon and the Apostates (CD)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2005CD10.html

Reaching Black Saints --and-- George Q. Cannon and the Apostates (WMV)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2005WV09.html

Defending Zion: George Q. Cannon and the California Mormon Newspaper
Wars of 1856-1857
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p0870623214.html

Defending Zion: The California Mormon Newspaper War of 1856-57 (CD)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003CD06.html

Monotheism, Messiah, & Mormon's Book --and-- Defending Zion:
California Mormon Newspaper War (WMV)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003WV05.html

Defending Zion: The California Mormon Newspaper War of 1856-57 (DVD)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003DV06.html

My First Mission
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1930679483.html

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Shining New Light on the Mountain Meadows Massacre
by Gene Sessions

In his 2003 FAIR Conference presentation, Sessions reviews the
agendas and scholarship found in the recent publications about the
Mountain Meadows Massacre. Although Latter-day Saints have
historically often been reticent or defensive about the atrocity,
anti-Mormon authors go far beyond the evidence in their effort to use
the massacre to paint a damning picture of the 19th century Church
and its leaders. Sessions also discusses anti-Mormon criticism of the
Church's alleged suppression of evidence and other rumors that so
frequently surround publications critical of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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

If you are interested in further reading, the following related items
are available from the FAIR Bookstore.

Shining New Light On the Mountain Meadows Massacre (CD)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003CD11.html

Shining New Light On the Mountain Meadows Massacre (DVD)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003DV11.html

Shining New Light On the Mountain Meadows Massacre --and-- The
Unchanging Ways of Anti-Mormons (WMV)
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p2003WV11.html

The Mountain Meadows Massacre
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p0806123184.html

Excavating Mormon Pasts: The New Historiography of the Last Half
Century
http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1589580915.html

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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 Web site as a FAIR paper or brochure. If you have a
question, simply mail it to our Questions address. Email sent to this
address will be shared with members of FAIR, so it is not uncommon to
receive several responses that approach the issue from different
angles.

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FAIR TOPICAL GUIDE

The Topical Guide is one of the most important LDS apologetic
resources available. If you aren't familiar with this part of FAIR's
Web site, check it out at

http://www.fairlds.org/apol

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FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE

We are so excited now that the FAIR Bookstore is up and running again. To
celebrate we are offering some great books with fantastic sale prices. Don't
forget to check out these sale items and other offerings in the FAIR
Bookstore.

--> Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

While many "experts" continue to view Joseph Smith as a controversial
figure, renowned scholar (and Latter-day Saint) author Richard L.
Bushman locates Joseph in his historical and cultural context,
fleshing out the many nuances of nineteenth-century American life that
produced such a fertile ground for emerging religions. You can
purchase this book for $27.95, 20% off its retail price. (It is
regularly $35.00.)

http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1400042704.html

--> Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball

Written by his son Edward L. Kimball, this book recounts the last
twelve years of Spencer W. Kimball's life, covering events that were
important to him and to the Church. The book allows the reader to
interpret both the events and motivation of those who played a part in
his life during this time. Included in the book is a CD-ROM that
covers material in more depth and provides extensive notes on the
book. You can now purchase this book for $20.97, 30% off its regular
retail price of $29.95.

http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1590384571.html

--> Lehi in the Wilderness: 81 New, Documented Evidences that the Book
of Mormon is a True History

Two Latter-day Saints, with unprecedented access to the lands of the
Middle East, have completed a six-year odyssey documenting the actual
locations of Lehi's journey from Jerusalem to the land of Bountiful.
Their discoveries provide real, tangible verification of locations
described in the Book of Mormon.

This book makes an excellent addition to any library, complete with
beautiful photographs and vivid descriptions of the sites located by
the authors during their travels. This book normally retails for
$39.95, but you can have it for the special price of $27.97, a full
30% discount!

http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1555176410.html

To see all of our specials for this month in one place, visit this
special page:

http://store.fairlds.org/specials.html

Thanks for your continued support of the FAIR Bookstore. We hope you
have a great new year!

- 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, clearly
identify that your source was FAIR, and add 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 October 24, 2009
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