June 2003
LATIN – apologeticus GREEK – apologetikos 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, 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009).
JOURNAL CONTENTS
- NEW AT THE CONFERENCE: MARGARET BLAIR YOUNG TO SPEAK. The author of the play “I Am Jane” and co-author of the “Standing On the Promises” trilogy to speak at the FAIR Conference this August.
- WHAT MAKES THE FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE SPECIAL? A look at the five points that make the FAIR LDS Bookstore special.
- NEW ON THE WEBSITE: LOOKING THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL–EXAMINING A CURIOUS LINGUISTIC CLAIM. Ed Decker claims that the word “Mormon,” in Chinese, means “gates of hell.” What is the truth?
- NEW ON THE WEBSITE: THE CORRUPTION OF SCRIPTURE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. When were “plain and precious things” removed from scripture? An analysis of events in the second century A.D. helps to answer the question.
- NEW ON THE WEBSITE: UP IN SMOKE–A RESPONSE TO THE TANNERS’ CRITICISM OF THE WORD OF WISDOM. Do the Tanners’ criticisms of the Word of Wisdom hold up under scrutiny? This in-depth analysis answers the question once and for all.
- NEW ON THE WEBSITE: RIGHT ON TARGET–BOOMERANG HITS AND THE BOOK OF MORMON. A great presentation that focuses on evidences first thought to disprove the Book of Mormon, but later serve to prove its truth.
- FAIR ANNOUNCES A NEW BOOKSTORE AFFILIATE PROGRAM. Earn money and help to promote FAIR’s mission.
- MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, SCOTT GORDON. Bringing you the best of past FAIR Conferences.
- BOOKSTORE SPECIALS Build your gospel library with great offers from the FAIR LDS Bookstore. All of our selections are prescreened for quality so you can make your purchases with confidence.
- 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
THE AUTHOR OF THE PLAY “I AM JANE” AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE “STANDING ON THE PROMISES” TRILOGY TO SPEAK AT THE FAIR CONFERENCE
FAIR is pleased to announce that Margaret Blair Young will be speaking at this year’s FAIR Conference. Margaret Young’s presentation will be titled: Black Latter-day Saints: A Faith-FULL History.
Margaret Blair Young is a writing instructor at Brigham Young University and has published two short story collections and six novels, including the Standing on the Promises trilogy, which she co-authored with Darius Gray, president of the Church’s Genesis Group. The trilogy is historical “faction”–fictionalized as needed and supplied with copious endnotes. The three books (One More River to Cross, Bound for Canaan and The Last Mile of the Way) cover the history of several great Mormon pioneers of color. Margaret has also authored a play about Jane Manning James, titled I Am Jane. She is married to Bruce Young and has four children.
For more information:
WHAT MAKES THE FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE SPECIAL?
The FAIR LDS Bookstore provides a unique service among all other LDS bookstores in these five ways:
- FAIR has a extensive collection of high-quality gospel books designed for in-depth study of scriptures, Church history and other Church and religious issues. Novels and books for light reading are missing from our shelves. Instead we have worked hard and collected books from BYU Studies, FARMS, Utah State University Press, Oxford Press, University of Illinois Press and other publishers to give you as many reliable resources for your studies as possible. We are continually looking for more books that meet our standards to add to our product line. We believe it would be difficult to find another bookstore that offers our particular selection.
- Books in the FAIR LDS Bookstore have been reviewed by our members and other LDS and non-LDS scholars for quality and depth. While not all books are written at the same scholarship levels, you can be reasonably assured that the books offered through FAIR are worthwhile and sound. We offer a wide range for the novice to the experienced researcher.
- FAIR offers books at an excellent price, discounting significantly where possible in order to increase opportunities for study among our customers. Our intent is not only to provide revenue for FAIR, but to get this information out to the widest audience available.
- FAIR is supportive of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We look for books of sound scholarship, but don’t offer books that tear down the beliefs and faith of the LDS membership.
- Proceeds from the sales of books help further the mission of FAIR. Because FAIR is an all-volunteer organization, no one draws a salary. All of our profit goes toward the operating expenses of FAIR. You can guarantee that your contribution will be spent on producing our many worthwhile projects.
Visit the FAIR LDS Bookstore here:
– The FAIR Bookstore Staff
LOOKING THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL: EXAMINING A CURIOUS LINGUISTIC CLAIM
by Steve Willoughby
Stop the presses! Shocking new discovery reveals hidden connection between the Mormon Church and the forces of darkness! The truth is revealed in examination of the name of the Mormon church when spelled out in Chinese characters. “In Chinese, ‘Mormon’ means ‘gates of hell,'” reports Ed Decker in his popular exposé, The God Makers.
Or, at least, that’s what some critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as Ed Decker, would have you believe. How could such a thing be? Is the Church trying to hide its true nature by writing it in Chinese in the hopes that nobody would notice?
Read the article:
Looking Through the Gates of Hell: Examining a Curious Linguistic Claim by Steve Willoughby
THE CORRUPTION OF SCRIPTURE IN THE SECOND CENTURY
by John Gee, Ph.D. (Presented at the 1999 FAIR Conference)
While Latter-day Saints have often discussed the removal of plain and precious things from scripture, sometimes our ideas about the process whereby this occurs have suffered from a lack of clarity and of historical knowledge. Sometimes we think that the medieval monks changed the text of scripture. They may have, somewhat, but not drastically. The changes came long before. We neither need to nor should look later than the second century for these changes. By the early second century, Christianity had fragmented into dozens of splinter groups with each group charging that the other possessed both forged and corrupted texts. I shall limit this discussion to documenting changes and corruptions of scripture during the second century.
Read the presentation:
The Corruption of Scripture in the Second Century by John Gee
UP IN SMOKE: A RESPONSE TO THE TANNERS’ CRITICISM OF THE WORD OF WISDOM
by Michael R. Ash (Presented at the 2000 FAIR Conference)
Chapter twenty-six of Jerald and Sandra Tanner’s Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? is devoted to impugning Doctrine and Covenants 89–the Word of Wisdom. Not surprisingly, the Tanners claim that Joseph did not receive the Word of Wisdom by divine revelation and that, although others were excommunicated for nonobservance, he (and apparently Brigham Young) flaunted the fact that they didn’t observe it. According to the Tanners Church leaders were also guilty of violating the Word of Wisdom by not only condoning the sale of proscribed items–primarily alcohol–but by producing and selling them as well. Although the Tanners charge Joseph with hypocrisy, and imply that Brigham was a hypocrite as well, they never reveal why they believe that Joseph and Brigham would casually indulge in publicly consuming alcohol. Their actions appear very little like hypocrisy, but rather suggest that they had a different understanding of Word of Wisdom observance than we do today.
Read the presentation:
Up In Smoke: A Response to the Tanners’ Criticism of the Word of Wisdom by Michael Ash
RIGHT ON TARGET: BOOMERANG HITS AND THE BOOK OF MORMON
by Matthew Roper (Presented at the 2001 FAIR Conference)
One morning, several years ago, I had to acquire some materials for a research project I was working on. In company with two friends, I visited a small Salt Lake City bookstore operated by a well-known anti-Mormon couple. The woman, the co-proprietor of this establishment, was most helpful in assisting me in my aim. While there, I had the opportunity to witness and also engage in a most interesting conversation with this woman. During our conversation the question arose as to what, in her view, would constitute acceptable evidence in support of the Book of Mormon. She struggled with this question for several minutes, so we asked if some kind of inscription would do. This would depend, she said. One of my companions then gave her a hypothetical scenario: Let’s suppose non-Mormon archaeologists found an inscription in highland Guatemala dating to the early sixth century B.C. with the name Nephi written in Reformed Egyptian. If verified, would such a find then constitute evidence for the Book of Mormon? Yet our kind host was unwilling to grant that even this would constitute such evidence, allowing only that, “it might be a topic of discussion.” In leaving her store it was unclear what if anything would constitute such evidence.
Read the presentation:
Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon by Matthew Roper
FAIR ANNOUNCES A NEW BOOKSTORE AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Become a FAIR LDS Bookstore Affiliate and earn some extra dollars and help further the mission of FAIR. As an affiliate, you receive 5% of the purchase amount of any customers who access our store through the Bookstore link you provide on your Web site. FAIR takes care of all the customer service, shipping, and handling of products while all you need to provide is the affiliate link on your Web site. Of course, if you do a little promoting on your Web site, you have the opportunity to make more money. The more you promote FAIR and the FAIR LDS Bookstore, the more money you can make.
For more information: http://www.fairlds.org/affiliate.html
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
In our June and our July FAIR Journals, we are concentrating on bringing you transcripts of FAIR conference talks from prior years. That way you can see the high quality of information that is brought to us by means of these conferences. We hope you enjoy these talks and plan on joining with us on August 7 and 8 in Orem.
If you believe that FAIR offers items of value, please make a donation. FAIR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so donations are tax deductible. We also have no paid employees and everyone, including the FAIR Board of Directors, FAIR officers, FAIR authors, Webmaster, bookstore managers and all other FAIR workers donate their time and talents. At this time, preparing for the summer conference is significantly draining to our funds. If you would like to support this cause, please go to http://www.fairlds.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?s001. We could use your help.
-Scott Gordon President, FAIR
BOOKSTORE SPECIALS
Our FAIR LDS Bookstore specials are short but sweet this month. With the FAIR Conference rapidly approaching, we are continuing to focus on this year’s presenters.
- Craig Foster: “Penny Tracts and Polemics: Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860.” Retail $39.95, on special at $34.95.
- Armand Mauss: “The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation.” Retail $29.95, on special at $24.95.
- John Tvedtnes: “The Most Correct Book.” Retail $16.95, our price only $13.95.
Check our specials page FAIR Bookstore – Monthly Specials for more info and browse the store to catch other great bargains.
And we hope to see you at the Conference!
– The FAIR Bookstore Staff
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS
We welcome article submissions for the FAIR Web site. If you would like to submit an article, please review the editing guidelines at:
Submit your article to the FAIR Journal Editor. 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 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 FAIR Publications 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 FAIR link to join this list.
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).
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.
