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FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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<font color=blue> Latter-day Saints do not object to Mr. Gavin or anyone else sharing their beliefs. They do object to Mr. Gavin's group presenting itself as the ones to explain what ''others'' beliefs are. Mr. Gavin and the others responsible for the DVD are not experts on Latter-day Saint beliefs. They are incapable of even ''describing'' those beliefs in a way which is acceptable and recognizable to a Latter-day Saint. | <font color=blue> Latter-day Saints do not object to Mr. Gavin or anyone else sharing their beliefs. They do object to Mr. Gavin's group presenting itself as the ones to explain what ''others'' beliefs are. Mr. Gavin and the others responsible for the DVD are not experts on Latter-day Saint beliefs. They are incapable of even ''describing'' those beliefs in a way which is acceptable and recognizable to a Latter-day Saint. | ||
− | If Mr. Gavin does not wish to belittle Latter-day Saint beliefs, he should take better care not to present reenactments of LDS temple ceremonies, which any informed person knows Latter-day Saints will find deeply offensive. | + | If Mr. Gavin does not wish to belittle Latter-day Saint beliefs, |
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+ | * he should take better care not to present reenactments of LDS temple ceremonies, which any informed person knows Latter-day Saints will find deeply offensive. | ||
+ | * he should refrain from telling Mormons they are not Christians. | ||
+ | * he should quote LDS leaders in context, rather than distorting what they say for polemical purposes | ||
+ | * he should allow Latter-day Saints to describe their own doctrine | ||
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+ | Since Mr. Gavin has caused offense, an apology is due both to the Latter-day Saints and those whom his group has misinformed about LDS beliefs, history, and doctrine. | ||
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+ | Why Mormonism? Many of those involved with this project were once members of the LDS Church. At one time, they believed very strongly that Joseph Smith was a true prophet sent by God to restore Christianity to the earth. When they realized that their presuppositions were not true they had to make some extremely difficult life-changing decisions. This product includes many of those difficult issues with which they had to wrestle. | ||
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+ | It is easy for some to automatically assume that those who disagree with the premises of the LDS Church are motivated by hatred and are therefore "anti-Mormon;" | ||
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+ | <font color=blue> The term "anti-Mormon" does not mean that a person hates Mormons. "Anti-" simply means that they are opposed to the Church, and attack its teachings, leaders, and goals. | ||
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+ | The ''Anti-Defamation League'' is not a Mormon group, and they clearly understand that the DVD is an anti-Mormon work—it is designed to attack the Church and its beliefs: | ||
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+ | :''The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned the distribution of an anti-Mormon DVD...This is the same kind of plain, old-fashioned Mormon-bashing that Jim Robertson and his group have been spewing for over a quarter-of-a-century....It was wrong then, and it's wrong now.'' {{link|url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ChJew_31/5013_31.htm}}</font> | ||
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+ | however, "It is our hope that thoughtful people will look beyond the name-calling to carefully examine the areas of belief that separate the LDS Church from the biblical norm," said Pastor Floyd McElveen, a member of the consortium, | ||
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+ | <font color=blue>It is not name calling to label anti-Mormon activity for what it is. Pastor McElveen continues to label the LDS Church as beyond "the biblical norm"—does he believe this is name calling, or merely a descriptive term? Pastor McElveen employs a double standard when he refuses to acknowledge that his work is anti-Mormon, while in the same breath insisting that Mormonism is non-biblical. | ||
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+ | '''To read more:''' | ||
+ | * [[Anti-Mormon]]</font> | ||
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+ | "In our experience, we have found that many people have a very limited understanding of what Mormon leaders have actually taught. Because this is true even within the LDS Church, some Mormons might feel that much of what this DVD contains is fabricated. For this reason great pains have been made to document the statements it contains." The historical statements in the video Jesus Christ / Joseph Smith are taken directly from LDS publications, Joseph Smith's teachings, and speeches given by those who are recognized as authorities in the LDS Church. | ||
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+ | <font color=blue>Pastor McElveen hides the fact that many of the statements taken from Church leaders or scriptures were quoted out of context. The words were not fabricated, but the meaning and import was. If viewers are as ignorant about LDS teachings as Pastor McElveen claims, then the DVD had a responsibility to provide the proper context. It failed to do so. | ||
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+ | '''Examples of distortion of quotation in the DVD:''' | ||
+ | *[[Search for the Truth DVD:Distorted quotes]] | ||
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+ | The making of this DVD is an act of love and has been placed into peoples' hands so that they too can carefully examine the truth claims of the LDS Church. Just as we respect the right of Mormon missionaries to come to our doors and share what they believe to be true with us, we hope that members of the LDS Church will respect the right of their neighbors to come to their door through this medium and share what they have found to be true. | ||
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+ | About GoodNewsForLDS.org | ||
+ | GoodNewsForLDS.org is a consortium of churches, para-church ministries and non-profit organizations dedicated to discovering, promoting and disseminating knowledge.... | ||
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