FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

You are here: Home / Archive / Journal / Journal – June 2012

Journal – June 2012

June 2012

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

  • Message from the President
  • Conference Streaming
  • Become a FAIR Conference Sponsor
  • We Need Your Help
  • FAIR Wiki Articles
  • Mormon Voices
  • Mormon Scholars Testify
  • FAIR Blog
  • Award Winning FAIR Podcasts
  • FAIR YouTube
  • FAIR LDS Bookstore
  • Donating to FAIR
  • FAIR Study Aids
  • FAIR’s ‘Front Page’
  • Important Links
  • Ask the Apologist
  • Copyright Notice and Disclaimer

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

We are pleased to announce John Sorenson as a speaker at this year’s FAIR conference. He is coming out with a new book entitled Mormon’s Codex and has new information to share with us about the Book of Mormon.

It is the time to sign up for the FAIR conference. Our conference registrations are 100% ahead of last year, and there is the very real possibility of selling out. Please buy your tickets today so you can be sure to get a seat.

As a reminder, here is our list of speakers (subject to change):

  • Joshua Johanson: Navigating the Labyrinth Surrounding Homosexual Desire
  • John Sorenson: Reading Mormon’s Codex
  • Neylan McBaine: To Do the Business of the Church: A Cooperative Paradigm for Examining Gendered Participation Within Church Organizational Structure
  • Royal Skousen: Do We Need to Make Changes to the Book of Mormon Text?
  • Darius Gray: No Johnny-Come-Lately: The 182-Year-Long BLACK Mormon Moment
  • Brian C. Hales: Joseph Smith’s Sexual Polyandry and the Emperor’s New Clothes: On Closer Inspection, What Do We Find?
  • Ugo Perego: Book of Mormon Genetics: A Reappraisal
  • Jack Welch: Forty-five Years of Chiasmus Conversations, Criteria, and Creativity: What Chiasmus Proves and Does Not Prove
  • Brant Gardner: From the East to the West: The Problem of Directions in the Book of Mormon
  • John Gee: Book of Abraham, I Presume
  • Rosemary Avance: Seeing the Light: Parallels in Mormon Conversion and De-conversion Stories
  • Don Bradley: Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages
  • Hartt Wixam” Perception and Reality: Then and Now
  • Dan Peterson: Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics

Here is where you find more information and purchase your tickets (scroll to the bottom of the page to purchase tickets):

2012 FAIR Conference

Find a friend and come see us at the conference. You won’t want to miss this!

–Scott Gordon President of FAIR

CONFERENCE STREAMING

This year we are providing Conference streaming for your Windows, Android, Apple, and even Roku devices. Here is a way for you to have your own FAIR Conference in your home. Hook it up to your big-screen TV and invite over your friends for a FAIR Conference event. We have updated our technology on this, so the price for streaming the conference into your home, or two your phones, computers or tablets is $15 for each day or $25 for both days. When you sign up, in the comments section please mention which device or devices you are planning on using (Roku, iphone, ipad, Android tablet, etc.)

Sign up for the two days here:

Sign up for the FAIR Conference

Single day sign-ups are also available at the FAIR Bookstore

FAIR Bookstore

BECOME A FAIR CONFERENCE SPONSOR

Can you or your business help sponsor the FAIR Conference? Do you know an individual or business that can? Please review the following information and let me know if you would be interested in helping, and forward this information along to everyone you know who may be similarly interested. Alternatively, please provide names of individuals or businesses that you think might have some interest, even if you don’t have any personal contact with them, and we will try to contact them to solicit their support:

FAIR Conference Sponsorship Information
Programs: $500 (Includes two conference tickets and premium space provided in the program indicating sponsorship, as well as a listing in the program as a sponsor)

  • Speakers Dinner: $500 (Includes two conference tickets and a sign posted indicating sponsorship, as well as a listing in the program as a sponsor)
  • Lunch: $500 (Includes two conference tickets and a signposted indicating sponsorship, as well as a listing in the program as a sponsor)
  • Snacks: $500 (Includes two conference tickets and a signposted indicating sponsorship, as well as a listing in the program as sponsor)
  • Basic Sponsorship: $250 (Includes two conference tickets, as well as a listing in the program as a sponsor)
  • Premium Sponsorship: $500 (Includes two conference tickets, a listing in the program as a sponsor, and space for a banner or table at the conference)

Please send the information to president (at) fairlds.org (replace the at with @ and remove all spaces from the email address.)

Checks can be made payable to and sent to FAIR at:

FAIR PO Box 491677 Redding, CA 96049 Please send me an email and not simply a check with a note or letter. Send the email to president(at sign)fairlds.org

WE NEED YOUR HELP

I know I make this plea every month, but until we get someone who feels like giving us one or two million dollars, as annoying as it is, we will continue to ask.

Without your donations, there would be no FAIR. But, with your donations, we are able to reach more people, participate more in the public square, and get more involved in refuting the mischaracterizations of our faith.

If you like our articles and want us to continue to be involved, please make a donation now.

Please go to Donate to FAIR to make your donation now. We really need your help.

FAIR is a 501c(3) corporation, so if in the United States your contributions are tax deductible.

FAIR WIKI ARTICLES

Are Mormon women taught to be subservient to men?-In an unpublished paper “Mormon Women, Prozac, and Therapy,” by Kent Ponder (copyrighted 2003, readily available on the Internet), the idea is put forward that women in the LDS church are taught to be “subservient” to men and are considered “eternally unalterable second-class.” Among some of its more colorful statements are the claims that women are expected to be “gratefully subservient to Mormon males” and that women must “not aspire…to independent thought.”

Mormonism and gender issues/Women/Taught to be subservient to men

Cognitive dissonance-Many critics of the Church are fond of portraying all members as either naive, ill-informed dupes or cynical exploiters. Fortunately, most fair-minded people realize that-just as in any religion-there are many intelligent, well-informed people who become or remain members of the Church. To get around this, some critics appeal to the psychological concept of ‘cognitive dissonance’ to try to ‘explain away’ the spiritual witness of intelligent, articulate members.

Criticism of Mormonism/Cognitive dissonance

MORMON VOICES

Mormons and Evangelicals Posted on Jun 29, 2012

As part of the “Mormon Moment,” many have analyzed the relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormons) and Evangelical Protestants. Poll data has shown that a large majority of Protestant pastors in the US think that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a cult (this view is false), and that nearly half of Evangelicals think Mormons are not Christian (also false).

Many commentators, and not just Latter-day Saints, have observed that these common opinions are based on distortions of fact. In 2004, Richard Mouw, a prominent Evangelical and president of Fuller Theological Seminary in California, publicly apologized to Mormons:

“We evangelicals have often seriously misrepresented the beliefs and practices of the Mormon community. Indeed, let me state it bluntly to the LDS folks here this evening: we have sinned against you. The God of the Scriptures makes it clear that it is a terrible thing to bear false witness against our neighbors, and we have been guilty of that sort of transgression in things we have said about you.”

Mouw was referring to the actions and statements of some Evangelicals in the “countercult” movement, who have for decades argued against Mormon doctrines and practices. Their tactics have often included misrepresentation and logical fallacy. Their methods have filtered into the consciousness of ordinary Evangelicals, who have unfortunately adopted unsound arguments and conclusions.

Mormons and Evangelicals

We continue to have our beliefs misrepresented in the press. There also seems to be a piling on by some of the ex-Mormon critics, and others in the comments sections. Join the MormonVoices email list to get alerts on articles that need a response.

Sign up for MormonVoices

MORMON SCHOLARS TESTIFY

Check out some of the great testimonies on Mormon Scholars Testify. Mormonscholarstestify.org If you are a scholar, please write your testimony and send it in. You may send it to president(at sign)fairlds.org

FAIR BLOG

Review of Stephen Taysom, The Patheos Guide to Mormonism

by Kevin Barney on June 20th, 2012

Stephen Taysom, The Patheos Guide to Mormonism (Series Editor Kathleen Mulhern), available in e-book formats for $2.99. For details, see this website:

The Patheos Guide to Mormonism

Remember when you were in high school, and you were assigned a five-page paper? Oh, how you struggled to reach that goal of five pages! If you got desperate enough, perhaps you played with fonts, margins and line spacing in an effort to cross the finish line with some hopefully-not-too-obvious space padding techniques made possible by the computer age. What a relief it was when you finally achieved the assigned length. Maybe you would even add an extra paragraph, so it wouldn’t look too obvious how much you were straining to get to five pages of text.

Those were the days, weren’t they? Stephen Taysom, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Cleveland State University (and a blogger at the Juvenile Instructor http://www.juvenileinstructor.org/), was recently faced with a grown up’s inverse of this problem: He had to try to give a coherent introduction to Mormonism, a very complicated topic, in what has amounted to a mere 77 pages. I would venture a guess that there were times during his work on this project that he sincerely wished for 500 pages to play with, rather than 77. But the brevity of the text is a large part of its appeal (and I freely acknowledge I was much more willing to undertake a review of a 77-pager than I would have been the 500-pager), so what must have been a very challenging exercise in pruning had to be undertaken.

Does it work? I decided before reading it that my standard would be whether I thought I could have done a better job. It is conceivable that I might have done a better job if I had 500 pages to play with, but it is highly doubtful that I could have improved upon this effort if I were limited to less than 100 pages. So yes, as a very concise summary of and introduction to Mormonism, especially for those with limited prior exposure to the religion, it does indeed work, and I highly recommend it.

Read more here:

Review of Stephen Taysom, The Patheos Guide to Mormonism by Kevin Barney

Changes at the Maxwell Institute, and “controlling the narrative”

by Mike Parker on June 23rd, 2012

As many are no doubt aware by now, late last week Daniel C. Peterson was dismissed as editor of the Mormon Studies Review (formerly known as Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, FARMS Review of Books, and FARMS Review, in that order), the flagship journal of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU (formerly the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, or “FARMS”).

Dr. Peterson has been the editor of the Review since its inception and first issue in 1989. At that time FARMS was a private foundation that served as a “clearinghouse” for cutting-edge research on the Book of Mormon. It also published works of an apologetic nature, typically reviews of books and other materials that were critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1998 FARMS became part of Brigham Young University, gaining some “official” status as part of the Church’s university. Although editorial freedom was promised in this arrangement, over the years there has been increasing tension at the organization between Peterson and others who believed it should defend the Church in print, and university-appointed administrators who did not agree with this approach.

Last week Dr. M. Gerald Bradford, executive director of the Maxwell Institute, fired Peterson as editor of the Review via email while Peterson was out of the country. (As far as I can tell, Peterson retains his position at the Institute as editor-in-chief of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative.)

Read more here:

Changes at the Maxwell Institute, and “controlling the narrative” by Mike Parker

It’s a Matter of Relevance

by Lance Starr on July 2nd, 2012

Like many others, I have been watching events unfold at NAMI and have been somewhat perplexed by the various narratives that have arisen in regards to it. I have my opinions about who is right and who is wrong (where such terms can even be said to be appropriate in such a context) but they are not relevant, or even important, to anyone but me.

I have, however, been fascinated by one of the narratives that has come forth, that being that one of the reasons that Peterson, Hamblin, Midgley, Smith, et. al., have been let go is because they have regularly engaged in vicious “ad hominem” attacks against the various people whose works they reviewed. Of course, the charge is nothing new. For years, critics of NAMI (and before that FARMS) have claimed that these people engage in rampant ad hominem attacks. I must admit, therefore, that I found it somewhat amusing when Mr. John Dehlin, of Mormon Stories fame, posted a request on his Facebook page for examples of ad hominem attacks coming from NAMI. See http://www.facebook.com/johndehlin. It is also quite instructive that, as of this writing, not single response of the 48+ responses that has been posted, has actually identified a single instance of an actual ad hominem attack. One would assume that if such tactics were as common as critics often claim then such examples should be readily forthcoming. I suspect that that the reason that such examples are not more ubiquitous is because many critics have confused sarcasm and irony for ad hominem when, in fact, they are not the same.

Read more here:

It’s a Matter of Relevance by Lance Starr

AWARD WINNING FAIR PODCASTS

You can listen to Podcasts on your computer, or you can download them to put into your mp3 player or ipod. You can listen to FAIR Podcasts while you walk or exercise.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 91: Affirming the Book of Mormon

by SteveDensleyJr on June 6th, 2012

Kerry Shirts reviews Grant Hardy’s book, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide. Shirts finds that Hardy’s presentation of the Book of Mormon as a narrative retelling of the story of Nephi and his family helps to illuminate the Book of Mormon in a unique and exciting way. Hardy’s book is available for purchase, at the FAIR Book store.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 91: Affirming the Book of Mormon

Mormon FAIR-Cast 92: Deification as understood by the Greek Orthodox Church

by SteveDensleyJr on June 13th, 2012

Mormons have been criticized for believing that they can become like God. But are they alone among all the religions of the world in this belief? In this episode of Religion Today that originally aired on March 25, 2012, Martin Tanner interviews Dr. Tom Roberts, Academic Dean, St Elias Seminary and Graduate School. They discuss the way in which the Greek Orthodox Church views the concept of deification.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 92: Deification as understood by the Greek Orthodox Church

Mormon FAIR-Cast 93: Wrestling with the Scriptures: Informed Faith vs. Ignorant Faith

by SteveDensleyJr on June 20th, 2012

Kerry Shirts discusses how learning the history of early Christianity and the Bible can change what you assume you might think you know.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 93: Wrestling with the Scriptures: Informed Faith vs. Ignorant Faith

Mormon FAIR-Cast 94: Gay Mormon Finds Happiness in Church’s Teachings

by SteveDensleyJr on June 30th, 2012

Joshua Johanson, a scheduled speaker at the 2012 FAIR conference on August 2-3 in Sandy, Utah appeared recently on K-Talk radio to discuss his experience as an active Mormon who experiences same-sex attraction, and who is also happily married to a woman. “Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can find happiness in following the Church’s teachings against same-sex relationships” said Joshua.

Joshua will be speaking at the FAIR Conference in August.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 94: Gay Mormon Finds Happiness in Church’s Teachings

Mormon FAIR-Cast 96: The Reality of the Resurrection

by SteveDensleyJr on July 4th, 2012

Can people really come back to life? What evidence is there for the resurrection of Christ? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on April 8, 2012, Martin Tanner discusses the reality of the resurrection and the hope that lies therein for all of us.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 96: The Reality of the Resurrection

FAIR YOUTUBE

We have posted some new videos on our Youtube channel. Dr Wade Miller, retired professor of geology and paleontology, discusses some of his research and information he has compiled concerning anachronisms and The Book of Mormon.

FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE

Come to the FAIR Bookstore to find the Internet’s best selection of materials for LDS apologetics. Whether you are looking for books, study aids, DVDs, or audio products, the FAIR Bookstore has what you need. You can begin your browsing by going to our main site.

FAIR Bookstore

Be sure to check out the Clearance Section. We have many older books and some new books with slightly damaged covers that offer great deals to buyers.

FAIR Bookstore Monthly Specials

Clearance Special:

Making Precious Things Plain, Vol. 3 (Limited to stock on hand)

Randal S. Chase. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort: 2008. Softbound, 8 ½ “x 11”, 213 pgs. ISBN: 1599551608 A Book of Mormon Study Guide Vol. 3, 3 Nephi 8-Moroni

In this volume full of supplemental material, Dr. Randal S. Chase, a veteran Institute and Gospel Doctrine teacher, shares years of insights into the scriptures by exploring scriptural symbolism, background, culture, and chronology, as well as the words and teachings of gospel authorities.

This unique study guide of the Book of Mormon provides new depth and understanding to the scriptures. Readers will enjoy Dr. Chase’s relaxed style and easy presentation as they gather information, clarification, and quotes that can be used for either private study or public speaking. A welcome addition to any library, this guide will provide the tools necessary to come to a deeper understanding of the Book of Mormon.

Retail Price: $24.99 Special FAIR Price: $6.25 (75% Discount)

Jesus the Christ, Softbound (Limited to stock on hand)

James E. Talmage, American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2006, 6×9″ softbound, 768 pages.

Considered one of the all-time great classics of LDS literature, Jesus the Christ is a comprehensive look into the life and ministry of the Savior. Written at the request of the First Presidency by the Apostle James E. Talmage, and penned from an office inside the Salt Lake Temple, this volume is more than a simple outline of the Savior’s life. It presents a far-reaching view of the Savior-including His life in the flesh, His antemortal existence, and His activities across time as the world’s Redeemer. Allow this unparalleled work to enhance your knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as it magnifies your understanding of the scriptures.

Retail Price: $14.95 Special FAIR Price: $5.98 (60% Discount)

J. Seixas Hebrew Grammars, 1832 and 1834 Editions (PDF Format) (Limited to stock on hand)

Joshua (or J.) Seixas; Benjamin McGuire (Compiler, Author of “Introduction to the Texts”), Andover Theological Seminary 1832-1834 Editions. Ben Mcquire, FAIR Hebrew Project, 2005. Images copyrighted by Ben McGuire, 2003, PDF documents on disc.

This product contains an “Introduction to the Texts” and the complete facsimile copies of the Hebrew Grammars used by Joseph Smith by J. Seixas the following PDF files:

  • “Introduction to the Texts” by Ben McGuire
  • A Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners, Andover: Printed by Flagg, Gould and Newman, 1833.
  • A Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners, 2nd ed. enlarged and improved. Andover: Printed by Gould and Newman, 1834.

“Introduction to the Texts” addresses:

  • Who was Joshua Seixas?
  • Joshua Seixas
  • Sephardic Hebrew
  • Joseph and Kaballah

Seixas, Joshua (1802-187), Hebraist, textbook writer. Lived in New York City. Attracted attention by promising a reading knowledge of Hebrew in six weeks, classes meeting one hour a day. Taught Hebrew in New York, Philadelphia and Washington and at Princeton Theological Seminary, the Seminary at Brunswick, New Jersey, and Andover Theological Seminary. His A Manual of Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners was published in 1833. In 1835 he taught at Oberlin College, Ohio. Among his students was Lorenzo Snow, whose sister Eliza had joined the Latter-day Saints and was then living in the Joseph Smith household in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph possibly first heard of Seixas from this source, or from Daniel Peixotto, whose wife, Rachel, was Seixas’s cousin. After completing the course at Oberlin, Seixas was hired for a six-week term of instruction at the Western Reserve College in Hudson, beginning in December and ending 23 January 1836. Three days later he arrived at Kirtland, where he taught Hebrew from 26 January to 29 March 1836. After returning to New York, Seixas founded the first choir of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, where he served many years as instructor of Hebrew. He died in New York (LeRoi C. Snow, “Who Was Professor Joshua Seixas?” Zucker, “Joseph Smith as a Student of Hebrew”; Stern, First American Jewish Families, 264; Fairchild, Oberlin: The Colony and the College, 368-70).

Ben McGuire is the author of “Benjamin or Mosiah? Resolving an Anomaly in Mosiah”, presented at the 2001 FAIR Conference, and also the author of many other articles such as “Did Lehi Use Egyptian?” located in the FAIR Topical Guide. He has also contributed several book reviews (see Mormonism 201 rebuttal on chapter 7), and video reviews located at the FAIR site.

Retail Price: $5.00 Special FAIR Price: $3.00 (40% Discount)

They Lie In Wait to Deceive, Volume 4 (Limited to stock on hand)

Robert L. and Rosemary Brown; Barbara Beckstead Ellsworth (Editor), Gail A. Gibson (Art Direction). Mesa, Arizona: Brownsworth Publishing Company, Inc., Second printing, revised edition, 1993, 7×10 softbound, 320 pages.

One of the more well-known professional anti-Mormons who had used his radio broadcasts to spread misleading information was the late “Dr.” Walter R. Martin. His claims and credentials are examined to determine if his professed credentials are valid as claimed or if he is just another imposter. Walter Martin claimed a Doctorate degree, current ordination as a minister, and various other claims. As you read the numerous documents which trace his adult life–you will see that Walter Martin follows the typical format for professional anti-Mormons–they claim impressive credentials to gain the confidence of the public and take that opportunity to teach false and misleading information about the LDS Church. Martin and other professional anti-Mormons devote their entire lives to spreading false information.

Review: “Expose of the character of “Dr.” Walter Martin, professional cult “expert.” This is a commentary on the character of Walter Martin, the famous Bible Answer Man and author of “The Kingdom of the Cults” and “The Maze of Mormonism.” While this book is not written in response to Martin’s works, it is a report on his qualifications, or lack there of. It documents his diploma mill PhD and his lack of credentials as a Baptist Minister. His lifes work must be considered in the light of his character and integrity. Though Walter Martin is no longer with us, his work and those who reference it in their assaults on Mormonism are.” –Deseret Book customer in Utah, June 12, 2001

Retail Price: $8.95 Special FAIR Price: $2.24 (75% Discount)

Monthly Specials:

http://bookstore.fairlds.org/category.php?id_category=50

 No Weapon Shall Prosper: New Light on Sensitive Issues

Robert L. Millet, Editor. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University in cooperation with Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2011. Hardbound, 6.5×9.5″, 439 pages.

From the time Joseph Smith walked out of the grove of trees having experienced a vision and having spoken with God and Jesus Christ, his words have opened the door to persecution. As disciples of Christ, we ought to be serious students of the gospel who are able to provide a defense of our faith. In this book, LDS scholars discuss criticisms of the Church on a variety of issues, including the question of whether Mormons are Christian, the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, and LDS beliefs about becoming like God, continuing revelation, and plural marriage. The book also includes chapters about DNA research and the Book of Mormon, along with the role of evidence and the need for honesty in religious discussion. This volume does not address every point of opposition, but it does provide thoughtful and reliable answers to several hard questions.

Retail Price: $27.99 Special FAIR Price: $22.39 (20% Discount)

Gate of Heaven: Insights on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple

Matthew B. Brown, American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1999, 9×11″ hardbound, 342 pages.

A fascinating study of the temple and its symbolism from ancient to modern days. Brother Brown explains the rich heritage of external and internal temple symbolism throughout the ages. He also explores many of the compelling doctrines that are associated with temples. This book includes discussions on: Rituals and symbols associated with ancient temples and the earliest Christians (the most detailed presentation of such material to be found in the LDS market); Riveting spiritual experiences related to temple work; Making one’s calling and election sure; Myths about the origin, symbols, and rituals of Freemasonry; Temple work during the Millennium. Representing more than a decade of intense research and documentation, The Gate of Heaven is destined to become a classic among Latter-day Saint works dealing with temples.

Retail Price: $24.95 Special FAIR Price: $19.96 (20% Discount)

Across the Sea, Across the Plains: The Epic Account of the Willie & Martin Handcart Companies from Europe to Zion

Shelli Simmons. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2012. Softbound, 6×9″, 332 pages.

From the wilds of rural Denmark to the soot-blackened streets of London, one by one, they heard the message. They felt the Spirit’s power. And even as their friends and family turned against them, they held strong to their fledgling faith. These remarkable Saints were only beginning their journey – one that would take them from their beloved homes, to a new continent, and on toward Zion.

Join the handcart pioneers in their epic journey to Zion. Beginning with the conversions and persecutions they experienced in Europe, this remarkable book shares the true story of the Martin and Willie handcart companies as you’ve never heard it before. Follow along through the miracles and heartbreaks with eye-witness accounts, first-hand documents, and personal testimonies. Thorough and well-researched, this is a must-read!

Retail Price: $19.99 Special FAIR Price: $15.99 (20% Discount)

Shared Beliefs, Honest Differences: A Biblical Basis for Comparing The Doctrines of Mormons and Other Christians

Dwight E. Monson. Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 2010. Softbound, 6 x 9″, 240 pages.

Shared Beliefs, Honest Differences covers a broad spectrum of religious doctrines. It deals with both contrasts and similarities between Mormon and Evangelical beliefs providing a viable basis for communication between those of differing faiths.

The author begins with a presentation of the non-biblical teachings of other Christian religions regarding the Trinity, following it with contrasting concepts of God based on the Bible. He explains the “oneness” of God in terms of separate and distinct beings and describes in detail the divine potential of man.

Important biblical teachings dealing with “saving grace” and “good works” are thoroughly covered. The author presents the requirements for salvation, pointing out the areas of agreement among all Christians and the core differences in doctrine between LDS teachings and those of other denominations.

God’s plan for his children is discussed, including where we came from; where we go after death; concepts regarding heaven, hell and the final judgment; and exactly why we are on this earth. The author also discusses the apostasy and the restoration of the gospel as foretold in the Bible.

The final chapter presents the importance of revelation through prophets, both in the Bible and other writings. The stature of the Bible relative to other scriptures is discussed, and the author shows that living prophets and ongoing revelation indeed exist.

Prepared with careful documentation, this book provides keen doctrinal insights and comparisons which clearly demonstrate the strong scriptural basis of the restored the strong scriptural basis of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Retail Price: $15.99 Special FAIR Price: $12.79 (20% Discount)

Thank you for shopping in our FAIR bookstore!

DONATING TO FAIR

FAIR is labor of love. We are a group of volunteers who spend many hours trying to research and publish information to help members respond to critics. We try to price our conferences to be accessible to as many as possible. But, providing this information does cost money. In all of your charitable giving, please consider donating to FAIR. It is only through your donations that we are able to stay in operation.

If you can donate $10 or $10,000, every dollar helps us.

Donate to FAIR

You can also mail a check to our address:

FAIR PO Box 491677 Redding, CA 96049-1677

FAIR STUDY AIDS

The FAIR Study Aids for Gospel Doctrine has been a huge success. We have received emails from all over the country praising what we have done and begging for more. So if you haven’t checked out the Gospel Doctrine FAIR Study Aid pages, you should do it now. It is a good way to further prepare for your Sunday School class.

http://www.fairmormon.org/FAIR_Study_Aids/Gospel_Doctrine/Book_of_Mormon

FAIR’S ‘FRONT PAGE’

Do you like the news? Do you spend your time looking for articles about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Then you need to sign up for the FAIR Front Page daily news briefing. Receive daily updates containing news clippings about how the LDS Church is represented in the media. FAIR’s Front Page (FFP) is a free service; you can un-subscribe at any time. To receive this service just click on the link below, enter your email address in the white box, and push the “Sign-Up” button.

Sign up for FAIR’s Front Page

IMPORTANT LINKS

ASK THE APOLOGIST

The public is invited to submit questions related to LDS *apologetic* issues to “Ask the Apologist.” This feature can be accessed by clicking on the following link:

Contact FAIR

Mark the box labeled “Questions (for the FAIR apologists).” Then fill in accurate information in the five white boxes and push the “Send Comments” button. All inquiries will be shared with members of the FAIR List and the questioner may receive multiple responses from FAIR volunteers. All responses reflect the opinions of the respondents only and not the official position of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.