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Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 26: DNA

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I know I literally just said I was going to be better at making these posts a weekly feature again and then missed a few weeks, so I apologize for that. My dad was back in the hospital for a bit and there was holiday business. I also filmed an episode of the Come Back podcast, which should be out this coming weekend. And I was actually doing a lot of work a few weeks ago on another project for FAIR that I am very excited about. I am starting a new, investigative podcast series with two other FAIR faces you may be familiar with, Jennifer Roach and Zachary Wright. It’s going to be a podcast composed of multiple miniseries on different controversial topics in Church history and culture.

I admire and adore both of my co-hosts, and we’re already having such a great time working together. We met up before Christmas and laughed and planned and ate and filmed a few trailers, which should be out soon. We’re doing a bunch of filming this weekend, in fact. Our first miniseries should launch in early-to-mid February, and will consist of six episodes. I’ll have more to say on this soon, but we’re all very excited. The entire crew working on this project is amazing, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with.

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By Study and By Faith – Episode 10: Response to “The Gospel for Mormons”

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Podcast: Download (60.6MB)

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by Zachary Wright

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often run into people who criticize us for our beliefs.  I served my mission in a place where the Church was often criticized by General Christians who wanted me to abandon my faith and accept what they believed to be “the true Jesus”.  While they may seem confusing at first, it’s a common phenomenon for many Christians to believe that we, as members of the church, aren’t true Christians, and that we consequently, will be going to Hell.  However, in my experience, I’ve found that many Christian antagonists of the church often bring a number of ideas that have questionable reality.  This is what I want to focus on today. [Read more…] about By Study and By Faith – Episode 10: Response to “The Gospel for Mormons”

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 25: Prophecies

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Okay, guys, the topic this week is on failed prophecies from the latter-day prophets, but only one of these four quotes he gives is actually a prophecy, and it didn’t fail.

The author, Thomas Faulk, also uses an incorrect word as the title, so I corrected it. I won’t correct his usage going forward in the portions I quote from him, but I will be using the correct word myself. So, just to clear up any confusion this flipping between spellings may cause for those who don’t know the difference, “prophecy” and “prophesy” are two completely different words. A “prophecy” is a prediction from an oracle of God that has already been given, such as those given by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. To “prophesy” is to give that prediction in the present tense. It’s an action, something somebody is currently doing. There’s only one letter’s difference between them, but they have different meanings and different pronunciations. I’m not trying to beat up on him for the error, because Heaven knows I’ve made my fair share of typos in this series. But in this case, I think the distinction is important. Also, I really don’t want to confuse anybody by constantly flipping back and forth between the two words.

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Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement

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Hey, guys. Long time, no see! This week should hopefully mark the return of weekly segments of this blog series. My life has been insane this summer, and I apologize for being so absent. My dad was dying of pulmonary fibrosis, and then miraculously, got a new set of lungs a few weeks ago that saved his life. He just came home from the hospital a week ago, and is still very weak. During that same time period, I also had to move, and there were two FAIR conferences, work and family obligations, and boy drama to wade through. Some of you have asked why I’m still single—it’s because I’m a magnet for Crazy. Things do appear to finally be settling back down, though, thankfully.

Speaking of the two FAIR conferences, the digital one on the Book of Mormon was a lot of fun. The talks from that one will be put into a book which should be coming out soon. The videos are being released on the FAIR YouTube channel every other Wednesday, alternating with the talks from the main conference this past August.

We’ve already begun planning next year’s main conference, and it’s shaping up to be a great conference. We’re talking about changing things up a bit with some interesting new ideas, and I will be presenting for the first time. I think I’ll be speaking on ways to navigate a faith crisis, or helping loved ones work through theirs. This will probably include subtopics like responding to anti-LDS material, studying with the Spirit, evaluating sources, and reputable resources you can turn to help you find answers to your questions. It’s a topic I’m passionate about, and unfortunately, it needs to be addressed often. It’s still very much up-in-the-air, though, as I’m still praying about what to say. I hope all of you can either come to the conference in person or catch it online afterward, because there are always some excellent talks at those conferences.

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By Study and Faith – Episode 9: Cognitive Dissonance

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Podcast: Download (29.3MB)

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by Zachary Wright

Introduction

For today’s introduction, I’d like to share a story from my own faith journey with you.  In High School, I found myself in a dispute with a classmate who consistently challenged my faith.  He didn’t believe in God, and he was very argumentative and combative regarding why he was right.  I found myself thrown into a loop…it had been the first time I was forced to really consider my faith.  I had deeply spiritual experiences, but those didn’t seem to answer his questions.  I felt like I was on the defense, like my head was on fire.  Everything I had ever believed in seemed to flip upside-down.  I began poring over everything I had learned, trying desperately to find out what I could trust, and clinging to whatever truth I could find.  In psychology, this is referred to as “Cognitive Dissonance,” and it’s something that critical thinkers need to be aware of in order to be successful. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 9: Cognitive Dissonance

By Study and Faith – Episode 8: Misinformation and Propaganda

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by Zachary Wright

Introduction

Imagine for yourself for a moment that you’re face-to-face with a critic of the church who states “The church is lying to you about its history” or “the church is trying to cover up its past.”  When you ask them what they mean, they explain how the church has suppressed the details behind how a seer stone was used throughout the translation of the Book of Mormon.  They continue “It’s only until the advent of the internet where the church has been forced to be honest.”  What this critic does not know is that this claim is, for the most part, misinformation.  The unfortunate reality is that misinformation can be spread as simply as the example above, and it can have some devastating consequences. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 8: Misinformation and Propaganda

By Study and Faith – Episode 7: Confidence and Bias

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by Zachary Wright

Introduction

Imagine for yourself, for a moment, that a critic of the church stumbles across some quotes about the Adam-God theory.  “Brigham Young taught this, and seeing as he was a prophet, this must be what Mormons believe!” they reason to themselves.  They post these quotes on social media, proclaiming that “Mormons believe that Adam was God the Father!  Your leaders taught it, it’s what you profess to believe!”  However, what this critic did not know is that as early as 1897, we have records of church leaders stating that Brigham “no doubt expressed his personal opinion or views upon the subject,” supporting the idea that members of the church are under no obligation to support the notion that Adam was God the Father (1).  The critic doesn’t retreat from their position though, doubling down on how members of the church believe it.  At the end of the day, their bias led them to an incorrect conclusion about what members of the church believe. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 7: Confidence and Bias

Asking Big Questions: How Can I Recognize the Spirit?

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By Maddie Christensen

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

In today’s tumultuous world it can be difficult to make decisions and know what is right. As Latter-day Saints, we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us. Through the Holy Ghost, we can know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:5).

Wilford Woodruff was a great example of recognizing spiritual promptings and acting on them. He once shared:

While on my way east I put my carriage into the yard of one of the brethren in Indiana, and Brother Orson Hyde set his wagon by the side of mine, and not more than two feet from it.

Dominicus Carter, of Provo, and my wife and four children were with me. My wife, one child and I went to bed in the carriage, the rest sleeping in the house.

I had been in bed but a short time when a voice said to me: “Get up, and move your carriage.” It was not thunder, lightning or an earthquake, but the still, small voice of the Spirit of God the Holy Ghost.

I told my wife I must get up and move my carriage. She asked: “What for?” I told her I did not know, only the Spirit told me to do it.

CONTINUED HERE

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 23: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [D]

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This post will be the last in the section about race and the Priesthood restriction. I apologize for not getting this up sooner. My offline life has been a little crazy this summer, and I just didn’t have the time to do this post justice until today. It’s an important topic, and I wanted to make sure I was able to treat it with the respect it deserves.

The bulk of the conversation this week is about the idea that the prophets can never lead the Church astray:

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By Study and Faith – Episode 6: Cognitive Biases

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Podcast: Download (38.6MB)

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by Zachary Wright

Introduction

Someone I know, who is a very vocal LGBTQ+ advocate, once got into an argument with me about concepts behind gender.  I did everything I could to understand where they were coming from, seeing as this is a complex topic with differing perspectives.  However, they were trying to convince me (among other things) that gender is a social construct.  Having studied the issue, I pushed against their ideas, arguing that gender is more complicated than that and it certainly isn’t a mere social construct.  However, despite my best efforts, my research and perspectives fell on deaf ears.  Instead, my friend seemed to cling to the ideas of the people she agreed with.  I’ll be sure to go over LGBTQ+ perspectives another day.  However, my purpose in telling this story is to show an example of what researchers and psychologists call cognitive bias, which we’ll discuss today. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 6: Cognitive Biases