FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

Evidences

Book Review: A Documentary History of The Book of Mormon

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

Larry E. Morris has written books on the exploration of the American West as well as several papers on Oliver Cowdery and the other witnesses of the Book of Mormon. He also served as an editor of the Joseph Smith Papers Project. He gave a presentation at the 2007 FAIR Conference and he will be speaking at the upcoming FairMormon Conference on August 8.

In this book, Morris brings together for the first time a single volume collection of primary source documents pertaining to the production of the Book of Mormon. The documents are annotated and introductory essays are included that give us the context. He draws on the work of authors such as Richard Bushman, Terryl Givens, D. Michael Quinn, Fawn Brodie, Dan Vogel, Richard Van Wagoner, Grant Palmer, and Dale Morgan, where applicable, while not hesitating to also provide critiques on their work as necessary. [Read more…] about Book Review: A Documentary History of The Book of Mormon

FairMormon Conference Podcast #31 – Wade Miller, “The Presence of Pre-Columbian Horses in America”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. Please join us for the 2019 FairMormon Conference coming up August 7-9! You can attend in person or purchase the video streaming.

Wade Miller, The Presence of Pre-Columbian Horses in America

Transcript available here.

Wade E. Miller is a professor of geology and paleontology, retired from Brigham Young University. He earned his MS in geology from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. in paleontology from UC Berkeley. Besides teaching at BYU, Wade has taught at Fullerton Junior College and at Santa Ana College. He has served, at various times, as paleontological advisor for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the State of Utah, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, the University of Mexico, and the University of Hidalgo (Mexico). During his career Wade published or co-published over 80 scientific articles or books. He is currently a research associate at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Wade has served in numerous callings, including as a teacher and a bishop. He is married to the former Patricia Haws and is the father of three children (all sons).

Audio Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Book Review: A Case for the Book of Mormon

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

[A interview of the author can be found here.]

Tad Callister is an emeritus member of the Seventy and was the Sunday School General President until his release in the recent April General Conference. He has previously written books on the atonement and the apostasy. He has degrees in accounting and tax law and was a lawyer professionally. He is scheduled to speak at the 2019 FairMormon Conference in August.

This book presents both a spiritual and intellectual case for the Book of Mormon, drawing on previously published and unpublished books and talks by the author. In fact, the last chapter (which is a summary of the book) is a slightly modified version of his October, 2017 General Conference talk, “God’s Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon,” and chapter two is from a talk he gave at a BYU Devotional on November 1, 2016, “The Book of Mormon: Man-Made or God-Given?” Much of the research cited is from FairMormon, Book of Mormon Central, and FARMS (now the Neal A. Maxwell Institute), along with classic scholarship from B. H. Roberts, Richard Lloyd Anderson, and Hugh Nibley.

The book has five parts, starting with an introduction stating that the Book of Mormon must be either true or false, a divine work or a fraud, and explaining why. And we are reminded why all this is important, with a quote from Anglican theologian, Austin Farrer: “Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish” (page 9). [Read more…] about Book Review: A Case for the Book of Mormon

FairMormon Conference Podcast #23 – Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2004. If you would like to watch the presentations from our most recent conference, you can still purchase video streaming.

Richard Lloyd Anderson, Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses

Transcript available here.

Richard Lloyd Anderson (1926-2018) was a Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, and senior research fellow at the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University. More information about him can be found in this tribute. His book, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, is available at a discount from the FairMormon Bookstore.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2004 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #16 – Tyler Griffin, “Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to a New Level”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2017. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference we had earlier this year, you can still purchase video streaming.

Tyler Griffin, Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to A New Level

Transcript available here.

Tyler J. Griffin was born and raised in Providence, Utah in the beautiful Cache Valley. After serving a mission in Brazil Curitiba, he returned home and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering. He married Kiplin Crook and began teaching seminary in Brigham City, Utah. After six years in that assignment, he transferred to the Institute adjacent to Utah State University where he worked for the next seven years. One of his assignments there was working in the Seminary Preservice program (teaching and training potential seminary teachers) for four years. He also developed an online home study seminary program. His masters and doctorate degrees are both in Instructional Technology. He and his wife have 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls). He has been at BYU since August 2010.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

What New Archaeological Discoveries in Jerusalem Relate to Hezekiah? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 30A)

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Shukron in room with markings

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 30: “Come to the House of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29-30; 32; 34) (JBOTL30A)

Question: Hezekiah is known as being, after David, the greatest king in Israelite times. Are there any archaeological remains of his reign in Jerusalem?

Summary:Recent discoveries at the Ophel and Gihon Spring sites relating to Hezekiah are providing new insights into the history of ancient Jerusalem and its temple.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL30A — What New Archaeological Discoveries in Jerusalem Relate to Hezekiah?

Celebrating Two New Books in the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project: The Nature of the Original Language of the Book of Mormon

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Royal Skousen

On Tuesday, September 25, at 7 p.m., BYU Professor Royal Skousen will speak on the just-published The Nature of the Original Language, parts 3 and 4 of volume 3 of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. The lecture will include additional commentary by Stanford Carmack, Skousen’s collaborator in authoring and researching these two new books.

The presentation is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Assembly Hall of the Hinckley Center at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Parking is available after 6 p.m. in the large lot east of the Hinckley Center (Lot 16).

The lecture will be videotaped and made available in the weeks following the presentation. The event is sponsored by BYU Studies and the Interpreter Foundation. For further information, contact BYU Studies (801-422-6691 or [email protected]).

The two new books are now available for purchase from BYU Studies, the joint publisher of these books, along with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS).

The Nature of the Original Language (NOL) continues the analysis of the Book of Mormon [Read more…] about Celebrating Two New Books in the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project: The Nature of the Original Language of the Book of Mormon

What Is the Significance of the Unusual Symbolism in Elisha’s Healings? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 29B)

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Triptych of the Cleansing of Naaman: the centre panel depicts Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, washing in the River Jordan to cure his leprosy at the command of the prophet Elisha, who in the background refuses gifts offered to him, 1520

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 29: “He Took Up … the Mantle of Elijah” (2 Kings 2:5-6) (JBOTL29B)

Question: Elisha’s request of Naaman to immerse himself seven times in the Jordan River in order to be healed and his “stretching himself” upon a child to raise him from the dead seem highly unusual. Was there any special meaning to Elisha’s actions?

Summary:Like some other Old Testament prophets, Elisha’s invocation of God’s power as he taught and blessed his people was accompanied by actions that symbolized sacred realities. As with modern priesthood ordinances, the physical actions themselves do not bring about the resultant blessings. However, such sacred actions, when required by the Lord, invite participants to reflect about resonances of those actions that extend beyond immediate circumstances and teach eternal principles. Symbolic actions that parallel Elisha’s miracles has at times accompanied healing both anciently and today.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL29B — What Is the Significance of the Unusual Symbolism in Elisha’s Healings?

FairMormon Conference Podcast #10 – Neal Rappleye, “Put Away Childish Things”: Learning to Read the Book of Mormon Using Mature Historical Thought

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. Please join us for the 2018 FairMormon Conference coming up August 1-3. You can attend in person or purchase the video streaming.

Neal Rappleye, “Put Away Childish Things”: Learning to Read the Book of Mormon Using Mature Historical Thought

Transcript available here.

Neal Rappleye is the Research Project Manager at Book of Mormon Central and has published on the Book of Mormon in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. He has presented at the 2014, 2016, and 2017 Book of Mormon Conferences.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #9 – Matthew Bowen, “Semitic Semiotics: The Symbolic, Prophetic, and Narratological Power of Names in Ancient Scripture”

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This podcast series features a past FairMormon Conference presentation each month. Please join us for the 2018 FairMormon Conference coming up August 1-3. You can attend in person or purchase the video streaming.

Matthew Bowen, Semitic Semiotics: The Symbolic, Prophetic, and Narratological Power of Names in Ancient Scripture

Transcript available here.

Matthew L. Bowen is an assistant professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii where he has taught since 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he also earned an M.A (Biblical Studies). He previously earned a B.A. in English with a minor in Classical Studies (Greek emphasis) from Brigham Young University (Provo) and subsequently pursued post-Baccalaureate studies in Semitic languages, Egyptian, and Latin there. In addition to having taught at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, he has previously taught at the Catholic University of America and at Brigham Young University. Bowen is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on scripture- and temple-related topics and two forthcoming books on scriptural onomastics. Bowen grew up in Orem, Utah, and served a two-year mission in the California Roseville Mission. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Blattberg, are the parents of three children, Zachariah, Nathan, and Adele.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.