Chapter 16 discusses the church set up by Jesus both in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, and the apostasy that followed. Here are some related resources:
How does one respond to the statement: “Churches don’t save; Jesus saves”?
What does the Bible teach about priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ?
Christians don’t need a mediating priesthood?
The only attacks I could think of that we receive from anti-Mormons on the material covered by chapter 15 have to do with the temple.
Important note: Members of FAIR take their temple covenants seriously. We consider the temple teachings to be sacred, and will not discuss their specifics in a public forum.
Here are the resources available from FAIR that I thought were most relevant:
Feel free to leave a comment about anything else that might come up that is related to this chapter.
We had another great conference this year, with 350 people attending in person, and about 50 listening online. We were treated to 15 presentations and also had the opportunity to socialize, browse the bookstore, and bid in a silent auction. Tanya Spackman received the John Taylor Defender of the Faith award for her work on Mormon Scholars Testify. You can view photos of the conference at the FAIR Facebook page.
William Schryver’s presentation on the Kirtland Egyptian Papers received some press before the conference, and did not disappoint. You can view it here. (A browser plug-in may be required.)
There have been articles about many of the presentations published in Mormon Times, Deseret News, and LDS Church News:
Transcripts will be posted at http://www.fairlds.org when they are ready. MP3s and DVDs will be made available for purchase at the FAIR bookstore.
The 2010 FAIR Conference is only a few days away. We have many interesting topics lined up (for a preview of one, see this Deseret News article). However, I have seen many comments in various places online from people who do not live anywhere near Salt Lake City and are not interested in traveling, but otherwise might have attended.
As it turns out, we have a solution for people in just such a situation. We will be providing online streaming of the conference, so you can listen to it anywhere that you have a computer and an Internet connection – it may even work on your iPhone or Android phone, although we have had limited success in testing (please have a computer available to use as a backup in case it doesn’t work for you).
This service will cost $15 for both days combined. We will be providing audio, and if all goes well there may also be some video and/or slideshows available. You can order the service at http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1085
Instructions regarding access and feedback will be emailed to all participants shortly before the conference begins. A high-speed Internet connection and PC or Mac are recommended.
Urban legends have always existed. The Internet has multiplied and accelerated them, but human beings have always been susceptible to falling for the oft-told tale that’s too fantastic not to believe.
Among the Saints we have our regulars: The Three Nephites picked up as hitch-hikers. Comedian and actor Steven Martin seen wearing a CTR ring. A prophecy of the Restoration by an 18th-century Catholic priest.
Perhaps the best-known of these has the imprimatur of a modern apostle: The idea that Cain, son of Adam and Eve and the first murderer, still walks the earth today. [Read more…] about Urban legends among the Mormons: No one is immune
The FAIR blog is an occasional blog staffed by volunteers. Posts are typically driven by current events in Mormon apologetics and culture.
Sometimes Mormonism intersects with politics. During these times, the FAIR board and management wish to be sensitive to the political feelings of all Latter-day Saints. We expect posts to reflect even-handedness and a direct application to defending the Church.
This is not the place to discuss controversial political events that have only a marginal tie to Mormon culture and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are other blogs that cater to that need.
With that in mind, FAIR managers have removed a recent post on the Arizona immigration law. We apologize to anyone who felt that post was not in keeping with the highest standards of FAIR, and commit to elevating the level of discourse here.
Once again, this week’s lesson on Priesthood Organization is basically another look at last week’s topic in more detail. Since links have already been given to the resources FAIR has on the priesthood, I thought it might be helpful to provide links to a couple of items from sources other than FAIR.
At the priesthood session of the most recent General Conference, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a very practical talk on Healing the Sick that I believe is worth reading by everyone.
And in 1996, the Journal of Mormon History published an interesting article by William G. Hartley about the historical development of the duties of the Aaronic priesthood: From Men to Boys: LDS Aaronic Priesthood Offices, 1829-1996.
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Dr. Terryl L. Givens sat down with host Blair Hodges during the Mormon Scholars Foundation Summer Seminar at Brigham Young University. Blair uses selections from Givens’s books as jumping off points for further discussion on a wide array of subjects, including: nineteenth-century anti-Mormon literature, the Book of Mormon, prisca theologia, the paradox of searching and certainty, recent developments in Mormon studies, Parley P. Pratt, the preexistence, globalization, thoughtful faith, and dealing with difficult historical and theological puzzles.
Questions about this episode and ideas for future episodes can be added to the comments section here, or emailed to [email protected].
Dr. Terrl L. Givens is Professor of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond. He has authored several books, including The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Oxford 1997); By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (Oxford 2003); People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Oxford 2007); The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2009); and When Souls had Wings: Pre-Mortal Life in Western Thought (2010). His current projects include a biography of Parley P. Pratt (with Matt Grow, to be published by Oxford in 2011), a sourcebook of Mormonism in America (with Reid Neilson, to be published by Columbia in 2011), a history of Mormon theology (with Steven Harper), and a study of the idea of human perfectibility in the Western tradition. He lives in Montpelier, Virginia.
(Image and info from http://terrylgivens.com/)
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Here are some resources available from FAIR about the priesthood:
Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood
The Place of Mormon Women: Perceptions, Prozac, Polygamy, Priesthood, Patriarchy, and Peace
Christians don’t need a mediating priesthood
Is there a “Priesthood of All Believers”?
Hebrews 7 and the Aaronic priesthood
Those of us in Utah were treated, beginning near the end of 2007, to a TV series created by and aired on Larry H. Miller-owned KJZZ TV about the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It began with a pilot episode (“A Television Forward”), followed by a regular weekly schedule that started in early 2008, showing a new episode each Sunday night followed by a repeat of the previous week’s episode.
People outside of Utah, upon hearing about it, immediately began wondering when (or even if) they would have a chance to see the series. It was quickly ascertained that KJZZ would not be providing it for viewing on their web site as some hoped, but eventually BYUTV picked it up. Today, season 1 can be watched on BYUTV and Utah viewers can see season 2 (now in reruns) on KJZZ. And now (as of 2009), season 1 is available on a 7 disc DVD set from Deseret Book.
The set contains 52 episodes, numbered from 0 to 51, which are about one half hour each, except for number 0 which was the longer pilot that was aired ahead of time. A booklet is included that gives a brief summary of each episode and lists the contributing scholars, along with an index. Unfortunately, it does not state which DVDs contain which episodes, so I ended up noting that myself in my copy. Each DVD contains a message at the beginning apologizing that the sound and video quality are not always perfect, but the one big drawback of this set is a total lack of closed captions. Anyone that can’t hear will not be able to watch it, and even for those of us who are able to hear, it would have been nice to be able to read what is being said at times, particularly when trying to take notes.
Season 1 is filmed at historic sites as well as in a studio, using visual aids ranging from photographs, to paintings, to the actual writings of Joseph Smith and others. It includes interviews with scholars such as Ronald Barney, Richard Bushman, Steven Harper, Richard Turley, Richard Anderson, Larry Porter, Milton Backman, Robin Jensen, Jeffrey Walker, Jill Derr, Royal Skousen, Mark Staker, Dean Jessee, Carol Madsen, and many others.
In the pilot episode, Ronald Esplin (managing editor of The Joseph Smith Papers) said, “I think in today’s world, every Latter-day Saint will encounter things about Joseph Smith they didn’t know before. We have an informational overload – informational access – that has never been available before, and to the degree that Latter-day Saints are left only with what they learn at Pioneer Day, they are going to be vulnerable, because there is so much more to learn. And I think it’s very important that we come to a true understanding of our history, and of our people, that involves dealing with all the issues, and dealing with all the personalities, and doing it broadly so that we understand our own heritage, and then we will not be overturned by some new little fact that we didn’t have room for in our scheme, because we prepared ourselves to look at the whole picture.”
Many of the other episodes in the series are spent giving us this understanding, beginning with familiarizing us with early 19th century America and Joseph Smith’s heritage and local environment, and then going through many of the events in Joseph’s life and the history of the church, and then his death and the aftermath. A good job was done in many areas where the church has been accused by critics of hiding information. For example, the different versions of the First Vision are discussed, and there is a very good history and explanation given of the Book of Abraham and associated papyri.
However, one weakness that stuck out to me was that the discussion of plural marriage was not as thorough as it might have been. The host, Glenn Rawson, was kind enough to answer my question about that: “Our discussion of Plural marriage was limited of necessity. We could only say what we could prove by reliable documentation and only a small portion of that. It was the first in-depth broadcast statement on the subject of plural marriage that had been done under Church auspices. We tried to be careful and circumspect.” Indeed, it is significant that plural marriage was discussed to the depth that it was.
There are a couple of episodes devoted to a roundtable discussion featuring members of the Papers staff explaining what the project is all about, and the significance for members and nonmembers alike. There is an episode about the medical aspects of Joseph’s leg operation. Separate episodes are devoted to the revelations and sermons of Joseph Smith, respectively. There are also episodes covering Joseph’s encounters with the law.
To give an example of some interesting points covered in a typical episode, in episode 7 (“The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon”) we are told that in the early 20th century, a farmer filled in the depression on the hill where the plates had been stored, because he was tired of people coming on his land to see it. It is pointed out that those who knew Joseph best believed him the most. And we are told that Joseph said he could see anything through seer stones.
There is much to learn about the history of the Church up through the 1840s, and this DVD set does a good job of helping to provide a foundation for more in-depth learning, and “to look at the whole picture.” It also helps the viewer have a better understanding of some of what is being published as part of the Joseph Smith Papers. This set would be excellent for use in Family Home Evening, as well as for personal study. Season 2 will also be out on DVD shortly, which Rawson told me covers some of the potentially troubling issues more thoroughly, and he also mentioned that season 3, entitled “History of the Saints: Gathering to the West” will begin airing on KSL and KIDK (Idaho Falls) TV the weekend of General Conference in October.
