Blog

FAIR conference day 1 – open thread

August 7, 2008 by Mike Parker

This is an open thread for participants and streaming listeners to comment on FAIR conference presentations on Thursday, 7 August 2008.

Today’s speaker lineup:

Mike Ash (“Shaken Faith Syndrome”)
Mark Wright (“The Book of Mormon and Mesoamerica”)
Margaret Young and Darius Gray (“Nobody Knows, the Untold Story of Black Mormons”)
Brian Birch, Blake Ostler, and James Faulconer (“Philosophy and Mormonism”)
Jeffrey Bradshaw (“The Message of the Joseph Smith Translation: A Walk in the Garden”)
Larry Poulsen (“Book of Mormon Geography”)
Ugo Perego (“Joseph Smith’s DNA Revealed: New Clues from the Prophet’s Genes”)

We look forward to your comments!

Massacre at Mountain Meadows Pt. I

August 6, 2008 by Keller

My reader’s copy of this long awaited book arrived Monday (the 28th) and by Tuesday morning I finished it just in time to arrive at Bushman’s apologetic seminar 45 minutes late after pulling an all-nighter. I have been busy helping two different sets of relatives move, so I haven’t got this review completed as fast as I would like and now I am informed that Amazon is shipping the book. Nevertheless, I will still have to release my review in installments. Those who are just now getting their copies would be well served by checking out Kramer and Stapley’s review as well.
[Read more…] about Massacre at Mountain Meadows Pt. I

FAIR and Sunstone

August 2, 2008 by Mike Parker

Saturday’s article by Lynn Arave in the Deseret News highlights some of the presentations at this week’s FAIR Conference and Sunstone Symposium.

Some people have noticed that this year FAIR and Sunstone are running conferences on overlapping dates. We’ve received a few queries about that, asking if we did it on purpose. (Cue maniacally evil laugh: Buu-WAH-hah-hah-hah-hah!)

[Read more…] about FAIR and Sunstone

The FAIR Journal: July 2008

July 31, 2008 by Scott Gordon

======================================================================
THE FAIR JOURNAL                                             July 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------
      The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, Fourth
    Edition, 2000.)

INSIDE THE JOURNAL
----------------------------------------------------------------------

 * MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT. The 2008 FAIR Annual Conference is
   only a week away, and this year FAIR plans to offer streaming
   audio access for most of the Conference.

 * FAIR FUNDRAISING. If you would like to help FAIR in its work to
   provide "well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS (Mormon)
   doctrine, belief and practice," we encourage you to contribute
   through the FAIR web site.

 * NEW ON THE WEBSITE: Michael Ash has written a new article dealing
   with anti-Mormon argument pertaining to horses being mentioned in
   the Book of Mormon.

 * RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Meridian Magazine published an article by
   John Tvedtnes that discusses non-LDS scholars' use of the Book of
   Mormon.

 * RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Meridian Magazine published a summary of the
   FAIR resources relating to suicide rates in Utah and the critics'
   use of in attacking The Church of Jesus Christ.

 * RESOURCES ON THE WEB: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
   Saints has created a new web site to respond to questions about
   polygamy.

 * RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Biology professor Steven Peck blogs on why
   the Lamanite DNA issue is irrelevant to the Book of Mormon claims.

 * ASK THE APOLOGIST. Got a question you are dying to ask? Here's
   how.

 * FAIR TOPICAL GUIDE. The Topical Guide on the FAIR Web site is one
   of the most popular resources offered. Learn what is available and
   help us expand our references.

 * FAIR WIKI. The FAIR Wiki is an excellent resource for someone
   looking for a summary of an issue and for pointers to more
   detailed information. Links to many new and changed articles are
   included in this issue.

 * FAIR YOUTUBE VIDEOS. FAIR has had a presence on youtube.com for
   several months and new video clips are added frequently.

 * FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE. Visit the FAIR Bookstore at the FAIR
   Conference to build your apologetic library.

 * ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS. Interested in writing for FAIR? Learn how you
   can have your apologetics work published.

 * PUBLISHING NOTES. Learn how you can become more involved in FAIR
   and how you can reuse the material we publish.

 * FAIR JOURNAL ARCHIVES. All of the FAIR Journal issues since
   October 2001 are on the FAIR web site.

FAIR conference countdown

July 25, 2008 by Mike Parker

The 2008 FAIR conference is less than two weeks away!

Today (Friday, 25 July) is the last day to pre-register and have a box lunch included with your conference ticket.

Online pre-registration ends Saturday, 2 August. After that, tickets will be available at the door, based on available seating.

We’ll be liveblogging the conference from this site, so if you’re attending and you have a laptop, please bring it. We’ll have free wireless Internet access available.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below, or send an email to mparker (AT) fairlds (DOT) org.

Sustaining evil?

July 18, 2008 by Steven Danderson

During the primary season, several of us at FAIR were discussing the advisability of sustaining those whose ideas of good government are morally repugnant to us. My friend, Mike Parker, had made the observation that it was morally repugnant to vote to oppose sustaining, merely for political differences.

[Read more…] about Sustaining evil?

Deus ex machina

July 18, 2008 by Steven Danderson

Once in a while, somebody writes to FAIR, taking issue with something one of us writes. While the correspondent may be right, that person bears the burden of showing that it is so. If the evidence that person presents is persuasive, we alter our opinions accordingly. Otherwise, it will remain on our “not proven” list.

Some time ago, FAIR received an email from a gentleman who took issue with my article, “Adding up the Book of Mormon Peoples.” In sum, he stated that a 2.6% average growth rate would get the Book of Mormon numbers–without the need for immigration, which he claimed was contrary to what the Lord commanded. While this brother might be right about the growth rate (He is right about the mathematics!), to assume that would (to me) make the Book of Mormon events too miraculous where it doesn’t need to be.

[Read more…] about Deus ex machina

A Note from a Clown

July 17, 2008 by awyatt

In a previous blog post I mentioned how Simon Southerton “has been trying to polarize apologists and others who promote various theories about the Book of Mormon.” An astounding example of that very avocation recently appeared under Dr. Southerton’s nom de plume on the Recovery from Mormonism message board.

[Read more…] about A Note from a Clown

All the News that’s Fit

July 10, 2008 by awyatt

An interesting “news” piece has appeared on the Signature Books website in the last few days. The undated piece, entitled Fair-weather Friends at FARMS and FAIR,” is interesting and somewhat amusing. Most interesting is why it would even appear as “news” on the website of a book publisher. It is not about one of their books or one of their authors; it is not about any of their employees; it is not about the company; it is not about the company’s financiers. What, then, makes a mention about FAIR’s analysis of a recent Book of Mormon geography publication news worthy?

On the origins of polygamy (or, What did Joseph know, and when did he know it?)

July 8, 2008 by Mike Parker

Recently a small controversy ignited on Wikipedia over an article presumtively entitled “1831 polygamy revelation.” The original article doesn’t exist anymore (it’s since been merged into “Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy“), but it raises an interesting and important question: When, exactly, did Joseph Smith start teaching plural marriage?

The trouble is that there are no contemporary first- or second-hand accounts of Joseph advocating polygamy [edit: in the early 1830s]. By that I mean there are no documents written by Joseph Smith himself (first hand), or by someone who personally heard Joseph say something (second hand) and wrote it down at the time (contemporary), that advocate the restoration of polygamy.

When it comes to verifying historical events, these criteria are important. Late reminiscences (things written from memory years later) and third-hand reports (“I heard Sidney Gilbert say that Joseph told him…”) are and should be treated with extreme suspicion. Memory is pliant and frequently influenced by later impressions and feelings, and stories passed from one person to another all too often take on a character remarkably unlike the original. One clear example of this is a late remembrance of W. W. Phelps of a supposed polygamy revelation received by Joseph Smith in 1831. [Read more…] about On the origins of polygamy (or, What did Joseph know, and when did he know it?)