FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

Julianne Dehlin Hatton

Faith and Reason 63: Four Hundred Year Baktun

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

The time obsessed Maya measured time by a four hundred year interval known as a baktun. The baktun was made up of the extremely important twenty year sub-interval known as the katun. Not only do we find the four hundred year baktun in the Book of Mormon, but Moroni bids us farewell “Four hundred and twenty years” –or one katun after the final baktun following the sign that was given of the coming of Jesus Christ.

“Bamboozled by the CES Letter” can be found here:

http://www.shakenfaithsyndrome.com/bamboozle/bamboozled.pdf

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 62: Earthquakes and Volcanoes

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

By Michael R. Ash

In approximately 6 BC, Samuel, the Lamanite prophet, prophesied of Christ’s birth and death and revealed that when the Savior died there would be three days of darkness, great upheavals, and destruction. About forty years later, at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, the Nephites saw the fulfillment of this prophecy (see Helaman 14). From a scientific point of view, the calamities which would fit the description of destruction recorded in the Book of Mormon  would have to be an earthquake followed by a volcanic eruption –which we now know can be triggered by earthquakes. Since the Book of Mormon likely took place in ancient Mesoamerica, it is of interest to note that Mesoamerica lies in an active earthquake zone –a fact that would have been unknown to Joseph Smith.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

The Purpose and Mission of FairMormon

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LynchDo FairMormon volunteers lack empathy? Where does the organization get its money, and who is really pulling the strings behind FairMormon? Julianne Dehlin Hatton proposes these and other questions to Chairman of the Board John Lynch on the Mormon FAIR-Cast.

Lynch is a Silicon Valley executive and convert to the church, who has served as Elders Quorum President, Ward Mission Leader, Stake Mission President and Young Men’s President. He is currently a counselor to the Bishop of his congregation. Hatton is a media personality and event manager from Kentucky. She has been a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Broadcast Journalist, and Airborne Traffic Reporter.

Music for this edition of the Mormon FAIR-Cast is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 61: Uto-Aztecan Language

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

When the Lehites arrived in the New World over two thousand years ago, they would have merged with existing native populations. Within a few generations, the spoken language of their descendants would likely have become that of their neighbors. It’s also possible, however, that some of the original Hebrew words used by the Lehites were picked up by their neighbors and continued to be used even after the Hebrew language disappeared. Near Eastern language expert Dr. Brian Stubbs argues for a possible link between Uto-Aztecan (a family of about thirty Native American Languages) and Hebrew. As a professional linguist, Stubbs avoids the pitfalls of amateurs who simply point to similar words between two different languages.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 39: Nephite Money

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

Among supposed Book of Mormon blunders is the mention of “coins” and a monetary system. The Book of Mormon text, however, never mentions “coins”. Several decades ago, the church began to add notes, cross-references, and chapter headings. To modern readers it seemed obvious that Alma 11 was describing coins, so the chapter detailed a system of “Nephite coinage”. Upon closer examination, however, the text doesn’t suggest that the Nephites had coins (minted coins) but they did have a monetary system, and this is what we find in the ancient New World.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 38: Hidden Records

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

When Moroni closed his account, adding it to the plates of Mormon, he said he was commanded to “hide them up again in the earth” (Ether 4:3). Moroni was repeating what Book of Mormon prophets had often said before –the plates were buried for preservation. In this episode of Faith and Reason, Michael R. Ash discusses similar stories of hiding sacred writ for the purpose of safe preservation in the hopes that it would come forth in the latter days.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

 

Faith and Reason 37: The Rent Garment II

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

Genesis 37 tells the story of Joseph and his brothers, who stripped him of his garment, dipped it in goat’s blood, and brought it to Jacob. They told the story that Joseph had been killed by wild beasts. While it never says that Joseph’s brothers tore his coat of many colors, Jacob thought that Joseph had been “rent to pieces” by a wild beast (v.33).

When we compare Moroni’s comments — about Joseph’s coat and Jacob’s vision of a surviving remnant of that coat –with other ancient non-biblical texts, we find some interesting parallels. In the Book of Jasher for example, we read that Joseph’s brothers took his coat, “tore it,” killed a goat, and dipped the coat “in the dust” before giving it back to Jacob (Jasher 43:13). Not only does the Book of Jasher mention that the coat was torn, but we also find that like the Nephites who threw their torn garments at Moroni’s feet to be trodden upon, Joseph’s brothers “trampled” the coat in the dirt as well.

According to the Book of Mormon –but not found in the Bible– a remnant of Joseph’s coat survived. What we find in Alma 46 about a remnant of Joseph’s coat, correctly matches what we find in ancient Near Eastern traditions, but not recorded in the Bible.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 36: Chopping Down The Execution Tree

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

In 3 Nephi 4 we read that the Gadianton Robbers were defeated after attacking, raiding and murdering Nephites. Their leader, Zemnarihah, was finally captured and hanged for his crimes. Once he was dead, the tree upon which he was hanged was cut down –which was an  interesting and unusual detail in the Book of Mormon.

We now know that such actions have an ancient Near Eastern precedence: “Israelite practice required that the tree upon which the culprit was hung be buried with the body. Hence the tree had to be chopped down. Since the rabbis understood that this burial should take place immediately, the Talmud recommends hanging the culprit on a pre-cut tree or post so that, in the words of Maimonides, ‘no felling is needed'”.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 35: Jared’s Ships

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

In the book of Ether, the Lord instructed the brother of Jared to build eight barges so the Jaredites could travel to the Americas. These barges, patterned after Noah’s ark, were “tight like unto a dish,” peaked at both ends, and had holes which could be “unstop[ped]” in which to allow ventilation (see Ether 2:17, 20). When we examine non-Biblical writings that give greater detail about Noah’s ark than what we find in the Bible, we discover some interesting similarities to the oddities mentioned in the account of the Jaredite barges.

These ancient documents tell us that Noah’s boat had a portal that could be shut during the storm flood. The word ‘ark’  originally meant a box –such as a chest or coffin –that was covered with a lid. And just as the barges had ventilation holes, the ark had not only a door that could be shut, but at least one nappashu –this word is translated as “airhole” or “window” but means “breather” or “ventilator” and was not an ordinary window.

Few things have elicited more laughs from the critics than the use of “shining stones” in the Jaredite barges. According to the ancient Palestine Talmud, however, the Ark was illuminated with a miraculous light-giving stone. This precious stone, the ancient documents tell us, glowed for twelve months inside the ark and would dim during the day. As Dr. Hugh Nibley explains, of the four copies of the Palestine Talmud that mention the ark’s shining stones, two appeared thirty years after Joseph had already translated the Book of Mormon. In 1830, when the Book of Mormon was published, there was not a single translation of the Palestine Talmud available in any modern language.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 34: Angels and Books

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

The claim that an angel delivered a sacred record to Joseph Smith has elicited the scorn of critics and the incredulity of most of the modern world. While such an event may seem odd to modern sensibilities, like a glove it fits the world of the ancient Near East.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.  He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.