![FairMormon Logo](https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021_fair_logo_primary.png)
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
< Utilisateur:InProgress | Website reviews
* You can still believe in a God if you want, without believing in an anthropomorphic or mean-spirited one.
* You can have a testimony of Jesus' teachings, even if you are unsure of the historical Jesus.
* You can still find great inspiration and truth in the Book of Mormon, even if you no longer view it as an historical document.
* You can still believe that Joseph Smith and President Monson were or are divinely inspired, even while simultaneously flawed.
* You can still believe that God dwells within Mormonism, while also dwelling elsewhere.
* Even though the brethren themselves often set things up as "all or nothing," "true or false," "legitimate or a complete fraud," you do not have to slavishly bow to these blatantly false dichotomies.
Don't think of it as God's one and only true and perfect church while all others as abominations. If you think that way, the church will always fall short. Instead, think of it as a bunch of men (and a few women -- in terms of leadership) who are just trying their best to fulfill their callings while balancing work, family, and personal stuff -- and stumbling a great deal along the way. Don't think of its leaders as having a direct, telephone-like communication line with God. They probably don't.
—The author of Staylds.com (http://staylds.com/docs/HowToStay.html)
The website is a study in how to be a lukewarm member of the Church. We agree with the web site's evaluation of how some members are shaken as a result of their fundamentalist views. We do not agree with the formula presented for dealing with it.
The site discusses what it calls the "the situation of LDS General Authorities," and implies that they are lying. It portrays General Authorities as remaining in the Church for the following reasons:
It is significant to note that nothing in the list above credits the Brethren for being committed to the Church because they sincerely have testimonies of Jesus Christ and the work that they are performing. Consider Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's definition of a testimony. Elder Uchtdorf notes that,
The testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful motivating force in our lives. Jesus repeatedly emphasized the power of good thoughts and proper motives: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&A 6:36)....a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will always include these clear and simple truths
- God lives. He is our loving Father in Heaven, and we are His children.
- Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and the Savior of the world.
- Joseph Smith is the prophet of God through whom the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in the latter days.
- The Book of Mormon is the word of God.
- President Gordon B. Hinckley, his counselors, and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are the prophets, seers, and revelators in our day.
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Power of a Personal Testimony,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 37–39 (soulignons a été ajouté)
The "Brethren's dilemma" presented by the web site completely ignores the Brethren's own stated motivations for the work that they do, and therefore implies that they are lying. Elder Uchtdorf's description of his own motivations is quite at odds with that presented by the web site.
To help him with the translation, Joseph found with the gold plates “a curious instrument which the ancients called Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.” Joseph also used an egg-shaped, brown rock for translating called a seer stone.
—“A Peaceful Heart,” Friend, Sep 1974, 7
One Mormon, Sampson Avard, formed a group, called the Danites, to seek revenge on the Missourians. But when the Danites attacked the nonmembers, it only gave them more reason to distrust the Saints.
—Sherrie Johnson, “Persecutions in Missouri,” Friend, Jul 1993, 47
The site naively assumes,
In the end, we are quite convinced that a majority of [the General Authorities] are simply not aware of peep stones, polyandry, Adam/God theory, blood atonement, the Danites, etc. Of course they have heard these terms throughout their lives, but they would have no real impetus, and most importantly, no time to study them deeply. They are super-busy men, and in their minds, the church is true -- so why dig much deeper?
Yet, as one can see from the excerpts from the Friend quoted above, we teach at least some of these things to our children. It is therefore absurd to assume that those leading the Church are unaware of its history. The implication, of course, is that if the Brethren were to become aware of these things that they would lose their faith. Many of the issues mentioned have actually been "hidden" in Church publications such as the Ensign and the Friend.
A search of lds.org for the pejorative term "peep stone" yields nothing, as one might expect. A search for the term "seer stone" yields the following (Note that the first reference is from the children's magazine the Friend!):
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.
Donate Now