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.
Mormonism and doctrine
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Mormonism and doctrine
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- Official or "core" Mormon doctrine
- Establishing new Mormon doctrine
- Mormon doctrine of the past
- Repudiated concepts
- Mormon views of various beliefs
Official or "core" Mormon doctrine
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Establishing new Mormon doctrine
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Mormon doctrine of the past
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- Statements made by past prophets as "scripture"
- The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders
Statements made by past prophets as "scripture"
Summary: Are statements of past prophets considered doctrine? It is claimed that anything that is, or ever was, officially published by the Church ought to represent doctrine.
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- Question: Did Brigham Young state that everything he said could be considered "scripture"?
- Question: When are the writings or sermons of Church leaders entitled to the claim of scripture?
The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders
Summary: Critics point to the early practice of sealing men and women as children to prominent LDS leaders as an example of changes in LDS belief.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is the "Law of Adoption" practiced among 19-century Mormons and why has it changed?
- Question: What is the history behind the Mormon practice called the "Law of Adoption"?
- Question: Why were men sealed to other men during the early days of the Church?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith perform marriages between brothers and sisters?
Repudiated concepts in Mormonism
Summary: Some teachings previously considered doctrinal have since been repudiated by the Church.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Why would a current prophet repudiate the teachings of an earlier prophet?
- "Blood atonement"
- Mormonism and the concept that some were "neutral" in the "war in heaven"
- Mormonism and the "curse of Cain"
- Brigham Young's Adam-God theory
Why would a current prophet repudiate the teachings of an earlier prophet?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: If a doctrine is repudiated, does that mean that it was false when it was being taught?
- Neil L. Andersen: "The doctrine...is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk...The leaders of the Church are honest but imperfect men"
- Question: Does the repudiation of a doctrine that was once taught by a prophet mean that that prophet is now considered a "heretic"?
"Blood atonement"
Summary: It is claimed that during the administration of Brigham Young apostates were secretly put to death, and that the teachings of LDS leaders at the time were that apostasy was the unforgivable sin, and that the only thing an apostate could do to redeem himself was to give his own life, willingly or unwillingly.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is "blood atonement"?
- Charles Penrose (1912): "Do you believe in "blood-atonement"?
- Question: Did early Mormon leaders teach that apostasy was the unforgivable sin, and that the only thing an apostate could do to redeem himself was to give his own life, willingly or unwillingly?
- Question: Were apostates secretly put to death by "blood atonement" during the administration of Brigham Young?
- Question: Was Thomas Coleman (or Colbourn) "blood atoned"?
- Question: Did Brigham Young's preaching style induce people to perform "blood atonement"?
- Utah crime and violence
Mormonism and the concept that some were "neutral" in the "war in heaven"
Summary: Is it true that LDS scripture states that those with lighter skin color "are favored because of what they did as spirits in a pre-earth life?" Is it true that some Church leaders taught that people who were born with dark skin were "neutral" in the pre-existence?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Gospel Topics: "Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else"
- Joseph Fielding Smith: "We know of no scripture, ancient or modern, that declares that at the time of the rebellion in heaven that one-third of the hosts of heaven remained neutral"
- Question: Was the idea that Blacks were neutral in the "war in heaven" ever official doctrine?
- Question: Did Church leaders ever teach that Blacks were neutral in the "war in heaven?"
- Question: Did the Church repudiate the idea of neutrality in the "war in heaven?"
Mormonism and the "curse of Cain"
Jump to Subtopic:
- Gospel Topics: "Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life"
- Gospel Topics: "Even after 1852, at least two black Mormons continued to hold the priesthood"
- Question: What are the "curse of Cain" and the "curse of Ham"?
- Question: When did a biblical curse become associated with the "Hamites?"
- Question: When did the "mark of Cain" become associated with black skin?
- Question: How did the "curse of Ham" or "curse of Cain" become associated with Mormonism?
- Question: Is interracial marriage prohibited or condemned within the Church?
- Question: Do the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon link a person's skin color to their behavior in the pre-existence?
- Question: Do the scriptures promote racism?
- Question: How can one reconcile the patriarchal blessings given to blacks during the priesthood and temple bans?
Brigham Young's Adam-God theory
Summary: Brigham Young taught that Adam, the first man, was God the Father. Since this teaching runs counter to the story told in Genesis and commonly accepted by Christians, critics accuse Brigham of being a false prophet. Also, because modern Latter-day Saints do not believe Brigham's "Adam-God" teachings, critics accuse Mormons of either changing their teachings or rejecting teachings of prophets they find uncomfortable or unsupportable.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is the Adam-God Theory?
- Question: What is the history of Brigham Young's Adam-God Theory and why was it rejected by the Church?
- Stephen E. Robinson: "Yet another way in which anti-Mormon critics often misrepresent LDS doctrine is in the presentation of anomalies as though they were the doctrine of the Church"
- Matthew Brown (2009): "Brigham Young repeated these ideas and expounded upon them during the next 25 years. His viewpoints have been variously classified as doctrine, theory, paradox, heresy, speculation, and some of the mysteries"
- Question: If the Adam-God doctrine isn't true, how come D&C 27:11 calls Adam the Ancient of Days which is clearly a title for God in Daniel 7?
- Question: What attempts have been made to reconcile the Adam-God Theory with the doctrines of the Church?
- Question: Was the "Adam-God" theory ever taught as part of the temple endowment ceremony as something called "the lecture at the veil"?
Mormon views of various beliefs
Rapture and LDS theology
Summary: What is the "Rapture"? Do Latter-day Saints believe in this or a similar doctrine?Jump to Subtopic:
The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders
Summary: Critics point to the early practice of sealing men and women as children to prominent LDS leaders as an example of changes in LDS belief.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is the "Law of Adoption" practiced among 19-century Mormons and why has it changed?
- Question: What is the history behind the Mormon practice called the "Law of Adoption"?
- Question: Why were men sealed to other men during the early days of the Church?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith perform marriages between brothers and sisters?