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Trevor Holyoak

Come, Follow Me Week 32 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

August 10, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

by Carl Trueman

If there is one question that seems to drive so much of modern life it is that of happiness.  What is it?  How does one attain it?  And perhaps more deeply, how does one know when one has attained it?  And it is therefore perhaps fitting that the Psalter, the great hymn book of the soul, begins with a description of what it is that characterized the ‘happy man’.

Readers of the English translation might be surprised by this, for many such translate the first line as ‘Blessed is the man’ not ‘Happy is the man.’  The reason is that the Hebrew word means both things in English.  In fact, we might say that not just the word but the concept of blessedness is the same as that of happiness in the Psalmists mind.  We live in a world where happiness is typically regarded as a psychological state.  The Psalmist’s world is one where happiness is being blessed by God. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 32 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Old Testament

FAIR Conference Podcast #81 – Craig Foster, “What Under the Banner of Heaven Gets Wrong”

August 9, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CraigFoster2022.mp3

Podcast: Download (10.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Audio and Video Copyright © 2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2022 conference. You can still register to watch the entire conference free of charge.

Craig Foster, What Under the Banner of Heaven Gets Wrong

We have more resources responding to Under the Banner of Heaven here, including interviews Craig Foster did with some of the law enforcement officers that were involved.

Craig L. Foster earned a MA and MLIS at Brigham Young University. He is also an accredited genealogist and worked as a research consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for over thirty years before retiring in December 2021. He has published multiple books and articles about different aspects of Mormon history, including co-editing the Persistence of Polygamy series with Newell G. Bringhurst and co-authored American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith with Marianne T. Watson. Craig is also on the editorial board of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal.

Filed Under: FAIR Conference, FAIR Conference, Podcast

Reflections on Abuse, Reporting, and the Church

August 6, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak 6 Comments

by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

08/09/2022 Update:

Late last night the AP released video of Bishop Herrod, in his own voice, saying that the helpline told him he was not allowed to call, his hands were tied. He then goes on to say that he passed this information along to the next bishop. This is a helpful piece of information to have as previously it was unclear what he was told. It helps explain why the bishops did what they did. But I also think it’s fair to point out that this 9 min video is intended to give an emotional punch. Every visual image, piece of music, and word spoken is carefully chosen to drive home the same emotional point.  It’s actually rather well done if that is the goal. But they certainly are not going to include any information that takes away from their point, including things the bishop may have said that show a wider view of what happened. We get one short quote from him and nothing else. It is also fair to mention that an Arizona Grand Jury took up this question last year in case GJ21-0072.  They asked, “Did the bishops do anything legally wrong?” and while their conclusions are secret, we can observe that as of today the bishops have not been charged with any crime.

Also, by way of further correction it should be noted that no states have a law that makes reporting illegal, even by clergy.

Original Post:

Earlier this week, the Associated Press (AP) released an article telling the story of abuse that two young girls suffered, and the role that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played in that story.  I’m a licensed mental health therapist and an abuse survivor. I spend hours every week working with traumatized clients who have also been through abuse. This story is not like my story, nor is it like most of my clients’ stories. It is the most horrific story of abuse I’ve ever heard. In addition to reading the AP article, I spent hours reading the court documents online. I figured that if I’m going to be reacting to this story, I needed to hear the whole thing. I won’t lay out the details here, and I do not recommend that most people go read the court documents, not if you value your sleep anyway.

For members of the church, part of what makes this story so awful is that the conclusions the reporter came to don’t show the whole picture. You know this intuitively, even if you can’t articulate what all of those nuances and differences are. But despite the problems with this article (and there are problems) it is worth reading. My own personal opinion is that every leader in our church could benefit from reading that story – not because he gets it 100% right, but because he is offering us an outsider’s view on a very tricky area. There are two extreme responses to this article that can easily be found online.  One is “circle the wagons” to protect the Church’s reputation. The other is to concede without critique the conclusion that the Church helps abusers continue abuse. Both are unhelpful. Instead, I am suggesting a humble reading of this article from an outsider’s perspective to see what can be learned or viewed in a new way. This reporter (Rezendes) has a long history of solid reporting on sexual abuse issues.  He is portrayed in the movie Spotlight about how he helped break the story of abuse in the Catholic Church while he was working for the Boston Globe. He’s not a random, unknown person sitting behind a keyboard somewhere making things up. We would be wise to listen and learn. So, what can be learned? [Read more…] about Reflections on Abuse, Reporting, and the Church

Filed Under: Jesus Christ, Mental Health, News stories

Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

August 3, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

Lessons Learned from the Book of Job

by Louis Herrey

”No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted… All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God.” (Orson F. Whitney, in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98.)

Introduction

The book of Job is part of the so called ’wisdom literature’ of the Bible. The text is composed in beautiful Near Eastern prose, and is a tale of a man who has a dramatic encounter with God’s justice, to say the least. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

Filed Under: Bible, Book of Mormon, Come Follow Me, Jesus Christ, Old Testament

Come, Follow Me Week 30 – Esther

July 25, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

by K.T. Martin

The Book of Esther is one of the most politically intriguing books found within the Old Testament. The story includes a king who banishes his wife and marries a new woman who is secretly a Jew. The king has an advisor who has a hatred for the Jewish people and wants them destroyed; that advisor intends to manipulate the king to accomplish this goal. However, the king’s new wife uses her royal status to save the Jews, at risk of her own life.

That’s a lot going on.

With all of that political intrigue, what’s more interesting is how the Lord sets up a woman to be in the right place at the right time to preserve His chosen people. No nefarious plot by an evil man is a match for God’s great ability to see beforehand and place his servants in the position where they can do the most good. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 30 – Esther

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, Jesus Christ, Lesson Aids, Missionary Work', Old Testament, Women

Come, Follow Me Week 29 – Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8

July 23, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

by Braeden Dyer

[Courtesy of Wilford Woodruff Papers]

Since beginning my work for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project, one aspect of Wilford’s life which has struck me, and made me ponder, has been the opposition which he faced. He faced immense physical and social opposition—just one account of which we see in this excerpt from his autobiography. Countless times within his journals, he says that he is “very low” with one ailment or another, yet he keeps working on his duties as it is in his unconquerable nature. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 29 – Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, LDS History, Old Testament, Temples

Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 17-25

July 16, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

by Shauna Horne

[Courtesy of Wilford Woodruff Papers]

Wilford Woodruff said, “Brethren and sisters, let us read the revelations of God for ourselves, and when we read them, let us believe them, and try to live in such a way that we may be ready for whatever dispensation the Lord may have in store for us.” [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 17-25

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, Jesus Christ

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey – Mormon Fundamentalism with Brian Hales and Craig Foster

July 15, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Keep-Sweet_-Pray-and-Obey-Mormon-Fundamentalism-with-Brian-Hales-and-Craig-Foster_3.mp3

Podcast: Download (67.0MB)

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Scriptural Mormonism Podcast Episode 14, cross-posted with permission.

Robert Boylan interviews Brian Hales and Craig Foster about Mormon Fundamentalism and the Netflix show “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” and specifically comparing FLDS to LDS, and Warren Jeffs to Joseph Smith.

Also join us at the 2022 FAIR Conference where Craig Foster will speak on “Under the Banner of Heaven,” and Brian Hales will participate in a lunch-time panel (for in-person attendees only) on common criticisms from Reddit. More information at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2022-fair-conference

Filed Under: Media, News stories, Perspective, Podcast, Polygamy, Priesthood, Prophets, Women

“Bamboozled by the ‘CES Letter'” by Michael R. Ash now available on audiobook!

July 14, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

We are pleased to announce that Michael R. Ash’s book, Bamboozled by the “CES Letter”, is now available in audiobook format from Audible and iTunes!

We’d especially like to thank Derrick Duncan for volunteering his time and talent to narrate it.

The e-book version is still available from the FAIR Bookstore and Amazon.

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Book of Abraham, Book of Mormon, CES Letter, Doctrine, Faith Crisis, First Vision, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Masonry, Michael R. Ash, News from FAIR, Polygamy, Prophets, Racial Issues, Resources, Science, Temples, Testimonies

Under the Banner of Heaven: American Fork Police Chief Randy Johnson interviewed by Craig Foster

July 14, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak Leave a Comment

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Under-the-Banner-of-Heaven_-Randy-Johnson-Chief-of-Police-led-Lafferty-murder-investigation_2.mp3

Podcast: Download (20.9MB)

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Randy Johnson was the chief of police responsible for the murder investigation of Brenda and Erica Lafferty in 1984, in American Fork, Utah. “I cannot recognize any actual person that I knew or came to know, accurately depicted in the series. The series does not reflect the actual investigation that I oversaw. Nor does it reflect the attitudes, behaviors and conduct of me or any of my officers. It is clearly a work of fiction as indicated by the disclaimer. I affirm that to my knowledge neither I nor any of my officers ever lost our personal faith.” He is interviewed here by Craig Foster.

A rough transcript is available here. More information about the disinformation in Under the Banner of Heaven can be found here.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Filed Under: Media, News stories, Perspective, Podcast

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