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Trevor Holyoak

FairMormon Conference Podcast #54 – Larry Morris, “The Eight Witnesses”

April 3, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-Larry-Morris.mp3

Podcast: Download (78.6MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2019 conference. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2019 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming. (Use coupon SPRING2020 and get the entire conference for $10!)

Larry Morris, The Eight Witnesses

Larry E. Morris, an independent writer and historian, is the author of A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon (Oxford University Press, 2019). He was previously an editor with both the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and the Joseph Smith Papers. He is the co-editor, with John W. Welch, of Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness (Maxwell Institute, 2006) and has published articles on Mormon history in BYU Studies, the FARMS Review, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, the Journal of Mormon History, the Ensign, and the New Era. He is also quite interested in early Western history and is the author of In the Wake of Lewis and Clark: The Expedition and the Making of Antebellum America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); The Perilous West: Seven Amazing Explorers and the Founding of the Oregon Trail (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition (Yale University Press, 2004). Larry and his wife, Deborah, live in Salt Lake City and have four children and eight grandchildren.

Filed Under: Book of Mormon, FAIR Conference, FairMormon Conference, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Podcast

2020 Interpreter Foundation Conference

March 29, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

This has now been postponed until September or October. Additional updates will be on the Interpreter, FairMormon, and Book of Mormon Central websites.

Interpreter Conference - Book of Moses - May 1-2

 

Filed Under: Administrative notices, Book of Moses, News from FAIR

FairMormon Conference Podcast #53 – Matthew Bowen, “Laman and Nephi as Key-Words: An Etymological, Narratological, and Rhetorical Approach to Understanding Lamanites and Nephites as Religious, Political, and Cultural Descriptors”

March 17, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/fairldsorg.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/mp3/2019_Matthew_Bowen.mp3

Podcast: Download (119.2MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2019 conference. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2019 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Matthew Bowen, Laman and Nephi as Key-Words: An Etymological, Narratological, and Rhetorical Approach to Understanding Lamanites and Nephites as Religious, Political, and Cultural Descriptors

Transcript available here.

Matthew L. Bowen is an assistant professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii where he has taught since 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he also earned an M.A (Biblical Studies). He previously earned a B.A. in English with a minor in Classical Studies (Greek emphasis) from Brigham Young University (Provo) and subsequently pursued post-Baccalaureate studies in Semitic languages, Egyptian, and Latin there. In addition to having taught at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, he has previously taught at the Catholic University of America and at Brigham Young University. Bowen is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on scripture- and temple-related topics as well as the recent book Name as Key-Word: Collected Essays on Onomastic Wordplay and the Temple in Mormon Scripture. Bowen grew up in Orem, Utah, and served a two-year mission in the California Roseville Mission. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Blattberg, are the parents of three children, Zachariah, Nathan, and Adele.

Audio Copyright © 2019 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Filed Under: Bible, Book of Mormon, Evidences, FAIR Conference, FairMormon Conference, Podcast

FairMormon Conference Podcast #52 – Elizabeth Kuehn, “The Lives and Letters of the Twelve Apostles and their Wives during the Second British Mission, 1839-1841”

March 2, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2019-Elizabeth-Kuehn.mp3

Podcast: Download (74.6MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2019 conference. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2019 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Elizabeth Kuehn, The Lives and Letters of the Twelve Apostles and their Wives during the Second British Mission, 1839-1841

Transcript available here.

Elizabeth Kuehn received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Arizona State University and her Masters of Arts from Purdue University in History, with a focus on religious history and women and gender studies in early modern European history. She entered a doctoral program in History at the University of California, Irvine, and became a PhD candidate there in 2011.

Since 2013, she has worked as a documentary editor and historian on the Joseph Smith Papers Project based at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is a co-editor of several documentary editions of the Joseph Smith Papers, including Documents Volume 5: October 1835-January 1838 and Documents Volume 6: February 1838 – August 1839, both of which were published in 2017. She is currently the lead editor on Documents Volume 10: May to August 1842, forthcoming in spring 2020.

For the last six years her research has specialized in the Latter-day Saint community in Kirtland, Ohio and the financial records of Joseph Smith. More recently she has worked on controversies in Nauvoo in 1842, including Joseph Smith’s bankruptcy proceedings and plural marriage. She has worked to bring greater inclusion of women and representation of their experiences to the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

Audio Copyright © 2019 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Filed Under: FAIR Conference, FairMormon Conference, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Podcast, Women

In the News: Chad and Lori Daybell and Gospel Extremism

February 26, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

In recent news coverage of Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell, such as this article in the East Idaho News, people within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may look at the situation as a warning against looking beyond the mark. However, it is important that those outside of the Church realize that they do not represent faithful members of the Church, and that we have been counselled against such fanaticism.

FairMormon member Cassandra Hedelius spoke at the 2015 FairMormon Conference, warning against this very thing. In fact, some of the people, groups, and sites she was referring to are the very ones mentioned in the East Idaho News article.

In 2016, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also gave a warning:

While there are many examples of looking beyond the mark, a significant one in our day is extremism. Gospel extremism is when one elevates any gospel principle above other equally important principles and takes a position that is beyond or contrary to the teachings of Church leaders. One example is when one advocates for additions, changes, or primary emphasis to one part of the Word of Wisdom. Another is expensive preparation for end-of-days scenarios. In both examples, others are encouraged to accept private interpretations. “If we turn a health law or any other principle into a form of religious fanaticism, we are looking beyond the mark.”

[Read more…] about In the News: Chad and Lori Daybell and Gospel Extremism

Filed Under: Apostasy, FAIR Conference, News stories, Prophets

FairMormon Questions: Is the church excessively “hoarding” money that should be given to charities?

February 24, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

[Editor’s note: Latter-day Saint Charities just released their 2019 Annual Report, available here.]

FairMormon has a service where questions can be submitted and they are answered by volunteers. If you have a question, you can submit it at http://www.fairmormon.org/contact. We will occasionally publish answers here for questions that are commonly asked, or are on topics that are receiving a lot of attention. The question below has been edited for brevity.

Question:

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal said that Ensign Peak Advisors has amassed about 100 billion dollars for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the years because of prudent investment. I applaud the fact that the Church is fiscally conservative and stays out of debt, however “hoarding” 100 billion dollars seems very excessive given the fact that there is so much poverty in the world. I am concerned that too little (percentage wise compared to the overall revenue) is being given to the poor and needy.

Answer from FairMormon Volunteer Sarah Quan:

Frankly, we don’t know enough about Ensign Peak as a general populace to really say one way or another. The issue is nuanced, and a single whistleblower report is not enough for us to draw a good conclusion about the church’s financial situation or intentions. In response to the WSJ article, Bishop Waddell commented that the budget for humanitarian aid has increased to close to a billion dollars in welfare per year.[1] Here are four doctrinal considerations to help us better understand the church’s position.   [Read more…] about FairMormon Questions: Is the church excessively “hoarding” money that should be given to charities?

Filed Under: News stories, Prophets, Questions

Book Review: The Rise of the Latter-day Saints: The Journals and Histories of Newel Knight

February 18, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

Newel Knight lived from September 13, 1800 to January 11, 1847. He met Joseph Smith in 1826 and remained close friends with him until Joseph’s death. He was directly involved in some of the early events in church history, so his autobiography and journals are valuable to historians. However, these have only been available in manuscript form, in several different versions, which have made them difficult to use. This book amalgamates them in a coherent form and provides a transcription that can be better understood and cited.

The book splits Knight’s writing into five parts, covering different chronological periods of his life. Each section has an introduction with a biographical summary. Editorial remarks are given in footnotes, and spelling and punctuation are generally retained, except in cases where the editors felt clarification was necessary (which to me seemed inconsistent, and in at least one case, possibly incorrect[1]).

There are many things included that are important, such as a letter from Joseph Smith that has not been published in the Joseph Smith Papers Project, Christ’s appearance in the Kirtland Temple[2], many accounts of healings, the aftermath of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the exodus from Nauvoo. Despite his human imperfections, Knight comes to life as a role model worth emulating with his tremendous faith, even during discouragement, and always remembering to be grateful for the blessings that followed.

I found this particular episode of 1839 in Nauvoo to be very interesting, involving his wife Lydia: [Read more…] about Book Review: The Rise of the Latter-day Saints: The Journals and Histories of Newel Knight

Filed Under: Book reviews, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Priesthood, Prophets, Resources, Temples, Testimonies, Women

FairMormon Conference Podcast #51 – Scott Hales, “The Exodus and Beyond: A Preview of Saints, Volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand”

February 11, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2019-Scott-Hales.mp3

Podcast: Download (79.2MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2019 conference. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2019 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Scott Hales, The Exodus and Beyond: A Preview of Saints, Volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand

You may also be interested in FairMormon Conference Podcast #49 – Angela Hallstrom, “Women’s Voices in Saints Volume 2” and FairMormon Conference Podcast #39 – Matthew McBride, “Answering Historical Questions with Church History Topics,” which are mentioned in the presentation.

Scott A. Hales has been a historian/writer for the Church History Department since 2015. He currently works as a writer and story editor for Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, the new four-volume narrative history of the Church. He has a BA in English from Brigham Young University and an MA and PhD in American Literature from the University of Cincinnati. He has published scholarly articles on Mormon and American literature in several academic journals, including Religion and the Arts and The Journal of Transnational American Studies. He currently lives in Eagle Mountain, UT with his wife and five children.

Audio Copyright © 2019 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Filed Under: FAIR Conference, FairMormon Conference, LDS History, Podcast, Polygamy, Prophets, Resources

FairMormon Conference Podcast #50 – Matt Roper/Kirk Magleby, “Time Vindicates the Prophet”

January 17, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2019-Matt-Roper-and-Kirk-Magleby.mp3

Podcast: Download (90.7MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2019 conference. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2019 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Matt Roper/Kirk Magleby, Time Vindicates the Prophet

Transcript available here.

Matthew P. Roper (M.S. in Sociology, Brigham Young University) was a resident scholar and research assistant for the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Studies at Brigham Young University. He is now a Research Associate at Book of Mormon Central.

Kirk Alder Magleby is the Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central.

Audio Copyright © 2019 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Archaeology, Bible, Book of Abraham, Book of Mormon, Book of Moses, Evidences, FAIR Conference, FairMormon Conference, Geography, Joseph Smith, LDS History, LDS Scriptures, Podcast, Questions

FairMormon Conference Presentations to go with the “Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon” Come Follow Me Lesson

January 5, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

This is a little late, but it came to me while sitting in Gospel Doctrine today that we have had several good FairMormon Conference presentations over the years that go along with today’s lesson. Perhaps they can still be of benefit to someone in their personal study. Here are the ones that came to mind:

  • In 2004, the late historian Richard Lloyd Anderson gave a talk about the Book of Mormon witnesses, entitled “Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses.”
  • In 2017, Keith Erekson, who is the director of the Church History Library, talked about “Witnessing the Book of Mormon: The Testimonies of Three, Eight, and Millions.”
  • And in 2019, Daniel Peterson spoke about the little known women who were also witnesses of the Book of Mormon as part of his presentation on “‘Idle Tales’? The Witness of Women.”

Filed Under: Book of Mormon, FAIR Conference, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Lesson Aids, Women

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