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Apologetics

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 55

March 30, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 55: CES Letter Temples & Freemasonry Questions [Section A]

by Sarah Allen

 

The next “problematic” topic the CES Letter discusses is the apparent link between the temple ceremony and Freemasonry. Admittedly, this isn’t a topic I know as much about as some of the others we’ve gone over. I’ve just never had many questions about Freemasonry, so I’ve never studied the topic much in the past. I love learning new things, though, so I’ve been looking forward to this section. It’s a difficult one to talk about because it’s so heavily centered on the endowment and, due to its sacred nature, that’s not something we talk about openly. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 55

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History

The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

March 26, 2022 by Cassandra Hedelius

The world is full of delightful people pursuing delightful accomplishments, and the gospel promotes love, hope, and unity. How blessed the day when we’ll be able to think only of lovely and praiseworthy things! Unfortunately, scripture’s plain warnings about sin and wickedness are still relevant, and we can’t just ignore them no matter how hard the Adversary argues “I am no devil, for there is none.”  

Scriptures warn followers of Christ that evil uses good to deceive us. A devil who only ever said “come be evil!” wouldn’t get far. A devil who makes a persuasive case that evil is actually good is far more dangerous. Even when we know the difference between eternal truth and the philosophies of men, a dash of flattery, a threat to our social status, an accusation that we’re harming others can persuade us to reevaluate.  What used to seem clear-cut can become murky when the lines are deliberately blurred.  [Read more…] about The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Apostasy, Bible, Book of Mormon, Chastity, Doctrine and Covenants, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Marriage, New Testament, Temples

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 54

March 24, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 54: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section J]

by Sarah Allen

 

With the exception of Hyrum Smith, the stories of the three witnesses are much more recognizable to us as a whole than those of the eight witnesses. Today, I wanted to focus on the seven we aren’t as familiar with. Their contributions to early Latter-day Saint history deserve to be celebrated. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 54

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 53

March 16, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 53: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section I]

by Sarah Allen

 

We’ll wrap up Jeremy’s issues with the Book of Mormon witnesses this week, and then I’d like to take a little time discussing some of the lesser-known witnesses. We’re all pretty familiar with the three witnesses, but aside from Hyrum and arguably Joseph Smith, Sr., we as a group aren’t as familiar with the eight witnesses or the unofficial witnesses like Mary Whitmer. Their stories are important, though, and I’d like to give them the spotlight for a bit.

Jeremy picks up with his seventh issue/problem: [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 53

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Uncategorized

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 52

March 10, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 52: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section H]

by Sarah Allen

 

This post officially marks the one-year mark for this series (on Reddit, Part 1 was split into two parts). I honestly never thought this would take so long, or that anyone would still be interested. I thought that maybe five people at most would read them, and they’d peter out after a month or two due to lack of interest. Instead, you’ve all been very kind and encouraging, and I wanted to thank you all for that. The other Reddit mods, especially, have been incredibly supportive despite the influx of trolls it’s brought to the sub. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 52

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 51

March 9, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 51: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section G]

by Sarah Allen

 

In this entry, I’d like to get through as much of the next few pages of the CES Letter as possible, so that we can wrap up the Witnesses section soon and move on to the next topic. There are a lot of different accusations to go through, many of which we’ve already covered, so I’m just going to dive right in.

The Letter picks up, again in big, red, capital letters: [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 51

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Book of Mormon, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, LDS History

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 50

March 2, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 50: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section F]

by Sarah Allen

 

We’re continuing the saga of James Strang today, addressing Jeremy’s various concerns and comments. If you read the prior post, you know that this is a crazy story and Strang was a rather colorful character. Jeremy Runnells, of course, does not go into any of that history or the clear signs of deception, and only focuses on the few similarities between Strang and Joseph Smith—namely, that he claimed to translate some plates by the power of God and that he had some witnesses for those plates. We’ll go through those similarities and the differences in more detail as we go through Jeremy’s questions/comments.

Jeremy begins: [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 50

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, LDS History

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 49

February 24, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 49: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section E]

by Sarah Allen

 

In this post, we’ll be talking about the absolutely insane story of James J. Strang. He faked his own death, claimed to have been appointed Joseph’s successor by a letter he produced, claimed ordination to the role by an angel, formed a breakaway sect of the Church referred to as the Strangites which many of the Book of Mormon witnesses as well as members of Joseph Smith’s family temporarily joined after his death, claimed to find and translate a set of plates of his own supposedly taken from the Book of Laban, became a State Representative, claimed there was a sea monster in Lake Michigan, crowned himself the earthly king of the Kingdom of God while residing on Beaver Island, Michigan, fired a canon at his detractors, cozied up to John C. Bennett, and led an infamous band of Mormon pirates before he was murdered by a group of his own former followers. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 49

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis

Come, Follow Me Week 9 – Genesis 24–27

February 22, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jeffrey-Thayne.mp3

Podcast: Download (10.9MB)

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Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim

by Jeffrey Thayne

(This is from a presentation given at the 2021 FAIR Conference)

Introduction

Let’s imagine two roommates, James and Greg, who both attend BYU. They live under the same roof, they are both practicing Latter-day Saints, and they both claim to believe in the doctrines taught by the Proclamation on the Family about sexuality and gender. However, despite these shared beliefs, the way they experience Church culture, policies, practices, and traditions couldn’t be more different. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 9 – Genesis 24–27

Filed Under: Apologetics, Come Follow Me, Doctrine, FAIR Conference, Faith Crisis, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Perspective, Philosophy, Podcast

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 48

February 16, 2022 by Jeff Markham

Part 48: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section D]

 

by Sarah Allen

 

The claim that the Book of Mormon witnesses didn’t actually see the plates except through “spiritual eyes,” which critics take to mean “imagination,” is one of the more common claims against them that you’ll see. Jeremy’s hardly the first to make this accusation, and it has been answered many, many times over the years. Once you see how flimsy these quotes are, and how dishonest the CES Letter is in packaging them, you’re going to realize that this bit only works if you don’t investigate it at all. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 48

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, CES Letter, Faith Crisis, LDS History

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