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Tad Callister Interview – A Case For The Book of Mormon

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[A review of the book can be found here.]

Tad R. Callister is author of the book “A Case For The Book of Mormon. Tad Callister received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California–Los Angeles, and a master’s degree in tax law from New York University Law School. He spent most of his professional career practicing tax law. He and his wife Kathryn Saporiti are the parents of six children.

Brother Callister was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy and as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy when he was called as the 21st Sunday School general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served in a number of Church callings including full-time missionary in the Eastern Atlantic States Mission, bishop, stake president, regional representative, mission president, and Area Seventy.

Brother Callister was released as Sunday School General President in the April 2019 General Conference where he gave his 6th and possibly last General Conference talk. 1/3 of his General Conference talks were about our subject on this podcast episode, The Book of Mormon. He is the author of the book “A Case For The Book of Mormon”, published by Deseret Book. He is scheduled to speak at the 2019 FairMormon Conference in August. This Podcast Episode is published from the Latter-day Saint MissionCast podcast with Nick Galieti.

Book Review: A Case for the Book of Mormon

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

[A interview of the author can be found here.]

Tad Callister is an emeritus member of the Seventy and was the Sunday School General President until his release in the recent April General Conference. He has previously written books on the atonement and the apostasy. He has degrees in accounting and tax law and was a lawyer professionally. He is scheduled to speak at the 2019 FairMormon Conference in August.

This book presents both a spiritual and intellectual case for the Book of Mormon, drawing on previously published and unpublished books and talks by the author. In fact, the last chapter (which is a summary of the book) is a slightly modified version of his October, 2017 General Conference talk, “God’s Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon,” and chapter two is from a talk he gave at a BYU Devotional on November 1, 2016, “The Book of Mormon: Man-Made or God-Given?” Much of the research cited is from FairMormon, Book of Mormon Central, and FARMS (now the Neal A. Maxwell Institute), along with classic scholarship from B. H. Roberts, Richard Lloyd Anderson, and Hugh Nibley.

The book has five parts, starting with an introduction stating that the Book of Mormon must be either true or false, a divine work or a fraud, and explaining why. And we are reminded why all this is important, with a quote from Anglican theologian, Austin Farrer: “Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish” (page 9). [Read more…] about Book Review: A Case for the Book of Mormon

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 8: February-November 1841

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

This volume consists of 544 pages (including the usual introductions, reference material, and index) but covers only ten months of 1841. My first impression from reading the volume introduction was that a lot of things happened during that time, and yet this volume is being said to cover a relatively quiet period, before things really get busy. Indeed there are seven more volumes to come in the Documents series, which will presumably cover the rest of 1841 through mid 1844.

During this time, Nauvoo was growing, with revelations having just been received about building the temple and the Nauvoo House, and the Saints were being gathered. Some of the important documents included relate to the Nauvoo City Council and Nauvoo Legion, land and financial transactions, Orson Hyde’s trip to Jerusalem, three revelations, and fifteen sermons given by Joseph Smith. The following are some examples. [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 8: February-November 1841

Book Review: The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Maxwell Institute Study Edition

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Available in the FairMormon Bookstore

I’ve been reading and collecting the Book of Mormon my entire life in one form or another, from the illustrated “Book of Mormon for Beginning Readers” (or whatever it was called in the 1970s) to the official blue copy I handed out as a missionary, to Royal Skousen’s “Earliest Text.” I’ve also collected books written about the Book of Mormon, including much of Skousen’s Critical Text Project. I’ve appreciated being able to learn about the book and read it in these various formats particularly because I don’t usually like reading the same book more than once. This book edited by Grant Hardy gives a fresh new way to read it again, taking the official 2013 text and reformatting it to make for easier reading as well as to more easily identify various aspects, and also adding footnotes and other markers to point out changes gleaned from Skousen’s work, internal consistencies, and other interesting tidbits.

The book begins with the introduction from the 1981 edition “with minor modifications in 2013 (and the substitution of people for men in the third and next-to-last paragraphs),” (page vii) and then has the usual testimonies of three and eight witnesses, but then it also has the testimony of Emma Smith, taken from an interview by Joseph Smith III in 1879. In this, she mentions that Joseph did not have any manuscripts or books, what the plates felt like, that he did it “sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the [seer] stone in it,” (page ix) and that she did not believe her husband capable of composing it by himself.

This is followed by the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon, as you would find in a regular edition, although the Brief Explanation has an explanatory phrase inserted about the Plates of Ether. Then there is a Brief History of the Text, which is used as the editor’s introduction. In this, Hardy recounts the translation, printing, and subsequent editing and printing of the second edition. [Read more…] about Book Review: The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Maxwell Institute Study Edition

Book Review: Answers Will Come: Trusting the Lord in the Meantime

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

[Excerpts from the book can be found here.]

The main thing that FairMormon as an organization tries to do is to provide reasonable answers to questions and criticisms in an easily digestible format. However, there are some questions that don’t seem to have satisfying answers at this time. These are the questions that require us to have faith and keep holding on, choosing to continue believing and living the gospel while we pray and wait for answers to be revealed to us. This can be very difficult for someone going through a faith crisis or other trials, when it seems as if we have to have answers now in order to just keep going.

That is where this book fits in. It is written by a woman who has been through many trials and a crisis of faith, and has learned to trust while waiting for answers. “When I was a young adult, my unanswered gospel questions threatened to overwhelm my testimony, choking my trust in God. I begged the Lord for doctrinal answers only He could give. Instead, He wisely offered me tutorials in trust. In this book, I share those in-the-meantime answers that for me have created intellectual breathing space. These ideas help me joyfully choose faith until all the answers come” (Introduction page).

The book is written in an unusual way. There is one idea per page, with the body text appearing only on the odd-numbered pages. The alternating pages have a (usually) very brief topical title or summary. This is so that you can read a little bit at a time, and it works remarkably well. [Read more…] about Book Review: Answers Will Come: Trusting the Lord in the Meantime

FairMormon Conference Podcast #23 – Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2004. If you would like to watch the presentations from our most recent conference, you can still purchase video streaming.

Richard Lloyd Anderson, Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses

Transcript available here.

Richard Lloyd Anderson (1926-2018) was a Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, and senior research fellow at the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University. More information about him can be found in this tribute. His book, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, is available at a discount from the FairMormon Bookstore.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2004 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Bishop Vaughn J. Featherstone’s Experience with the Scriptures and the Savior

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Cross-posted from Truth Will Prevail

Cobbled together by Dennis B. Horne

            Note: In his earlier years, in some talks given in the 1970s, as a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone referenced a marvelous spiritual experience he received. The below contains both published text and newly transcribed wording that was withheld for whatever reason (perhaps felt to be too sacred then), from the published version, that gives further insight into the experience. Links are provided so readers can listen to both of the talks at their convenience:

            Let me tell you the greatest experience I believe I have had in all my readings of the scriptures—and I am sharing something that is very tender with me. I remember the night that I read 3 Nephi the 17th chapter [3 Ne. 17]. That is when I discovered the Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, my Savior, my personal Savior; and I believe that is where I finally found the description of the Savior as I thought him to be.

            He had been with the Nephite people all the day long, you will recall, and finally said: [Read more…] about Bishop Vaughn J. Featherstone’s Experience with the Scriptures and the Savior

What Attracts People to the Church? (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 4)

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Neon Konde presents a man with a copy of the Book of Mormon

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference,[i]I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa). In this series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experience for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into eight parts:

  1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
  2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
  3. The missionaries
  4. What attracts people to the Church?
  5. Building from centers of strength — Kisangani
  6. Building from centers of strength — Wagenya and elsewhere
  7. The temple: A light to the world
  8. “The labourers are few”

With an average of 1,800 new investigators a month, DR Congo Kinshasa mission has a hard time supplying the local demand for copies of the Book of Mormon. Part 4 begins with an explanation of why the Congolese feel such a spiritual kinship with the Book of Mormon peoples. Interesting conversations with villagers, chauffeurs, security guards, police officers, and others — each with their own interests in Church doctrines and practices — are described. For example, a local leader tells of how a government official’s going-in assumptions are shattered during an investigation of the finances of the Church. The Congolese are inspired by Church teachings about the central role of the family in the plan of salvation. A member artist who is passionate about the resisting the fragmentation of the family shows off his work. The blessings the Church brings to Congolese families witnesses the truthfulness of President Spencer W. Kimball’s well-known statement that “the Gospel solves [the] problems of the world.” Videos of enthusiastic singing by villagers and Primary children are also included.

This video presentation is available on the Interpreter YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s__4B9e4rOI

 

 

[i]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #17 – John Gee, “Selling Our Birthright for a Mess of Pottage: The Historical Authenticity of the Book of Abraham”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. In celebration of the release of the Facsimile Edition of the Joseph Smith Papers Revelations and Translations Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts, this episode is a presentation from our conference earlier this year. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the 2018 conference, you can still purchase video streaming. You can also buy John Gee’s latest book, An Introduction to the Book of Abraham, at a discount from our bookstore.

John Gee, Selling Our Birthright for a Mess of Pottage: The Historical Authenticity of the Book of Abraham

Transcript available here.

John Gee is a Senior Research Fellow, and the William (Bill) Gay Research Professor at the Maxwell Institute. He is the editor of eight books and has edited a peer-reviewed international Egyptological journal. He has published over eighty articles and one book. He has served on the board of trustees of national and international organizations.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #16 – Tyler Griffin, “Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to a New Level”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2017. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference we had earlier this year, you can still purchase video streaming.

Tyler Griffin, Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to A New Level

Transcript available here.

Tyler J. Griffin was born and raised in Providence, Utah in the beautiful Cache Valley. After serving a mission in Brazil Curitiba, he returned home and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering. He married Kiplin Crook and began teaching seminary in Brigham City, Utah. After six years in that assignment, he transferred to the Institute adjacent to Utah State University where he worked for the next seven years. One of his assignments there was working in the Seminary Preservice program (teaching and training potential seminary teachers) for four years. He also developed an online home study seminary program. His masters and doctorate degrees are both in Instructional Technology. He and his wife have 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls). He has been at BYU since August 2010.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.