FAIR

Evidences

FAIR Voice #35: Witnesses pt. 2 with actors for Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery

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Please remember to see the film Witnesses! In this episode, Hanna talks with actors Caleb and Paul who play Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith respectively about what it was like to play these characters and to talk more about the film. Actor Paul described playing Joseph Smith as the role of a lifetime and actor Caleb was largely introduced to Latter-day Saint religion through this film. This conversation does not disappoint!

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a research assistant on early Latter-day Saint history. Her interests thematically center around sacrifice, magic, and priesthood as it pertains to ancient Judaism, early Christianity, ancient Egyptian religion, and early Restoration history.

Watch the 2021 Interpreter Conference

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Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses

Live Streaming of the Conference
April 23-24, 2021

Program and other details available here.

LIVE STREAMING TIMES:

  • 7:00 pm, Friday April 23 — Keynote Session
  • 8:30 am, Saturday April 24 — Morning Session
  • 12:45 pm, Saturday April 24 — Afternoon Session

TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS DURING THE CONFERENCE:

NOTE: The live-stream links will no longer be operational once the Conference finishes. We expect videos of the presentations to be available 6-8 weeks afterward. An update of the ‘Book of Moses Bibliography’ at https://interpreterfoundation.org/book-of-moses-bibliography/ will be made shortly after the conference. The combined proceedings of both conferences will appear in Fall 2021, as well as other new Book of Moses volumes. For updates, see http://interpreterfoundation.org/books/.

The 2021 Interpreter Conference, “Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses,” is coming up this weekend!

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April 23-24, 2021
Presented by The Interpreter Foundation, Brigham Young University Department of Ancient Scripture, Book of Mormon Central, & FAIR
Due to the COVID-19 situation, this will be a live-streaming-only conference.

The live stream will be available here and on our Facebook page.

Come, Follow Me Week 14 – Easter

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I was raised by two parents who loved science. My father was a biology teacher. He was a favorite at the high school, with lots of silly and whacky exercises that helped the students remember the material. I recall one phone call from a Yale university student who called to thank my dad for his help passing his Yale biology exams. He said that he just had to think back on the play they performed in his high school class when the students acted out the various parts of cellular mitosis. My father did try his hand at teaching college classes as well, but he said it wasn’t as much fun. He claimed he would try to crack a biology joke, but the college students would respond by dutifully writing it into their notes as if it were fact.

My mother was also a teacher. She taught grade school, and then later middle school. Her favorite magazine was Scientific American. Each month, she would read the magazine from cover to cover. She would read every single article. Then she would want to discuss it. Imagine my groan and eye roll as a 13 year old when she would start reading the latest article to me and state how it would change everything. Even as she moved into her 80s, she still read it. When I visited, she would want to talk about dark matter, gene splicing, or some other current science issue. She would also read to us as kids when we went on road trips to the coast, or over to Utah. We live in California. She wouldn’t read novels. No, she would read the latest psychology book, or book on mind science.

I believe every student should study science even if they have no plans to go into it. Science teaches us to ask questions. Asking questions is good. Asking questions is important. Science also teaches us how to evaluate evidence. Understanding how to evaluate evidence is very good, and very important.

How Does Science Relate To My Faith? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 14 – Easter

FAIR Voice Podcast #21: Introduction to the Bible

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In the coming weeks, Hanna will interview Biblical scholars about their thoughts on how the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament show important elements of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This episode provides some terminology and framework for how to move going forward as well as a much needed discussion on exegesis. She answers questions from viewers including a question asked by four different people at the end of the episode. Stay tuned for more interviews and get excited to talk about the Bible!

Hanna Seariac

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

FAIR Voice Podcast #19: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

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In a preview to the next episode on the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Hanna provides background information as well as sharing a favorite General Conference talk and answering your submitted questions. Please submit your questions for Hanna to [email protected].

Hanna Seariac

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

Watch the 2020 Interpreter Conference

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Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses

Live Streaming of the Conference
September 18 & 19, 2020

Program and other details available here.

Live streaming times:

  • 7:00 pm MDT, Friday September 18 — Keynote Session
  • 9:00 am MDT, Saturday September 19 — Morning Session
  • 1:00 pm MDT, Saturday September 19 — Afternoon Session

To Submit Questions During the Conference:

NOTE: The live-stream links will no longer be operational once the Conference finishes. We expect videos of the presentations to be available 6-8 weeks afterward. Freely downloadable drafts of the conference proceedings papers will be available within the ‘Book of Moses Bibliography’ at https://interpreterfoundation.org/book-of-moses-bibliography/ shortly after the conference.

FAIR Voice Podcast #17: Jasmin and Neal Rappleye

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Jasmin and Neal Rappleye of Book of Mormon Central join Hanna for an exciting conversation about Book of Mormon historicity.

Jasmin is the Web Architect and Content Manager for Book of Mormon Central. She administrates all the web properties of Book of Mormon Central and provides computer support for our users. She also serves as their chief Graphic Designer and the Peer Review Coordinator for the publication of KnoWhys. She enjoys creating new ways to visualize the Book of Mormon, and enjoys managing Book of Mormon’s volunteers.

She graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies. At Book of Mormon Central, she gets to combine her passion for religion in antiquity with her visual and technical skills. She enjoys creating new ways for users to digitally interact with the study of the Book of Mormon.

Neal Rappleye has been doing on going research on the Book of Mormon for several years. His work has been published by Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, FairMormon, the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, LDS.net, and Meridian Magazine. He presented at the 2014 and 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Conferences, and is the co-recipiant of the 2013 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award from FairMormon. He maintains a personal blog, Studio et Quoque Fide (By Study and Also By Faith), http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/.

As a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central, Neal selects, writes, and reviews content for KnoWhys, and oversees the production of the accompanying social media products.

As Operations Manager, Neal oversees the daily tasks and operations of the Book of Mormon Central staff.

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 15

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Part 15: Jacob – Words of Mormon and conclusion

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This is the last part of the series. We hope it has helped the reader to appreciate the complexity and consistency of the Book of Mormon. We will consider some more examples from the short books on the small plates of Nephi and then wrap it all up with some final remarks.

116. Jacob 1:18 and 2 Nephi 5:26 — “priests and teachers”

In Jacob 1:18, Jacob mentions that he and his brother Joseph have been consecrated priests: [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 15

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 14

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Part 14: 1 Nephi 10 – 2 Nephi 31

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This part covers the rest of 1 Nephi and all of 2 Nephi. You will notice that there is quite a big leap from 2 Nephi 5 to 26. This is the largest gap in this series and primarily due to most of the chapters between being quotes directly from Isaiah. Except for this gap, you may notice from the arc graph that there are no other really large gaps, indicating that internally consistent details are found frequently all throughout the Book of Mormon.

107. 1 Nephi 10:5 and 1 Nephi 11:27 — “Redeemer of the world”

As Nephi is describing what he saw in vision, he writes: [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 14