FAIR Conference

Fair Issues 61: Book of Mormon evidences today

July 22, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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In this episode Michael Ash illustrates the modern evidences concerning issues such as “steel” being used in ancient times. He also relates how the setting in one of Lehi dreams parallels those of an actual ancient Arabian landscape.

The full text of this article can be found at Deseret News online.

Brother Ash is author of the book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt, as well as the book, of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith. Both books are available for purchase online through the FairMormon Bookstore. Tell your friends about the Mormon Fair-Cast. Share a link on your Facebook page and help increase the popularity of the Mormon Fair-Cast by subscribing to this podcast in iTunes, and by rating it and writing a review.

The views and opinions expressed in the podcast may not reflect those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon

Mormon Fair Cast 252: Scott Gordon and the histroy of FairMormon plus the Joseph Smith papers

July 20, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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Martin Tanner who is the host of “Religion Today” on KSL FM 102.7 and AM 1160 interviews Scott Gordon who is the president of FairMormon on the upcoming annual conference of FairMormon on the 7th and 8th of August. Brother Gordon talks about some of the speakers and the subjects that will be covered during this conference.

In the second section of this episode brother Tanner discusses the Joseph Smith papers and the detail that is available on this subject. The Joseph Smith papers is one of the many topics that will be addressed during the FairMormon conference this year.

This broadcast originally aired on the 20th of July 2014.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast may not represent those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon.

Mormon Fair-cast 248: FairMormon conference and the Book of Job

July 15, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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Martin Tanner who is the host of “Religion Today” on KSL FM 102.7 and AM 1160 recommends the annual FairMormon conference held this year in Provo Utah in the Utah Valley Convention Center on the 7th and 8th of August as a valuable tool providing the answers and information you need to faithfully deal with the criticisms leveled against the Church and the gospel.

In the second section of this podcast brother Tanner relates how the book of Job in the Old Testament parallels the teachings of Joseph Smith regarding the our pre-mortal life when the foundations of the world were made.

This broadcast originally aired on the 13th of July 2014.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast may not represent those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon.

Fair Issues 60: Nephi, Laban and the brass plates

July 12, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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While encamped in the Valley of Lemuel, Lehi sent his sons back to Jerusalem to obtain their own religious record – the “plates of brass.” In this podcast Mike Ash discusses this event as recorded in the Book of Mormon along with recently discovered evidences that parallel such statements as “Laban and his fifty.”

The full text of this article can be found at Deseret News online.

The views and opinions expressed in the podcast may not reflect those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon

Mormon Fair-cast 244: FairMormon Conference 2014

July 8, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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Martin Tanner who is the host of “Religion Today” on KSL FM 102.7 and AM 1160 interviews Steve Densley who is the executive vice-president of FairMormon and Daniel Peterson, Ph.D. who is a prominent Mormon apologist and professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University about the upcoming FairMormon conference that will be held in Provo Utah on the 7th and 8th of August this year. Tickets can be purchased here.

This broadcast originally aired on the 6th of July 2014.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast may not represent those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon.

Mormon Fair-Cast 243: Barry R. Bickmore, “Restoring the Ancient Church”

July 6, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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Martin Tanner who is the host of “Religion Today” on KSL FM 102.7 and AM 1160 interviews Barry R. Bickmore about his book “Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity.” In this interview brother Bickmore relates how the teachings of the early Church are reflected in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Professor Bickmore will be appearing at this year’s FairMormon Conference on August 7 & 8 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

In the second half of his show Martin Tanner interviews Craig Foster about his second book on Mormon polygamy. “The Persistence of Polygamy: From Joseph Smith Martyrdom to the First Manifesto, 1844 – 1890.

Both book are available from the FairMormon Bookstore:

Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity.

The Persistence of Polygamy From Joseph Smith Martyrdom to the First Manifesto 1844 – 1890

This broadcast originally aired on the 2nd of March 2014.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast may not represent those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormon.

Fair Issues 59: To Arabs, valleys, not mountains, the symbol of permanence

July 5, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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As we discussed in the last installment of this series the Lehites’ first semi permanent encampment was called the river of “Laman” and the valley of “Lemuel.” In this podcast Michael Ash explains how the terms used to describe these locations are in keeping with tradition at the time they took place.

The full text of this article can be found at Deseret News online.

The views and opinions expressed in the podcast may not reflect those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or that of FairMormo

Fair Issues 42: Dismissing Book of Mormon Geography Inaccuracies

February 7, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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The traditional LDS folk-belief asserts that the Lehites arrived to a nearly vacant New World,…this assumption – like many other assumptions about the about the Book of Mormon – comes from a naïve reading of the text that was filtered through the 19th century misunderstanding of the human migrations that populated the ancient New World.

In this article brother Ash explains this common error and extends our understanding of this important issue.

The full text of this article can be found at Deseret News online.

Tell your friends about the Mormon Fair-Cast. Share a link on your Facebook page and help increase the popularity of the Mormon Fair-Cast by subscribing to this podcast in iTunes, and by rating it and writing a review.

4th Watch 12: Too Serious or not Serious Enough

January 29, 2014 by Ned Scarisbrick

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How serious do we take the gospel of Jesus Christ? How serious do we take ourselves in relation to the gospel of our Savior? Sometimes we can get caught up in the thick of thin things and overlook the weightier matters.

In this podcast brother Scarisbrick reviews a article done by Robert Kirby, a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper. The article is entitled “Is it worse to be too serious or not serious enough?” Brother Kirby was also a speaker at the FairMormon conference this past August 2013. You may read his article from the Salt Lake Tribune here.

The “Kirb” is somewhat of a colorful character compared to your standard and average Mormon. His rating for “light-minded” refers to lack of seriousness regarding sacred things. It’s a class C Church misdemeanor in modern Mormonism. Light-mindedness was probably a felony during Brigham’s Young’s day. Brother Ned explores how we see this gospel principle from several perspectives

Recap of the 2013 FAIR Conference

August 3, 2013 by Mike Parker

The 2013 FAIR Conference came to a close on Friday, August 2nd.

We were very pleased to hear fourteen presentations on a variety of topics, including Book of Mormon geography, the role of women in the Church, and the stories of those who have been challenged by doubt and those who left the Church and have returned.

Blair Hodges of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU attended most of the sessions and wrote recaps of the presentations. (He types quickly!) Although his comments do not always reflect exactly what was said at the conference, we’re grateful for his attendance and coverage, and we encourage all to review the written remarks when made available:

Blair’s notes from Thursday, August 1st

Blair’s notes from Friday, August 2nd

We set a new record for attendance this year (425 tickets issued, up from 402 last year), and we received very positive feedback from the conference attendees on our move to the Utah Valley Convention Center.

Several announcements were made at the conference, including:

FAIR is going through an extensive rebranding process. Beginning soon, we will be known as FairMormon, and our two current web sites (fairlds.org and fairmormon.org) will be rolled into a single site with a consistent look and feel.

Daniel C. Peterson announced the upcoming roll-out of The World Table, a new social platform that will allow individuals of different faiths to interact with mutual respect. The site is not active yet, but you can sign up to be notified when it’s open by visiting theworldtable.org.

Hales Swift and Neal Rappleye were given the John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award for their excellent work on the Scripture Study Aids. Outgoing vice president Allen Wyatt was recognized for his many years of service to FAIR, and Steve Densley, Jr. was named as the new vice president.

We’re grateful for all who attended this year, and especially for those who supported FAIR though generous donations and purchases at the conference bookstore. We’d also like to thank our sponsors who helped make this conference possible:

Bonneville Communications

Deseret Book

BYU Studies

The Interpreter Foundation

Mormon History Association

LDSAgents.com

Roger Nicholson

Brant & Valerie Gardner

Farr’s Jewelry & Electronics

The next FAIR Conference will be held on August 7 & 8, 2014. Mark your calendars—we look forward to seeing you next year!