There are different accounts of the First Vision. That surprises some people, which always surprises me in turn. Who tells a momentous, notable story only one time in their life? Additionally, some people are troubled that the different accounts don’t match up exactly, word for word, each time they’re told. But when someone tells the same stories and same jokes in exactly the same way every single time, what does that tell you? That they’re rehearsed. And that can often have a negative connotation. Even the Department of Justice website advises not to memorize your testimony for court because it sounds unconvincing and insincere. [Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 3: The Early Church – The First Vision [B]
Joseph Smith
Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 2: The Early Church – The First Vision [A]
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about the First Vision. Faulk goes on about this issue for the next 9 pages of the LFMW, so we’re all going to get very familiar with the various accounts.
I have a deep fondness for the First Vision. When I was a young child in Primary, learning the words to “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer” was one of the very first times I can ever remember feeling the Spirit. I was so young at the time I didn’t understand what the feeling was or what it meant. I remembered it, though. It became one of the central pillars of my testimony from the day I was old enough to understand what the Spirit had been teaching me. My dad grew up inactive in the Church, and it was the account in the Pearl of Great Price that gave him his testimony. And when I was a teenager, it was the First Vision that I felt prompted to share with my good friend that led her to investigate the Church and eventually get baptized. So, when I say that the First Vision is important to me on a personal level, I do mean that.
This section begins with even more quotes. The first is from President Hinckley: [Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 2: The Early Church – The First Vision [A]
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 1
Podcast: Download (26.3MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Evangelical Questions: Why did Joseph Smith change the meaning to some verses in the Bible?
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
This week we come to a very important verse in scripture. John 1:1 traditionally translated, “In the beginning was the word.” You’ll find it that way in almost every translation. It’s often the first verse beginning Greek students learn, “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος” and straight away they are introduced to the complexities of translating. The text literally says, “In the beginning was the logos.” We look at that verse now, with the benefit of centuries of translation on our side and know “logos” means Jesus in some sense. Translators, theologians and scholars have been settled on this for a very long time. So it’s a fair question to ask, “Why did Joseph Smith step out of the established translation on this verse?” Now, your Evangelical friends or family members may not be able to point to this specific verse and see the differences, but if you’re in conversation with them about the New Testament the issue of Joseph’s variations in translation are going to come up eventually. Let’s look at how Joseph translated the same verse: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 1
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 1; Luke 1
Podcast: Download (21.0MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Evangelical Questions: Is Jesus God?
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
Matthew 1:21
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Introduction
So, right off the bat we have an interesting point of conversation that could come up with your Evangelical friends: Who do you believe Jesus is? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 1; Luke 1
Come, Follow Me Week 52 – Christmas
Christmas Message, Christmas Prophets, Christmas Joy
by David W. Smith
Jerusalem, 600 BC
The year is approximately 600 BC. The place is Jerusalem. It has been about 20 years since a major religious reform has changed how people worshiped. The prophet Jeremiah has been warning the people of Jerusalem that they need to repent or else watch as their city is destroyed and they are taken into captivity. Many other prophets echo his message. Now, after preaching for over 20 years, he is in prison. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 52 – Christmas
Come, Follow Me Week 51 – Malachi
Malachi and Turning the Hearts of the Children to Their Fathers
by Craig Foster
While the Book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, it is certainly not the least in terms of the eternal teachings within the book. The name Malachi means “My Messenger” and the Malachi certainly fulfilled the purpose of his name in his prophetic calling as he discussed the end-time which is currently being fulfilled.[1] [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 51 – Malachi
President Harold B. Lee Testifies about Revelation in Book of Mormon Translation
by Dennis B. Horne
In late 1973, only two months before he passed away, President Harold B. Lee visited Rick’s College (now BYU-Idaho), where he attended a luncheon and then gave the college devotional address. As President of Rick’s at that time, Henry B. Eyring was present with President Lee and described the events in his journal. These journal notations ended up in his biography, where they portray an unusually intense spiritual outpouring among those present. [Read more…] about President Harold B. Lee Testifies about Revelation in Book of Mormon Translation
Evaluating Claims that Contradict the Prophets
Seven years ago, a FAIR conference presentation identified a harmful ideology among some members of the Church of Jesus Christ. It claims that God gives revelations, visits, and special priesthood ordinations to individuals outside of church leadership, and that faithful church members should follow and obey those individuals, and believe the truth of their purported visions and revelations, either along with or instead of actual church leaders. It often criticizes church leaders for being uninspired, or else claims one must read between the lines of leaders’ statements because most church members are too uninspired or unrighteous to receive greater light and deeper understanding. At the time, some of the major proponents of this ideology were Julie Rowe and Denver Snuffer.
Since then, this spiritually elitist ideology has become far more widespread than a few “remnant” groups. Our culture’s obsession with “authenticity” and personalized truth, along with confusion about scriptural principles of revelation, have made a lot of us susceptible to very harmful ideas that undermine our faith and ability to truly commune with God. [Read more…] about Evaluating Claims that Contradict the Prophets
Yet another critical website pretending to be something it’s not – “LDS Discussions”
Websites critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are popping up regularly, some gaining more traction than others. FAIR has responded specifically to some of them, like the so-called “CES Letter,” “Letter to My Wife,” and MormonThink. There are many other similar websites that FAIR has not responded to, partly because the topics raised in these sources are usually addressed in our wiki anyway, and partly because many of these sites overlap, because they are mostly re-hashing old arguments. [Read more…] about Yet another critical website pretending to be something it’s not – “LDS Discussions”
Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150
The Hymns of the Temple
Part 2
by Matthew L. Bowen
Praise is a dominant word in the latter third of the Psalter. The imperative plural Hebrew verbal expression hallelujah (halĕlû-yāh), “praise ye the Lord,” marks the beginning and ending of many of these temple hymns. In ancient Judah, ascending into the temple to praise Jehovah was a fundamental religious obligation. The gospel writer Luke notes that after the Ascension, Jesus’s earliest disciples “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:53). The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ had given the disciples a sense of how the temple pointed to his incarnation and his unique role in saving Israel and all humanity (compare, for example, Mark 14:58; John 1:14; 2:19). [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150
