FAIR

LDS History

FAIR Conference Podcast #62 – Steve Mayfield & George Throckmorton, “Salamander Letters”

by

Podcast: Download (39.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

This series features presentations from our past conferences. This presentation is from 2006. It talks about some of the myths related to the Mark Hofmann case, and is given by two people who were involved, including the forensic document examiner who first determined that the documents were forgeries.

Related resources:

(The biographies below date to 2006.)

Steven L. Mayfield was born and raised in the San Francisco area. He served an LDS mission in Colorado and Nebraska. He has served in the Church as Stake Young Adult President, Elder’s Quorum counselor and instructor, Sunday School teacher, and ward clerk. Steve received a B.S. degree in police science from Weber State College (University) in 1980. His law enforcement career includes FBI file clerk (San Francisco, 1973-1977), Deputy Sheriff Jefferson County Colorado (1981-1990), and since 1994 as a crime scene investigator for the Salt Lake City Police Department. For more than the last ten years Steve has worked under the direction of George Throckmorton, and has assisted him in a number of historical/questioned document cases (non-law enforcement) including “The John D. Lee Lead Scroll.”

Steve has been involved with the Mormon History Association, Sunstone, Utah State Historical Society, and is the producer (and sometimes host) of Mormon Miscellaneous, a talk/interview/call-in program hosted by Van Hale over radio station KTKK in Salt Lake City. Steve does not consider himself a historian or writer, but a “documentation collector,” which includes newspaper and magazine articles, television videos, and tape recordings of radio news and programs on mostly Mormon issues. His large collection of material is in the process of being donated to the L. Tom Perry Library and Archives at Brigham Young University.

George Throckmorton recently retired from the Salt Lake City Police Department Crime Laboratory where he spent the last decade as the Director of the Lab. George has been in law enforcement for forty years and has been a Forensic Document Examiner for thirty-five of those years. George began his career with the Ogden City Police Department and has also worked for the San Diego Sheriff’s Crime Lab, Utah State Crime Lab, Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office. He has also taught at the Institute of Applied Science in Chicago, Washington State University, Weber State University, and is presently teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the Salt Lake Community College.

Many interesting cases have crossed George’s path in the past thirty years including the Howard Hughes “Mormon Will,” the Dan and Ron Lafferty case, the Hi-Fi Shop Murders, and numerous others. However, by far the most interesting and complex case had to be the Mark Hofmann bombing/forgery case. This encompassed a full-time committment for sixteen months involving more than 600 documents. After more than twenty years, new Hofmann forgeries continue to resurface almost every year. George’s one and only wife Caroline continues to be by his side after forty years. They have four children (one of whom is following in his path working at the Salt Lake Police Crime Lab as a Crime-Scene Technician and Forensic Document Examiner).

Come, Follow Me Week 10 – Doctrine and Covenants 20–22

by

“Proving to the World”: The Unique Declaration in Doctrine and Covenants Section 20

By Brian C. Hales

This week’s lesson deals with Doctrine and Covenants sections 20–22. These sections contain important messages regarding the restored Church, the performance of sacred ordinances, and the blessings of the priesthood in the lives of individuals and families.

Also tucked within these sections is a divine declaration that is unique to Latter-day Saint scripture. The first ten verses of section 20 present evidence that is proof that God lives and that he calls prophets on earth today. Verse 11 observes that something discussed earlier in the section is “proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old” (D&C 20:11). Nowhere else in scripture does God refer to evidences that are “proving to the world” anything specific. The declaration is unparalleled.

The word “proving” in verse eleven is a strong affirmation. Proving involves establishing the truth or validity of a claim by evidence or logic.[1] Readers may wonder what evidence is presented before verse 11 that could establish the truth of God’s reality? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 10 – Doctrine and Covenants 20–22

Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine and Covenants 14–17 (additional post)

by

by Mike Hickenbotham

I developed a testimony that Jesus Christ was our Savior and Redeemer at a young age and have had a strong conviction of the reality of his atoning sacrifice every since. My studies in the scriptures have reinforced that testimony to the point today that I can state that I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God and my Savior. He truly died for me and made possible my resurrection and exaltation. I have also gained a testimony of Joseph Smith’s calling as God’s prophet in these last days.

As a teenager, I remember the Joseph Smith story being recited by a returned missionary in Sunday School class exactly as it is contained in our scriptures. At that time, the Holy Ghost witnessed to me that the account I was hearing was true. Through the years my testimony of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and other LDS scriptures has grown, but I knew from the beginning they were true as a result of this initial witness I received. If Joseph Smith was a prophet — and I knew he was — then these other revelations must also be true. To this day I cannot read the Joseph Smith story without receiving a similar assurance that these events actually occurred as Joseph Smith had recorded.

Joseph Smith’s History is the key to the restoration. Either Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and the restored gospel is true, or Joseph Smith was a fraud and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in error. Either he saw God and his Son, Jesus Christ, or he didn’t. There is no gray area of truth. It is either all true or all a hoax. It is my testimony that it is true and that no man could have done what Joseph Smith did without the help and inspiration of God. [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine and Covenants 14–17 (additional post)

Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine and Covenants 14–17

by

Bringing souls unto Christ

by James Perry, PhD, FHEA

In June 1829, Joseph Smith was residing at the home of Peter Whitmer Snr. in Fayette, New York. Three of Peter’s sons, David, Peter Jnr., and John Whitmer, had gained testimonies of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and had subsequently been baptised.[1] Convinced of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling the three men then sought from Joseph the mind of the Lord regarding what they should do to help with the restoration.[2] Sections 14-16 are the resulting revelations.

Although brief, the three revelations indicate the monumental nature of missionary work and that the time for proclaiming the gospel was at hand. “…the field is white already to harvest,” the Lord declared to David Whitmer, “therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.”[3] This final dispensation was to be one where the gospel of Jesus Christ, being restored to the earth, needed to be preached throughout the earth. [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine and Covenants 14–17

Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine & Covenants 14-17 “Stand as a Witness”

by

by Dan Peterson

The witnesses of the Book of Mormon pose a real obstacle to any honest person who wishes to dismiss the claims of the Restoration.

Let me first briefly summarize who the official witnesses were and what they claimed to have seen, and then explain why I believe them to represent a significant challenge to disbelief:

The Eight Witnesses—Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel Harrison Smith—not only saw but “hefted” the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated and turned their leaves.  They did so under quite ordinary and mundane circumstances, in broad daylight.

The Three Witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer—not only saw the plates but were shown them by an angel in a blaze of light, as well as hearing the voice of God declare them to have been “translated by the gift and power of God.”  Moreover, in addition to the plates themselves, they saw a variety of other exotic objects, such as the Urim and Thummim, the Liahona, and the Sword of Laban. [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine & Covenants 14-17 “Stand as a Witness”

FAIR Voice Podcast #27: Wilford Woodruff Papers part 2

by

Podcast: Download (31.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

This week, listen to this discussion Hanna has with Jennifer Mackley and Steven Harper on who Wilford Woodruff is and how the project is going. Please see https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/ for more details about this exciting project.

Jennifer has been an attorney for 24 years and is currently in private practice. She has authored or edited 21 books including Wilford Woodruff’s Witness: The Development of Temple Doctrine (2014). She has made numerous presentations and podcasts based on her research of Wilford Woodruff’s life and his pivotal role in the restoration of temple worship in the nineteenth century. She was asked to serve as the Historian for the Wilford Woodruff Family Association in 2014 and co-founded the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation in 2019 with Donald Parry. Her hope in transcribing and publishing Wilford Woodruff’s Papers is to help Church members and historians alike understand the importance of the temple and gain insights into the Restoration through Wilford’s unique perspective of the revelatory process.

Steve is a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. After graduating from BYU with a BA in history, he earned an MA in American history from Utah State University, and a PhD in early American history from Lehigh University. He began teaching at BYU Hawaii in 2000, then joined the faculty at BYU in 2002, and taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center in 2011–2012. He became a volume editor of The Joseph Smith Papers and the document editor for BYU Studies in 2002. In 2012 Steve was appointed as the managing historian and a general editor of Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, and was named editor in chief of BYU Studies Quarterly in 2018. He has authored numerous books and dozens of articles including: Promised Land (2006), Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants (2008), Joseph Smith’s First Vision (2012), and First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins (2019).

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She has interests in the interaction that the Greek New Testament has with the Septuagint as well as sacrifice in ancient Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a research assistant on early Latter-day Saint history. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

Come Follow Me Week Three: The Turning of Hearts

by

Come Follow Me – Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65

by Kerry Muhlestein, Ph.D.

Malachi’s promise of Elijah’s return must be of great import, for it is cited in every book of scripture. The version recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, found in Section Two, is a very small paraphrase of what Moroni told Joseph Smith when he first appeared to him. It is also found in the Joseph Smith History account of that visit (JSH 1:38-39). There is a significant difference between how Moroni quoted it to Joseph Smith and how it is preserved in Malachi or the Book of Mormon. That difference has to do with the use of the word “promise.”

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints typically think of the promise that Elijah would come to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children as being primarily fulfilled in doing what we typically speak of as family history work. This is true, but it is only part of the picture. As we see more fully what is intended by that prophecy, an increased power can flow from doing our Family History work.

For a number of years now I have been intensively studying the Abrahamic Covenant, also known as the New and Everlasting Covenant. This research has turned into several articles[1] and a book on the blessings of the covenant and the gathering of Israel, due to be released in mid-February of 2021.[2] While doing that research and writing about it, I came to realize that when you are familiar with the Abrahamic Covenant you recognize that it is referred to in the scriptures far more often than we usually suppose. The promise about Elijah is one of those times. [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week Three: The Turning of Hearts

Joseph Smith’s First Vision

by

Come Follow Me – Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26

by Steven C. Harper

There is so much more to the story of Joseph Smith’s first vision than is commonly known. Besides the familiar account included in the Pearl of Great Price, there are three other known accounts by Joseph and five known reports of people who heard him tell his experience. As a historian and as a believer, I’m thrilled that Joseph Smith’s first vision is probably the best documented vision of God in history. But some Latter-day Saints are troubled when they learn that there are several accounts of the story.

They worry that the differences in the accounts could prove them to be inauthentic.

“Far from being proof of a fabrication, the differences in the accounts demonstrate the reliability of the account.  Depending upon the purpose for telling a story and the audience that will hear it, people choose to emphasize different aspects of the story.”[i] [Read more…] about Joseph Smith’s First Vision

FAIR Voice Podcast #23: Race and the Priesthood with Tarik D. LaCour

by

Podcast: Download (33.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Hanna talks with Tarik D. LaCour about his experience as a Black man in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, coming to terms with the priesthood ban and how he has faith in our Latter-day prophets. The official position from the Church is that we don’t know why there was a priesthood ban.  This is something that many members struggle with and try to resolve. Here is one faithful member’s perspective on how he views the priesthood ban. This is an individual perspective and does not represent the views of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or FairMormon.

Tarik D. LaCour is a Ph.D student in philosophy and MA student in neuroscience at Texas A&M. Primary research interests are in philosophy of neuroscience, philosophy of mind, moral psychology and epistemology. He is a traditional Latter-day Saint and author of the blog Mad Dog Naturalist. He has interest in developing rigorous apologetic arguments rooted in an empirical philosophical approach and plans on continuing his contributions to Latter-day Saint apologetics.

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is currently writing a book on Latter-day Saint approach to theological stances as well as shorter pieces on prayers in scripture. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a research assistant at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

 

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 11: September 1842 – February 1843

by

Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

This volume of the Documents series of the Joseph Smith Papers covers a period of time when Joseph Smith hid from attempts to arrest and extradite him to Missouri while trying to lead Nauvoo and the Church. He then had a legal victory which enabled him to come out of hiding and attend to many items of business, including continuing to teach the Saints and becoming mayor of Nauvoo.  The collection of 105 documents includes letters, poems, discourses, deeds, notices, meeting minutes, affidavits, songs, etc. These combine to paint an interesting picture of a very busy time in Joseph’s life.

Among the illustrations in the introduction is a sketch of Joseph Smith by local artist Benjamin West, done during an extradition hearing in Springfield, Illinois, in January 1843. It is unknown whether it was meant to be accurate or more of a caricature, but it does match written descriptions of Joseph (see https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2005/12/what-did-joseph-smith-really-look-like?lang=eng). [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 11: September 1842 – February 1843