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Under the Banner of Misattribution

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[We have more information about Under the Banner of Heaven here.]

“God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven against the Government.” This sentence, supposedly spoken by John Taylor, has been made famous by Jon Krakauer. He used it for the title of his book, Under the Banner of Heaven, which has now been transformed into a fictionalized detective drama mini-series streaming on Hulu. But those words were never actually spoken by John Taylor. They were made up by an anonymous Salt Lake Tribune writer.

The Salt Lake Tribune was started in 1870 by three men that had left the Church. It changed hands many times but was overtly anti-Mormon until 1901, when its new owners began changing its tone somewhat. During those first 30 years, much of the reporting on the Church was downright obnoxious, and probably not meant to be taken seriously. This includes the article on page four of the January 6, 1880 issue, about a stake conference that took place the previous Sunday. (The available scan of the newspaper page is very difficult to read. In my transcription I used “(?)” after words that I thought were correct but wasn’t completely sure, and I used “[?]” in place of words I found completely unreadable.) It begins with: [Read more…] about Under the Banner of Misattribution

Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

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Under the Banner of Heaven movie posterFriends,

Today a new television series has been released titled Under the Banner of Heaven. It is based on a best-selling book by that same name, published in 2003, written by Jon Krakauer.

The book, and now the television series, talks about the 1984 horrific murders of Brenda Lafferty, and her 15-month-old daughter Erica, by Dan and Ron Lafferty in American Fork Utah. The theme of Jon Krakauer’s book is that Dan and Ron’s religious upbringing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the underlying cause for what they did. Krakauer, an atheist, believes that since bad things are sometimes done in the name of religion, religion breeds violence.

This series will likely lead to questions from your friends and family members. We’ve created a page of resources. Here are a few things to be aware of: [Read more…] about Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

Aversion Therapy at BYU

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FAIR, a volunteer organization that provides information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has prepared a thorough explainer regarding aversion therapy, Brigham Young University (BYU), and President Dallin H. Oaks.

President Oaks was president of BYU from 1971 to 1980. During that time, psychology graduate student Max McBride conducted research on aversion therapy, or the use of weak electric shocks to the arm to decrease unwanted homosexual attraction. McBride’s research was overseen by BYU professor Eugene Thorne. Thorne also used aversion therapy as part of his private psychology practice. Both used nearly identical methods, and McBride’s research was intended to finesse the techniques used by Thorne and other mainstream psychologists.

Some church critics have made unsupported claims about the research and about President Oaks.  The accompanying explainer provides thorough documentation showing why those claims are misleading and irresponsible.

Read more here

What weapon was Joseph Smith using to shoot John Taylor? – Review of the recent film, “Who Killed Joseph Smith?”

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by Craig L. Foster

Recently a movie titled, “Who Killed Joseph Smith?” premiered promising “never seen before ballistic testing, research & reenactments exposing an extremely controversial theory concerning who may actually have murdered the American prophet, Joseph Smith, and his loyal brother Hyrum.” This never before seen information includes the assertion that Joseph Smith was murdered by John Taylor and Willard Richards under the orders of Brigham Young. 

One person who viewed the movie described how the movie claims “Hyrum shot John once in the leg during a struggle while Joseph was out the door chasing the mob [during the attack at Carthage Jail] and firing 3 rounds. John then shot Hyrum under the chin with the exit wound through the nose. When Joseph returned to the room John shot Joseph, then Joseph shot John 3 times. Willard Richards shot Joseph in the back and pushed him out the window.”

Those with historical knowledge find such a scenario not only implausible but, quite frankly, ridiculous. While there are so many factually incorrect aspects of the “Who Killed Joseph Smith?” fantastical conspiracy theory, this short blog shall focus on just one. What weapon was Joseph Smith using to shoot John Taylor? [Read more…] about What weapon was Joseph Smith using to shoot John Taylor? – Review of the recent film, “Who Killed Joseph Smith?”

FAIR Conference Podcast #68 – Keith A. Erekson, “Real Vs. Rumor”

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This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Keith A. Erekson, Real Vs. Rumor

Keith’s book is available in the FAIR bookstore.

Keith Erekson is an award-winning author, teacher, and public historian who has published on topics including politics, hoaxes, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and Church history. He grew up in Baltimore, served a mission in Brazil, and earned advanced degrees in history and business. He works for the Church History Department in efforts to encourage outreach and historical engagement.

Post-Mortem Analysis on this Year’s Exposé Stunt

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Monday sometime, news reports made it clear that (at least for the opponents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Christmas had come a little early. In a post from the, um, Post, we read that, “In a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, Nielsen [a former employee and current whistleblower] urges the IRS to strip the nonprofit of its tax-exempt status and alleges that Ensign could owe billions in taxes. He is seeking a reward from the IRS, which offers whistleblowers a cut of unpaid taxes that it recovers.”

Though at first glance this might seem like a story about someone speaking truth to power, closer examination suggests it is an attempt by someone who doesn’t like the Church of Jesus Christ to tar its reputation. Accusations have been filed with the IRS, but that says nothing of the merit of those accusations. Due process is one of the wonderful ideas embodied in the American system. In news reporting, however, no such standard prevails, and there is often an advantage to be gained by making an accusation and tarring your opponent with it. A substantial first mover advantage exists when attacking an opponent through the news, because reporting accusations and scandal is much more exciting and consequently reaches a larger audience than reporting the resolution of those charges or their refutation.

So why do I think that this story reflects an attempt to attack the Church’s reputation rather than a more narrow desire to right wrongs with regard to the provisions of tax law and the Church’s compliance? One goes to the media when one wants the effect that the media will predictably produce, in this case frenzy leading to reputational damage. Now it’s plausible that the whistleblower is motivated by the prospect of money. As a whistleblower, he has essentially written himself a lottery ticket. In the (frankly improbable) event that the IRS finds that someone managing an investment erred in complying with tax regulations, he stands to receive a percentage of any taxes recovered. Nice work if you can get it. On the motivational end of things, however, there appears to be more to unpack. First of all, I don’t think this is going to pan out very well for him. I’m always open to being corrected by reality, but most of what he has actually claimed amounts to the Church operating frugally, living within their means and saving for a rainy day, consistent with their published statement. Though I can’t rule it out, I would actually be inclined to largely dismiss his financial motivation for doing this, and won’t cover it more in this post. Others have dealt with the claims about the actual financial transactions very capably, notably KSL, and made the case that this is, in essence, a nothing-burger. Beyond the improbable financial outcome, however, several aspects of what was actually published cause me to call into question whether this stunt had any real intent to do anything more than tar the Church for the duration of a news cycle. [Read more…] about Post-Mortem Analysis on this Year’s Exposé Stunt

Happy Easter from the DR Congo (The Kinshasa DR Congo Temple: A Personal Perspective, Part 3)

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Rodrigue Kabuya Kabamba

Description of the Series

Over the next several weeks, we will trace the temple’s history from its announcement to the completion of the temple building. And from its completion as a sacred building to its dedication and use as a House of the Lord by the Latter-day Saints in this choice part of the world.

Those interested in a more details about the Church in the DR Congo and its new temple may consult or download an in-depth history that is posted at the Southeast Africa Area website:

Many of the video supplements in this series will complement and personalize the written history: early members will tell fascinating stories of the challenges and blessings of the coming of the Church to the country, some will talk about their roles in temple construction and operation, and others will describe how having a temple in Kinshasa will bless their lives.

This Episode

While working on a recent project, I asked Rodrigue Kabuya Kabamba, a member of the Church in Kinshasa, DR Congo, to help me on some graphic designs. This isn’t the first time he has bailed me and others out — his work has been an important part of several other Church projects during the last few years, including his handsome designs for several visual concepts — large and small — that were needed for the open house and dedication events of the new Kinshasa DR Congo Temple. Nearly all of this time-consuming work has been done cheerfully at no cost as part of Church assignments.

Recently, as he copied the graphics he created for me from his laptop to mine, he included some of his video projects, including a short video he had created for Africa Southeast Area Public Affairs in 2017. It contained a delightful montage of Congolese children describing what Easter meant to them. After seeing it, I asked if he would mind if I asked permission from the Area Public Affairs to add English subtitles, a new and include it as part of a blog post.

With the kind permission of the Africa Southeast Area Public Affairs team, I am posting Rodrigue’s touching video, along with another short extracted from an oral history where he explains his perspective on visual communication and shares his testimony.

Main Feature

Happy Easter from the DR Congo! (French with English subtitles)

Video Supplements

03A: Testimony of Visual Artist from the DR Congo (French with English subtitles)

FairMormon Conference Podcast #12 – Scott Petersen, “Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: A Restoration of Primitive Christianity”

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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 month, you can still purchase video streaming.

Scott Petersen, Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: A Restoration of Primitive Christianity

Transcript available here.

Scott is the Executive Director of the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at BYU. Under his leadership the program has been ranked in the top five of all collegiate entrepreneurship programs for each of the past seven years, ranking #2 in 2016. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Omadi, Inc., a venture backed SaaS mobile CRM platform for workforce management, serving the towing/transportation markets. Scott is a long time entrepreneur having co-founded or partnered in building seven companies (harvesting four), including several current ventures. Additionally, he serves on several business and private foundation boards. In 2005, Scott published a significant work, titled Where Have All The Prophets Gone?, a historical, theological book on early Christianity using the Bible, the Pseudepigrapha, the Apocrypha, the Dead Seas Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Library, and all of the extant early Christian writings. In 2014 Scott published his second book, Do the Mormons Have a Leg to Stand On?: a Critical Look at LDS Doctrines in the Light of the Bible and the Teachings of the Early Christian Church. Scott and his wife Marilyn are the parents of 5 married children and they have 15 grandchildren. Scott serves as Stake President of the Provo Utah YSA 4th Stake.

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.

FairMormon Questions: Does God call those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing?

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FairMormon has a service where questions can be submitted and they are answered by volunteers. If you have a question, you can submit it at http://www.fairmormon.org/contact. We will occasionally publish answers here for questions that are commonly asked, or are on topics that are receiving a lot of attention. The question and answer below have been edited to maintain confidentiality.

Question:

Why would God allow someone who has a hidden history of sexual misconduct to serve in callings such as a Bishop, Stake President, MTC President, etc.? Wouldn’t the Lord warn those making the call?

Answer from FairMormon volunteer Greg Smith:

Thanks for writing FairMormon. I speak only for myself, not FairMormon or the Church.

You ask an important question, and in a sense it is a version of probably the most difficult question any believer in God confronts. Some have said that it is the only decent objection against a belief in God. The question turns on the “Problem of Evil”–that is, if God is good, why does he allow or tolerate, or permit, evil?

[Read more…] about FairMormon Questions: Does God call those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing?