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Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement

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Hey, guys. Long time, no see! This week should hopefully mark the return of weekly segments of this blog series. My life has been insane this summer, and I apologize for being so absent. My dad was dying of pulmonary fibrosis, and then miraculously, got a new set of lungs a few weeks ago that saved his life. He just came home from the hospital a week ago, and is still very weak. During that same time period, I also had to move, and there were two FAIR conferences, work and family obligations, and boy drama to wade through. Some of you have asked why I’m still single—it’s because I’m a magnet for Crazy. Things do appear to finally be settling back down, though, thankfully.

Speaking of the two FAIR conferences, the digital one on the Book of Mormon was a lot of fun. The talks from that one will be put into a book which should be coming out soon. The videos are being released on the FAIR YouTube channel every other Wednesday, alternating with the talks from the main conference this past August.

We’ve already begun planning next year’s main conference, and it’s shaping up to be a great conference. We’re talking about changing things up a bit with some interesting new ideas, and I will be presenting for the first time. I think I’ll be speaking on ways to navigate a faith crisis, or helping loved ones work through theirs. This will probably include subtopics like responding to anti-LDS material, studying with the Spirit, evaluating sources, and reputable resources you can turn to help you find answers to your questions. It’s a topic I’m passionate about, and unfortunately, it needs to be addressed often. It’s still very much up-in-the-air, though, as I’m still praying about what to say. I hope all of you can either come to the conference in person or catch it online afterward, because there are always some excellent talks at those conferences.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 23: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [D]

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This post will be the last in the section about race and the Priesthood restriction. I apologize for not getting this up sooner. My offline life has been a little crazy this summer, and I just didn’t have the time to do this post justice until today. It’s an important topic, and I wanted to make sure I was able to treat it with the respect it deserves.

The bulk of the conversation this week is about the idea that the prophets can never lead the Church astray:

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 23: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [D]

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 20: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [A]

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We’re now moving into one of the most controversial topics in our church’s history, the Priesthood restriction for black members of African descent. Like plural marriage, this is a topic that comes with a lot of emotion behind it. People have very strong feelings about this part of our history, and for good reason. I’m no exception to that. I’ll be discussing quotes, attitudes, and beliefs that I personally find appalling.

But like I always say, history is messy. Expecting it to be easy is naïve.

There are two things that are absolutely imperative to understand when we’re talking about these things.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 20: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [A]

I Know How to Lower Church Abuse Rates by 75%

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by Jennifer Roach

Note: Jennifer Roach will be speaking on this topic at the annual FAIR Conference being held in Provo, Utah, on August 2-4. More information here.

The rate of abuse that occurs at churches of all denominations is much too high. And while it’s true that children are at much higher risk of abuse at school, churches can and should hold themselves to a higher standard. [Read more…] about I Know How to Lower Church Abuse Rates by 75%

Latter-day Saint Enigma: Their Unexpected Troop Abuse Rates

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by Jennifer Roach

Note: Jennifer Roach will be speaking on this topic at the annual FAIR Conference being held in Provo, Utah, on August 2-4. More information here.

On April 19, 2023, The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced they had cleared the final hurdle before emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals approved their plan for compensating victims of sexual abuse. That plan included an agreement with their insurers, all the local councils, and some of their sponsoring organizations to create a $2.4 billion settlement trust to compensate victims. This is the largest sexual abuse compensation fund ever. [Read more…] about Latter-day Saint Enigma: Their Unexpected Troop Abuse Rates

Beyond the Rainbow: Supporting LGBT+ Saints Faithfully

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by Skyler Sorensen

Note: Skyler’s new book “Exclude Not Thyself: Thriving as a Covenant-keeping, Gay Latter-day Saint” will be available June 12. Pre-order now from the FAIR Bookstore!

When choosing to associate with a group, you have to consider the implications and effects the group has as a whole. In recent years our prophets and apostles have implored us to seek to understand the experience of our LGBT+ brothers and sisters. At a BYU devotional in 2017, and in regard to members of the Church with an experience under the LGBT+ acronym,  Elder Ballard said, “We must do better than we have done in the past so that all members feel they have a spiritual home where their brothers and sisters love them and where they have a place to worship and serve the Lord.” 

At the same time, pride celebrations are advertised by many as the best way to show LGBT+ people love and support. This juxtaposition has led some to the conclusion that the brethren are instructing us to use pride celebrations as the catalyst for showing “support” for LGBT+ people. But what message are we sending when we support such a movement? [Read more…] about Beyond the Rainbow: Supporting LGBT+ Saints Faithfully

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey – Mormon Fundamentalism with Brian Hales and Craig Foster

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Podcast: Download (67.0MB)

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Scriptural Mormonism Podcast Episode 14, cross-posted with permission.

Robert Boylan interviews Brian Hales and Craig Foster about Mormon Fundamentalism and the Netflix show “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” and specifically comparing FLDS to LDS, and Warren Jeffs to Joseph Smith.

Also join us at the 2022 FAIR Conference where Craig Foster will speak on “Under the Banner of Heaven,” and Brian Hales will participate in a lunch-time panel (for in-person attendees only) on common criticisms from Reddit. More information at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2022-fair-conference

Under the Banner of Heaven: American Fork Police Chief Randy Johnson interviewed by Craig Foster

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Randy Johnson was the chief of police responsible for the murder investigation of Brenda and Erica Lafferty in 1984, in American Fork, Utah. “I cannot recognize any actual person that I knew or came to know, accurately depicted in the series. The series does not reflect the actual investigation that I oversaw. Nor does it reflect the attitudes, behaviors and conduct of me or any of my officers. It is clearly a work of fiction as indicated by the disclaimer. I affirm that to my knowledge neither I nor any of my officers ever lost our personal faith.” He is interviewed here by Craig Foster.

A rough transcript is available here. More information about the disinformation in Under the Banner of Heaven can be found here.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Under the Banner of Heaven: Utah State Trooper Les Langford interviewed by Craig Foster

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Les Langford served as a Utah state trooper from 1972 – 2002. He was the trooper that arrested Dan Lafferty in 1983 while he (Dan) was a candidate for sheriff. He appeared in a total of 4 trials and stood toe-to-toe with Ron Lafferty as Dan’s followers tried to disrupt the court proceedings. In 1984 when Dan and Ron set out to do the murders, they created a “hit list” that included the stake president that had excommunicated them, the stake relief society president, and others. Brenda Lafferty was about 4th on the list, and Les Langford was 6th on the list. He is interviewed here by Craig Foster.

A rough transcript is available here. More information about the disinformation in Under the Banner of Heaven can be found here.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

 

Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11

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2 Samuel 11: A Presbyterian Reflection

by Carl Trueman

The events described in 2 Samuel 11 are pivotal to the reign of David. His adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, Uriah, will have consequences far beyond the royal household and the rest of his reign will be marked by political turmoil driven by rebellions from within his own family.

There are a number of points to observe in the text.  First, it is important to notice how the writer echoes the language of Genesis 3.  As Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was pleasing to the eyes and reached out and took it, so David sees that Bathsheba, one who is forbidden to him because married to another, is beautiful and takes her.  As humanity fell in the garden, so David as king in a sense falls here.  Hence his reign will never be the same again.  And in seeing David’s fall, we learn something of the sinful psychology of our own hearts: sin places me at the center and makes everything else instrumental to my satisfaction, desires, and happiness. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11