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Articles of Faith

Articles of Faith – In Argumentato Pietatis – Valerie Hudson

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VMHudsonDr. Valerie Hudson joined the faculty of Texas A&M University at the Bush School in 2012 as the George Bush Chair. She is considered an expert on international security and foreign policy analysis, she received her PhD in political science at The Ohio State University.

In 2009, Foreign Policy named her one of the top 100 Most Influential Global Thinkers. Dr. Hudson developed a nation-by-nation database on women (http://womanstats.org) that triggered both academic and policy interest including use by both the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and various agencies of the United Nations.

Valerie is one of the founders of the online Journal called Square Two found at Squaretwo.org and is on Articles of Faith to talk about her article at Square Two – Rectifying the Names: Reflections on “Womanhood and Language.”

Questions addressed in this podcast: (We apologize for the audio quality of the phone call.)

By way of introduction of our topic, I want to share a quote you gave from Confucius in your article:
“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.”

With that being said, and in order to talk about your article we need to introduce, briefly, the article from Ralph Hancock entitled Eternal Womanhood and the Limits of Public Recognition as posted on Patheos. What is that article and how did it fertilize the article you wrote for Square Two?

What are some examples of these terms that come loaded with some baggage that doesn’t seem to do justice to LDS theology?

You state in the article that you wanted to create a wiki-dictionary of new terms- created by women—about experiences that are exclusive to feminine experiences. Why is that NOT happening?

Theme: Our people need to know that God wants them to be free—and what this means.  Our people need to know that God is fair—and what this means.  Our people need to know that even in the context of sexual difference, men and women stand as equals before God—and what this means.

In Argumentato Pietatis – You suggest using language to reclaim language. What is In Argumentato Pietatis, and how does this approach form your argument?

Mormon Fair-Cast: Peoples Choice Podcast Awards

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Neds Used Car Smile ThumbStop what you are doing – right now and do this. We really need you to do this.

We need your help to get nominated again for the People’s Choice Podcast Award. In 2011 and in 2013 we made the list of nominations for our religious podcasts and in 2013 we won best religious podcast. We really appreciate your support on that. In 2012, we were beat out by an atheist group. We would rather that not happen again.

In order for us to be nominated again, we need your help NOW. Time is very short. We need you to nominate us.
We also need you to send this to your Facebook and Twitter. Spread the word! Tell your friends!
Nominate the Mormon Fair-Cast Podcast for the People’s Choice Podcast Award.
Go to this link:
Scroll down to “Religion Inspiration”
Type in the following in the two boxes:
Podcaster Name: Mormon Fair-Cast
Our Podcasts have several hosts and themes. They are as follows:
Nick Galieti is our Podcast manager. He is the host for three podcasts:
Front Page News is a new podcast series Nick does with Cassandra Hedelius. They review the previous week of The LDS Church and members in the press.
The Articles Of Faith is a show where Nick interviews scholars and other notables.
Rise Up Podcasts Nick gears toward the youth.
Julianne Hatton does a podcast series called Faith and Reason.
These are interviews with Mike Ash and his book on evidences of The Book of Mormon.
Ned Scarisbrick does a podcast series titled The 4th Watch. It is based on the story of Jesus meeting his apostles while walking on the water during the 4th watch of night and keeping our focus on the Savior through the storms of life.
Ned Scarisbrick does a second series titled Fair Issues. These podcasts are based on articles that support the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Steven Densley Jr.  podcasts are titled Keeping the Faith. This series which centers on dealing with contemporary issues and criticisms of The Church.
We have other podcasts as well. Perhaps you would like to join us.
Please nominate us, and please listen.
Thank you,

 

Scott Gordon
President
FairMormon

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANKS FOR LISTENING.

Articles of Faith Podcast #22 – Neal Rappleye – Making God in Our Own Image to Cast Aside His Prophets

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neal-rappleyeNeal Rappleye volunteers with FairMormon, The Interpreter Foundation, and writes on his own blog called Studio et Quoque Fide. He is currently attending Utah Valley University and working towards a degree in History, with a minor in Political Science. He served a mission for the LDS Church in the Virginia Richmond Mission from August 2006 to August 2008. He joins us today to talk about an article that he wrote on his blog, the entry is entitled, Making God in Our Own Image to Cast Aside His Prophets.

Questions addressed in this episode:

While a more direct rebuttal to an article featured on the Rational Faith’s blog by Lori Burkman, entitled Disgracing God to Save a Prophet. The themes in the article and the general principles are the points I wish to focus.

In that article on Rational Faiths, there is an assumption that the author makes, and frankly, others have made as well. That is that God would not have commanded polygamy. That conclusion is compounded by the idea that, consequently, Joseph Smith must have been a mistake of Joseph’s own making. How do you answer that concern?

Part of the arguments that are presented by both articles are a perceived allegiance to God or Prophet’s almost to the point that they are mutually exclusive choices, it is one or the other. In Lori’s article her assertion is in her title, defending Joseph is seen as disparaging God. Your counter argument seems to be that Lori, and perhaps others that share her conclusions, are creating a god that fits what they feel comfortable worshiping, they create a god they can agree with, rather than seeking to find a way to agree with God as he is, regardless of the comforts that are in jeopardy with such an assumption. In some ways it sounds like you are both making the same argument but in different directions. So what makes your way, more agreeable in your sight?

For those that engage in reading blogs and various material found online, even from those professing to be members of the church, is a troubling undercurrent, and this is brought up in your article that is, “that people seem know better what God’s will is than do his chosen prophets, past and present.” Perhaps you could elaborate on that point.

There is a point that I think is interesting to consider when looking at any critique of either the church or its teachings. In your article you project or even take the path of Lori’s rationale to its next logical step. You say, “She would replace a God who commands polygamy under some circumstances with one that is inept in actually guiding his Church, or alternatively chooses (for some reason) entirely inept leaders.” Is this the conundrum so to speak, when people open the door to eroding prophetic authority with church practices? Is this the conclusion that they must then face? Is this the kind of God I believe in?

I would love it if you could read your own words, the concluding paragraph of the article as I believe it puts a nice conclusion on both this interview and the article:

I don’t like polygamy any more than you do. Personal experience of my own makes it very hard for me to cope with the idea that God would command his prophet to do something that could so deeply hurt and seemingly betray his wife Emma. I very much feel for Emma and admire the courage she showed during such a trying part of her life. I am not saying God is to blame for every action (related to polygamy) of Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young or anyone else trying to live this difficult command from God. But faith requires that we come to terms with the things God does that we don’t really like—not pawn all the blame onto his prophets who are imperfectly but sincerely trying to follow his will.

Articles of Faith: Samuel M. Brown – First Principles and Ordinances (Book)

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headshot-MikeStack-2014-09-24-art-background-croppedSAMUEL M. BROWN is Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah and an intensive care physician in the Shock Trauma ICU at Intermountain Medical Center. His award-winning book In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early  Mormon Conquest of Death was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. He is also translator of Aleksandr Men’s Son of Man: The Story of Christ and Christianity. Here is here today to talk about his book First Principles and Ordinances: The Fourth Article of Faith in Light of the Temple being published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

Questions addressed in this interview:

Your book addresses, among other things, the topic of faith, but your journey through your own faith crisis becomes an important backdrop for your perspective as a writer. Perhaps you could give the cliff notes version of that to set the stage.

Your book is part of the Living Faith Book Series that is being put out by the Maxwell Institute at BYU. As I understand the series as a whole, and therefore part of the feel and function of your book, is the reconciliation of faith and knowledge which is particularly notable challenge some are having in discourse about Mormonism. How do you seek to approach the challenge of reconciling faith and knowledge with your book?

There is a statement that opens the promotional one-sheet that I received on your book that was quite gripping and thought provoking. I don’t know if you wrote it or if it was someone with the publishing side of this effort, but I want to share it and give you a chance to expound upon that in context of your book: “Familiarity can lead to a kind of blindness in life and in religion. The first principles and ordinances of the Latter-day Saint gospel are particularly at risk for misunderstanding through such familiar neglect.”

While not set up in such a way that it addresses critical questions that some may have about the church, there is a sort of positive apologetic angle, almost devotional feel to your book. Is that a fair assessment?

Your book addresses active faith initially. This is something that I have been studying and feeling for years now so it was nice to see some confirmation in your writings to that idea. You speak of two main models of faith at least the way Latter-day Saints talk about Faith, what are those two models?

Articles of Faith 20: Geoff Biddulph – Why Didn’t The Church Teach Me This Stuff?

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Geoff BiddulphGeoff Biddulph is a convert to the Church of just over 15 years. Before joining he read a lot of anti-Mormon literature. However, it was the Spirit that converted him and helped him be open to being baptized. Since then, Geoff has read the book of Mormon more than 10 times and have read the entire Bible at least five times. He has a large library of Church-related material from which he draws upon as he writes for the Millennial Star blog—where he has contributed for nearly a decade. He his wife Cindy were married in the Denver temple nearly 11 years ago and they now have five kids. He is joining us by phone today from Denver, CO. Geoff is here to talk about an article he wrote for the Millennial Star Blog entitled, “Why Didn’t the Church Teach Me This Stuff”

Questions:

During your time as an LDS blogger, how have you seen the “bloggernacle” as it is often referred to, the catalog of blogs who claim some voice in the Mormon Community, how have you seen it change during that time?

While we seek to focus on Articles that come from what would be considered more academic or scholarly, we do find articles from time to time that strike an apologetic tone and regardless of the level of scholarship, the argument presented can help those struggling to reframe their position in such a way that might help calm the stormy waters of a faith crisis. Your article entitled, Why Didn’t the Church Teach Me This Stuff, was released on November 12th, 2014. This was a response to a gospel topics essay that the Church released on Polygamy in the early church, specifically during the Kirtland and Nauvoo periods. If you could, for those that haven’t read the article, summarize what one might find in that piece, specifically the parts that have caused some stir in public discourse recently.

The Church released its gospel topics essay Around October 22nd. A google search just this morning showed a massive amount of news outlets posting articles just three days ago (from the date of this recording), so on November 11th there seemed to be this bump in interest, which makes me wonder what about this topic seems to be keeping this subject around so long?

Your article is in response to a strain of discourse that centers around some discontent or uneasiness with the Church’s release of this gospel topics article. What is that position and why did that strike as something that warranted a response?

You ask the question of the reader but I want to turn it back on you, Why didn’t the Church teach me this stuff?

It is a difficult position to respond to because you don’t want to demean what someone is feeling, that kind of hurt or shock is sometimes not so easily dismissed. So, how does your article serve to address that dissonance?

This may sound like a loaded question or one that is hard to answer in a short podcast, but if people are feeling that the church hid this from them, it begs the question, what is the role or responsibility the church has towards its members with respect to topics such as this? All the lurid details as you put it in your article?

The article concludes:

The Church did teach you stuff about even controversial topics. Perhaps you were distracted or didn’t pay attention or were not curious enough to explore on your own. You are ultimately responsible for your own learning, and you are responsible for how you respond to new information. That is what that whole “free agency” thing is all about.

Articles of Faith Podcast: Dan Peterson – Reason, Experience, and the Existence of God

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DanPetersonBio: Daniel C. Peterson holds a Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles, is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University, and is the founder of the University’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, for which he served as editor-in-chief until mid-August 2013. He has published and spoken extensively on both Islamic and Mormon subjects. He is the author, among other things, of a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God.

Formerly chairman of the board of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) and an officer, editor, and author for its successor organization, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, his professional work as an Arabist focuses on the Qur’an and on Islamic philosophical theology. Peterson is most recently, although it may not seem so recent anymore, Chairman and President of the Interpreter found at Mormon Interpreter dot com. He is here to today to talk about an article that he recently released for The Interpreter Journal entitled Reason, Experience, and the Existence of God.

Questions and topics addressed in the interview:

Dan Peterson, loved by some, agitating to others, and probably a variety of opinions in between. But how does Dan Peterson view Dan Peterson?

You have a blog on Patheos entitled Sic et Non. What does it really mean and how does that frame your writing on that blog?

When you are not blogging, you have other irons in many fires it seems. One of those efforts is the Interpreter. I don’t know that enough people are aware of what The Interpreter is or what it’s goals are as a foundation. Perhaps you could take a minute to offer a brief introduction.

Both your professional work at BYU and the subject of the articles we are going to be addressing today centers around Islam, which uses the Qur’an as its central scripture. When did you first say, “This Islam stuff, I think I ought to check this out. Qur’an, yeah that sounds like a light read.” What was the genesis of your interest in Islamic studies?

What value is there in the average Latter-day Saint in picking up the Qur’an and at least giving it a read let alone dedicate and study time to it? Is there tempering caution with such a thing?

Referring somewhat back to the title of your blog Sic et Non, your article in the interpreter essentially asks the main question Must human faith be completed by reason, or not? Is reason the genesis of faith or the other way around? Please set the stage for how this article came into being.

This article takes the reader on quite a journey so I want to try and help navigate that read. What I mean by that is the article starts out with what you’ve said, then it refers somewhat back to your work and studies with Islamic literature, and commentaries on it, then hits on alien radio transmissions, then back to Faith and Reason. So, let’s take the next step in the article

In Robert Reilly’s book, The Closing of the Muslim Mind, the case is brought up that Reason is the pre-requisite for revelation which you feel is a problematic foundation for the development of faith. Why is that?

A quote was repeated by Riley in his book, but the original quote was from Qadi ‘Abd al-Jabbar, an Islamic theologian that lived about 1000 years ago who said, “Reason first needs to establish the existence of God before undertaking the question as to whether God has spoken to man. Natural theology must be antecedent to theology.” On the surface that sounds fairly convincing, but you find this also problematic, in what way? Can reason alone establish the existence of God?

Is the assumption here that if one can reason that there is a God, then from there the idea of revelation becomes more approachable, less of a deceptive thing where the individual is just fooling themselves into believing in God is talking with them?

What then is the role of reason in authenticating revelation? Is faith, as was taught in Alma 32, the seed, and reason is the fertilizer or perhaps the soil for what grows up into revelation and, symbolically, the Tree of Life? It seems to me that works because reason has produced a variety of symbolic plants, but the seed that reason must foster is one that leads to eternal life.

As your article is a journey that seems to end where it began, only coupled now with reason and experience, this interview is brought back around to the Interpreter and its core value. You end your article with the following:
“The Interpreter Foundation was established on the premise that both reason and revelation have their place in determining religious truth. We believe reasoned investigation to be essential, but we will not discount revelation.”

Moving forward, how will we see this evident in the works of The Interpreter? I believe you have some new titles coming out in joint effort with Eborn Books. What are those?

Daniel C. Peterson is the Chairman and President of The Interpreter found at Mormon Interpreter dot com. A link to this article Reason, Experience, and the Existence of God will be found at the posting for this episode at blog.fairmormon.org.

Click here to read Daniel C. Peterson’s article in the Interpreter – Reason, Experience, and the Existence of God.

Articles of Faith 18: Darla Isackson – Suicide, Grieving, Finding Comfort in Christ and Strength to Go On

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Darla Isackson and son Brian (right)
Darla Isackson and son Brian (right)

Darla Isackson learned about adversity at an early age. She received life-threatening third degree burns as a child and has had health challenges all her life as a result. She served a full-time mission to Southern California, graduated as a valedictorian from Utah State University, married a returned missionary in the temple, gave birth to five healthy sons, and has been a professional writer, editor, and speaker for decades.

For Darla, life didn’t turn out as she planned. Divorce, remarriage, a blended family that didn’t blend well, serious car accidents, 7 preemie grandchildren, and ongoing health challenges were only prelude to her biggest heartbreak: losing a son to depression, alcohol, and drugs, then, to suicide.

In 2001 she became a regular columnist for Meridian Magazine online, and has posted close to 300 articles. In 2009 she released her book titled, Trust God No Matter What! and in 2010, the book called After My Son’s Suicide: An LDS Mother Finds Comfort in Christ and Strength to Go On. You can learn more about them on her web site: darlaisackson.com.

(Click here for a listing of all of Darla’s articles with Meridian Magazine.)

[Read more…] about Articles of Faith 18: Darla Isackson – Suicide, Grieving, Finding Comfort in Christ and Strength to Go On

Articles of Faith 17: General Conference October 2014 – Apologetic Highlights

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In this special episode of the Articles of Faith Podcast, Steve Densley (executive Vice-President of FairMormon and host Nick Galieti, review some of the presentations from General Conference – October 2014. These focus on quotes and talks that had apologetic value, or addressed some of the critical questions that some have faced surrounding the LDS Church, its culture, teachings, and practices.

If you have a talk or a quote from this General Conference that had a particular apologetic value, please leave that in the comments section of the blog entry for this podcast at blog.fairmormon.org

Articles of Faith 16: Margaret Blair Young – The Heart of Africa and The Welcome Table

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Margaret-Blair-Young-150x150Margaret Blair Young was raised in the Church and learned the standard Mormon clichés and customary phrases of a Mormon testimony. As a child, she could imitate the strokes and expressions of Mormonism well, in time she came to understand these were expressions of an immature, inexperienced faith. Time propelled her further into the faith. In time she began to be immersed in more controversial areas of LDS history: race issues and the priesthood restriction, keeping those of African lineage from receiving the priesthood or temple blessings for over a century. She wrote three books and made two documentaries on these subjects with Darius Gray, a black man who joined the Church in 1964, fourteen years before the restriction was lifted.

Margaret Blair Young is the past president of the Association for Mormon Letters and has published eight books—novels and short stories. Three of these were co-authored with Darius Gray and give the history of Black Latter-day Saints. She and Gray also made the documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. She has written six encyclopedia articles and other scholarly papers on Blacks in the western USA, and particularly on Black Mormons. She used to teach creative writing at BYU but now travels the world in her off time.

Questions addressed during the interview:

You just got back from Africa. Where were you and what were you doing there?

How is the church doing in Africa? What is it like on a day to day basis?

What are some of the difficult questions or situations for which the African Saints are seeking answers or solutions?

There is an article on your blog through patheos, The Welcome Table, the article is entitled Developing Spiritual Taste. In your world travels and in your film directing efforts on church related themes, you have no doubt encountered critics or at least statements that seem to be critical of at least perceptions of church doctrines and culture. You even address the motivation for the article, at least in part, by offering this brief anecdote: When I was in my late twenties, someone said to me, “You’re too smart to be a Mormon.” Clearly, I’m not. But the picture of Mormonism this person had in mind does not represent the kind of Mormonism I live.” What is the kind of Mormonism that you live, the kind that you layout in this article?

You talk about, in your Mormon Scholars Testify Page, a story where your husband once gave you a priesthood blessing during a particularly trying moment. He said these words: “I bless you that your memories will be sanctified as the larger picture unfolds, and you will view all of the difficulties and trials you’re enduring now with gratitude and love.”This is the blessing of perspective. It illuminates not only my personal history, but the hard historical episodes of my religion. What has that blessing meant in your research into as you put it, the more controversial parts of Mormon History?

Margaret Blair Young is the author of several titles as well as director and producer of several documentaries on the history of Black members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Click here for more information on Margaret Blair Young’s upcoming Film Project, The Heart of Africa.

Click here to read from Margaret Blair Young’s entries at Patheos under the heading, The Welcome Table.

Articles of Faith 15: Loren Spendlove – Understanding Nephi with the Help of Noah Webster

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loren-spendloveLoren Spendlove (MBA, California State University, Fullerton and PhD, University of Wyoming) has worked in many fields over the last thirty years, including academics and corporate financial management. Currently, he and his wife design and manufacture consumer goods. A student of languages, his research interests center on linguistics and etymology.

Questions addressed in this episode:

Why use the 1828 dictionary? Why not an earlier or later edition?

What is the value of looking at a book like the Book of Mormon with any appeal to a dictionary?

There are some devotional interpretations that your article offers, and there are some more apologetic interpretations. What are some examples of both?

When it comes to answering the critics using these alternative definitions, there is a clear, you are reading this with the wrong language understanding. With the more devotional aspects, are you saying the same thing only perhaps to members of the Church?

In the episode Loren Spendlove references a 20+ page guide of his findings from 1 Nephi that include the changes in word use from 1828 till today’s language use.

Click here for that spreadsheet —>> Nephi and Noah Webster

Click here to read Loren Spendlove’s article in the Interpreter.