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Faith and Reason

Interview with Dr. Louis C. Midgley

October 8, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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louis-midgley2

This week’s interview on the Mormon FAIRCast is with is with Dr. Louis C. Midgley. He was born and raised near Salt Lake City. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Utah, and, after teaching for a year at Weber State University, he and his wife moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he received his Ph.D. from Brown University in the political science department. He taught the history of political and legal philosophy for thirty-six years at Brigham Young University, from which he retired in 1996.

Dr. Midgley has had an abiding interest in the history of Christian theology. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Paul Tillich, the then-famous German-American Protestant theologian and political theorist/religious-socialist activist. Midgley also studied the writings of other influential Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth. Eventually he took an interest in contemporary Roman Catholic theology, and was also impacted by the work of important Jewish philosophers, including especially Leo Strauss and his disciples.

Beginning with its first issue in 1989, he was a regular contributor to the FARMS Review, which soon became the flagship publication of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He eventually also had the pleasure of serving as one of its associate editors until it was cancelled in 2011. He then began serving as a contributing editor for Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture in 2012.

Dr. Midgley served two missions to New Zealand—the first in 1950-52 and the second, with his wife, in 1999-2000, during which they directed the Lorne Street Institute of Religion, in Auckland.

He is married to the former Ireta Troth, of Bountiful, Utah. They are the parents of two sons and a daughter.

Dr. Midgley’s wife passed away on 3 February 2014 from an unexpected catastrophic event following successful surgery at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. He is now without the immediate companionship of his beautiful wife. He lives with a firm hope that he will eventually be reunited with her.

Dr. Midgley’s testimony can be found at Mormon Scholars Testify.

 

Filed Under: Apologetics, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton Tagged With: apologetics, Book of Mormon Geography, Brown University, Camerion Club, Faith and Reason, Lou Midgley, New Zealand, Podcast

President Scott Gordon Reviews the 2016 FairMormon Conference

September 11, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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FFMM

“If we can’t have a discussion, then we might as well not have a conference” –Scott Gordon

In this edition of the Mormon FairCast, President Scott Gordon reviews the 2016 FairMormon Conference held at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah. Gordon offers three themes from this year’s conference:

  1. Women in the church
  2. The Book of Mormon
  3. How to do apologetics

Gordon also discusses how speakers are chosen and why FairMormon invites Dr. Daniel Peterson to deliver the closing address year after year.

Gordon

President Gordon retains his belief in “Big Tent” Mormonism and says we can all be good members yet have differing opinions on topics such as feminism, Book of Mormon geography, and LGBTQ issues. Gordon says FairMormon is dedicated to standing as a witness of Christ and His restored church.

SLT

Scott Gordon has an MBA from Brigham Young University, and a BA in Organizational Communications from BYU. He is currently an instructor of business and technology at Shasta College in Redding, California. Scott has held many positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including serving as a bishop for six years. He is married and has five children.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is the recipient of FairMormon’s 2016 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Filed Under: Apologetics, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Podcast Tagged With: Add new tag, apologetics, FairMormon, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Podcast, Scott Gordon

Faith and Reason 75: Deification

August 14, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

Joseph Smith taught that we are of the same lineage and race of God. As God’s children, we have the potential to reach spiritual maturity and become like him. Most other Christians are shocked or outraged at such a suggestion. But this is what the scriptures tell us. The Psalmist wrote: “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalms 82:6). Many ancient Christians in the primitive Church also understood that we are to follow Christ’s example in a literal sense. Gregory of Nazianus taught: “I may become God to the same extent as He became man”. Likewise, the early Christian Irenaeus wrote that Jesus Christ became “what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself”. Even as late as the early part of the fourth century, Athanasius said that Christ “was made man that we might be made God”.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast Tagged With: Deification, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast

Faith and Reason 74: Degrees of Glory

June 25, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael Ash

Christ spoke of many mansions (John 14:2) and Paul compared the difference between the glory of the sun, moon, and stars with the different glory of those at the resurrection. Richard Anderson explains, “[Paul] sometimes wrote ‘heaven’ of the place where God dwells, but he used ‘heavens’ twice as much. Paul normally used the plural, even though the King James Version sometimes writes the singular for the Greek plural. For Paul, Christ is exalted ‘far above the heavens’ (Ephesians 4:10). If Christ is literally ‘higher than the heavens’ (Hebrews 7:26), he is in the highest heaven.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, LDS History Tagged With: Faith and Reason, Joseph Smith, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast

Faith and Reason 73: Salvation for the Dead

June 18, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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Baptismal font in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.
Baptismal font in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.

Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth (see John 3:5). Many people, however, have died without being baptized. Others were baptized without proper authority. Because God is merciful, He has prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism. By performing proxy baptisms in behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject what has been done in their behalf.

From LDS.org: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/salvation-for-the-dead?lang=eng

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Podcast Tagged With: apologetics, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast, Salvation for the dead

Faith and Reason 72: Sacred Vestments

June 12, 2016 by FAIR Staff

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sacred-Vestments.mp3

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garment

To those outside a particular faith, the rituals and clothing may seem unfamiliar. But for the participants they can stir the deepest feelings of the soul, motivate them to do good, even shape the course of a whole life of service.

The nun’s habit. The priest’s cassock. The Jewish prayer shawl. The Muslim’s skullcap. The saffron robes of the Buddhist monk. All are part of a rich tapestry of human devotion to God.

Not all such religious vestments are on public display. Some are seen only in places of worship. Temple robes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the robes of the holy priesthood, are worn only inside Mormon temples and reserved for the highest sacraments of the faith. White symbolizes purity. There is no insignia or rank. The most senior apostle and the newest member are indistinguishable when dressed in the same way. Men and women wear similar clothing. The simple vestments combine religious symbolism with echoes of antiquity reflected in ancient writings from the book of Exodus.

From the LDS Newsroom: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temple-garments

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Podcast Tagged With: Faith and Reason, LDS Temples, Michael R. Ash, sacred vestments

Faith and Reason 71: Secret Teachings Among the Apostles

June 5, 2016 by FAIR Staff

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Secret-Teachings.mp3

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Christ with the Twelve Apostles by Jacques Tissot

From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

Although Jesus often gave sermons that lasted for hours, all of his words in the New Testament can be read in about a half hour. Both the recently discovered Nag Hammadi Library and the rediscovered writings of the early Church Fathers include many quotes that they attribute to Jesus but are not found in our Bible.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton Tagged With: Faith and Reason, Michael R. Ash, Podcast, Secret Teachings

Faith and Reason 70: Premortal Existence

May 29, 2016 by FAIR Staff

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Premortal-Existence.mp3

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by: Michael R. Ash

In the Pearl of Great Price, we learn that man had a premortal existence in the Spirit World (See Abraham 3: 22-23). This is one of the beliefs that distinguish Latter-day Saints from other Christians. In the book of Jeremiah, however, we find a hint at this same doctrine. The Lord, speaking to Jeremiah said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash Tagged With: apologetics, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast

Faith and Reason 69: The Restoration

May 18, 2016 by FAIR Staff

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temple-square-joseph-smith-768187-gallery

From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by: Michael R. Ash

During the Great Apostasy, the Lord withdrew His divine priesthood authority from the earth. Existing churches did not have the power to lead people to the true knowledge of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Parts of the scriptures went missing or were corrupted, and no one had the authority to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost or perform necessary priesthood ordinances.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was restored by administering angels in 1820 through Joseph Smith. However unlike the Church in times past, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not be overcome by general apostasy. The scriptures teach that the Church will never again be destroyed (D&C 138:44; Daniel 2:44).

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash, Podcast Tagged With: apologetics, apostasy, Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash

Faith and Reason 68: Plain and Precious Parts

April 30, 2016 by FAIR Staff

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Plain-and-Precious.mp3

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by: Michael R. Ash

Most Christians today and in Joseph Smith’s day believe that the Bible is complete –that it contains everything that God intended, and that no new scriptures should be added. From Joseph’s translation of the Book of Mormon, however, we learn that the Bible is not complete and that many important parts are missing. Today’s scholarship sides with Joseph Smith. The scriptures we have today are the result of actions taken in the second century AD by those who had a different Bible than those at the end of that same century.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Filed Under: Faith and Reason, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Podcast Tagged With: bible, Church History, Faith and Reason, Joseph Smith, Julianne Dehlin Hatton, Michael R. Ash

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