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Polygamy

Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

April 28, 2022 by Scott Gordon

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

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Apostasy, Book reviews, Faith Crisis, LDS Culture, LDS History, Media, News from FAIR, News stories, Newsletter, Polygamy, Prophets, Questions, Resources, Temples

“Under the Banner of Heaven” Redux

April 2, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak 2 Comments

(Updated 4/28/2022 – Please see our new post at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2022/04/28/under-the-banner-of-heaven-fact-vs-fiction)

“Under the Banner of Heaven” is not only a slap in the face of modern Latter-day Saints but also a misrepresentation of religion in general. – Robert L. Millet

This book is not history, and Krakauer is no historian. He is a storyteller who cuts corners to make the story sound good. – Mike Otterson

Although the book may appeal to gullible persons who rise to such bait like trout to a fly hook, serious readers who want to understand Latter-day Saints and their history need not waste their time on it. – Richard E. Turley Jr.

[H]is obvious biases against both religion in general and the Church of Jesus Christ in particular have made the book nothing more than a flawed, sensationalistic work… – Craig L. Foster 

A book called Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer was published in 2003. It has now been made into a miniseries that will be available for streaming from Hulu later this month. Here are some resources available regarding the claims made in the book:

  • FAIR Response to Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
  • Church Response to Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven
  • The Krakauer Journal by Allen Wyatt
  • Faulty History: A Review of Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Richard E. Turley
  • Reflections on Mountain Meadows by Richard E. Turley, given at the 2007 FAIR Conference

The Deseret News now has an article on the series:

  • Perspective: Under the Banner of Hollywood

Have a question? Contact us here.

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Book reviews, LDS History, News stories, Polygamy, Questions, Temples

Come, Follow Me Week 8 – Genesis 18–23

February 17, 2022 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ValerieHudson.mp3

Podcast: Download (10.8MB)

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Polygamy as an Abrahamic Sacrifice

by V.H. Cassler

(From a presentation originally titled “A Reconciliation of Polygamy,” given at the 2011 FAIR Conference; edited here for clarity and length)

Today we are going to talk about polygamy but probably in a different way than you have heard about it before. That is, we are going to talk about the doctrinal ins-and-outs of it rather than historical practices.

During the period of time when the restored Church was commanded by the Lord to practice polygamy, some practiced it without any discernible hardship and still others with great pain. Contemporary Church members may look back upon that period with acceptance, or indifference, or discomfort, and I would like to say at the outset that I don’t see that diversity of feelings is harmful that people differ in their reactions to polygamy I don’t think is the issue. Rather, since the new and everlasting covenant of marriage is at the heart of the work of eternal life and godhood; confusion about the nature and form of lawful marriage ordained by God is harmful. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 8 – Genesis 18–23

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants, FAIR Conference, FAIR Conference, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Old Testament, Perspective, Podcast, Polygamy, Prophets, Women

FAIR Conference Podcast #71 – Rebekah Clark, “The Gospel of Equal Rights”: Latter-day Saint Suffragists, 1870-1920

December 20, 2021 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Rebekah-Clark.mp3

Podcast: Download (11.7MB)

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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.

Rebekah Clark, “The Gospel of Equal Rights”: Latter-day Saint Suffragists, 1870-1920

Rebekah Clark is co-author of the book Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah and works as a historian for Better Days, a nonprofit public history organization dedicated to expanding education about Utah women’s history. She holds a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, studied as a visiting student at Harvard Law School, and practiced law in Boston for four years. She graduated with a degree in American History and Literature from Harvard University, where her honors thesis focused on Utah women’s activism in the national suffrage movement. She has worked at the LDS Church History Department and taught as an online adjunct faculty member at BYU-Idaho. Her work has appeared in journals such as the Utah State Historical Quarterly, the Journal of Mormon History, BYU Studies, Pioneer Magazine, and BYU Law Review and in podcasts by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Church News, What’s Her Name, Zion Art Society, and the Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. In addition to her work with Better Days, she currently serves on the board of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team. Rebekah lives in Highland with her husband Andrew and their five children.

Filed Under: FAIR Conference, FAIR Conference, LDS History, Podcast, Politics, Polygamy, Racial Issues, Women

FAIR Conference Podcast #67 – Brittany Chapman Nash, “Let’s Talk About Polygamy”

November 23, 2021 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Brittany-Chapman-Nash.mp3

Podcast: Download (10.3MB)

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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.

Brittany Chapman Nash, Let’s Talk About Polygamy

The video of this presentation can be watched on our YouTube channel.

Brittany’s books are available in the FAIR bookstore.

Brittany Chapman Nash is a specialist in Latter-day Saint women’s history and coedited the award-winning four-volume Women of Faith in the Latter Days series and Fearless in the Cause: Remarkable Stories of Women in Church History. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Humanities from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in Victorian Studies from the University of Leicester in England. Brittany worked as a historian for ten years in the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served on committees in the Mormon History Association, Better Days 2020, and Young Women general board. She is a member of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team, a group dedicated to popularizing the history of Latter-day Saint women. Brittany lives with her husband, Peter, and two young children in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she enjoys working at home with her little ones. She loves learning people’s stories, helping plants to grow, and watching cooking shows with her husband.

Filed Under: FAIR Conference, FAIR Conference, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Podcast, Polygamy, Prophets, Questions, Revelation, Women

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Doctrine and Covenants 129-132 (additional post)

November 10, 2021 by Trevor Holyoak

What Do We Do with Section 132?

By Brian C. Hales

Doctrine and Covenants section 132 is undoubtedly the most controversial of all of Joseph Smith’s revelations because it mentions the practice of plural marriage. Ironically, it is also one of the least discussed of all of Joseph’s official teachings for the same reason.

The 2014 Gospel Topics Essay discussing plural marriage encourages a new transparency on this subject and the historical and doctrinal references within the revelation. Yet, talking about polygamy more frequently does not necessarily make it any easier to understand or accept. Why? Because it favors men and is impossible to defend it as being fair.

Not only is polygamy here in mortality very difficult to practice, an associated fear involves the possibility of eternal plural marriage, which from our current view might be considered eternal unfairness. I have a daughter who has harbored the anxiety that if she dies before her husband (to whom she is sealed) passes away, he might remarry in the temple and she would become an eternal polygamist without her choosing. Here’s a few thoughts on the subject: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Doctrine and Covenants 129-132 (additional post)

Filed Under: Come Follow Me, Doctrine and Covenants, Gospel Doctrine: D&C, Joseph Smith, Marriage, Perspective, Polygamy, Priesthood, Women

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Doctrine and Covenants 129-132

November 8, 2021 by Trevor Holyoak

Reading D&C 132 with Elder Quentin L. Cook’s Comments in Mind

by V.H. Cassler

If you were not reading carefully, you may have missed an extraordinary bit of commentary by Elder Quentin L. Cook in the July 2020 Ensign. Speaking about how Church history can be a source of strength and inspiration, Elder Cook stated [I’ve added some highlights]: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Doctrine and Covenants 129-132

Filed Under: Come Follow Me, Doctrine and Covenants, Gospel Doctrine: D&C, LDS History, Marriage, Perspective, Polygamy, Women

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 12: March-July 1843

September 19, 2021 by Trevor Holyoak

Available in the FAIR bookstore

This volume of the Joseph Smith Papers contains 96 representative documents from the period of March – July 1841. During this time period, Joseph continued having legal problems with Missouri, the Kinderhook Plates were found, he led the Nauvoo Legion, construction continued on the Nauvoo House and temple, and he taught about the temple, eternal marriage, and plural marriage. Meanwhile Nauvoo continued to grow, and the church grew outside of Nauvoo and outside of the United States.

One document that I thought showed an interesting side of Joseph Smith’s personality was a response to a letter he had received from Abraham Jonas of Columbus, Illinois, asking to borrow a cannon. He wanted it for use in celebrating the failure of the establishment of a new county. Joseph’s response was to grant permission, along with a note at the end saying “Five hund[r]ed cannons you should have if I had them” (page 112). [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 12: March-July 1843

Filed Under: Book reviews, Doctrine and Covenants, First Vision, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Polygamy, Revelation, Temples, Women

FAIR Voice Podcast #10: Polygamy and 1 Corinthians 13

August 16, 2020 by Hanna Seariac

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/p/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/polygamy.mp3

Podcast: Download (45.3MB)

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Polygamy is a difficult concept for many to grasp, but Hanna dives into the Hebrew Bible and the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s to understand polygamy in a way that shows how it was not just acceptable– it was ordained and good for the time. She unapologetically explains how God consecrates everything for our good and how polygamy made sense for the time. She, then, dives into 1 Corinthians 13 and expresses love for the idea of love.

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.

Filed Under: Apologetics, Bible, Book of Mormon, FAIR Voice, Hanna Seariac, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Podcast, Polygamy, Prophets, Women

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Vol. 10: May – August 1842

May 18, 2020 by Trevor Holyoak

Available from the FairMormon Bookstore

Nauvoo is getting busy. This volume contains 623 pages but covers only a four month timespan. Two of the biggest things that happened were the excommunication of John C. Bennett and rumors of Joseph Smith’s involvement in an assassination attempt on Lilburn W. Boggs. When Bennett left Nauvoo, Joseph became the mayor which made him even busier. For further context, this time period is covered in pages 453 – 477 of Saints, Voume. 1.

This volume features 105 documents out of nearly 400 available for this time period. Other documents are available at the Joseph Smith Papers website. However, as always, the footnotes and editorial information on each document make the book well worth having. Some of the items featured in the book are Nauvoo city scrip signed by Joseph Smith, a poem written by Eliza R. Snow for Joseph Smith, and the only known revelation giving instructions for performing a plural marriage. There are also notes from a number of sermons he gave. [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Vol. 10: May – August 1842

Filed Under: Book reviews, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Polygamy, Temples

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