FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

Prophets

Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Amos; Obadiah

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Amos and Prophets

by Daniel Ortner

Amos is considered one of the “minor” prophets. But Amos 3:7 is a verse that is one of the more frequently cited in General Conference. According to the BYU Scripture Citation Index, it has been cited around 109 times. That’s more than any single psalm in the book of Psalms (not more than the whole book of Psalms). More than whole books of the Old Testament such as Judges, Ruth, and Esther. More than a lot of well known verses in the New Testament or Book of Mormon. And even about as frequently as 1 Nephi 3:7. It is a pretty big deal. Ultimately the popularity of this verse says a lot about our devotion to following the Lord’s prophet and apostles. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Amos; Obadiah

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

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Why is Obedience Greater than Sacrifice?

Meditations on Hosea 6:6

by Benjamin Pacini

My children know that the rule on Sunday is that they can only watch “church videos.” They’ve gotten to know them so well that when I began playing one of my favorites, it was two seconds in before my son shouted from the other room “that’s ‘Music of the Gospel’–I love that one!”  [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

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True Prophets Call Us to Repentance

by Daniel Ortner

Ezekiel’s Prophetic Call to Cry Repentance

Chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Ezekiel feature Ezekiel’s prophetic call. Just like the prophet Isaiah and Ezekiel’s contemporaries Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel is called as part of a vision where he sees the throne of God and feels the overwhelming presence of God. From each of these calls we can learn something significant about the role of a Prophet. For instance, from Jeremiah we learned a few weeks ago how God knew Jeremiah before he was born and foreordained him to be a prophet. But from Ezekiel we learn about a prophet’s mission to people to repentance whether or not that message is popular. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

President Harold B. Lee Testifies about Revelation in Book of Mormon Translation

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by Dennis B. Horne

In late 1973, only two months before he passed away, President Harold B. Lee visited Rick’s College (now BYU-Idaho), where he attended a luncheon and then gave the college devotional address. As President of Rick’s at that time, Henry B. Eyring was present with President Lee and described the events in his journal. These journal notations ended up in his biography, where they portray an unusually intense spiritual outpouring among those present. [Read more…] about President Harold B. Lee Testifies about Revelation in Book of Mormon Translation

FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 2 Days!

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General Conference is now just 2 days away! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

Musings on General Conference

by Trevor Holyoak

My earliest memories of General Conference are of me and my siblings playing with Legos while our parents tried to watch (and listen) in the same room. I knew it was our church leaders and prophet speaking, but to me it was just an opportunity to not have to go to church in person. As I got older, I paid a little more attention – particularly when my dad would take me to the stake center to watch the Priesthood session, and the times I took a date to Temple Square to watch it – but I didn’t start fully appreciating it until my mission. As a missionary, I fell in love with General Conference. I watched all the sessions all the way through for the first time in my life. Part of it may be that I realized how special this was for the members I watched it with – they spent the entire day at the church, and had a picnic together between sessions – but I think it was the first time I realized just what it was that I was watching: that these leaders were called of God to lead His church, and they were telling us what we needed to hear at that moment. [Read more…] about FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 2 Days!

Evaluating Claims that Contradict the Prophets

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Seven years ago, a FAIR conference presentation identified a harmful ideology among some members of the Church of Jesus Christ. It claims that God gives revelations, visits, and special priesthood ordinations to individuals outside of church leadership, and that faithful church members should follow and obey those individuals, and believe the truth of their purported visions and revelations, either along with or instead of actual church leaders. It often criticizes church leaders for being uninspired, or else claims one must read between the lines of leaders’ statements because most church members are too uninspired or unrighteous to receive greater light and deeper understanding. At the time, some of the major proponents of this ideology were Julie Rowe and Denver Snuffer.

Since then, this spiritually elitist ideology has become far more widespread than a few “remnant” groups. Our culture’s obsession with “authenticity” and personalized truth, along with confusion about scriptural principles of revelation, have made a lot of us susceptible to very harmful ideas that undermine our faith and ability to truly commune with God. [Read more…] about Evaluating Claims that Contradict the Prophets

FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 4 Days!

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General Conference is coming up in 4 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

General Conference:  Answers and Questions

by Edwin E. Gantt

As a Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, every day I am blessed with the privilege of interacting with and instructing some of the best young minds the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has to offer. It truly is a pleasure – and a very heavy responsibility – to be entrusted with teaching the youth of Zion. Although my students come from a stunning variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, family situations, races, and cultures – don’t ever let anyone tell you the BYU student body is some homogenous blob – among those things they do happen to share in common is a desire for answers. Indeed, most of my students have chosen psychology as their major area of study is because they assume that the discipline of psychology holds answers to their questions. After spending most of my adult life in the discipline I am not nearly as confident as they are that this is the case, but that is a story for another time. Regardless, it is one of the great joys of my life to be able to time each day with such vibrant, eager, and faithful young people who are so motivated to seek out answers and strive for greater, deeper understanding of themselves, the world, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [Read more…] about FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 4 Days!

FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 5 Days!

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General Conference is coming up in 5 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

The Watchmen on the Tower

by Daniel Ortner

Isaiah sets up a really powerful contrast between the wicked rulers of his day, and the rulers that will lead the people of God in the latter days.

In Isaiah 56 he tears into those who are supposed to be watchmen on the tower: [Read more…] about FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 5 Days!

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