• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

  • Find Answers
  • Blog
  • Media & Apps
  • Conference
  • Bookstore
  • Archive
  • About
  • Get Involved
  • Search

Resources

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

September 6, 2023 by Sarah Allen 3 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Apostasy, Doctrine, Faith Crisis, LDS Culture, LDS History, Perspective, Priesthood, Prophets, Questions, Racial Issues, Resources, Revelation Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 21: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [B]

July 19, 2023 by Sarah Allen

As we pick up with the difficult racial quotes this week, I want to start again with the disclaimer that neither I nor anyone else at FAIR agrees with or condones the words and attitudes on display in these comments. I am not defending their use. I am just putting some history and context back into them, so that we can all approach them with a little more knowledge than we may have previously held. That doesn’t make them easier to digest. Some of them are pretty awful, and it’s incredibly difficult for me to understand how someone can hold those views about other children of God.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 21: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [B]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Evidences, Faith Crisis, LDS Culture, LDS History, Priesthood, Prophets, Questions, Racial Issues, Resources, Revelation Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

Join us for a virtual fireside!

June 15, 2023 by Trevor Holyoak

Mission Leadership Q&A on June 25, 2023, at 7 p.m. MST

Do you have a question you’ve been hoping to ask mission leaders? Now is your chance! Join us for a fun evening of questions and answers right from your own couch!

Register here.

 

Filed Under: Questions, Resources, Testimonies, Wilford Woodruff Papers

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 19: The Early Church – Polygamy [D]

June 14, 2023 by Sarah Allen

One of the Church history topics I find the most fascinating is that of the Nauvoo Expositor and the lead-up to and aftermath of the martyrdom.

My first real exposure to the story of the Expositor was as a sophomore in high school in Utah. An anti-LDS substitute math teacher decided to take it upon himself to lecture us on the evil censorship of the church many of us in the class belonged to. Looking back now, I can see how wildly inappropriate it was for a substitute teacher to bring this up in order to harass and criticize the religious beliefs of a bunch of teenagers who were just trying to learn pre-calculus. But unfortunately, at the time it wasn’t that unusual for us to have teachers who didn’t like the church. It didn’t occur to us that these teachers were crossing way over the line by actually vocalizing that dislike in class.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 19: The Early Church – Polygamy [D]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Evidences, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Polygamy, Prophets, Questions, Resources, Women Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

John 14–17 – Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 Week 24

June 9, 2023 by FAIR Staff

“Continue Ye in My Love”

JUNE 5–11

FAIR temple circle

FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 June 5–11. John 14–17: “Continue Ye in My Love.” Find answers to difficult questions to help you in your learning and teaching. Here is a collection of reliable resources to supplement your study of John 14–17. FAIR Resources link to relevant questions which have been answered on the FAIR website. Under Church Resources you’ll find links to the different Come, Follow Me manuals, as well as other helpful links as applicable. Other Resources link to resources outside of FAIR that are trustworthy and helpful.

Main points to ponder

An if/then statement is a logical statement that expresses a conditional relationship between two parts: the “if” clause and the “then” clause. It’s a way of describing a cause-and-effect relationship or a condition and its consequence. Consider some of the if/then statements the Savior uses in this week’s reading:

  • “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 14:7)
  • “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 7:14)
  • “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
  • “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father.” (John 14:28)
  • “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)
  • “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)
  • “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:14)

What can these statements teach us about our relationship with Christ? What do they teach us about his love?

Continued here…

Filed Under: Bible, Come Follow Me, New Testament, Resources

By Study and Faith – Episode 1: What is Critical Thinking?

June 4, 2023 by Trevor Holyoak

https://media.blubrry.com/mormonfaircast/www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/What-is-Critical-Thinking.mp3

Podcast: Download (65.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

by Zachary Wright

Have you ever wanted to problem-solve better? Not just the daily issues we deal with, but the massive world-changing problems we deal with constantly? What about wanting to be more effective in your study? Have you ever wanted to learn to differentiate between what’s true and what’s not? Maybe you’re not as ambitious, but you want to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ and learn more about Him and His gospel. All these skills, and more, apply at least some form of critical thinking skills, and I’m here to help you learn how to be a more effective critical thinker. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 1: What is Critical Thinking?

Filed Under: Apologetics, Book of Mormon, By Study and Faith, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Podcast, Questions, Resources, Science, Zachary Wright

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 17: The Early Church – Polygamy [B]

May 17, 2023 by Sarah Allen

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we’re frequently taught to value honesty. Primary children sing “I Believe in Being Honest.” Our 13th Article of Faith declares openly that we believe in being honest. It’s actively encouraged by our Apostles. Our temple recommend question was recently updated from, “Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow man?” to the even wider-reaching, “Do you strive to be honest in all that you do?” Our scriptures teach us to deal with men honestly and to be open and honest in our conversation and renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, because those with honest hearts are accepted by the Lord, while liars will be thrust down to Hell.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 17: The Early Church – Polygamy [B]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants, Evidences, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Polygamy, Questions, Resources Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 16: The Early Church – Polygamy [A]

May 11, 2023 by Sarah Allen

Plural marriage is one of the top two or three most controversial things about our church’s history. It’s something that most people have strong feelings about. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground, and it’s been a divisive doctrine right from the very beginning.

It’s probably what we’re most known for, and is definitely what we’re most mocked over. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been watching a show or movie, only to have a random “joke” tossed out about “the Mormons” and polygamy.

[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 16: The Early Church – Polygamy [A]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Marriage, Polygamy, Questions, Resources, Revelation Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 14: The Early Church – The Endowment [A]

April 26, 2023 by Sarah Allen

While the Endowment is a subject that I find comforting and fascinating to study, I will admit upfront that I’ve been feeling some trepidation regarding this section. In his Letter, Faulk actually describes and shows images of many of the temple signs, symbols, and tokens, and those are not things I’m comfortable discussing in a public setting. I take our temple covenants very seriously, and I don’t want to put myself or FAIR or any of the readers here in the position of potentially breaking those covenants. Because of that, there will be a large section of this topic that will just be skimmed over without the usual level of detail and documentation I try to provide.

And frankly, I’m actually appalled that Faulk would post that information for everyone to read and look at. I don’t believe in mocking someone else’s sincerely held religious beliefs, even when I find those beliefs strange or off-putting. Unfortunately, that’s what Faulk’s Letter leads to deeper in this section. While I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that wasn’t his intent, he does air these things publicly where they can and will be mocked by those who belittle them.

This week, however, we’ll be focusing most of our attention on the idea that the Endowment was copied from Freemasonry. There is some truth and a lot of untruth behind that charge. [Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 14: The Early Church – The Endowment [A]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants, Early Christianity, Evidences, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Masonry, Priesthood, Prophets, Questions, Resources, Revelation, Temples Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 13: The Early Church – The Word of Wisdom [B]

April 19, 2023 by Sarah Allen

This week, we’re continuing with the Word of Wisdom discussion. There were some important concepts introduced in last week’s post: the need for ongoing revelation, the Word of Wisdom as a mark to set us apart from the rest of the world, that there are differences between the revelation found in D&C 89 and the version we follow today, and that it was not meant just for physical health, but also for spiritual health. These are things to keep in mind this week, too.

The LFMW picks up:

Additionally, the Lord’s Law of Health seems to lack real health considerations.

This is a bit of an odd statement to me. The Word of Wisdom was not meant to be an all-encompassing list of everything that was healthy or unhealthy. It doesn’t cover every single individual circumstance. It makes very few definitive health statements, and mostly just says whether things are good or not good according to the Lord’s definition. [Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 13: The Early Church – The Word of Wisdom [B]

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics, Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants, Evidences, Faith Crisis, Joseph Smith, LDS History, Prophets, Questions, Resources, Revelation Tagged With: Letter For My Wife

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address:

Subscribe to Podcast

Podcast icon
Subscribe to podcast in iTunes
Subscribe to podcast elsewhere
Listen with FAIR app
Android app on Google Play

Pages

  • Blog Guidelines

FAIR Latest

  • How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History
  • Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Galatians
  • Join us this weekend for a FREE virtual Book of Mormon conference with keynote speaker Richard Bushman
  • Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 8–13
  • By Study and Faith – Episode 7: Confidence and Bias

Blog Categories

Recent Comments

  • Dennis Horne on How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History
  • Clair on Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 8–13
  • Dennis Horne on Asking Big Questions: How Can I Develop a Stronger Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?
  • Sarah Allen on Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 23: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [D]
  • No on Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 23: The Early Church – Blacks and the Church [D]

Archives

Footer

FairMormon Logo

FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our Friends

  • BYU Religious Studies Center
  • BYU Studies
  • Book of Mormon Central
  • TheFamilyProclamation.org
  • Interpreter Foundation
  • Wilford Woodruff Papers Project

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • iTunes
  • YouTube

Donate to FAIR

We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.

Donate Now

Donate to us by shopping at Amazon at no extra cost to you. Learn how →

Site Footer

Copyright © 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of FAIR, its officers, directors or supporters.

No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written consent of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc.

Any opinions expressed, implied, or included in or with the goods and services offered by FAIR are solely those of FAIR and not those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) Logo

FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR)