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12 Reasons to Attend the FairMormon Conference (You Won’t Believe Number 10!)

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  1. Hear from and meet famous scholars. And not-so-famous scholars.
  2. Learn how to respond to critics in a kind but informative way.
  3. Get a front-row seat to any drama if the conference is crashed by hostile anti-Mormons and the Danites have to be called in.
  4. Hear six female scholars speak.
  5. There will be Red Vines! And possibly York Peppermint Patties.
  6. Dan. Peterson. Is. Speaking.
  7. Enjoy an accessible scholarly experience.
  8. Get the conference discount in the bookstore and get your books signed by their authors.
  9. Come hear what General Authority Seventy Elder Kevin W. Pearson has to say.
  10. See if Steven Harper or Brad Wilcox draws the most people.
  11. Strengthen your testimony.
  12. Red Vines! And Dan Peterson!

Register to attend or stream the conference today!

FairMormon Conference Podcast #10 – Neal Rappleye, “Put Away Childish Things”: Learning to Read the Book of Mormon Using Mature Historical Thought

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Podcast: Download (78.8MB)

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. Please join us for the 2018 FairMormon Conference coming up August 1-3. You can attend in person or purchase the video streaming.

Neal Rappleye, “Put Away Childish Things”: Learning to Read the Book of Mormon Using Mature Historical Thought

Transcript available here.

Neal Rappleye is the Research Project Manager at Book of Mormon Central and has published on the Book of Mormon in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. He has presented at the 2014, 2016, and 2017 Book of Mormon Conferences.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

The Strange Saga of a False Prophet: Charles W. Stayner, Orson F. Whitney, and George Q. Cannon

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Cross-posted from Truth Will Prevail

by Dennis B. Horne

            We now look as far as history allows into the lives and doings of three largely forgotten men (and their associates), to tell a story of strange doctrine, misplaced loyalty, and exasperated concern.

            In 1881, Bishop Orson F. Whitney was called on a mission to England, where his assignment was to preach the gospel as a proselyting missionary for several months, and then move into the main mission office in Liverpool, where he would become the sub-editor of the Millennial Star. In this capacity he would take over for the departing sub-editor, Charles W. Stayner. Unbeknownst to most in his day and ours, Charles Stayner was a self-proclaimed prophet and seer, who evidently had a very magnetic personality, enabling him to persuade Bishop/Elder Whitney, and also many of the other missionaries serving there, that he was a prophet of God that would someday lead the Church.

            The below diary entries and historical sources unfold as much as I know of Stayner’s (and his disciples) beliefs and actions in life. Bishop Whitney was the most prominent among them and had the best contacts with the senior leadership of the Church. For those who have not read my biography of Elder Whitney, after thorough study of his diaries, I came to realize that because of a susceptibility to flattery, difficulty coping with serious depression, and a hungry mind that thirsted for heavenly knowledge almost to a fault, Whitney was particularly vulnerable to Stayner’s claims. Beyond that, I cannot say why one as gifted and brilliant as Bishop Whitney would be so gullible as to accept Stayner’s strange doctrines and revelations. Stayner was not the only man to have a beguiling effect on Whitney during his lifetime, but he did have the most worrisome influence for the longest time—almost two decades.

            I present this material now for several reasons. Some of it (the entries from President George Q. Cannon’s diaries) has just recently become available after languishing in the First Presidencies vault for a hundred plus years. Further, most of the entries quoted below from Whitney’s diary are already published in my biography of his extraordinary life and are therefore not really new. But the main reason to narrate this unusual chronicle is because it tells a story that is repeating itself today in tragic ways. False prophets have arisen among us and should be recognized for what they are.

            In a similar manner to how Charles W. Stayner gathered disciples about him with the promise of great revelations and visitations and receiving high church positions, along with imparting special divine knowledge not had by others, Denver Snuffer is doing the same thing today. Whether we call them “Snufferites” or “the remnant” or some other label, this man is operating similarly (except in a digital internet age) to how Stayner worked, and is ensnaring some good faithful church members. [Read more…] about The Strange Saga of a False Prophet: Charles W. Stayner, Orson F. Whitney, and George Q. Cannon

Great Initiatives in Church History: Seminary

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“For too long Mormon women’s voices have been ignored. We, as a people, have suffered because of it.” Elder Steven E. Snow, Church Historian, June 2017 MHA Conference (Hat Tip Juvenile Instructor)

Inspired by my calling as a ward self-reliance specialist, I have started collecting stories about other educational initiatives undertaken in Latter-day Saint history. A story that highlights the contribution of a Mormon woman seem especially apropos in light of the upcoming celebration of  Mormon Women’s history:

This story comes from Casey Griffiths’s article “A Century of Seminary” who writes:

Many complex historical forces led to the creation of the seminary program. But in the simplest sense, the program began in the inauspicious setting of a family home evening. Joseph F. Merrill, a newly called member of the Granite Utah Stake presidency, sat listening to his wife, Annie, tell stories from the Bible and the Book of Mormon to their children before they went to bed. “Her list of these stories were so long that her husband often marveled at their number, and frequently sat as spellbound as were the children as she skillfully related them.” When Brother Merrill later asked his wife where she had learned all of the stories, she replied that she had learned most of them in a theology class conducted by Brother James E. Talmage at the Salt Lake Academy, a Church-owned school she had attended as a young girl. Deeply moved by his wife’s effectiveness as a teacher, Brother Merrill immediately began contemplating how other children attending public schools could receive the same kind of spiritual training as his wife. He became obsessed with the idea of providing students with a religious experience as part of the school day, regardless of what kind of school they attended. A few weeks later he presented the rough idea for a new religious education program to the stake presidency.

Of course, while this simple experience captures some of the revelatory forces leading to the creation of seminary, it must be acknowledged that the seminary program was not created in a vacuum.

While some might think that protest and public shaming are the most effective way to change the world or even the Church, this example captures the importance of personal inspiration and innovation in the home.  President Nelson once stated that “The home is the laboratory of love and in it resides the most important unit of the Church and of society—the family ” I like how Annie Merrill demonstrated that teenagers could be taught by adapting the best church scholarship of the day in an engaging manner. I am grateful that her stake leaders were able to see the merits of generalizing her success across a larger setting. I give major props the Seminary program for continuing this tradition and  being so quick to integrate the Gospel Topics Essays into the curriculum and training instructors how to find the best resources to answer questions.

Further Reading Links:

Register for Women’s Day at FairMormon Conference
Help Doubting Students Choose to “Be Believing,” Elder Renlund Tells Seminary and Institute Teachers (June 2018)
Answering Difficult Questions with Supplemental Resources, Chad H. Webb (July 2017)
The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century, Elder M. Russell Ballard (Feb. 2016)

 

Why Does “Holiness To the Lord” Appear on LDS Temples? (History, Meaning, and Purpose) (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 26A)

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. Stephen T. Whitlock: View of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park (Ophel Walls site) from the southwest corner, 2017

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 26: King Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness (1 Kings 3; 5-11) (JBOTL26A). A video version of this article is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel.

Note: Jeff and his wife, Kathleen, have just returned from their mission to the DR Congo. He will be presenting at the upcoming FairMormon 2018 Conference on “Stories of the Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” This series of Old Testament KnoWhy articles will resume sometime in the first half of August.

Question: Why does “Holiness to the Lord” appear on LDS temples? Was the phrase used on buildings anciently?

Summary:The Wikipedia article on LDS temples asserts that the phrase “Holiness to the Lord” was inscribed “on the Old Testament Temple of Solomon.” However, so far as we know, the phrase was never used as part of any ancient building. It is unique to modern temples. In this article we will address three questions:

  1. How did the practice of inscribing LDS temples with the words “Holiness to the Lord” begin?
  2. What was the meaning of the phrase in the Old Testament?
  3. What is the purpose of modern temples?

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL26A — Why Does “Holiness To the Lord” Appear on LDS Temples?

A video version of this article is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel

 

Going to the Temple for the First Time – Interview with Anthony Sweat

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Kelsey Edwards Anthony Sweat and Nick Galieti - LDS MissionCast
Kelsey Edwards (Left), Anthony Sweat (Center), Nick Galieti (right)

On this episode Kelsey Edwards and Nick Galieti sit down with BYU scholar and professor, Anthony Sweat who wrote a book called The Holy Invitation, published by Deseret Book. This is book and this interview are focused on those going to the temple for the first time prior to their mission, or even those that have gone but are looking to get more out of the experience. This is a great opportunity for missionaries preparing to leave, those on a mission, or even those that are coming home from a mission and looking to get more from their temple experience. Anthony Sweat has some great insights to share on this subject.

This week we are showcasing the music of Sara Lyn Baril. Her music can be found at http://saralynbaril.com Her music is definitely fitting for a missionary friendly music library, which means its also great for music to listen to on the sabbath day or any time you want to feel the peace and contentment of gospel music.

Sara Lyn Baril Music
Sara Lyn Baril – LDS Musician featured in this episode.

 

The Holy Invitation - Anthony Sweat

Some thoughts on Sacred Silence with the temple by Nick Galieti (host)

I went back to my journals to see back to my first temple experience on October 11th, 1997, the day before I received my mission call to Baton Rouge, LA. It would appear that two things were at play that informed the journal entry for that day, my obsession with girls and getting a girlfriend, so much so that I didn’t really offer much reflection at all on the mission call itself (yeah, really classy – don’t do what I did), and the fact that I was taught that we aren’t supposed to talk about the temple outside of the temple, so I never wrote anything about the experience, who was there, nothing.

In this episode, we touched on the idea of “sacred silence” in our interview. Its an obviously sensitive subject. There are sacred experiences that we should honor in that spirit. But what are those lines that we shouldn’t cross? I want to forward my own thoughts on this matter in hopes that it can help promote the spirit of the temple as well as help us to understand that the answer is far more ambiguous than we might originally think.

In the episode, I agreed with Anthony Sweat that there is a maximal point where all people engaged in living the covenants of the temple have explicitly agreed to not disclose certain parts of the temple endowment ritual. However, while there are those things that are specifically mentioned there, parts that need to remain sacred, it doesn’t mean that the rest of it remains public domain either. As in all gospel principles, but especially teachings of the temple are best understood line upon line, precept upon precept.

This means that what we talk about with respect to the temple should be viewed in light of who we are speaking with, not just what is “approved” according to covenant. It is common and expected that Missionaries will talk about the plan of salvation when speaking with those being taught about the restored gospel. However, it is doubtful that the best course of action is to discuss the content of the drama depicted in the temples as part of the endowment ritual. Then again, it might be. The spirit should be the guide in these matters.

Remember, it’s not that we hide it, at least no more than God has withheld many truths until we are in a position to best endure the experience that comes with tutoring from the spirit. In speaking of the temple and the sacred truths taught therein, much of what is taught is through the spirit to each individual because that is what that individual is prepared for and ready to learn. Without authorization from the spirit to share such things, it is best to treat such things as valuable for the person receiving it, and not necessarily relevant to the rest of the world.

Temple theologians talk about the temple as being sacred space, in sacred time. They also speak of the nature of temple ritual and learning as being something that should not be made profane. Meaning, something relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical; secular rather than religious. The origin of that word profane, from which we get the word profanity, actually originally meant “outside the temple, or not sacred.” (Side note: To speak profanity isn’t just using certain words that are socially considered vulgar, but to speak in any manner that is unholy.)

In order to keep the temple from becoming secular, something all too common, or profane, it is best to remember that while some of what is taught in the temple is not “off limits” to discuss conceptually and principally, or even out-of-bounds according to covenant in the temple itself, we should be careful to not make profane what is taught and what is learned as it remains in the domain of the sacred and spiritual. Sometimes what we learn in the temple is best understood in the temple context, and outside of that it looses its meaning, especially to someone other than yourself.

So, when you go to the temple for the first time, or when you go to the temple in subsequent visits, don’t be afraid to record those sacred experiences in your personal journal, but seek divine approval for what is appropriate to share and with what audience when it comes to speaking of such sacred things.

You can listen to past episodes at LDSMissionCast.com

Is There More to Psalm 23 Than Words of Solace and Comfort? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 25A)

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James Tissot: David Singing and Playing the Harp

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 25: “Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord” (Psalms) (JBOTL25A)

Question: Is there more to Psalm 23 than words of solace and comfort?

Summary: Bible readers have long looked to the book of Psalms as a source of solace and comfort. Countless books have been written about the psalms in a devotional mood, including many volumes devoted specifically to the twenty-third psalm — the main subject of this article. These beautiful and useful works of comfort and meditation focus on what we can read outof Psalm 23 by applying it prayerfully to our own situation. By way of contrast, this article explores can be read into it prayerfully based on our (admittedly limited) knowledge of its ancient setting. Ultimately, the more we can read into the psalm from our prayerful study, the more we can take out of it for application in our personal lives. Careful examination of the structure of the psalms will reveal that Psalm 23 is inseparably connected to the psalms that immediately precede and follow it. In order to enter fully into the peace of Psalm 23, one must first journey through the distress of Psalm 22. This journey culminates in the joy of exaltation in the presence of God depicted in Psalm 24. This sequence of events is replicated in the ritual journey of the priest-king, the redemptive journey of the Messiah, and the salvific journey of each one of the faithful. With this overarching picture in mind, a detailed verse-by-verse commentary on the psalm will be provided.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL25A — Is There More to Psalm 23 Than Words of Solace and Comfort?

Part 2 of 2: Why Is the Story of David and Bathsheba Significant? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 24B)

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Angelika Kauffmann: “Thou Art the Man!”

 

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 24: “Create in Me a Clean Heart” (2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51) (JBOTL24B)

This article continues a detailed commentary begun in article JBOTL24A on 2 Samuel 11-12, the story of the fall of David. Robert Alter summarizes this tragic story as follows:

The Book of Samuel is one of those rare masterworks that … evinces an unblinking and abidingly instructive knowingness about man as a political animal in all his contradictions and venality and in all his susceptibility to the brutalization and the seductions of exercising power. And yet, David is more than a probing representation of the ambiguities of political power. He is also an affecting and troubling image of human destiny as husband and father and as a man moving from youth to prime to the decrepitude of old age. The great pivotal moment of the whole story in this regard is when he turns to his perplexed courtiers, after putting aside the trappings of mourning he had assumed for his ailing infant son, now dead, and says, ‘I am going to him. He will not come back to me.’ These … words … have no conceivable political motive[; they] give us a glimpse into his inwardness, revealing his sense of naked vulnerability to the inexorable mortality that is the fate of all humankind. For the rest of the story, we see David’s weakness and his bonds of intimate attachment in fluctuating conflict with the imperatives of power that drive him as a king surrounded by potential enemies and betrayers.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL24B — Why Is the Story of David and Bathsheba Significant? (Part 2 of 2)

 

FairMormon Conference Podcast #9 – Matthew Bowen, “Semitic Semiotics: The Symbolic, Prophetic, and Narratological Power of Names in Ancient Scripture”

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This podcast series features a past FairMormon Conference presentation each month. Please join us for the 2018 FairMormon Conference coming up August 1-3. You can attend in person or purchase the video streaming.

Matthew Bowen, Semitic Semiotics: The Symbolic, Prophetic, and Narratological Power of Names in Ancient Scripture

Transcript available here.

Matthew L. Bowen is an assistant professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii where he has taught since 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he also earned an M.A (Biblical Studies). He previously earned a B.A. in English with a minor in Classical Studies (Greek emphasis) from Brigham Young University (Provo) and subsequently pursued post-Baccalaureate studies in Semitic languages, Egyptian, and Latin there. In addition to having taught at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, he has previously taught at the Catholic University of America and at Brigham Young University. Bowen is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on scripture- and temple-related topics and two forthcoming books on scriptural onomastics. Bowen grew up in Orem, Utah, and served a two-year mission in the California Roseville Mission. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Blattberg, are the parents of three children, Zachariah, Nathan, and Adele.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Part 1 of 2: Why Is the Story of David and Bathsheba Significant? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 24A)

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James Tissot: David Sees Bathsheba from the Roof

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 24: “Create in Me a Clean Heart” (2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51) (JBOTL24A)

Question: Why is the story of David and Bathsheba significant?

Summary: Chapters 11 and 12 of 2 Samuel are among the treasures of scripture. There are several reasons for their importance:

  • Historically, these chapters constitute the turning point that marks the end of the rise and the beginning of the fall of the house of David;
  • Doctrinally, the setting provides a context for discussions of the consequences of adultery and murder, and of abuses stemming from David and Solomon’s often politically motivated taking of “many wives and concubines”;
  • As a literary composition, we can experience and appreciate how an inspired and skilled author selectively presents details with incredible focus and economy of expression, thus revealing with exceptional clarity the central messages of the story;
  • As a tragic personal account of the steps leading to temptation and damning sin, we can draw moral lessons that can fortify and protect us against similar mistakes.

Because of the incredible richness of this account, it is best discussed verse by verse. Before entering into detailed commentary, three questions relating to the story will be discussed as background.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL24A — Why Is the Story of David and Bathsheba Significant? (Part 1 of 2)