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Mormon FAIR-Cast 130: Equality and Priesthood

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Marvin Perkins provides a scriptural compilation of the Lord’s command for all to be equal and to ordain to the priesthood all who will embrace the gospel work.

This episode is an audio version of segment 3 of the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD Series . The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast: 129: Skin Color & Curses

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How can the Church better reach African Americans? What do the scriptures mean when they say that a person is “black?” Does it refer to skin color or is it metaphorical? What do the scriptures mean when they say that a person or people are cursed?

This episode is an audio version of segment 2 of the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD Series . The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 128: Blacks in the Bible

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In a study performed by the Higher Education Institute, in association with UCLA, which concluded in 2005, African Americans ranked number one in seven of the twelve spirituality categories measured.  These deeply spiritual roots have been passed on from generation to generation of church goers and Bible faithful.  This commitment is especially impressive in light of the absence of positive religious teachings, mentions or artistic renderings of Black African ancestors in today’s Christian religions.

There are many who regularly mention Cain and Ham and the curses associated with them, leaving and reinforcing the impression that Black equates to cursed or less than.  Was there a positive Black presence in the biblical days?  If there was, wouldn’t the entire world benefit from this knowledge?  Those of African descent could gain a greater sense of self.  This could also help to repudiate much of the confusion about race and encourage unity.

Blacks in the Bible is the first of four segments in the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD series. The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

New Doctrine and Covenants resources available from lds.org and Interpreter

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At FAIR, we like to keep abreast of various resources which become available for studying, understanding, and teaching the gospel. With the current Sunday School year focusing on the Doctrine and Covenants, there are two new resources to which we would particularly like to call your attention, as well as some old favorites. The first is found here:

http://history.lds.org/series/doctrine-and-covenants-revelations-in-context?lang=eng#

and contains articles written by historians discussing with balance and grace some of the key characters and events associated with the restoration. A particular focus is the context in which the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received. These historical papers provide a golden opportunity for teachers and students to better understand the context and process through which Joseph received many of the early canonized revelations so that they can better apply the process in obtaining divine guidance in their own lives. They also provide an excellent opportunity to better understand the historical unfolding of the restoration.

The Scripture Roundtables, hosted by Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture provide a second useful resource in the study of the Doctrine and Covenants. Each Roundtable involves a rotating collection of scholars discussing the gospel doctrine lessons. The discussions are roughly forty minutes each and may be found here:

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/category/scripture-roundtable/

The guests have included a number of BYU professors, scholars associated with FAIR, students at Claremont Graduate University and other specialists who each bring unique insights and perspective to the study of the scripture. Interpreter’s multimedia platform makes it especially ideal for those who like to learn on the go. Their roundtable discussions are available as an itunes podcast as well as in the youtube format linked above.

A few other notable resources bear mention. This site: http://bit.ly/ldsarcdc provides teachers notes, slide shows, and class handouts for the Doctrine and Covenants.

Another resource, located at http://scripture.byu.edu, provides references for each time a scripture has been used in, for example, General Conference, and allows a teacher or student to get an idea how a particular scripture is typically employed in teaching.

Used wisely, these various (ultimately explanatory) resources help us fulfil our divinely mandated duty to “seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith” (D&C 109:7) and also to “Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;” (D&C 88:78)

Mormon FAIR-Cast 127: Did an Apostasy Actually Occur?

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What is an “apostasy?” Are there any scriptures that say there was an apostasy that required a restoration? Do we know when the apostasy ocurred? Does that matter? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on August 19, 2012, Martin Tanner responds to claims that an apostasy did not occur.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR. (Listeners will note that the end of the recording is cut off prematurely.)

Wikipedia’s Deconstruction of Martin Harris

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Editor’s note: This blog post is a reprint Roger Nicholson’s two-part article in Meridian Magazine (part 1, part 2), and is published here with their kind permission.

The Martin Harris We Know

Every Latter-day Saint who has attended Sunday School is familiar with the story of Martin Harris. We learn that Martin was a relatively wealthy man for the area in which he lived, and that he mortgaged his farm to finance the publication of the Book of Mormon. The importance of this act cannot be underestimated,

The cost of printing 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon was $3,000—a huge sum (approximately $73,000 in today’s economy). It was simply impossible for the Smith family to raise even a small fraction of that amount. But Martin… proved his devotion once again by pledging his valuable farm to cover the tremendous expense.[1]

We also learn of Martin’s honesty. Despite his support for the prophet, Martin still wanted assurance that Joseph Smith was truly able to translate the ancient record contained on the gold plates. Martin carried a transcription of some of the characters from the plates to Charles Anthon, and Dr. Anthon fulfilled Biblical prophecy by claiming that he could not read a sealed book.

We also know that Martin was far from perfect. He was, in fact, referred to several times in the revelation comprising Doctrine and Covenants Section 10 as a “wicked man,” [Read more…] about Wikipedia’s Deconstruction of Martin Harris

Mormon FAIR-Cast 126: Anti-Mormon Criticisms of the Book of Mormon

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Why does the Book of Mormon say Christ was born in Jerusalem? Why does a French word appear in the text of the Book of Mormon? Didn’t Joseph Smith simply borrow Book of Mormon names from the Bible? Why was the Book of Mormon written in Reformed Egyptian? Are there any other instances of such writing? How can one believe the Book of Mormon when so many of the Book of Mormon witnesses left the Church? Why did Nephites build temples outside of Jerusalem? Isn’t the mention of coins in the Book of Mormon an anachronism? Why do the words “church,” “synogogue,” “book,” and “Jesus Christ” appear in the Book of Mormon? Did crucifixions and crosses exist before Lehi left Jerusalem? Wasn’t Joseph Smith fooled by the Kinderhook Plates? Did Elder B.H. Roberts lose his faith? Why haven’t Book of Mormon cities been found? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on May 29, 2011, Martin Tanner responds to these questions.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 125: Deification in LDS and early Christian thought

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Do Mormons believe they will become gods? Is this belief supported in the Bible? Are there other Christian religions that have similar beliefs? In this episode of Religion Today that originally aired on March 27, 2011, Martin Tanner discusses the concept of deification, or theosis, and the way in which it has been discussed in the Bible, by early Christians, and by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Reports of the Death of the Church are Greatly Exaggerated

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There has been a bit of buzz (mostly amongst ex- and anti-Mormons) recently over some remarks of Elder Marlin K. Jensen, an emeritus member of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy and former Church Historian and Recorder, who is alleged to have said that, thanks to Google, the omniscient fount of all knowledge, members of the Church are leaving “in droves”. A titanic exodus of members, the likes of which have never before been seen, are leaving the Church, Elder Jensen is reported by many on the Internet to have said. This, the claim on the Internet goes, is because the seedy truth of Mormon history and doctrine, kept secret by a conniving leadership, has been exposed by intrepid researchers on the web. [Read more…] about Reports of the Death of the Church are Greatly Exaggerated

Mormon FAIR-Cast 124: Controversies Regarding the Nature of Christ

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One of the primary reasons some claim that Mormons are not Christians is because the Mormon view of the trinity differs from that of most modern Christians. Mormons claim that their view of the Godhead is correct and that the view of God as set forth in various creeds, such as that which was proclaimed at the Nicean Council, is a corrupt version of the truth. Some modern Christians counter that the concept of the trinity as believed by most Christians today was already considered doctrine by the time of the Council of Nicea and the council was simply held to address other heresies. So what really happened? Why does the majority view of the nature of Christ differ from the view of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on September 2, 2012, Martin Tanner discusses these issues.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.