
In a letter distributed to the families of the missionaries of the Australia Sydney North mission President Scruggs recounts the events of Tuesday, October 14: [Read more…] about Remember the Missionaries
by Keller

In a letter distributed to the families of the missionaries of the Australia Sydney North mission President Scruggs recounts the events of Tuesday, October 14: [Read more…] about Remember the Missionaries
by Mike Parker
In the last week FAIR has received an increasing number of queries about the supposed transcript of a talk given by President Boyd K. Packer in the Forest Bend Ward on 12 October 2008.
We have been in touch with Church Public Affairs about this matter. Here are the facts:
[Read more…] about Talk by President Boyd K. Packer goes viral
by Keller
We here at FAIR Blog are pleased to report on the latest Olivewood Books fireside featuring BYU law professor John Welch. In case you missed it, we have covered past speakers John Sorenson, John Gee, Mark Wright, and Daniel Peterson. If you live in the Utah County area and don’t want to miss out on future events, you may consider bookmarking this informative site and checking often.
Ever the prolific scholar, Welch authored a recent book examining legal cases in the Book of Mormon. Since attending his lecture, I have read the new book, which will inform my recap and commentary. Welch related the story of how Rex E. Lee recruited him to teach at to work at the fledgling BYU law school in 1979. Lee’s pitch was that if Welch taught a designated course he could teach whatever else interested him. Welch half-jokingly suggested Babylonian law as it relates to the scriptures and Lee responded that that was exactly the type of course BYU needed. [Read more…] about John Welch on Book of Mormon Legal Cases
Twenty-eight years ago, I was introduced to Heavenly Father’s Church, through the auspices of “Uncle Sam.” One thing that those drill sergeants shoved into our heads were the General Orders:
Events of the past few years have me re-reading the Book of Mormon, as Mormon implies that he is writing it for our benefit, because we’re going through the same thing [Mormon 8:35-36].
In California, the Church seems willing to make a “last stand” on the issue of homosexual marriage–which is part of a concerted effort to make the behaviour seem normal, rather than the sin that it is. Sadly, it appears that this is a fight that the Church will lose–if not at the polls, then in the courts, ratified at the polls when people elect those who appoint the anti-Mormon and anti-Evangelical judges. [Read more…] about “I will not quit my post until properly relieved.”
by Mike Ash
Critics frequently argue that—unlike believing Mormons who supposedly grasp at straws and rely on irrational feelings to support their beliefs—they (the critics) are rational, logical, and rely on the findings of science and empirical evidence for their beliefs. On an on-line discussion board populated by ex-Mormons who gather to vent about their former faith, one poster—using the screen name “Baffeled [sic] and Bewildered”—recently asked, “Why do intelligent people still buy into the [Mormon]…lies?” [Read more…] about Rational belief and rationalization
by Mike Parker
Over at the blog Dave’s Mormon Inquiry, the eponymous Dave Banack examines the “Stages of Faith” that has become something of a fad among those who reject the literal nature of the Restoration.
According to developmental psychologist James Fowler, individuals develop in their religious faith from a basic understanding centered on safety of one’s environment (Stage 0) to a universal enlightenment (Stage 6). Conformity to an organized religion is rooted in Stages 2 and 3, where myth, cosmic justice, and conformity lay (along with notions of an anthropomorphic god). According to Fowler, those on their way to enlightenment will leave these simplistic beliefs behind on the way to “universalizing” faith.
by Robert White
Ever since FAIR published an introductory review concerning Rod Meldrum’s presentations and DVD, various members of FAIR have been vilified by him for shining some light on what he was doing. On Rod Meldrum’s blog he wrote this:
Recently, much has been made of FAIR taking issue with a DVD and fireside presentation of a theory which claims that the Book of Mormon events were based in the upper Great Lakes region. While that theory may be right, the proponents of the Great Lakes theory bear the burden of showing that it is so.
While I shan’t go deeply into the that theory, let me briefly state why I am unconvinced by the evidence thus far presented, in spite of the fact that an emeritus General Authority is convinced: [Read more…] about Using and misusing scholarship and revelation….
Upon the loss of the 116 pages containing the Book of Lehi, Joseph Smith turned to the small plates of Nephi for this period of history. This translation concludes with the Book of Omni and his brief description of Mosiah’s move to the land of Zarahemla.
This is followed by the Words of Mormon. This section was apparently written in preparation for his transfer of the plates to Moroni.
by Keller
for PART I
Brigham Young’s Indian Policy
The Massacre at Mountain Meadows very clearly portrays the massacre as a locally planned and executed affair. While Brigham Young was not responsible for providing a proximal cause, I think it is fair to analyze how some of his actions and policies may have had unintended and indirect consequences for setting the stage. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing Brigham did was to threaten to shirk in his role as a peacemaker between obnoxious wagon trains and the Native Americans who suffered from such contact.
[Read more…] about Massacre at Mountain Meadows pt. II

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