Thanks to your donations of time, talent, and funds, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot in 2023. Here are some highlights, as well as a peek at some of the things we have in store for 2024. There is more opposition to the Church today than ever before, and there are many more things we’d love to be able to do in our mission to defend against critics and help save testimonies. But to do so, we really need more help. Please consider helping us with your donation today.
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By Study and By Faith – Episode 10: Response to “The Gospel for Mormons”
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by Zachary Wright
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often run into people who criticize us for our beliefs. I served my mission in a place where the Church was often criticized by General Christians who wanted me to abandon my faith and accept what they believed to be “the true Jesus”. While they may seem confusing at first, it’s a common phenomenon for many Christians to believe that we, as members of the church, aren’t true Christians, and that we consequently, will be going to Hell. However, in my experience, I’ve found that many Christian antagonists of the church often bring a number of ideas that have questionable reality. This is what I want to focus on today. [Read more…] about By Study and By Faith – Episode 10: Response to “The Gospel for Mormons”
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – The Book of Revelation
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Evangelical Questions: The Book of Revelation
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
Oh my goodness, we have made it to Week 50. And we’re almost done with this project. The whole goal this year has been to give you a peek into how your Evangelical friends and family see things differently – and how we can approach conversation a little bit differently with them and perhaps have more success sharing the goodness of our faith with them. And it’s been an amazing year for me – I’ve clarified some of my own thinking on this topic and hopefully helped some of you too. I’ve received so many kind and thoughtful notes from some of you that I never could have met any other way, so I’m incredibly grateful for this project. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – The Book of Revelation
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude
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Evangelical Questions: Do You Have the Holy Ghost?
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
Hi friends, and welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. If you wondered if you missed last week’s episode, it wasn’t you, it was me. And sometimes life is like that. Several of you reached out with kind notes asking if I was okay and I’m grateful for your caring. And here we are, back on track now. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude
Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 25: Prophecies
Okay, guys, the topic this week is on failed prophecies from the latter-day prophets, but only one of these four quotes he gives is actually a prophecy, and it didn’t fail.
The author, Thomas Faulk, also uses an incorrect word as the title, so I corrected it. I won’t correct his usage going forward in the portions I quote from him, but I will be using the correct word myself. So, just to clear up any confusion this flipping between spellings may cause for those who don’t know the difference, “prophecy” and “prophesy” are two completely different words. A “prophecy” is a prediction from an oracle of God that has already been given, such as those given by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. To “prophesy” is to give that prediction in the present tense. It’s an action, something somebody is currently doing. There’s only one letter’s difference between them, but they have different meanings and different pronunciations. I’m not trying to beat up on him for the error, because Heaven knows I’ve made my fair share of typos in this series. But in this case, I think the distinction is important. Also, I really don’t want to confuse anybody by constantly flipping back and forth between the two words.
[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 25: Prophecies
Have you tried our Faithful Answers app?
We have had an Android app available for a number of years on Google Play and the Amazon app store, but we have recently updated it with a fresh new look and name. It is also now available for the iPhone and iPad from the Apple app store!
How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History
The following is from LaJean Purcell Carruth’s presentation at BYU Education Week 2022 as part of the series presented on what can be learned from the Wilford Woodruff Papers.
She also gave a presentation at the 2023 FAIR Conference, which is available to watch on our YouTube channel.
Introduction
When she was eleven years old, LaJean Purcell Carruth found an old Improvement Era in her parents’ basement open to an article on the Deseret Alphabet.1 She was instantly, completely fascinated. She taught herself to read and write the Deseret Alphabet and decided that she would be a Deseret transcriber when she grew up. Little did she know where that early passion would lead. [Read more…] about How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History
Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement
Hey, guys. Long time, no see! This week should hopefully mark the return of weekly segments of this blog series. My life has been insane this summer, and I apologize for being so absent. My dad was dying of pulmonary fibrosis, and then miraculously, got a new set of lungs a few weeks ago that saved his life. He just came home from the hospital a week ago, and is still very weak. During that same time period, I also had to move, and there were two FAIR conferences, work and family obligations, and boy drama to wade through. Some of you have asked why I’m still single—it’s because I’m a magnet for Crazy. Things do appear to finally be settling back down, though, thankfully.
Speaking of the two FAIR conferences, the digital one on the Book of Mormon was a lot of fun. The talks from that one will be put into a book which should be coming out soon. The videos are being released on the FAIR YouTube channel every other Wednesday, alternating with the talks from the main conference this past August.
We’ve already begun planning next year’s main conference, and it’s shaping up to be a great conference. We’re talking about changing things up a bit with some interesting new ideas, and I will be presenting for the first time. I think I’ll be speaking on ways to navigate a faith crisis, or helping loved ones work through theirs. This will probably include subtopics like responding to anti-LDS material, studying with the Spirit, evaluating sources, and reputable resources you can turn to help you find answers to your questions. It’s a topic I’m passionate about, and unfortunately, it needs to be addressed often. It’s still very much up-in-the-air, though, as I’m still praying about what to say. I hope all of you can either come to the conference in person or catch it online afterward, because there are always some excellent talks at those conferences.
[Read more…] about Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 and 2 Peter
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Evangelical Questions: Priesthood of all Believers
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about priesthood of all believers. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 and 2 Peter
Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – James
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Evangelical Questions: Perfection?
by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC
Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about perfection. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – James
