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The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 59

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Part 59: CES Letter Other Concerns/Questions [Section A]

by Sarah Allen

 

We’re starting the last section of the CES Letter besides the conclusion, so it’s just a few more weeks of this series. This particular section is a hodgepodge of all of the different things Jeremy could think of that didn’t quite fit in the other sections, as well as other questions that revisit some of the ones already asked.

Jeremy begins with a quote taken from Richard Bushman, noted historian and author of Rough Stone Rolling, that was given during an informal fireside at someone’s home, filmed, clipped into a short, 2-minute video, then handed over to various critics to pass around: [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 59

Come, Follow Me Week 21 – Deuteronomy 6-8; 15; 18; 29-30; 34

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“Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord”

by Dr. Jan J. Martin

Deuteronomy.  It is the last book of the Jewish “Torah.” The word Deuteronomy itself may be enough to intimidate all but the most determined and dedicated students of the scriptures. In Hebrew, “eleh ha-devarim,” means “these are the words.”[1] In ancient Greek, “Deuteronómion” means a “copy” or a “repetition” of the law.[2] After diligently wading through the first four books of the Old Testament, the repetitiousness of the fifth book can feel very much like a brutal exercise in intellectual torture because we feel like we’ve read it all before. Why study it again? And if we do study it again, how can we get meaning out of it?  Here are five helpful suggestions. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 21 – Deuteronomy 6-8; 15; 18; 29-30; 34

Come, Follow Me Week 20 – Numbers 11-14; 20-24

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Rejecting the Living Prophets by Following Future Prophets

by J. Max Wilson

(Adapted from his post at Sixteen Small Stones)

One of the key doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we have living prophets and apostles today who are authorized by God to receive revelations for the Church and for the world. The scriptures are full of stories of how the people of the Church rejected the messages of the living prophets, often justifying themselves by appealing to the words of previous prophets. Even Jesus was rejected by appealing to Moses or Abraham.

As President of the Twelve Apostles, Ezra Taft Benson warned: “Beware of those who would set up the dead prophets against the living prophets, for the living prophets always take precedence.”  [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 20 – Numbers 11-14; 20-24

Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19

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“Have You Been Saved By Grace?” How Do We Respond?

by Brad Wilcox

(This is from a presentation given at the 2018 FAIR Conference)

Grace, like many English words has multiple meanings. It can mean elegance and beauty. It can mean kindness and courtesy. It can be a title, ‘Your Grace.’ It can be a salutation, “Grace be unto you,” like we read in the in the New Testament, and it can also be a prayer–we’re saying grace. With so many different meanings, no wonder there’s confusion. If we go back to the Hebrew word that was translated as grace, then the word means favor or goodwill given with compassion. No wonder Christians grabbed that word to describe God’s favor, God’s goodwill given with God’s compassion. But Latter-day Saints understand that grace is not just a description of God’s attributes. It is how he engages with us as we strive to attain those very attributes. Listen to what President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19

Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

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Under the Banner of Heaven movie posterFriends,

Today a new television series has been released titled Under the Banner of Heaven. It is based on a best-selling book by that same name, published in 2003, written by Jon Krakauer.

The book, and now the television series, talks about the 1984 horrific murders of Brenda Lafferty, and her 15-month-old daughter Erica, by Dan and Ron Lafferty in American Fork Utah. The theme of Jon Krakauer’s book is that Dan and Ron’s religious upbringing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the underlying cause for what they did. Krakauer, an atheist, believes that since bad things are sometimes done in the name of religion, religion breeds violence.

This series will likely lead to questions from your friends and family members. We’ve created a page of resources. Here are a few things to be aware of: [Read more…] about Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Exodus 24; 31-34

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Exodus, The Law of Moses, Covenants, and the Temple

by Ben Spackman

(This originally appeared on Ben Spackman’s blog)

Now that we’re getting into the desert Exodus narrative, we’re going to encounter what scholars call “legal sections” of scripture, that is, the details of the Law of Moses. I’m not interested in these so much as I am in the way the Israelites entered into the law, by covenant. So, let’s talk about these a bit more from an ancient Near Eastern perspective

The desert

Parts of a Covenant

Although there are differences, a covenant is functionally very similar to a contract or treaty. Among the ancient Israelites and their neighbors, the covenant pattern had several parts, though not every part was expressed in every covenant, nor was the order of these elements rigidly fixed. Understanding this pattern can help us understand the scriptures and the temple ordinances. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Exodus 24; 31-34

Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Exodus 18-20

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Becoming Free

by Amber Rothamer

I’ve always treasured the account of Israel’s miraculous exodus out of bondage in Egypt and the recorded events and miracles that followed. It is a portion of ancient history that has always fascinated and humbled me. There are numerous parallels between this account and that of the one found in the New Testament when the God of Israel, Jesus Christ himself came down to yet again save His covenant people. 

Moses, the prophet, from one perspective can be viewed as an example of the forthcoming Messiah, in that he rescued the people of Israel from bondage. This great nation was held captive for so long that it took great faith, miracles, and earnest obedience on the part of the people of Israel before they found themselves completely free from their bonds. Likewise how often do we, as God’s latter-day covenant people find ourselves in bonds too strong to break? Bonds that cannot be broken except through our own personal duty to God. It is through diligent obedience to His commandments and covenants, and faith in His mercy and redeeming love; such efforts on our part produce the miracles that set us free. And still, after all that God the Father, and Jesus Christ do for us, their work of love is never done. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Exodus 18-20

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 58

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Part 58: CES Letter Science Questions

by Sarah Allen

 

In this life, there are a lot of questions for which we don’t have answers, or only have partial answers. There is much still yet to be revealed, and one of the big lessons we need to learn in this life is that of having patience and trusting in the Lord to reveal things according to His timeline, not ours.

When I’m praying over some of these questions, two scriptures often come to mind as my answer. The most common one is D&C 58:3, which says, in part:

Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things…

The scripture verse that occasionally follows it up if I’m not satisfied by that answer and I get a little salty or frustrated over it is D&C 25:4, which reads:

Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come.

Sometimes, we’re just not ready for the answers yet, and we need to learn how to be okay with that. It’s not an easy lesson to learn, but it’s a pretty important one.

In this particular section of questions in the CES Letter, we’ll be discussing things that don’t have full, definitive answers yet. A lot of it is speculative, and a lot of Jeremy’s questions and comments are based on assumptions, not revealed doctrine. We’re mostly going to be talking about theories today.

I’m okay with not having explicit answers to these questions yet. Some of you won’t be, and that’s okay, too. Everyone has unanswered questions, and some of those questions can really bother us until we come to an answer that satisfies us. There’s nothing “wrong” or shameful about that. This church was restored because of Joseph Smith trying to get answers to his unanswered questions.

There are two things in particular that I think President Nelson excels at, and I think we’re very blessed to have a leader who does excel at those things. First, he is very good at separating the necessary from the extraneous, both in doctrine and practice. Under his leadership, the Church has streamlined various programs and taken steps to make things more simple and clear for us. He has shown that he’s open-minded and willing to change certain things to make our lives easier. He’s also told us that other things will not change, because they’re necessary for our salvation.

The second thing he’s really great at is closely related to the first, and that’s his ability to adapt to new information. When he’s informed that something isn’t working for many people, he seeks out ways to change it. When he learns new historical information, he adjusts his assumptions accordingly.

[Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 58

Faithfully Informed Podcast #2 – Interview with Sarah Allen, author of 60+ part “CES Letter” Rebuttal

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Sarah Allen has been writing a 60+ part series of articles responding to the “CES Letter” at r/lds on Reddit, which is now also being published on the FAIR blog. In this interview with Amber Rothamer, she talks about how she got started and the experiences she’s had over more than a year in writing the rebuttal.

Sarah’s “CES Letter” response series can be found on the FAIR website here:

https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Sarah_Allen_CES_Response_Posts

Sarah Allen is brand new in her affiliation with FAIR. By profession, she works in mortgage compliance and is a freelance copyeditor. A voracious reader, she loves studying the Gospel and the history of the restored Church. After watching some of her lose their testimonies, she became interested in helping others through their faith crises and began sharing what she learned through her studies. She’s grateful to those at FAIR who have given her the opportunity to share her testimony with a wider audience.

Amber Rothamer currently operates as the Project Manager at FAIR, streamlining the volunteer application process and organizing the many operations of FAIR into easy to manage teams led by its volunteer base. Amber has over 5 years experience spearheading marketing campaigns for radio and social media as a social media marketing manager, and specializes in written and visual content creation. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University Idaho where she majored in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in music and worked for both the school paper and the school radio station. Amber is driven by a passion to connect people through effective communication both professionally and personally. At home she focuses on building her young family of herself, her husband, and infant son, on open and honest communication. When Amber is blessed with free time, she enjoys traveling with her family, family history, and singing songs for her son.

 

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 57

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Part 57: CES Letter Temples & Freemasonry Questions [Section C]

by Sarah Allen

 

While Eastern societies and cultures are often well-versed in allegory and symbolism, Western societies and cultures are typically much more literal-minded, especially in the modern day. This can make studying the Gospel, particularly the temple, more challenging than it needs to be. So much of what happens inside the temple is symbolic. It can be difficult for us to fully understand what is being taught to us, and Jeremy Runnells takes that to extremes here in this portion of his CES Letter. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 57