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The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

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The world is full of delightful people pursuing delightful accomplishments, and the gospel promotes love, hope, and unity. How blessed the day when we’ll be able to think only of lovely and praiseworthy things! Unfortunately, scripture’s plain warnings about sin and wickedness are still relevant, and we can’t just ignore them no matter how hard the Adversary argues “I am no devil, for there is none.”  

Scriptures warn followers of Christ that evil uses good to deceive us. A devil who only ever said “come be evil!” wouldn’t get far. A devil who makes a persuasive case that evil is actually good is far more dangerous. Even when we know the difference between eternal truth and the philosophies of men, a dash of flattery, a threat to our social status, an accusation that we’re harming others can persuade us to reevaluate.  What used to seem clear-cut can become murky when the lines are deliberately blurred.  [Read more…] about The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

FAIR Conference Podcast #79 – Derek Sainsbury, “We mean to elect him”: Electioneer Experiences during Joseph Smith’s 1844 presidential campaign

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Podcast: Download (11.1MB)

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This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from that conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Derek Sainsbury, “We mean to elect him”: Electioneer Experiences during Joseph Smith’s 1844 presidential campaign

Derek’s book, Storming the Nation: The Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith’s Political Missionaries, is available from the FAIR Bookstore.

Derek R. Sainsbury has worked for 26 years in the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Currently, he is an instructor in the Church History and Doctrine department at Brigham Young University. He holds a PhD in American History from the University of Utah. He is the author of “Storming the Nation: The Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith’s Political Missionaries,” the award-nominated first book-length treatment of Joseph Smith’s presidential campaign. He has also authored other academic articles and conference papers. He volunteers for Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants Central. He resides in Bountiful, Utah with his wife Meredith and their three sons and three dogs.

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 54

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Part 54: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section J]

by Sarah Allen

 

With the exception of Hyrum Smith, the stories of the three witnesses are much more recognizable to us as a whole than those of the eight witnesses. Today, I wanted to focus on the seven we aren’t as familiar with. Their contributions to early Latter-day Saint history deserve to be celebrated. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 54

Come, Follow Me Week 13 – Exodus 1-6

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A Burning Bush and a Pillar of Light: God Remembers His Children

by Ugo A. Perego

Many years ago, when I was a young student at Brigham Young University, I had the unique opportunity to register for and attend the Summer Semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. To this day, it has been one of the best and most intriguing experiences in my life and I still dream about being able to go back there some future day. Besides the incredible instructors that were able to open my eyes and my heart to the world of the Old and New Testaments and an atmosphere of learning that has been hard to match elsewhere, one of the highlights of being in the Holy Land to study the Bible were the many trips we were able to make to the various places mentioned in the scriptures. It was as if time and space disappeared, and I was catapulted right in to the pages of the biblical accounts. One such trip was at Mount Sinai. When we arrived, we were told that we were going to sleep only a couple of hours and then we were to climb the mountain so that we would be on the top of it shortly before sunrise. It was a spectacular sight and truly a sacred moment as I pondered the meaning of that place in the history of humankind. However, that was just half of the Sinai experience. From there, we walked down the other side of the mountain to the Monastery of Saint Catherine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike. In the court of the monastery, a small plant had a sign with “The Burning Bush” written in reminiscence of Moses’ calling to prophethood somewhere not far from where I was standing. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 13 – Exodus 1-6

Faithfully Informed Podcast #1 – Kerry Muhlestein on “Learning to Love Isaiah”

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Amber Rothamer is FAIR’s Project Manager. She will be hosting a new podcast series called “Faithfully Informed.” In this first episode, she interviews Kerry Muhlestein on his new book, Learning to Love Isaiah: A Guide and Commentary.

Autographed copies of Learning to Love Isaiah: A Guide and Commentary are available from the FAIR Bookstore. [Read more…] about Faithfully Informed Podcast #1 – Kerry Muhlestein on “Learning to Love Isaiah”

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 53

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Part 53: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section I]

by Sarah Allen

 

We’ll wrap up Jeremy’s issues with the Book of Mormon witnesses this week, and then I’d like to take a little time discussing some of the lesser-known witnesses. We’re all pretty familiar with the three witnesses, but aside from Hyrum and arguably Joseph Smith, Sr., we as a group aren’t as familiar with the eight witnesses or the unofficial witnesses like Mary Whitmer. Their stories are important, though, and I’d like to give them the spotlight for a bit.

Jeremy picks up with his seventh issue/problem: [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 53

Come, Follow Me Week 12 – Genesis 42–50

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God Meant It Unto Good

by Jennifer Roach

Forgiveness is a strange business. I started out in life believing that forgiveness couldn’t come until I had an emotional experience of releasing the harm someone did to me. If I didn’t feel it, it wasn’t real. Later I figured out that I could forgive someone intellectually long before my emotions caught up, hoping they would eventually catch up. I’ve believed that forgiveness was for my sake, and at other times for their sake, and sometimes for the sake of obedience. I’ve also had times in life when the need for forgiveness had been pressed upon me so severely by outside forces that I went cold on the whole concept and decided I didn’t even need to worry about it. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 12 – Genesis 42–50

Aversion Therapy at BYU

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FAIR, a volunteer organization that provides information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has prepared a thorough explainer regarding aversion therapy, Brigham Young University (BYU), and President Dallin H. Oaks.

President Oaks was president of BYU from 1971 to 1980. During that time, psychology graduate student Max McBride conducted research on aversion therapy, or the use of weak electric shocks to the arm to decrease unwanted homosexual attraction. McBride’s research was overseen by BYU professor Eugene Thorne. Thorne also used aversion therapy as part of his private psychology practice. Both used nearly identical methods, and McBride’s research was intended to finesse the techniques used by Thorne and other mainstream psychologists.

Some church critics have made unsupported claims about the research and about President Oaks.  The accompanying explainer provides thorough documentation showing why those claims are misleading and irresponsible.

Read more here

FAIR Conference Podcast #78 – Kirk Magleby, “Unforgettable Hugh Nibley”

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Podcast: Download (12.1MB)

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This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from that conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Kirk Magleby, Unforgettable Hugh Nibley

Hugh Nibley Observed is available from the FAIR Bookstore.

Kirk Alder Magleby is the Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central. Kirk was born in Salzburg, Austria, and raised in Utah and Arizona. He served a mission for the Church in Peru. Kirk has a degree in economics from BYU and has spent his life in entrepreneurial as well as religious and humanitarian pursuits. Kirk is currently the Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central. He and his wife, Shannon, have 4 children and 10 grandchildren.

The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 52

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Part 52: CES Letter Witnesses Questions [Section H]

by Sarah Allen

 

This post officially marks the one-year mark for this series (on Reddit, Part 1 was split into two parts). I honestly never thought this would take so long, or that anyone would still be interested. I thought that maybe five people at most would read them, and they’d peter out after a month or two due to lack of interest. Instead, you’ve all been very kind and encouraging, and I wanted to thank you all for that. The other Reddit mods, especially, have been incredibly supportive despite the influx of trolls it’s brought to the sub. [Read more…] about The CES Letter Rebuttal — Part 52