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Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Doctrine & Covenants 46-48

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by Dell Blair

How is it that a dark and formless void ends up as a holy and glorious paradise? How can something so empty become completely whole? What is the recipe? And what is our personal role in bringing it about? Is there a map? If so where is the big red ‘YOU ARE HERE’ mark on it?

A thought experiment:

Consider the task of drawing a map of something that is dark, empty and formless. You are standing at the easel in your studio staring at an blank surface thinking: what lines do I start with? What information do I have to reference? How do I do this?

Any line or dot or brush stroke you make will establish a kind of form. So how do you proceed? Since the reference doesn’t look like anything, how do you represent it as something? What form can represent the idea of formlessness?

[Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Doctrine & Covenants 46-48

FAIR Voice Podcast #32: Mission Stories

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This week, I briefly talk about the upcoming podcast episodes on the Witnesses film before talking to Monica Moore Smith and Bryce Clark about their movie Mission Stories. Both Mission Stories and Witnesses are fantastic movies to watch with your family. In this interview, we discuss themes of the movie, such as grace and the atonement of Jesus Christ, as well as what it is like to go on a mission.

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a research assistant on early Latter-day Saint history. Her interests thematically center around sacrifice, magic, and priesthood as it pertains to ancient Judaism, early Christianity, ancient Egyptian religion, and early Restoration history.

Shaken Faith Syndrome: Early to the Party, But Still Relevant

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Available from the FAIR bookstore

[Cross-posted from Mike Ash’s personal blog.]

My first book attempted to assuage the faith-crisis concerns of struggling Latter-day Saints. The work continues.

The First Step

At the risk of sounding boastful, I’ve authored three books (with a fourth on the way) and hundreds of articles (both in print and on-line) in the hopes of reinforcing and safeguarding the faith of Latter-day Saints. I don’t mention these accomplishments to brag, but rather to lament. Despite hundreds of hours researching and writing thousands of pages of material, I find that through the years, over and over again, members who struggle with their faith fall trap to the same problems I addressed a dozen years ago.

Earlier this year (2020), I received an email from someone who asked if my views expressed in my book Shaken Faith Syndrome (2008 and updated in 2013) have changed since I wrote the book. My answer was that the arguments I made in that book are virtually unchanged and that the cognitive suggestions and observations I made then, are equally applicable now.

As I’ll try to address in future articles, members today stumble over the same cognitive dilemmas (often of their own making) which sets them up for problems when they encounter faith-challenging material. As a people, we haven’t matured in our intellectual approach to gospel topics (despite the fact that even the Church had made attempts to update our thinking with articles such as those included in the Gospel Topics, essays). [Read more…] about Shaken Faith Syndrome: Early to the Party, But Still Relevant

Why Is Hugh Nibley More Important Now Than Ever?

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Post 5 of 9

by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

For more information on the book, visit https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/

This is the fifth of nineweekly blog posts published in honor of the life and work of Hugh Nibley (1910–2005). The series is in honor of the new, landmark book, Hugh Nibley Observed, available in softcover, hardback, digital, and audio editions. Each week our post is accompanied by interviews and insights in pdf, audio, and video formats. (See the links at the end of this post.)

The premise of this week’s essay is that Hugh Nibley is more important now than ever. Why is this so?

Outlined briefly below is the way in which Nibley embodied four important personal qualities. Rare qualities then and rare qualities today — but absolutely essential elements in the 72-hour spiritual survival kit for Latter-day Saints growing up in the world in which we now live.

1. He knew the difference between the “terrible questions” and the trivial questions. Such questions are terrible not in the sense they are bad questions but in the sense that they may strike terror in the hearts of those who lack answers. They are questions that can only be answered through revelation: “Will there be life after death? What is it like? … Where did I come from? Why am I here?”[1] Nibley contrasts these to the “trivial questions,” like the ones Nibley received from the notorious Mark Hofmann, a fellow prisoner at the Utah State Penitentiary. Writes Nibley:[2] [Read more…] about Why Is Hugh Nibley More Important Now Than Ever?

Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Doctrine & Covenants 45

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A House of Order, a House of God: Recycled Challenges to the Legitimacy of the Church

by Cassandra Hedelius

(This is from a presentation given at the 2015 FairMormon Conference)

I. Introduction to Mormon Gnosticism

Apologetics is a very broad field and different topics can involve extremely different audiences. My topic today is a little delicate, because the audience I hope to reach is a certain group of members of the church, good and faithful and well-meaning members, who believe in God, believe in Joseph Smith’s calling as a prophet, and have no problem with most of the doctrines and truth claims of the Restoration. You may now wonder why on earth I’m even up here. The unfortunate reality is that even for such a faithful person, there’s still the possibility of spiritual danger. One particular spiritual threat is gaining strength among some church members, particularly via the internet. What we’re seeing is a modern spin on an old song–that the church has lost its way, church leaders are not inspired or in favor with God, so God has raised up new leaders outside the church hierarchy whose visions and teachings are important for us to follow. It is likely you know someone who finds this narrative persuasive, or at least intriguing, even if you don’t know that they do. It is also possible that you and I have some seemingly harmless beliefs that can lead to this danger.

Central Tension

There is an interesting central tension in our faith. On the one hand, we believe that everyone can—and should—receive personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. On the other hand, God calls prophets to receive essential revelations that are binding on each of us church members. On the other one hand, Christ said many times to ask, seek, and knock, and promised He will answer. On the other other hand, Christ said that answers come in His own time, not automatically like putting a quarter in a pop machine. On the other other one hand, He wants us to come unto him with all our hearts, which is intensely personal and can be done without help or participation from anyone else. On the other other other hand, Christ commands us to receive ordinances which by definition require another ordained person to administer them to us, leaving us helpless if no such person is available. To boil it down: there’s a tension between religion as practiced on an individual level, and the many ways access to religion is mediated through the church organization. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Doctrine & Covenants 45

Watch the 2021 Interpreter Conference

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Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses

Live Streaming of the Conference
April 23-24, 2021

Program and other details available here.

LIVE STREAMING TIMES:

  • 7:00 pm, Friday April 23 — Keynote Session
  • 8:30 am, Saturday April 24 — Morning Session
  • 12:45 pm, Saturday April 24 — Afternoon Session

TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS DURING THE CONFERENCE:

NOTE: The live-stream links will no longer be operational once the Conference finishes. We expect videos of the presentations to be available 6-8 weeks afterward. An update of the ‘Book of Moses Bibliography’ at https://interpreterfoundation.org/book-of-moses-bibliography/ will be made shortly after the conference. The combined proceedings of both conferences will appear in Fall 2021, as well as other new Book of Moses volumes. For updates, see http://interpreterfoundation.org/books/.

“The Book That Answers All the Questions”: Hugh Nibley and the Pearl of Great Price

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Post 4 of 9

by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

For more information on the book, visit https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/

This is the fourth of nine weekly blog posts published in honor of the life and work of Hugh Nibley (1910–2005). The series is in honor of the new, landmark book, Hugh Nibley Observed, available in softcover, hardback, digital, and audio editions. Each week our post is accompanied by interviews and insights in pdf, audio, and video formats. (See the links at the end of this post.)

In line with Nibley’s description of the Pearl of Great Price, we borrow a chapter title from Boyd Jay Petersen’s wonderful biography on Hugh Nibley as the theme of this week’s Insight: “The Book That Answers All the Questions.”[1] [Read more…] about “The Book That Answers All the Questions”: Hugh Nibley and the Pearl of Great Price

The 2021 Interpreter Conference, “Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses,” is coming up this weekend!

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April 23-24, 2021
Presented by The Interpreter Foundation, Brigham Young University Department of Ancient Scripture, Book of Mormon Central, & FAIR
Due to the COVID-19 situation, this will be a live-streaming-only conference.

The live stream will be available here and on our Facebook page.

Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Doctrine & Covenants 41-44

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“Gladly” receiving God’s law

by Jeff Markham

The restoration of the Gospel revealed God’s law to the saints. There will be times in each of our lives when God’s law might feel like a burden. In those times, it is important to take the time to reaffirm and deepen our understanding of and appreciation for the fundamental purposes of mortality.

Let’s begin with a parable.

A certain man had three sons. It was summer, and each of the sons left home each morning to spend time with their friends. One morning, as they passed through the garage, they saw it contained three brand new, shiny bicycles, almost calling out to them to be ridden.

The first son, without even a moment of hesitation, jumped on a bike and rode off. He loved the feeling of the wind through his hair.  As he went about from place to place throughout the day, he didn’t think much about the bike. At times he left it lying on the ground. Despite his lack of concern for the bicycle, the newfound ability to quickly get to any part of town allowed him to have a lot of fun with his friends.  They went to a park, then to a fast food place, then through a forest and to the banks of a muddy creek. In the process of pushing the bike to its limits, he ended up having to walk it home with a flat tire and more than a few dents and scratches. He knew he’d have some explaining to do. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Doctrine & Covenants 41-44

David Whitmer, Misinformation, and COVID

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David Whitmer was instrumental in helping Joseph Smith during the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon and in the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Today he is primarily remembered as one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates (The Testimony of the Three Witnesses).

In spite of many powerfully motivating and inspiring spiritual experiences, including hearing the voice of God and seeing an angel, David sometimes struggled with being overly distracted by other obligations such as caring for the family farm. In a revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord chastised David, saying, “your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of me, your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called” (Doctrine and Covenants 30:2). This divine chastisement is one that is probably applicable to every modern man and woman as we struggle to find balance between our ordinary obligations and the demands of devoted discipleship.

If this were the only area of concern for brother Whitmer, it would hardly make him different from any one else. However, the Lord continued his chastisement, adding, “and you have not given heed unto my Spirit, and to those who were set over you, but have been persuaded by those whom I have not commanded” (D&C 30:2).

Here the Lord identifies three areas of concern: 1) not giving heed to the Spirit, 2) not giving heed to authorized leadership, and 3) being persuaded by those who are not authorized by the Lord. David’s problem was that he was listening to voices not authorized by God and that he was persuaded by them more than by what God was telling him through the Spirit and through his authorized priesthood leaders. [Read more…] about David Whitmer, Misinformation, and COVID