Mormon FAIR-Cast

Is the Bible the complete, inerrant, inspired, infallible word of God? Is it a book that has errors in it now, but that did not have errors in the original? Have changes in the Bible been made? If so, why and what were some of those changes? These questions and others are discussed in this episode of Religion Today, with Martin Tanner, which originally aired on KSL Radio on June 3, 2012. This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR. Note that the first part of this recording has been lost.

This is the second of a two-part episode.

Did the Mayans prophesy that the world would end in 2012? What is the probability that the Mayans are direct descendants of Lehi? Were the Lamanites and Nephites located in North America? What did Joseph Smith say about the location of Zarahemla? What about Zelph? Where there horses in the Americas before Columbus? Were there two hills Cumorah? Is there archeological evidence that proves the Book of Mormon is true? Mark Alan Wright earned his BA in Anthropology at UCLA and his MA and PhD in Anthropology (with a subfield of specialization in Mesoamerican Archaeology) from UC Riverside. His dissertation is entitled “A Study of Classic Maya Rulership.” He regularly conducts research in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Dr. Wright is Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University This is the first of a two-part episode. This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is the second part of a two-part episode.

Bill Reel talks about how he became converted to the Church, became a bishop and then nearly resigned his membership in the Church. He discusses the role the internet, on-line chat groups and podcasts played in both weakening his testimony as well as strengthening it. He also talks about how bad apologetics contributed to undermining his faith, how good apologetics reinforced his faith, and the central role the spirit plays in establishing a foundation for our testimonies.

This is the second part of a two-part episode.

How can we help activate less-active family members and friends? What happens when we can’t? What does a person do when a spouse leaves the Church? How can we maintain our faith when those closest to us are losing theirs? In this interview, we hear from a woman who grew up with a less-active father. After she was married in the temple, her husband too became less-active, and eventually had his name removed from the records of the Church. She discusses her experience with these family members and what she has done to retain her faith in the gospel.

This is an audio recording of the article entitled "Defending the King and His Kingdom," by Louis C. Midgley, published in Interpreter:  A Journal of Mormon Scripture, and posted here by permission. Abstract: Some vocal cultural Mormons, busy asking themselves “why stay,” claim that it is not at all probable that there is a God, or that there even was a Jesus of Nazareth. They also ridicule the Atonement. In the language of our scriptures they are antichrists—that is, they deny that there was or is a Christ. Being thus against the King and His Kingdom, their trumpet does not give a clear sound; they are clearly against the one whom they made a solemn covenant to defend and sustain. Instead of seeking diligently to become genuine Holy Ones or Saints, they worship an idol—they have turned from the Way by fashioning an idol. They preach and practice a petty idolatry. Genuine Saints, including disciple-scholars, have a duty to defend the King and His Kingdom. Louis Midgley (PhD, Brown University) is an emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University. Dr. Midgley has had an abiding interest in the history of Christian theology. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Paul Tillich, the then-famous German-American Protestant theologian and political theorist/religious-socialist activist. Midgley also studied the writings of other influential Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth. Eventually he took an interest in contemporary Roman Catholic theology, and was also impacted by the work of important Jewish philosophers, including especially Leo Strauss and his disciples.

This is part four of a four-part interview.

This is part three of a four-part interview.

This is the second part of a four-part episode.

Don Bradley is a writer, editor, and researcher specializing in early Mormon history. In his early years as a historian, he found it difficult to understand and explain many of the actions of Joseph Smith. He found that he could make sense of much of the history if he assumed that Joseph Smith was a fraud who sought after money, sex and power. As he pursued this strategy of analysis, he drifted further and further away from the Church in which he had been raised. Along the way, he spent time as an agnostic and atheist, then back to theist, then Baha’i, then generic Protestant. As he continued his research into the history of Joseph Smith, he found that the Joseph-as-fraud approach proved increasingly inadequate to explain what he was finding. In this interview, Don talks about what eventually led him back to the Church, why he finally decided that Joseph Smith is truly a prophet of God, and how adopting this new interpretive model has helped him to understand Joseph Smith better than he ever did before. Don recently performed an internship with the Joseph Smith Papers Project and is completing his thesis toward an M.A. in History at Utah State University. He has published on the translation of the Book of Mormon, plural marriage before Nauvoo, and Joseph Smith’s “grand fundamental principles of Mormonism” and plans to publish an extensive analysis, co-authored with Mark Ashurst-McGee, on the Kinderhook plates. Don’s first book, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Missing Contents of the Book of Mormon,is slated to be published by Greg Kofford Books. His 2012 FAIR Conference address can be read here: Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages.

Shaken Faith Syndrome and the Case for Faith Stephen O. Smoot Abstract: Michael R. Ash is a Mormon apologist who has written two thoughtful books and a number of insightful articles exploring a wide range of controversial issues within Mormonism. His recent book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt is an outstanding apologetic resource for individuals searching for faith-promoting answers that directly confront anti-Mormon allegations and criticisms. Ash does an excellent job in both succinctly explaining many of the criticisms leveled against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and articulating compelling answers to these criticisms. Review of Michael R. Ash. Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. Redding, CA: Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2008. x + 301 pp., with index. $19.95 (paperback). “Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) A favorite scripture of Latter-day Saint scholars is Doctrine and Covenants 88:118: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” While it is usually the last phrase (“seek [Page 106]learning, even by study and also by faith”) of this scripture that resonates with LDS scholars, the first part of this passage is equally profound. As “all have not faith,” or, one might say, have had their faith challenged or shaken, we are to teach each other words of wisdom from the best books. This scripture is a mandate to bolster each other’s faith as much as it is an invitation to pursue truth. Additional scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants invite Latter-day Saints to engage with the Gospel intellectually as well as spiritually. “Seek not for riches but for wisdom,” admonishes D&C 6:7. “Study and learn and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues and people,” we are instructed in D&C 90:15. “Obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man,” dictates D&C 93:53. The Latter-day Saints, accordingly, have long been keen students of history and cultures. As Elder Marlin K. Jensen, the previous Church Historian and Recorder, summarized: Several latter-day revelations speak to the subject of church history. In them the Lord clearly says He wants “a record kept” (D&C 21:1), and the record is to be kept “continually” (D&C 47:3). The record is to include “all things that transpire in Zion” (D&C 85:1) and is to chronicle the “manner of life” and the faith and works of the Latter-day Saints (D&C 85:2). It is to be written “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations that shall grow up on the land of Zion” (D&C 69:8). Those who keep the record—provided they are faithful—are promised “it shall be given [them] . . . by the Comforter, to write these things” (D&C 47:4).1 [Page 107]The need to buttress faith in the restored Gospel through study and prayer is necessitated by a sustained history of both sectarian and secular attacks on LDS beliefs and practices. Those bent on destroying the faith of the Saints, or at least trying to morph their faith into something totally alien to thefoundational tenets of Mormonism, have long been engaged in a crusade against Mormonism from both the pulpit and the press. Others have been subtler in their subterfuge, and have, like wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), attempted to undermine the faith of the Saints “from within.”2  Their goal has been, and remains, to prove that the ground and content of LDS faith is untenable, outrageous, or even a dangerous deception.3 The goal of these critics is frequently to convince Church members to totally abandon Mormonism, or to radically remold Mormonism into a meaningless pastiche of moral relativism and benign atheism that denies the existence of God,

A long-time member of FAIR, Mike Parker, addresses a variety of questions related to apologetics and gospel learning: Where should gospel teaching begin? To what extent should teachers bring up and address troubling historical or doctrinal issues? Should missionaries tell investigators about such issues before they are baptized? What should be the goal of a Gospel Doctrine teacher or missionary? How can a faithful member navigate the challenges that are posed by difficult doctrinal, historical or political issues? Mike provides his insight on this issues and many others.

This is the second part of a two-part interview.