Question: How does FAIR respond to criticism?

Learn more about apologetics and defending the faith

Key sources	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Maxwell Legacy in the 21st Century,” on pages 8-21 of the “2018 Annual Report” of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship off-site Youtube Daniel C. Peterson, "The Interpreter Foundation and an Apostolic Charge," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 30/0 (28 December 2018). [vii–xviii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Elder Neal A. Maxwell on Consecration, Scholarship, and the Defense of the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 7/0 (8 November 2013). [vii–xx] link
FAIR links	FAIR FAQ Apologetics—defending the faith If FAIR is not officially representing the church, why not? Mentions of FAIR in various media Roger Ekins, "Defending Zion," Proceedings of the 2003 FAIR Conference (August 2003). link Dan Peterson, "Random Reflections on the Passing Scene," Proceedings of the 2003 FAIR Conference (August 2003). link Daniel C. Peterson, "Humble Apologetics," Proceedings of the 2008 FAIR Conference (August 2008). link Dan Peterson, "Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics," Proceedings of the 2012 FAIR Conference (August 2012). link Daniel Peterson, "'Apologetics: What, Why and How?'," Proceedings of the 2018 FAIR Conference (August 2018). link
Online	Marianne Holman Prescott, "Be Faithful Disciple-Scholars Even in Difficulty, Elder Holland Says at Maxwell Institute," Church News (13 November 2018), off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "Charity in Defending the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 1/0 (28 September 2012). [i–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Role of Apologetics in Mormon Studies," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 2/0 (14 December 2012). [vii–xlii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 4/0 (10 May 2013). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Introduction, Volume 6: The Modest But Important End of Apologetics," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 6/0 (6 September 2013). [vii–xxvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Reflections on the Mission of The Interpreter Foundation," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 9/0 (11 April 2014). [vii–xx] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Some Notes on Faith and Reason," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 10/0 (27 June 2014). [vii–xx] link Daniel C. Peterson, "An Exhortation to Study God's Two 'Books'," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 13/0 (2 January 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Questioning: The Divine Plan," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 15/0 (19 June 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Toward Ever More Intelligent Discipleship," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 16/0 (11 September 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Making Visible the Beauty and Goodness of the Gospel," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17/0 (4 December 2015). [vii–xxii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "On Being a Tool," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 19/0 (6 May 2016). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Three Degrees of Gospel Understanding," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 21/0 (9 September 2016). [vii–xii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Power is In Them," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 26/0 (8 September 2017). [vii–xii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Word and the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 28/0 (4 May 2018). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Is Faith Compatible with Reason?," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 29/0 (24 August 2018). [vii–xvi] link Daniel Peterson, “Why Latter-day Saints Need to Defend Our Beliefs, Even as We Avoid Contention,” Latter-day Saint Living (1 November 2018), * off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "Better Kingdom-Building through Triage," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 46/0 (20 August 2021). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Contending without Contention," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 51/0 (10 June 2022). [vii–xx] link
Video	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Maxwell Legacy in the 21st Century" (2018 Neal A. Maxwell Lecture), Provo, Utah, 10 November 2018. Youtube
Print	Neal A. Maxwell, “The Disciple-Scholar,” in Henry B. Eyring, ed., On Becoming a Disciple-Scholar: Lectures Presented at the Brigham Young University Honors Program Discipline and Discipleship Lecture Series (Salt Lake City, Bookcraft: 1995), 1–23.

Question: How does FAIR respond to criticism?

The objective of apologetics is to provide answers to critical questions by searching for criticism to answer, surfacing sources, evaluating logic/hidden assumptions, and forming a coherent, well-researched response to those questions

Everyone is an apologist sometimes—whenever you give a logical reason for what you believe (in religion, in politics, in science), you are providing "an apology" in this sense.

There are generally two approaches for apologetics, as there is for any reasoned argument:

the apologist can answer the objections which others raise (sometimes called "negative" apologetics in that it seeks to "negate" the arguments someone has made against the Church);
the apologist can provide affirmative reasons which support their argument (sometimes called "positive" apologetics, because it "adds" to the evidence in favor of one's position.

As you can see, we all do this, all the time. Apologetics usually involves doing a mix of both of the above.

To prepare it's material, FAIR:

Seeks out criticism—volunteers stay familiar with critical websites, critical researchers.
Studies the evidence and claims being offered
Considers mistakes in reasoning, biases that are unaccounted for, and evidence that the criticism seems not to have considered
Prepares easy-to-read and well-documented summaries of their findings, with links for those who want to learn more.

Logical fallacies: how to reason well

In order to provide a well-reasoned response, all need to understand the language of debate. Errors in reasoning are sometimes called logical fallacies.

FAIR has provided an introduction to logical fallacies on this page. Watching out for these errors in our own thinking or the thinking of those with whom we debate religion, politics, or scholarship helps us identify sloppy thinking.

FAIR strives to update its materials

Scholarship, history, science, and knowledge never stand still—there is always more to learn, and new things to learn. As more information becomes available, FAIR volunteers may add to or correct arguments that have been made before.

If you find an error or think we've overlooked an important source, argument, or area of investigation, let us know. Much of our material has been developed because of questions from readers.

Conclusion

The Lord’s church doesn’t have to worry about criticism. It owns the world’s largest library of anti-Mormon literature under divine mandate. The Lord promises us:

Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest. Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time.

Notes

Question: How does FAIR respond to criticism?