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Aug 7-9, Provo, UT. (Can’t attend? Streaming available.)

Joseph Smith

FairMormon Conference Podcast #20 – Brittany Chapman Nash, “An Act of Religious Conviction: Mormon Women and Nineteenth-Century Polygamy”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2015. If you would like to watch the presentations from our most recent conference, you can still purchase video streaming.

Brittany Chapman Nash, An Act of Religious Conviction: Mormon Women and Nineteenth-Century Polygamy

Transcript available here.

Brittany A. Chapman Nash is a historian at the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She received a BA in Humanities from Brigham Young University and an MA in Victorian Studies from the University of Leicester. She specializes in nineteenth-century Mormon women’s history and is co-editor with Richard E. Turley Jr. of the seven-volume Women of Faith in the Latter Days series, which features the life writings of Latter-day Saint women. She serves on the executive committee of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team (MWHIT). She and her husband, Peter Nash, live in Salt Lake City.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Questions: Is it true that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith eventually leave the Church?

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FairMormon has a service where questions can be submitted and they are answered by volunteers. If you have a question, you can submit it at http://www.fairmormon.org/contact. We will occasionally publish answers here for questions that are commonly asked, or are on topics that are receiving a lot of attention. The question and answer below have been edited to maintain confidentiality.

QUESTION:

I have heard that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith wind up leaving the Church. Is this true?

ANSWER FROM FAIRMORMON VOLUNTEER CRAIG L. FOSTER:

My comments are my own and do not reflect either the Church or Fairmormon. I read your email and felt strongly that I needed to respond given my background. While I am certainly not a Joseph Smith expert, I have done a significant amount of research on the Prophet. As I have written numerous articles and several books dealing with aspects of Church history, I consider myself an LDS historian. Therefore, I feel I am in a position to respond to the assertion that most historians who look into the life of Joseph Smith wind up leaving the Church.

I am aware of a few who studied Church history and did end up leaving. However, they were very few. In fact, for most historians I have known, it has strengthened their testimony – and I have known and been friends with almost all of the major Mormon historians from Leonard J. Arrington to Thomas G. Alexander, James B. Allen, Richard Lyman Bushman, etc. These men were/are staunch defenders of the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith.

Recently, a friend of mine named Don Bradley posted a Facebook post about Joseph Smith and the First Vision. He has given me permission to include his comments. He emphasizes that he had come to consider Joseph Smith a liar and a fraud. He had his name taken off of the membership of the Church but continued to do research. Because of his research on Joseph Smith, he returned to the Church, was rebaptized and is a strong, believing member. We spoke the other day and he again bore testimony to Joseph Smith’s prophetic mission. Here are his comments: [Read more…] about FairMormon Questions: Is it true that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith eventually leave the Church?

Book Review: Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts

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Available in the FairMormon Bookstore

This new volume of the Joseph Smith Papers is another Facsimile Edition, which means it is an oversized volume (approx. 12 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches, matching the other Facsimile Editions in the series) with all of the items related to the Book of Abraham available to the public for the first time in full color. It contains photos of the extant papyri, the collection of documents commonly known as the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, and the Book of Abraham as first published in the Times and Seasons, along with the printing plates that were used.

As with all the books in the JSP series, there is a great volume introduction that gives the historical background and an overview of what the volume contains. It explains how the mummies and papyri came into the possession of Joseph Smith, what the various sets of documents are and how they might relate, and how revelation and translation were understood at the time by Joseph and the Saints. This is important since it has been known since the extant fragments were recovered in the 1960s that they actually contain common funerary texts (see https://archive.org/stream/improvementera7101unse#page/n13/mode/2up). There are two theories that explain this discrepancy  – either the scriptural text was on the much larger portion of papyri that was lost, or it was revealed without regard to what the papyri actually contain (see  https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng) – the introduction focuses on the latter. [Read more…] about Book Review: Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts

A “Mormon” By Any Other Name

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Editor’s Note: In anticipation of comments and e-mails on the matter, it should be noted that the name ‘FairMormon’ has been licensed from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have sought direction from the Church about the appropriateness or need of changing it. We have so far been advised that as we are not a part of the Church and have a different purpose, it is not presently necessary or desirable to do so. We are however in the midst of changing some of our website content to better follow the prophet’s counsel, as we are fully supportive of him and the brethren.

Written by Stephen Smoot and cross-posted from Ploni Almoni

“The ‘Mormon’ Boy” by Evan Stephens (1909)

During the 188th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson delivered an address to the membership of the Church in which he stressed the importance of “The Correct Name of the Church.” These remarks came amidst much discussion surrounding an announcement President Nelson had made two months earlier which updated the Church’s preferred style guide on the “Mormon” nomenclature commonly attached to the Church and its members.

Among the points President Nelson made during his General Conference remarks were the following: [Read more…] about A “Mormon” By Any Other Name

FairMormon Conference Podcast #17 – John Gee, “Selling Our Birthright for a Mess of Pottage: The Historical Authenticity of the Book of Abraham”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. In celebration of the release of the Facsimile Edition of the Joseph Smith Papers Revelations and Translations Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts, this episode is a presentation from our conference earlier this year. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the 2018 conference, you can still purchase video streaming. You can also buy John Gee’s latest book, An Introduction to the Book of Abraham, at a discount from our bookstore.

John Gee, Selling Our Birthright for a Mess of Pottage: The Historical Authenticity of the Book of Abraham

Transcript available here.

John Gee is a Senior Research Fellow, and the William (Bill) Gay Research Professor at the Maxwell Institute. He is the editor of eight books and has edited a peer-reviewed international Egyptological journal. He has published over eighty articles and one book. He has served on the board of trustees of national and international organizations.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #16 – Tyler Griffin, “Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to a New Level”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2017. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference we had earlier this year, you can still purchase video streaming.

Tyler Griffin, Book of Mormon Geographical References: Internal Consistency Taken to A New Level

Transcript available here.

Tyler J. Griffin was born and raised in Providence, Utah in the beautiful Cache Valley. After serving a mission in Brazil Curitiba, he returned home and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering. He married Kiplin Crook and began teaching seminary in Brigham City, Utah. After six years in that assignment, he transferred to the Institute adjacent to Utah State University where he worked for the next seven years. One of his assignments there was working in the Seminary Preservice program (teaching and training potential seminary teachers) for four years. He also developed an online home study seminary program. His masters and doctorate degrees are both in Instructional Technology. He and his wife have 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls). He has been at BYU since August 2010.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #15 – Scott Gordon, “Mormon Temples and Freemasonry”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2017. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference we had earlier this year, you can still purchase video streaming.

Scott Gordon, Mormon Temples and Freemasonry

Transcript available here.

Scott Gordon is president of FairMormon and as such has been a writer of several articles and a speaker at firesides. He has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s in Organizational Communication. He has held many Church callings, including Bishop, and currently serves as the Ward Mission Leader. He is married to Sheri Farnsworth Gordon and has five children.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Book Review: Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth 1815-1846

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Available from the FairMormon bookstore

One of the tactics that critics have used recently to try to destroy faith is to describe a lesser known event in church history in a way that is intended to shock the reader. By sensationalizing and removing it from its context, and often even misrepresenting what actually happened, the victim is left feeling betrayed by the Church, thinking they have been lied to or that the Church has been hiding or whitewashing its history. Sadly, much of this history has been available (though perhaps not readily accessible), but not emphasized in the curriculum that is taught, requiring independent study, which has not been happening as much in recent generations.

The Church has recognized this problem and is producing a solution. The first volume of a projected four-volume series has now been published in 14 languages and is available in paperback and e-book, as well as online text and audiobook formats. It is written in an easy to understand style, which although entirely factual, draws you in like a novel. This was done intentionally by having literary writers on the project, not just historians. For those who want more information, there are extensive footnotes that point you to online resources, including both in-depth essays and videos, as well as original documents from the Joseph Smith Papers.

The book begins with a message from the First Presidency and a preface explaining the purpose of the series. The body of the book continues, contained in four parts, which are broken up by historic periods. There are also maps, but no other illustrations beyond the small ornaments at the head of each chapter. The back of the book has Notes, a Note on Sources, Sources Cited, Acknowledgements, and a fairly good 15-page Index.

The first volume covers the period preceding the First Vision up to two years after the death of Joseph Smith, when the Saints were able to receive the endowment in the Nauvoo Temple. It covers nearly every criticism and puts them in their proper context, where they can be more easily understood. It concentrates on telling stories of the actual men and women involved, rather than just the institutional church, as previous official histories produced by the Church have done. The result is a detailed history of the Church that includes the sensitive issues while building faith, which already has some critics worried that their work will become irrelevant.

An example is the story of how the Word of Wisdom was received: [Read more…] about Book Review: Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth 1815-1846

Celebrating Two New Books in the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project: The Nature of the Original Language of the Book of Mormon

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Royal Skousen

On Tuesday, September 25, at 7 p.m., BYU Professor Royal Skousen will speak on the just-published The Nature of the Original Language, parts 3 and 4 of volume 3 of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. The lecture will include additional commentary by Stanford Carmack, Skousen’s collaborator in authoring and researching these two new books.

The presentation is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Assembly Hall of the Hinckley Center at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Parking is available after 6 p.m. in the large lot east of the Hinckley Center (Lot 16).

The lecture will be videotaped and made available in the weeks following the presentation. The event is sponsored by BYU Studies and the Interpreter Foundation. For further information, contact BYU Studies (801-422-6691 or [email protected]).

The two new books are now available for purchase from BYU Studies, the joint publisher of these books, along with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS).

The Nature of the Original Language (NOL) continues the analysis of the Book of Mormon [Read more…] about Celebrating Two New Books in the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project: The Nature of the Original Language of the Book of Mormon

FairMormon Conference Podcast #14 – Special Episode on Saints #2 of 2 – Steve Harper, “Making Saints: A Look into the Writing of the New Church History”

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This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This is a special episode that contains the second of two presentations given at our conference earlier this month about the new book series being published by the Church, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. The first volume will be released on Tuesday, September 4. (If you would like to watch the video of this and the other presentations from the 2018 conference, you can still purchase video streaming.)

More information about Saints is available in the April 2018 Newsroom story and at saints.lds.org. A review will be posted here after the book is released.

Steve Harper, Making Saints: A Look into the Writing of the New Church History

Steven C. Harper is a historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who has served as an editor of The Joseph Smith Papers, working on volumes in the Documents series and the Revelations and Translations series. He taught religion at BYU from 2002 to 2012 and religion and history at BYU–Hawaii from 2000 to 2001. He earned his PhD in early American history from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Joseph Smith’s First Vision: A Guide to the Historical Accounts (2012), Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants (2008), and Promised Land: Penn’s Holy Experiment, the Walking Purchase, and the Dispossession of Delawares 1600–1763 (2006), as well as multiple published articles on early Mormonism and the early American republic. Two of these were awarded the T. Edgar Lyon and Juanita Brooks awards by the Mormon History Association.

Audio Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.