by Trevor Holyoak on August 10th, 2010
We had another great conference this year, with 350 people attending in person, and about 50 listening online. We were treated to 15 presentations and also had the opportunity to socialize, browse the bookstore, and bid in a silent auction. Tanya Spackman received the John Taylor Defender of the Faith award for her work on Mormon Scholars Testify. You can view photos of the conference at the FAIR Facebook page.
William Schryver’s presentation on the Kirtland Egyptian Papers received some press before the conference, and did not disappoint. You can view it here. (A browser plug-in may be required.)
There have been articles about many of the presentations published in Mormon Times, Deseret News, and LDS Church News:
Transcripts will be posted at http://www.fairlds.org when they are ready. MP3s and DVDs will be made available for purchase at the FAIR bookstore.
Posted in Book of Mormon, Doctrine, FAIR Conference, LDS History, LDS Scriptures, News stories, Politics, Polygamy, Women | No Comments »
by Russell Anderson on January 27th, 2009
Monte Neil Stewart (President, Marriage Law Foundation) deals with this argument here (p. 344 / 32nd page). To summarize his argument:
- Marriage is society’s mechanism to regulate and ameliorate the consequences of passion (that is, children). Even in our contraceptive culture there are many unintended births. Marriage law isn’t to make all sex procreative, but only seeks to encourage that man-woman sex occur within marriage as a protection when it is procreative.
- There is no procreation requirement of marriage because government has not felt that it was their place to ask.
- During centuries marriage has encompassed the central facts of child-bearing and child-rearing and laws have been designed to regulate entry into and continuation of the child-centered institution. This has continued without a specific request that parents declare any intentions about children.
Regardless of the claims that no harm would be done with same-sex marriages, there would be significant harm to the understanding and nature of marriage and to the usefulness of that institution for society’s goals.
Posted in Politics | 18 Comments »
by Scott Gordon on November 19th, 2008
The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) launched a new webpage about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and California Proposition 8. The passage of California Proposition 8 during the November 2008 election has generated a number of criticisms of the LDS Church regarding a variety of issues including the separation of church and state, accusations of bigotry, and the rights of a non-profit organization to participate in the democratic process. This page documents the events leading up to and resulting from the effort to pass California Proposition 8 as they relate to Latter-day Saints. Your comments on the webpage are welcome.
Posted in News from FAIR, Politics | 68 Comments »
by Scott Gordon on November 8th, 2008
It is interesting to see the reaction against Mormons now that the election is over. There are protests at the Temples, a chapel in Orangevale was vandalized, and a boycott on Utah has been called.
During the election, there was even an anti-Mormon commercial that shows Mormon Missionaries invading a home and pawing through women’s underwear to find a marriage certificate to tear up.
Some have commented that the ex-Mormon community has used the cover of the election to strike some blows against the Church.
On the positive side, Church Leaders in other faiths have come out in our defense.
I thought one of the more interesting ant-Mormon rants came from actress-comedian Rosanne Barr.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Anti-Mormon critics, News stories, Politics | 83 Comments »
by Allen Wyatt on October 27th, 2008
Only 8 days left until election day in the United States, and some of us will be very happy when the posturing, spinning, campaigning, and criticizing will be over.
The Church has taken quite a bit of heat in some quarters regarding its stance relative to Proposition 8 in California. I know and support the call from the Church for members to help pass the proposition. I also know several faithful members who take exception to the Church making such a call. (Of course, a few other faithful members may take exception to characterizing those exception-taking members as “faithful.” So be it; that’s a nit I am not willing or worthy to pick.)
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Posted in News stories, Politics | 61 Comments »
by Lance Starr on June 27th, 2008
As almost anyone not living in a cave is aware, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that the statute which limited “marriage” to a man and a woman was in violation of the state’s constitution, thus opening the door for thousands of gay people to enter into legally sanctioned marriages.
Even more recently, a voter petition to amend the California constitution was approved in California and will be on the ballot this fall. If approved, the constitution will be amended to state that marriage in California is between a man and woman. It would effectively override the ruling of the California Supreme Court.
The LDS Church has issued a letter to the Saints in California, seeking their active participation in getting the amendment approved by the voters. The letter represents a real threat to supporters of same sex marriage in California because, as was the case a few years back when a similar voter initiative was on the ballot, LDS members in California are numerous, organized, and have to the potential to swing the vote in favor of the amendment.
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Posted in News stories, Politics | 135 Comments »
by Mike Parker on February 4th, 2008
Here’s a wonderful example of the sort of unbiased media attention coming our way due to Mitt Romney’s White House bid:
In a front-page article the Asia Times, a fairly significant voice in Far East news, their reporter reviews the history and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The primary source material appears to be an article on the Catholic.com apologetic web site entitled “The Wacky World of Joseph Smith,” and the infamous South Park episode “All About Mormons.”
Yes, someone has clearly done their homework.
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Posted in News stories, Politics | 13 Comments »
by Mike Parker on February 1st, 2008
Usually FAIR refrains from giving anti-Mormon critics free publicity, but Florida televangelist Bill Keller is so over-the-top that I can’t resist sharing his latest web site:
http://votingforsatan.com/
Last May Keller made headlines claiming, “If you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!” The web site is his follow-up to that statement. (It even lists a “Judas Gallery” of Christians who have sold out to endorse Romney.)
Rarely is anti-Mormonism this much fun, outside of the likes of Ed Decker and Loftes Tryk.
Posted in Anti-Mormon critics, Politics | 13 Comments »
by Greg Kearney on February 1st, 2008
Recently a question reached me as to how any Mormon could be a Democrat. Here is my reply to that question. -GMK
I have been a liberal, labor Democrat my entire life. I come from a long line of Democrats, and before that socialists (my grandfathers and grandmothers). I will attempt to answer your question, which has been posed to me quite often. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Politics | 59 Comments »
by Scott Gordon on January 31st, 2008
In the various articles, blogs, and comments related to Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, the Mormon honesty problem has come up. “Why didn’t Mitt Romney talk about what Mormons really believe?” asked one writer. “Mormons feel it is okay to lie about their beliefs,” stated a radio caller.
So do Mormons lie about their beliefs?
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Posted in Anti-Mormon critics, Doctrine, Politics | 27 Comments »
