FAIR Conference Archives | FAIR
Winner of the People's Choice Podcast Award for Best Podcast in the Religion Inspiration category. FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of Latter-day Saint doctrine, belief and practice. Questions or comments about the podcast can be sent to podcast@fairlatterdaysaints.org. Or join the conversation at www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog.
Classic FAIR â Defending the Faith â David L. Paulsen, 2004
âThe God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph Smith: Defending the Faithâ by David L. Paulsen at the 2004 FAIR Conference
Scott asked me if I would share with you some of my work defending our LDS understanding of God and to that end I have prepared a bibliography. Thereâs two sets of materials being passed out, one is a packet. There is a copy of the bibliography in that packet and then thereâs two individual sheets and you should either get the packet or the pair of two separate sheets and youâll find the biblio...
Viewing Todayâs Culture Through the Lens of the Gospel
by Mandy Davis at the 2024 FAIR Conference
Nine years ago, I had the opportunity to start attending meetings at the United Nations. After the very first time going, I knew that it was going to be a hinge point in my life; and that I would never be able to unsee just how calculated the efforts were to undermine and fight against Godâs plan in many areas of society. I knew that I would have to get to a point in my life where it became a well-used habit to be able to view th...
Classic FAIR â DNA and The Book of Mormon â Ryan Parr, 2005
âDNA and The Book of Mormonâ by Ryan Parr at the 2005 FAIR Conference
I would like to thank the organizers of the conference for being invited to talk about two really great subjects and that is the Book of Mormon and DNA which, when you look at its structure and its design, is no less of a divine inspired molecule!
We live in a very exciting age. Now, by the time you finish watching CNN you may not think that, but there is a lot of good that is going on in the worl...
Preserving and Protecting âPlain and Preciousâ Truths In Our Families
by Brent Andrewsen at the 2024 FAIR Conference
How do we help our young people avoid deception, or keep them from âstumb[ling] exceedinglyâ? We keep the âplain and preciousâ parts of the gospel front and center in their lives.
Â
Brent Andrewsen practices at a regional law firm with offices throughout the Intermountain West. He is the chairman of Sutherland Institute Board of Directors, an independent research and educational institution and think tank, whose mission is to advance civility, sound ideas, and principled public policy supporting faith, family and free enterprise. Brent serves as...
Classic FAIR â The Fallacy of Fundamentalist Assumptions â Blake Ostler, 2005
âThe Fallacy of Fundamentalist Assumptionsâ by Blake T. Ostler at the 2005 FAIR Conference
Iâd like to begin my presentation (there should have been an outline that was handed out that you have in front of you). But I want to begin a bit off outline. I was amused- I was reading this morning that we have (and Chris Buttars is a good friend of mine) and heâs wondering whether he should introduce intelligent design into Utah schools. And I was thinking intelligent design? Chris is a Mormon and he probably doesnât even realize wh...
Classic FAIR â Faith and Cognitive Dissonance â Wendy Ulrich, 2005
ââBelievest thouâŠ?â: Faith, Cognitive Dissonance, and the Psychology of Religious Experienceâ by Wendy Ulrich at the 2005 FAIR Conference
Itâs an old and frequent spiritual question, and it shows up in many forms. It is the question Jesus asks the disciples who hear his troubling and offending discourse on being someone whose flesh must be eaten and whose blood drunk by those who would have eternal life. The discourse confuses many, who turn back and follow him no more, and then, to those who remain Jesus asks the question, âWill ye also go away?â To the man who seek...
FAIR Conference Podcast #81 â Craig Foster, âWhat Under the Banner of Heaven Gets Wrongâ
Audio and Video Copyright © 2022 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2022 conference. You can still register to watch the entire conference free of charge.
Craig Foster, What Under the Banner of Heaven Gets Wrong
We have more resources responding to Under the Banner of Heaven here, including interviews Craig Foster did with some of the law enforcement officers that were involved.
C...
Come, Follow Me Week 23 â Judges 2â4; 6â8; 13â16
Seek the Lord Jesus Christ
By Elder Kim B. Clark
(An address given at the 2020 FAIR Conference)
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am not only grateful to be with you, but I am grateful for all of you who seek to help people strengthen, or recover, or restore, or establish faith in Jesus Christ, and His marvelous work in our day.
I want to begin today with a story about Charlotte, my granddaughter, who is seven years old. Charlotte loves to read, and...
Come, Follow Me Week 19 â Exodus 35â40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19
âHave You Been Saved By Grace?â How Do We Respond?
by Brad Wilcox
(This is from a presentation given at the 2018 FAIR Conference)
Grace, like many English words has multiple meanings. It can mean elegance and beauty. It can mean kindness and courtesy. It can be a title, âYour Grace.â It can be a salutation, âGrace be unto you,â like we read in the in the New Testament, and it can also be a prayerâweâre saying grace. With so many different meanings, no wonder thereâs confusion. If we go back to th...
FAIR Conference Podcast #80 â Tarik D. Lacour, âIntro to Mormon Natural Theologyâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from that conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Tarik D. LaCour, Intro to Mormon Natural Theology
Tarik D. LaCour is a Ph.D student in philosophy and MA student in neuroscience at Texas A&M. Primary research interests are in philosophy of neuroscience, philosophy of mind, moral psychology and epistemology. He is a traditional Latter-day Saint and author of the blog Mad Dog Naturalist. He has interest in developing rigorous a...
FAIR Conference Podcast #78 â Kirk Magleby, âUnforgettable Hugh Nibleyâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from that conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Kirk Magleby, Unforgettable Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley Observed is available from the FAIR Bookstore.
Kirk Alder Magleby is the Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central. Kirk was born in Salzburg, Austria, and raised in Utah and Arizona. He served a mission for the Church in Peru. Kirk has a degree in economics from BYU and has spent his life...
Come, Follow Me Week 9 â Genesis 24â27
Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim
by Jeffrey Thayne
(This is from a presentation given at the 2021 FAIR Conference)
Introduction
Letâs imagine two roommates, James and Greg, who both attend BYU. They live under the same roof, they are both practicing Latter-day Saints, and they both claim to believe in the doctrines taught by the Proclamation on the Family about sexuality and gender. However, despite these shared beliefs, the way they experience Church culture, policies, practices, and traditions couldnât be more different.
For...
Come, Follow Me Week 8 â Genesis 18â23
Polygamy as an Abrahamic Sacrifice
by V.H. Cassler
(From a presentation originally titled âA Reconciliation of Polygamy,â given at the 2011 FAIR Conference; edited here for clarity and length)
Today we are going to talk about polygamy but probably in a different way than you have heard about it before. That is, we are going to talk about the doctrinal ins-and-outs of it rather than historical practices.
During the period of time when the restored Church was commanded by the Lord to practice polygamy, some practiced it without any disc...
FAIR Conference Podcast #77 â Jennifer Ann Mackley, âDiscovering Church History: The Wilford Woodruff Papers Projectâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from that conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Jennifer Ann Mackley, Discovering Church History: The Wilford Woodruff Papers Project
Jenniferâs book is available from the FAIR Bookstore.
Jennifer Ann Mackley, JD, is the Executive Director of the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation, which she co-founded with Donald W. Parry in 2020. In addition to her legal practice as a partner in Mackley & Mackley, PLLC, Jennifer has authored or edited 21 bo...
FAIR Conference Podcast #76 â Jeff Bradshaw, âSince Hugh Nibley: Remarkable New Findings on Enoch and the Gathering of Zionâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Jeff Bradshaw, Since Hugh Nibley: Remarkable New Findings on Enoch and the Gathering of Zion
Jeffâs books are for sale in the FAIR bookstore.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (PhD, Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida (www.ihmc.us/groups/jbradshaw;Â en.w...
FAIR Conference Podcast #75 â John Gee, âLessons on Doing Apologeticsâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
John Gee, Lessons on Doing Apologetics
John Geeâs books are for sale in the FAIR bookstore.
John Gee is the William (Bill) Gay Research Professor in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University. He has authored more than 150 publications on topics such as ancient scripture, Aramaic, archaeology, Coptic, Egyptian, history, linguistics, Luw...
FAIR Conference Podcast #74 â Jenny Reeder, âFirst: The Life and Faith of Emma Smithâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Jenny Reeder, First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith
Jenny Readerâs books are for sale in the FAIR bookstore.
Jenny Reeder is the nineteenth-century womenâs history specialist at the Church History Department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a PhD in American history from George Mason University, and an MA fr...
FAIR Conference Podcast #73 â Ben Spackman, âThrough a Glass, Less Darkly: The 20th Century History of Genesis and Evolutionâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Ben Spackman, Through a Glass, Less Darkly: The 20th Century History of Genesis and Evolution
Ben Spackman is a PhD candidate in American Religious History at Claremont. His dissertation examines the intellectual roots of LDS creationism and evolution in the 20th century. Prior to his work at Claremont, he received a masterâs degree and did PhD work in Old...
FAIR Conference Podcast #72 â Dan Peterson, âThe Book of Mormon Witnesses: Sincerity and Realityâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Dan Peterson, The Book of Mormon Witnesses: Sincerity and Reality
The Witnesses film and books by Dan Peterson are available from the FAIR Bookstore.
Daniel C. Peterson (PhD, UCLA) is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University and founder of the universityâs Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. He has published and spoken extensively on...
FAIR Conference Podcast #71 â Rebekah Clark, âThe Gospel of Equal Rightsâ: Latter-day Saint Suffragists, 1870-1920
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Rebekah Clark, âThe Gospel of Equal Rightsâ: Latter-day Saint Suffragists, 1870-1920
Rebekah Clark is co-author of the book Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah and works as a historian for Better Days, a nonprofit public history organization dedicated to expanding education about Utah womenâs history. She holds a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brig...
FAIR Conference Podcast #70 â Stephen Smoot, âAbraham and the Stranger at Sodom and Gomorrah: Reading the Bible and Navigating LGBT Identityâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Stephen Smoot, Abraham and the Stranger at Sodom and Gomorrah: Reading the Bible and Navigating LGBT Identity
Stephen O. Smoot is a doctoral student in the department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literature at the Catholic University of America. He previously earned a masterâs degree from the University of Toronto in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, with a c...
FAIR Conference Podcast #69 â Brian Hales, âMind the Gapâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Brian Hales, Mind the Gap
The mentioned handout is available here.
Many of Brianâs books are available from the FAIR Bookstore.
Brian C. Hales is the author or co-author of several books dealing with Joseph Smith and plural marriage. He and his wife, Laura Hales are co-webmasters of JosephSmithsPolygamy.org. He is also the aut...
FAIR Conference Podcast #68 â Keith A. Erekson, âReal Vs. Rumorâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Keith A. Erekson, Real Vs. Rumor
Keithâs book is available in the FAIR bookstore.
Keith Erekson is an award-winning author, teacher, and public historian who has published on topics including politics, hoaxes, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and Church history. He grew up in Baltimore, served a mission in Brazil, and earned advanced degrees in history and bus...
FAIR Conference Podcast #67 â Brittany Chapman Nash, âLetâs Talk About Polygamyâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Brittany Chapman Nash, Letâs Talk About Polygamy
The video of this presentation can be watched on our YouTube channel.
Brittanyâs books are available in the FAIR bookstore.
Brittany Chapman Nash is a specialist in Latter-day Saint womenâs history and coedited the award-winning four-volume Women of Faith in the Latter Days series and Fearless...
FAIR Conference Podcast #65 â Edwin E. Gantt, âAgentic Sexuality: How a Latter-day Saint Perspective Can Rescue Humanity from the Tyranny of the Abstractâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Edwin E. Gantt, Agentic Sexuality: How a Latter-day Saint Perspective Can Rescue Humanity from the Tyranny of the Abstract
A transcript is available here.
Edwinâs book, Who Is Truth: Reframing Our Questions for a Richer Faith, is available from our bookstore.
Edwin E. Gantt is currently Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University and a Re...
FAIR Conference Podcast #64 â Jeffrey Thayne, âWorldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swimâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch the presentations from our 2021 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Jeffrey Thayne, Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim
A transcript is available here.
Jeffreyâs book, Who Is Truth: Reframing Our Questions for a Richer Faith, is available from our bookstore.
Dr. Jeffrey Thayne graduated from BYU with a bachelorâs and masterâs degree in psychology. He completed his doctorate in Instructional Techno...
FAIR Conference Podcast #63 â Carl Trueman, âThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolutionâ
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution
Carlâs book by the same name is available from the FAIR Bookstore.
Carl R Trueman is a graduate of the Universities of Cambridge (MA) and Abderdeen (PhD) and formerly served on faculty at the Universities of Nottingham and...
FairMormon Conference Podcast #61 â Mark Ashurst-McGee, âJoseph Smithâs âNew Translationâ of the Bible, His Use of Adam Clarkeâs Bible Commentary, and the Question of Plagiarismâ
This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2020 conference, held in August. If you would like to watch the video of this and all the other presentations from our 2020 conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.
Mark Ashurst-McGee, Joseph Smithâs âNew Translationâ of the Bible, His Use of Adam Clarkeâs Bible Commentary, and the Question of Plagiarism
Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smithâs Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity is available from the FairMormon Bookstore.
Mark Ashurst-McGee is a senior historian in the Church His...