Search for the Truth

I recently received the following e-mail:

Dear Brother Beardall, I have recently watched the series of videos Search for the Truth: Good News for LDS, because a recent convert girlfriend watched them and has decided that she is to no longer be a member. It is a cleaver twist of truths and lies. I also have my son who will soon be going on his mission this summer who will no doubt run into many who have watched these outlandish claims. Have you seen them? And how is the best method for correcting these “confusing" and "false" claims against Joseph, his vision accounts???, his method of translation??, his wives: underage girls etc... DNA etc. This does not effect me as I know the witness of the Holy Ghost is more powerful than any word of man and especially men who offer nothing else. Can you give some direction on approaching this issue? Thanks

In response, I wrote the following:

I have seen most of the videos from the Search for Truth series. They are professionally done. Unfortunately, they have taken bits and pieces of truth and twisted it for their own purposes. Over the years I have studied most of the claims presented within the video, so I was not surprised to see them addressed in the video. Unfortunately, the unsuspecting member, one who has not acquired that powerful witness from the spirit, can be swayed by this video and its claims. Our Sunday School and Relief Society/Priesthood lessons are designed to teach doctrine and inspire us to become better people. They are not places for teaching a scholastic history of the Church, thus we are left to do that study on our own. Most members are not prepared to counter the arguments so often used by those who would tear down the Church.

By far, the best place for answers to counteract anti-Mormon arguments is the website from FAIR, Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. This group was started about ten years ago by a group of faithful Latter-day Saints to counter the rising tide of disinformation about the Church, its history, and its doctrine. I have attended their annual conference the past two years (and will attend again this year) and normally contribute a nominal sum to assist their efforts. They have done a remarkable job and I do not think that there is a single anti topic that they haven’t addressed. Though not officially endorsed by the Church, the LDS.org Newsroom has linked to FAIR on occasion. One of the FAIR board members is Dan Peterson, a member of The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU.

When the video first came out, someone at FAIR was able to obtain an advanced copy of the video. A day or two before the video was released, FAIR had posted responses on their website. I was amazed. The Search for Truth response is found on this page: http://en.fairmormon.org/Search_for_the_Truth_DVD

FAIR has also created a website organized like Wikipedia, which provides for quick answers on a number of topics: http://en.fairmormon.org/Main_Page

The main fair page is located at: http://www.fairlds.org/. My favorite area is the topical guide, where one can find links to numerous articles on all sorts of topics. For instance, there are 182 articles about Joseph Smith and 951 articles on the Book of Mormon. Under the Book of Mormon topic there are 26 articles on DNA. The topical guide is located at: http://www.fairlds.org/apol/

I guess this is a bit of a commercial for FAIR, but they are performing an amazing service. It is an all volunteer organization of people who believe in defending the Church from defamation and untruth. Two years ago at the FAIR conference, I visited with Scott Gordon (FAIR president). He told me that FAIR has made the most difference when it comes to saving testimonies. He stated that numerous members have been saved from falling away when presented information contained on the FAIR website. It is sad that your friend was lost because of a lack of information. This is why FAIR exists.

An amazing amount of scholarship on the Book of Mormon and other scriptures can be found at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, formally known as FARMS. I subscribe to their semi-annual Journal of Book of Mormon studies, which contains wonderful articles supporting the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Their website is located at: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/. In looking up the link, I noticed this quotation from Elder Maxwell on the main page, “We may never become accustomed to untrue and unjust criticism of us but we ought not to be immobilized by it.”

Let me also recommend a couple of books. An excellent book on the life of Joseph Smith is Richard Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling. Richard Bushman is an active member of the Church and professor emeritus at Columbia University. The book is written as a scholarly history of Joseph Smith for a general audience. He quietly puts to rest many of the anti arguments about Joseph Smith.

Another book which I recently read, and highly recommend, is By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. It is written by Terryl L. Givens, Professor of Religion and Literature at the University of Richmond. Givens is another faithful Latter-day Saint who has written to a general audience about the impact of the Book of Mormon. Not an easy read, but I found it amazing. He helps us realize what an amazing gift we have been given.

As far as addressing the video, I would start with the first FAIR page listed above. However, I would familiarize yourself with the other resources. I believe that challenges to the Church and our belief system will continue to increase. We need to follow the admonition of Peter, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).