FAIR Conference Teaser

[volgadon]

Is this one of those "you had to be there" kind of joke?

What they find funny is that they think that Adapa has no idea that he is really speaking to Dumuzi and Gizzida.

[Ron Beron]

What they find funny is that they think that Adapa has no idea that he is really speaking to Dumuzi and Gizzida.

LOL...I got it, but it is amusing to think that they had an outright joke built in. I had read somewhere that the earliest joke in recorded history came from the Mesopotamians and is somewhat ribald...

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fa*t in her husband's lap."

Or the Egyptian knee slapper which goes...

"How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You

sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the

Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish."

[Ron Beron]

With the one obvious exception, I can't imagine there has ever been a stronger lineup of speakers in the ten-year run of FAIR conferences. I hope all who can will avail themselves of the opportunity to attend what promises to be a singular event in the history of LDS apologetics.

Don't be so modest...some are looking forward to hearing your presentation as well.

[William Schryver]

Don't be so modest...some are looking forward to hearing your presentation as well.

I doubt many would say that modesty is my problem. I'm just trying to moderate expectations in light of the fact that my adversaries in the Great and Spacious Trailer Park© are attempting (without any justification) to paint my presentation as the second coming of Hugh Nibley, or something of the sort, all with the objective of making it so there is nothing I could possibly do to measure up. They are a clever lot when it comes to such things. Masters of Propaganda. I think all apostates go through an upper-level course as part of the ex-Mormon training regimen.

At any rate, I will do my best to not embarrass FAIR. I do think I have something fairly significant to say. I guess we'll see ...

[WalkerW]

I agree with the Spirit of the Lord = Holy Ghost. The temple-like introduction into a higher realm of light and knowledge accompanied by "the angel of the Lord" aka the second member of the Godhead makes total sense:

"These are they whose bodies are ^acelestial, whose ^bglory is that of the ^csun, even the glory of God, the ^dhighest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical...[Terrestrial] are they who receive of the ^apresence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father...[Telestial] are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial." (D&C 76:70, 77, 86)

Then again, it was a different time and culture. Nonetheless, I find it quite intriguing.

[volgadon]

And it fits with later traditions about Metatron.

[WalkerW]

And it fits with later traditions about Metatron.

Quite right. I was thinking of the stacked mountains in the Enochic literature.

[wenglund]

my adversaries in the Great and Spacious Trailer Park© are attempting (without any justification) to paint my presentation as the second coming of Hugh Nibley, or something of the sort, all with the objective of making it so there is nothing I could possibly do to measure up.

...and then they will pronounce (without any justification) that your apologetics, along with FARMS and MormonsTestify, are as good as dead. I don't know about them being clever, but some of them sure are wacky at times.

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

[David Bokovoy]

What an exciting FAIR conference this one promises to be! The potent blend of scholarship and testimony makes the annual FAIR Conference one of the most potentially edifying experiences that one can have. Those who participate are living examples of the wisdom and inspiration underlying the oft-repeated scripture:

What a great tragedy that so many people have concluded that it is counter-productive to mix the elements of faith and secular learning. In my experience, faith is perhaps the most important component and the most valuable tool we can bring to bear on the questions arising from the study of science, history, and all other fields of human endeavor.

As I sat in Sacrament Meeting today listening to the heart felt testimonies of some of the Saints in my ward, I was overcome with a feeling of immense gratitude that my own faith, as imperfect and incomplete as it may yet be, has enabled my study to bring light and truth into my mind and into my life. In the course of my sincere efforts to obtain a knowledge of things as they really are, as they really have been, and as they really will be, the principle of faith has both guided me along the path and served to bring into focus things that otherwise would have been missed or misunderstood. My study, being as it is inextricably bound up in my faith, has thus served to strengthen my conviction of the divine origins of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as it was delivered through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I greatly look forward to David's presentation, as well as those of the others who will speak over the course of the two days of the conference. With the one obvious exception, I can't imagine there has ever been a stronger lineup of speakers in the ten-year run of FAIR conferences. I hope all who can will avail themselves of the opportunity to attend what promises to be a singular event in the history of LDS apologetics.

Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Will. I look forward to the intellectual and spiritual insights as well, but as is typical for these sorts of events, what I usually end up enjoying most are the social interactions. Lot's of great people.

[juliann]

I doubt many would say that modesty is my problem. I'm just trying to moderate expectations in light of the fact that my adversaries in the Great and Spacious Trailer Park© are attempting (without any justification) to paint my presentation as the second coming of Hugh Nibley, or something of the sort, all with the objective of making it so there is nothing I could possibly do to measure up. They are a clever lot when it comes to such things. Masters of Propaganda. I think all apostates go through an upper-level course as part of the ex-Mormon training regimen.

At any rate, I will do my best to not embarrass FAIR. I do think I have something fairly significant to say. I guess we'll see ...

The last I heard you were the Son of Perdition that FAIR has assigned to outer darkness. How did you get to be Hugh Nibley so fast? I can't keep up with the narrative.

[mfbukowski]

The last I heard you were the Son of Perdition that FAIR has assigned to outer darkness. How did you get to be Hugh Nibley so fast? I can't keep up with the narrative.

And it's a good thing. I started out with hip boots but it got so deep I switched to scuba gear before I left. It feels nice to be back in the sun again.