Keller
I was a BYU baby while my parents finished up their advanced degrees in psychology. I have lived in some interesting places growing up: near the Lagoon at Layton; in an old polygamist house in Manti with an upper-story door that opened to the middle of a roof; in Rigby,Idaho, the self-proclaimed birthplace of television; then over to Sweet, a small town north of Boise near some fun river rapids; then for my high school years in Lund (named after a counselor in the First Presidency), Nevada; and full circle back to Utah County for college. Currently I am finishing up a doctorate in electrical engineering and I will start work in August as a faculty lecturer at Utah Valley University (formerly UVSC). I have served in a single's ward elder's quorum presidency and as a hymn book coordinator. I also served a mission in the Bible Belt (Oklahoma City) and to prepare I became an avid reader of FARMS publications. This has lead me to become a volunteer for FAIR as way of furthering my apologetic interests and helping those struggling with tough issues to find useful information. I have also started an interfaith blog to dialog with Catholics and practice "holy envy." I like blogging on historical topics and doing genealogical research.
The FAIR blog is Launched
Posted on January 9, 2008 - Filed Under Any | 9 Comments
FAIR chairman, John Lynch, has recently announced FAIR’s entrance into the Bloggernacle. Humbly hoping to become accepted as a valuable part of the LDS online community, he signaled the intent of the new group blog:
[W]e do not “apologize” on behalf of the church for its teachings, practices, or leaders. Rather, we stand ready to give […]
Read More..>>Annie Lyman
Posted on December 20, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 9 Comments
Who was this mysterious woman? In an 1872 report of Brigham Young[1], we learn that she was 1) George A. Smith’s cousin, 2) still alive, and 3) a plural wife of Oliver Cowdery. The latter claim has both its supporters (Quinn[2], Faulring[3]) and its skeptics (Van Wagoner[4], Price[5], Morris[6]).
Read More..>>New Twist to Oliver’s Tale
Posted on December 2, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 4 Comments
Last year I attended a couple of presentations at the Oliver Cowdery Symposium. I planned to blog about the experience, but I had not yet been accepted as a permabore here at M*. Now I think I will hold off on a review until Dr. Sammy Baugh gets the articles ready for publication through the […]
Read More..>>The Most Comforting Doctrine
Posted on November 9, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 15 Comments
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon […]
Read More..>>The Addison Everett Account
Posted on June 12, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 6 Comments
Perhaps the most important priesthood restoration document is one that doesn’t even show up in Brian Cannon’s list of 70 due to his cutoff date of 1850, when the last of the first hand witnesses to the angelic ministrations died. Addison Everett visited Joseph Smith while Joseph was preparing his plurality of gods sermon as […]
Read More..>>The Busiest Months in Church History
Posted on June 3, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 7 Comments
April, May, and June of 1829 are arguably the busiest months in Mormon history. Moroni appeared a total of seven times and was seen by five people as he transported and demonstrated the plates to witnesses. John Welch estimates, in his essay in Opening the Heavens that there were 63 working days used to translate […]
Read More..>>Revelation 2:17
Posted on May 27, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 11 Comments
In an earlier post I attempted to show that later temple rituals trumped–or better yet, metaphorically encapsulated–the process of receiving revelation through seer stones. I appealed to Rev. 2:17 with its intricate coupling of a white stone and a new name to one who overcomes and D&C 130’s exposition of it. In truth, my harmonization […]
Read More..>>John S. Reed, the First Mormon Defender
Posted on May 19, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 3 Comments
Before Justin Butterfield’s “If it please the court, I come before the Pope, in the presence of these angels, to defend the prophet of the Lord” and before Alexander Doniphan’s “if you execute these men, I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me God” there was John S. Reed. Reed was […]
Read More..>>Keller vs. Gordon
Posted on May 19, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 4 Comments
On the heels of Brian’s post about avoiding contention, I am reminded of Eccl. 3: 1 which tells us that “[t]o every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” I would contend that there is a time to contend and a time not to contend. FAIR president Scott […]
Read More..>>Seerstones and the Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration
Posted on May 13, 2007 - Filed Under Any | 8 Comments
No, this post isn’t advocating the use of a seerstone to divine the date of the MP restoration. Rather, I wish to explore the implications of Zebedee Coltrin’s 1866 recollection of an exchange he had with Joseph Smith.
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