Long-running N.Y. pageant spreads the Mormon message

By Matthew Streib and Renee K. Gadoua

PALMYRA, N.Y. -- Actors know that a career on stage takes dedication and sacrifice, but Mormons in the annual Hill Cumorah pageant take that to a whole new level.

With a discerning application process, just one week to prepare and an all-volunteer crew, Mormons create a high-tech dramatization of ancient events for thousands of pilgrims who travel here from all over the country.

Ever since 1937, the Hill Cumorah pageant has re-enacted stories from the Book of Mormon, which tells of Jesus' interaction with ancient peoples in the Americas. The pageant is staged on the very hill where Mormon prophet Joseph Smith is said to have found golden plates with the peoples' history inscribed on them.

Read on

Defending Mormonism-Topic of New Book

Increased anti-Mormon Internet activity causes some Mormons to doubt their faith-a grass-roots volunteer group fights back.

Redding, California, 15 July 2008-With anti-Mormon attacks threatening the faith of some Mormons, a volunteer organization offers timely help by answering critical charges in a faithful manner. Their latest effort is a new book aimed at helping believers defuse faith-shaking claims.

The polygamous followers of non-Mormon Warren Jeffs and Mitt Romney's presidential campaign are just a few of the recent events that have drawn negative and often unfair media attention to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS).

Adding to the confusion are Internet sites that target Mormons in the hope of creating doubt and disillusionment through a selective presentation of the evidence. Accordingly, some believers-unaware that faith-shaking claims have been answered time and again-have abandoned their former religions convictions.

The late LDS Apostle Neal A. Maxwell expressed concern that critics shouldn't be allowed to make "uncontested slam-dunks." In 1997 the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR)-a volunteer organization-was established to take that advice seriously. Today FAIR announced the publication of "Shaken-Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One's Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt" by Michael R. Ash (http://www.ShakenFaithSyndrome.com).

"Shaken-Faith Syndrome" provides answers to several of the most popular LDS-critical arguments, and examines the underlying misconceptions that contribute to deconversion. Ash explores ways that Mormons can be both critical thinkers and devout believers. He advocates a faithful yet more nuanced understanding of religious issues, and explores the limitations of science and history. This FAIR-published book is distributed by Deseret Book (http://www.DeseretBook.com) and sells for $19.95.

FAIR, or the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (http://www.fairlds.org), is a tax-exempt 501 (C) 3 Corporation staffed by faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who seek to defend the Mormon Church, its leaders, teachings, and practices from inaccurate or deceitful criticism. Staffed almost exclusively by unpaid volunteers, FAIR seeks to provide well-researched and -referenced answers in an easy-to-understand format.