A Response to FARMS Critique of Questions to ask your Mormon Friends
By Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson
Authors, Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friend
Introduction
Over the years, many Christians have written Mormonism Research Ministry requesting a list of questions they might ask their LDS friends and loved ones that would hopefully get them to start seriously considering the unbiblical and illogical aspects of the Mormon faith. Though we have long held the position that there is no single question that seems to accomplish this, we have found in our many years of dialogue with Mormons that there are some questions which seem to get them to stop and think. Because of the many requests that we had received, we felt a book which listed some of these questions might be beneficial. In June, 1994, Bethany House Publishers published our Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friend. As we state in the introduction, our purpose in writing this book was to accept the challenge offered by LDS Apostle Orson Pratt who said, "... convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by reason, by logical arguments, or by the word of God, and we will be ever be grateful for the information."
We made it clear that, for some Latter-day Saints, no amount of reasonable evidence will ever be acceptable. In light of these cases, it becomes necessary to "agree to disagree." We emphasized that the Mormon should never be looked upon as some sort of "enemy" and that a Christ-like spirit must always be emulated when pursuing a discussion with those of the LDS faith. If we are to hope to win the Mormon to our way of thinking, we need to also show them that we are speaking as individuals who are genuinely concerned for them as people.
Shortly after our book was published, we received a letter from a Mormon who has been critical of us in the past. Dr. Daniel Peterson, a professor at LDS-owned Brigham Young University and the review editor of a journal produced by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (hereafter FARMS), inquired about our book and suggested that it might be reviewed in an upcoming edition of his journal called the Review of Books on the Book of Mormon (hereafter RBBM). We wondered why those who wrote for a journal that supposedly reviews books written on the Book of Mormon would bother reviewing our book since we have only one chapter that deals specifically with Mormonism's sacred scripture. We have since learned that the FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon has been expanded to include any book which deals with Mormonism. It is now entitled FARMS' Review of Books.
When we first picked up the review on our book, we were interested to find out that neither Peterson nor any of his FARMS' associates with doctorate degrees wrote the review. Instead, a woman by the name of LeIsle Jacobson was chosen to critique our work in print. Jacobson received her BS degree in pre-professional nutrition at BYU. According to her biography listed at the back of the volume, Jacobson is "currently a homemaker and serves as an online service consultant." While we do not want to insult Ms. Jacobson's accomplishments, we are wondering why someone who has no priesthood authority (as females do not have this office in the LDS Church) with no apparent theological background was chosen to write the review. While her lack of formal training would not be an issue with us, it has been an issue with FARMS' writers who have often belittled critics of Mormonism who do not have the proper letters after their names, regardless of the scholarship they may present. At any rate, we feel Ms. Jacobson's 15-page piece deserves a response.
Our review will cover each of Jacobson's points. By no means is this review meant to be the final word on any of the subjects Jacobson raises, but we tried to be as complete as possible. The subheadings are hers, not ours, and the page numbers are listed in case the reader would like to reference her work for accuracy and context.