In today’s Internet world, an increasing number of Latter-day Saints are encountering anti-Mormon information. Since most members don’t have all the answers at their fingertips, LDS-critical claims can be unsettling or create doubt. Some arguments have caused a few members—even active members with strong testimonies—to lose their faith.
One good source for answering questions about the Church is the Gospel Topics section of the Gospel Library on LDS.org. (You can also get there using the shortcut topics.lds.org.)
You may also be interested in Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt, a book published by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). Backed by extensive research and decades of experience dealing with anti-Mormon allegations, Michael Ash explores how we can be both critical thinkers and devout believers. The first half of the book offers suggestions on strengthening our intellectual foundations against challenging issues, including a greater understanding of the inherent limitations of science, history, and even the scriptures. The second half of the book exposes common anti-LDS tactics and engages some of the most frequent criticisms.
You know, I hadn’t looked at the Gospel Topics section of the website in a while. Wow! I was going to suggest that members refer to True to the Faith also, but then I saw that the Gospel Topics site already quotes the entire True to the Faith entry under “Additional Information.” Links to Church magazine articles and web links too are also great!
Great job web team!
(Now you just need to make the URLs friendly…I know, I know, it will come.:) )
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can engage in more “internet dialog” about the Church and answer other’s sincere questions, and I’ve found that Yahoo Answers is one place where I can help people find good answers about the Church.
Believe it or not, friendly URLs will be here before the end of the year. (Yes, I know, you’ve heard me say that before–but you notice I didn’t say *which* year, right?)
Yes, the Gospel Topics includes everything from True to the Faith, and more. And we have more articles being written and approved now. We are also developing some videos to accompany the entries.
I use Yahoo Answers a lot. Also Wikipedia. These are both great places to help people get real answers, by posting accurate information about the Church.
I would not recommend Shaken Faith Syndrome. Not only is it mostly just a rehash of a lot of old topics, it tends to blame the questioner rather than answering the questions.
Look no further than one of its early chapters, “Unrealistic Expectations of Prophets.” It flat out asserts that we shouldn’t trust prophets to actually, you know, speak for the Lord in all things. That certainly put a damper on my faith in “follow the prophet, he knows the way.”
So, no, there are better books that encourage people to have faith instead of rationalizations.
If you go here http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/ and select “ask a question” then “Live Chat” you can ask any question at any time of day. Yes I have done it my self.