Mormon conference to address Church critics

SEATTLE (RNS) - In what organizers call a push for open scholarship, an Internet-based Mormon think tank's annual conference will focus on defending some of the church's most controversial aspects head-on.

The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research's two-day conference, held Aug. 5-6 in Sandy, Utah, touched upon issues traditionally skirted by Mormons. These included discrepancies between DNA research and the Book of Mormon, the growing issue of Mormon fundamentalism and allegations of sexual abuse.

An Internet-based nonprofit not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FAIR was formed in 1997 by a group of scholars and researchers who had been independently defending Mormonism on Internet message boards and decided to combine their efforts.

To learn more about Mormonism, go to the North American Mission Board's Web site at www.namb.net, type in Mormons in the "Search" box in the upper right hand corner, and hit the return key. On the next page click on "Free Resources for Cults & Sects." When the next page loads scroll down and click on PDF to download the Belief Bulletin and Critique of the LDS Church.