FAIR (Faithful Answers, Informed Response), formerly known as FairMormon and the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR), is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that specializes in

Mormon apologetics Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not ...

and responds to

criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been subject to criticism and sometimes discrimination since its early years in New York and Pennsylvania. In the late 1820s, criticism centered around the claim by Joseph Smith ...

(LDS Church). FAIR comprises volunteers who seek to answer questions submitted to its web site. It was founded in November 1997 by a group of

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

who wanted to defend their faith on

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message boards An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

. The members of FAIR are international volunteers. FAIR holds an annual conference where topics of current apologetic issues are presented. The organization also publishes a monthly electronic newsletter (the ''FairMormon Journal'') and a daily news-clipping service (the ''FairMormon Front Page''). FAIR is not officially affiliated with the LDS Church, though its members are "all committed to defending the Church".

Name

At its inception, FAIR was known as the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). However, because of widespread unfamiliarity with the meaning of apologetics as reasoned argumentation, in August 2013 the organization announced it would change its name from FAIR to FairMormon. Steven , vice-president at the time, explained: “We have changed our name and are updating our websites in order to make them more easily accessible. The name has been simplified. Instead of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, it is now simply FairMormon. Hopefully this will be easier to remember and will allow us to spend more time doing apologetics rather than spending our time explaining what apologetics is. Our mission has not changed, but hopefully, with the name change and the changes with the websites, our organization will be more effective." In February 2021, the organization announced an official rebranding effort, including a new name, website, and logo, in response to requests from church president

Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...

to avoid using the colloquial term "Mormon" to refer to the church or to Latter-day Saints. The group returned to the name FAIR, though it changed the acronym to stand for "Faithful Answers, Informed Response".

Officers

FAIR is led by a president, who is elected by a board of directors, and assisted by a vice-president and secretary. The current president is Scott Gordon. Several editors provide submitted documents and articles with editorial review, and a bookstore is maintained to sell apologetic articles and scholarly books to the public. All of these positions are handled by volunteers. The only paid part-time position currently associated with FAIR is the bookstore manager, which requires management.

Websites

''Mormon Voices'' is a website run by FAIR which seeks to defend representations of the LDS Church in the media.

''Mormon FAIR-Cast''

FAIR also sponsors a podcast called the ''Mormon FAIR-Cast''. In 2011 and 2013, it won an award for best podcast in the Religion Inspiration category of the

People's Choice Podcast Awards The People's Choice Podcast Awards, better known as the Podcast Awards, are global awards given annually to the best podcasts as voted by the general public. Founded in 2005 by Todd Cochrane of Podcast Connect Inc., the Podcast Awards changed han ...

References

External links