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Hot off the metaphorical press, two articles have appeared today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAn Approach to History\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0When researching and evaluating historical information, it is easy to come across things that may lead to a\u00a0crisis of faith. Some of those crises may lead individuals to leave the Church and actively proselytize against it. It is much better when dealing with historical issues to approach them from a\u00a0standpoint of charity, treating historical figures as we would like to be treated.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI Don\u2019t Have a Testimony of the History of the Church\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0In this masterful presentation, accomplished historian Davis\u00a0Bitton addresses the role of history and belief. Testimonies, he asserts, are born of belief and spiritual witnesses, not from historical events. It is quite possible to know all about Church history and still remain a\u00a0believing member.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I published the article below in the Deseret News<\/em>, back on 2 February 2018:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly a month ago, during the inaugural broadcast of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s weekly radio program (online at\u00a0interpreterfoundation.org\/the-interpreter-radio-show\/<\/a>), a caller reported that many in his circle were renouncing their faith. He sadly declared that, among his acquaintances, the church is suffering a \u201cdemographic meltdown.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Whether there actually is such a \u201cmeltdown\u201d would be an interesting (and important) topic for discussion, but my focus here is rather different: His own commitment to the gospel, the caller said, is purely emotional, a result of his personal autobiography. He chooses to remain a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> despite his conviction that, for every reason to believe in Mormonism, there are at least 20 reasons to reject it.<\/span><\/p>\n If my own faith were merely emotional, if I agreed that the reasons for abandoning the claims of the Restoration far outweigh those for accepting them, I probably would have left the church long ago myself. If those in his circle feel the same way, their response isn\u2019t very surprising.<\/span><\/p>\n But this very newspaper column is a testimony that I don\u2019t share his evaluation. In fact, my position is quite the contrary.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t deny the existence of questions, even possible reasons for doubt. These definitely exist, and, I believe, they exist by divine intention.<\/span><\/p>\n If God were to reveal himself fully and with unmistakable, irresistible clarity, that revelation would overwhelm and destroy our freedom. In his \u201cPhilosophical Fragments\u201d (1844), the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard uses a parable about a king and a maiden to make this point: How can the king reveal his love to a woman of humble parentage \u2014 given the huge disparity of rank, status and wealth between them \u2014 without coercing and crushing her?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot to reveal oneself,\u201d he writes, \u201cis the death of love, to reveal oneself is the death of the beloved.\u201d The only real choice open to the king is to court his beloved indirectly, by descending to her station, by taking on the character of a servant. So he disguises himself.<\/span><\/p>\n God, Kierkegaard says, wants us to love him freely because we come to know him as lovable, not because he\u2019s powerful, terrifying or overwhelming. And we have abundant reason to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n In a similar way, though he wants us to develop faith or trust in him, he doesn\u2019t seek a compelled belief. He doesn\u2019t desire an assent that has been forced upon us because we had no rational alternative or escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Accordingly, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, there are hints and clues. (Cosmic fine-tuning, for example, seems to suggest that a vastly powerful intelligence desired to foster life, but it doesn\u2019t absolutely require that conclusion.) There are evidences and personal spiritual experiences, but no undeniable public proofs.<\/span><\/p>\n For eight years, I\u2019ve published a column each week (now totaling over 400 mini-essays; for a list with links, see\u00a0deseretnews.com\/author\/22746\/Daniel-Peterson.html)<\/a>, almost invariably laying out one or more reasons to trust the claims of Christianity in general and those of the Restored Church in particular.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, many of these columns have suggested further reading. See, for example, \u201cSome aids to nourish our faith\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and my note on the fascinating research of Brian Stubbs, \u201cNear Eastern languages in ancient America?<\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n To these book and article recommendations, I could add many more, including the important new volume \u201cKnowing Why<\/a>: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True\u201d . The classic products published by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (known as FARMS) and, in its first years, by its successor organization, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, remain very powerful. I would perhaps suggest starting with volumes such as \u201cRediscovering the Book of Mormon\u201d (1991), \u201cReexploring the Book of Mormon\u201d (1992) and \u201cPressing Forward with the Book of Mormon\u201d (1999).<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2012, the mission of FARMS and the original Maxwell Institute has largely been taken up by Book of Mormon Central, which is online at\u00a0bookofmormoncentral.org<\/a>, and the Interpreter Foundation, online at\u00a0interpreterfoundation.org<\/a>\u00a0and of which I am the board chairman. Together, they offer a treasure trove of material representing decades of faithful scholarship, as well as the exciting recent work of such scholars as Matthew Bowen, Stanford Carmack and Royal Skousen (see\u00a0mormoninterpreter.com\/journal\/all-papers\/)<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n