Keeping the Faith

Scott Gordon serves as President of FairMormon, a non-profit corporation staffed by volunteers dedicated to helping members deal with issues raised by critics of the LDS faith. He has an MBA from Brigham Young University, and a BA in Organizational Communications from Brigham Young University. He is currently an instructor of business and technology at Shasta College in Redding, California. Scott has held many positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including serving as a bishop for six years. He currently serves as Ward Mission Leader. He is married and has five children.

The Book of Mormon as a Second Witness for Christ

A native of southern California, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, where he has taught Arabic language and literature at all levels, Islamic philosophy, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic religion, the Qur’an, the introductory and senior “capstone” courses for Middle Eastern Studies majors, and various other occasional specialized classes. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics–including a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007)—and has lectured across the United States, in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and at various Islamic universities in the Near East and Asia. He served in the Switzerland Zürich Mission (1972-1974), and, for approximately eight years, on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also presided for a time as the bishop of a singles ward adjacent to Utah Valley University. Dr. Peterson is married to the former Deborah Stephens, of Lakewood, Colorado, and they are the parents of three sons.

This is a Woman's Church

Sharon Eubank is the current director of LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The program is known for offering relief goods, health services and emergency assistance in developing countries. Prior to becoming the director of LDS Charities, Eubank was a member of the Relief Society General Board, which served over 4 million women in 28,000 branches in 169 countries.

Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage

Brian C. Hales is the author of seven books dealing with Mormon polygamy—most notably the three-volume, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology (Greg Kofford Books, 2013). His Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto received the “Best Book of 2007 Award” from the John Whitmer Historical Association. He has presented at numerous meetings and symposia and published articles in the Journal of Mormon History, Mormon Historical Studies, Dialogue, as well as contributing chapters to The Persistence of Polygamy series. Much of his research materials are available at www.MormonPolygamyDocuments.org. He served a mission to Venezuela for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for fourteen years. He is currently president of the John Whitmer Historical Association. Brian works as an anesthesiologist and has served as the president of both the Utah Medical Association and the Medical Staff at the Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, Utah. He has an almost insatiable appetite for both learning and movie theater popcorn. He is also an avid runner and enjoys running half-marathons with his four children and their spouses.

Laura Harris Hales earned a BA in international studies from BYU and an MA in professional writing from New England College. She is the copy editor of Mormon Historical Studies. In 2015, Laura and Brian co-authored Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding (Kofford Books, 2015). Though unashamed of her polygamous roots, she was initially disturbed when she learned some details of Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy. Her work on the website and the book is an effort on her part to contextualize the events of the 1840s for others who may be troubled by what they learn. Recently she compiled an anthology addressing eighteen controversial topics regarding LDS history and doctrine. Chapters are written by leading LDS scholars and are directed toward members of the LDS Church curious about controversial issues (Laura Harris Hales, ed., A Reason for Faith: Navigation LDS Doctrine and History (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2016).

Blacks in the Scriptures

Marvin Perkins of Los Angeles, California, is a 17-year convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He came to the Church after searching every religion he could find, for more than five years, in search of what he called “the real church.” Born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York, just 90 miles west of Palmyra, he had never heard of the Church. When one of his business associates wanted to come out to see him perform, this desire set off the missionary experience that would lead to his baptism into the Church three months later. Marvin currently serves as co-chair for Genesis Public Affairs; his former service includes: Director of African-American Relations, Southern California Public Affairs Council; Mission Leader; Gospel Doctrine Teacher; Seminary Teacher; Ward Mission Leader; Executive Secretary to the Bishop; Elders Quorum Presidency

The witnesses to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and a way to look to Joseph’s translation.

Robin Jensen is the associate managing historian and project archivist for the Joseph Smith Papers and coedited the first two volumes in the Revelations and Translations series (published 2009 and 2011, respectively). He specializes in document and transcription analysis. In 2005 he earned an MA degree in American history from Brigham Young University, and in 2009 he earned a second MA in library and information science with an archival concentration from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He is now pursuing a PhD in history at the University of Utah. He completed training at the Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents in 2007. He has published several articles and edited documents and has presented papers at various scholarly conferences.

DNA and the Book of Mormon

Dr. Ugo A. Perego received a BS and a MS in Health Sciences from Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and a PhD in Genetics and Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Pavia (Pavia, Italy) under the mentorship of Professor Antonio Torroni. During the past decade, he has given nearly 200 lectures on DNA topics relating to population migrations, ancestry, forensics, and history (including LDS history). Ugo has also authored and co-authored a number of publications, including the recent: “Joseph Smith, the Question of Polygamous Offspring, and DNA Analysis” (in Craig Foster and Newell Bringhurst’s The Persistence of Polygamy, 2010); “The Initial Peopling of the Americas: A Growing Number of Founding Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2010); “The Book of Mormon and the Origins of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint” (in Robert Millett’s No Weapon Shall Prosper, 2011); “The Mountain Meadows Massacre and “Poisoned Springs”: Scientific Testing of the More Recent, Anthrax Theory” (in International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2012); and “Rapid Coastal Spread of First Americans: Novel Insights from South America’s Southern Cone Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2012).