The FARMS Membership "Upgrade"

[_Mister Scratch]

I don't really want to go digging into any raw wounds here, but something in GoodK's postings on the "Why I am Not a Mormon" thread piqued my interest:

By the way, did he upgrade your F.A.R.M.S membership for free as a result of this little treasure you've supplied him with?

Of course, GoodK is here referring to the "back-up support" which his father---i.e., FatherK---supplied to DCP, after The Good Professor rather unscrupulously "ratted" out GoodK. Anyways, what interests me about this mention of an "upgrade" is the way it appears to function as a kind of "bartering tool." We know, for example, that GoodK's father was approached by the "fundraiser" as a means of getting more money for FARMS. Elsewhere in the "Why I am Not" thread, GoodK asked DCP if the membership might be "upgraded" to "Liahona." I was curious about this, so I paid a visit to the FARMS website:

https://maxwellinstitute.BYU.edu/purcha ... pe=Liahona

It turns out that a "Liahona" membership with FARMS will set you back a cool $1,000, whereas a "Gold" membership costs $500, and "Silver" $120. (No---there is no "Bronze" membership.) You will notice that the website and accompanying graphic helpfully explain just how large of a tax deduction folks can declare once they've made their donations. What I found further intriguing is the way that donors are compensated. All three tiers of membership will get donors subscriptions to all of the FARMS publications, but paying the additional $380 in order to bump up from "Silver" to "Gold" only gets the donor an "Annual Presentation Volume," whatever that is. (And what *is* it, exactly? A copy of speeches delivered by FARMS boys?) Even more curious, "Liahona"-level donors get "All Printed Publications." To this, is say: What??!? Now, either this is just redundant (since "Liahona" members already get a 20% bookstore discount, plus all the journals), or "Liahona" donors are being given tons of books in exchange for their $500 donations. It should be noted that the journal which gets top billing, in virtually every respect, is FARMS Review. DCP has tried to pooh-pooh away criticism of the MI by stating that it does "other things" besides apologetics, but, clearly, at least based on this evidence, FARMS Review is the Maxwell Institute's premier publication.

All of this is complicated by the fact that DCP apparently offers "upgrades" in exchange for "favors," such as "show of force" against GoodK by GoodK's father. On the other hand, I suppose this is somewhat helpful in determining just how valuable one's defense of Mormonism is to DCP & et. al.---it is worth $500.

The bottomline, I believe, is that this raises yet another new set of questions concerning the way apologetics is funded. From one angle, it seems a bit like PBS, where you'd get a copy of the latest Ken Burns opus for your donation, or whatever. On the other hand, PBS representatives, as far as I know, don't go to the houses of individual donors w/ professional "fundraisers" in tow.

Quite interesting on the whole, in any event.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

Forgive me for not reading all of the threads related to GoodK, but are you serious???

Dan the bishop ratted out GoodK to his father?

And that second line in your sig:

"[The thought of Mr. Scratch] makes me wish that my assault rifle weren't in my neighbor's gun safe. "---Daniel C. Peterson

That was posted in a public forum by the same man who was called to be a bishop over college students?

Boy was I wrong to think there were standards of personal integrity required to be called to be a Mormon bishop.


for what it's worth, I now consider DCP a piece of s*** for the above recorded actions. Why must he stoop so low over internet message boards? Scratch, you have been above the board and merely pointing out the harsh reality of mo'apologetica. Dan really needs to take a break from these boards and seek professional help.

[_Mister Scratch]

Forgive me for not reading all of the threads related to GoodK, but are you serious???

Dan the bishop ratted out GoodK to his father?

Yes, he absolutely did. He tried to claim that he was acting "ethically," since he would also want to know if his child were posting anonymous and virtually innocuous material about him online. Of course, he has never stated just *why* it would be so important for him to know such things. Perhaps so he could browbeat the child into submission/obedience?

And that second line in your sig:

"[The thought of Mr. Scratch] makes me wish that my assault rifle weren't in my neighbor's gun safe. "---Daniel C. Peterson

That was posted in a public forum by the same man who was called to be a bishop over college students?

Yes, it was. Kind of surprising, in my opinion. I prefer to assume that he was just "joking," but realize that I ought to be cautious nonetheless.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

Forgive me for not reading all of the threads related to GoodK, but are you serious???

Dan the bishop ratted out GoodK to his father?

Yes, he absolutely did. He tried to claim that he was acting "ethically," since he would also want to know if his child were posting anonymous and virtually innocuous material about him online. Of course, he has never stated just *why* it would be so important for him to know such things. Perhaps so he could browbeat the child into submission/obedience?

And that second line in your sig:

"[The thought of Mr. Scratch] makes me wish that my assault rifle weren't in my neighbor's gun safe. "---Daniel C. Peterson

That was posted in a public forum by the same man who was called to be a bishop over college students?

Yes, it was. Kind of surprising, in my opinion. I prefer to assume that he was just "joking," but realize that I ought to be cautious nonetheless.

I am curious if his stake president and senior management at BYU know about this? The guy is out of control. He needs help. I pity the fool.

[_Ray A]

It turns out that a "Liahona" membership with FARMS will set you back a cool $1,000, whereas a "Gold" membership costs $500, and "Silver" $120. (No---there is no "Bronze" membership.)

To me the membership tiers are no different than something you'd subscribe to as you would in a book club. All of the periodical journals are eventually available online, usually a year after publication, such as the Review, which is available online with issues from 1989-2007:

http://maxwellinstitute.BYU.edu/publica ... ewmain.php

I never took out any more than basic membership, which was the $25 one. I suppose you could say this is the "bronze" one, but who wants a bronze medal? The only real advantage in subscribing, in my opinion, was that you got copies immediately after publication. If you were prepared to wait, you could eventually see it online, free. Similarly with the Tanners, who were in the business of supporting their ministry, though many of the books are now online, including their magnum opus. The Salt Lake City Messenger was a (free) primer with an open sales pitch geared towards buying their other books, which certainly worked in my case. I "sponsored" them far more than I did FARMS, and read every issue of the SLCM since its inception.

[_Gadianton]

Scratch,

That has got to be the most complicated pricing structure I've ever encountered. It would take me hours and hours of work to untangle and analyze properly. One has to wonder if that complication has been carefully premeditated to operate in conjuction with the high-pressure sales tactics of a paid, professional fundraiser.

This is not unlike being at a car dealership. First, worn down by the jargon and smooth talk of a salesman. Then, under dim lights presented with anything but a clear price for a clear product, but rather offered a complicated array of financing choices and various packages including a vehicle, services, terms, and it's all water under the bridge by the time a signature goes on the line because whatever the losses are: It's worth the relief of just getting out of there.

As far as "favors" go, you've got me thinking now in another direction. We know many of the FARMS authors are academics at BYU. But not all are. There are others who seem to be well-to-do "guest" contributors if you will. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Let's say that I'm a "Liahona" level subscriber and have been for a few years. Let's say I also donate money to BYU and perhaps an additional yearly contribution to FARMS and maybe buy dinner for one of the premier apologists. And let's say I'd like to get in the "lime light" so to speak and there's an open spot or two in the next FROB. Think I might get a crack at publishing?

[_The Dude]

It turns out that a "Liahona" membership with FARMS will set you back a cool $1,000, whereas a "Gold" membership costs $500, and "Silver" $120.

WTF?? Next time I hear about FARMS being akin to other professional academic organizations (peer review, etc.), I'll give a good hearty laugh. It's more like a suspicous multilevel marketing org. Oh, on second thought, how much will it set me back to reach "diamond" membership with the Federation for American Societies for Experimental Biology?

Talk about corny.

[_Ray A]

As far as "favors" go, you've got me thinking now in another direction. We know many of the FARMS authors are academics at BYU. But not all are. There are others who seem to be well-to-do "guest" contributors if you will. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Let's say that I'm a "Liahona" level subscriber and have been for a few years. Let's say I also donate money to BYU and perhaps an additional yearly contribution to FARMS and maybe buy dinner for one of the premier apologists. And let's say I'd like to get in the "lime light" so to speak and there's an open spot or two in the next FROB. Think I might get a crack at publishing?

That isn't the real issue. The real issue is encapsulated in this "Mission Statement":

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship exists to

* Describe and defend the Restoration through highest quality scholarship
* Provide critically edited, primary resources (ancient religious texts) to scholars and lay persons around the world
* Build bridges of understanding and goodwill to Muslim scholars by providing superior editions of primary texts
* Provide an anchor of faith in a sea of LDS Studies

With the blessing of a Church President:

In extending the invitation, President Hinckley said: "FARMS represents the efforts of sincere and dedicated scholars. It has grown to provide strong support and defense of the Church on a professional basis. . . . I see a bright future for this effort now through the university."

Hold Church courts for any dissenting scholars. Like David Wright. A portion of his letter to his bishop:

I also question the propriety of the investigation of scholars because the process contradicts some basic Church principles and values. We value free agency. But these proceedings, since they are implicitly coercive, strike at the heart of this principle. The Church, too, values truth. We say that we accept truth from wherever it comes and claim in our scriptures that the "glory of God is intelligence," a motto hanging at the gates of Brigham Young University. But investigating and disciplining scholarly activity effectively denies this profession. Mormonism also respects the Constitution of this land and even views it as inspired. But disciplinary proceedings against scholars implicitly mock the freedoms enumerated in that document. While the Constitution does not require that religious institutions hold to its principles, great dissonance arises when a member is allowed freedom of expression and conscience outside of the Church but is denied it inside the Church or with regard to Church issues. There is no little irony in the Church's sacrifice of these traditional values to go after scholars when their conclusions are not traditional.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

It turns out that a "Liahona" membership with FARMS will set you back a cool $1,000, whereas a "Gold" membership costs $500, and "Silver" $120.

WTF?? Next time I hear about FARMS being akin to other professional academic organizations (peer review, etc.), I'll give a good hearty laugh. It's more like a suspicous multilevel marketing org. Oh, on second thought, how much will it set me back to reach "diamond" membership with the Federation for American Societies for Experimental Biology?

Talk about corny.

And a top membership in the FASP (Foundation of Apolgetic Study of Polygamy) shall be dubbed the LiaBONER.

[_rcrocket]

The bottomline, I believe, is that this raises yet another new set of questions concerning the way apologetics is funded. From one angle, it seems a bit like PBS, where you'd get a copy of the latest Ken Burns opus for your donation, or whatever. On the other hand, PBS representatives, as far as I know, don't go to the houses of individual donors w/ professional "fundraisers" in tow.

Quite interesting on the whole, in any event.

You are so naïve. Your profession obviously is very far from academia, nonprofits and politics. Do you live in a trailer park?

I don't know how many times "professional fundraisers" have called me, invited me to dinners, luncheons, breakfasts or come to my home pushing this or that academic pursuit, good cause or political cause. Eighty years ago, that was called "obtaining subscriptions." If I subscribe to some particular level of support for the University of California, where one of my children went, I get all sorts of freebies.

Yes, he absolutely did. He tried to claim that he was acting "ethically," since he would also want to know if his child were posting anonymous and virtually innocuous material about him online. Of course, he has never stated just *why* it would be so important for him to know such things. Perhaps so he could browbeat the child into submission/obedience?

Once again, we have the anonymous smear. I was the one who brought GoodK's public humiliation of his then-dying sister and of his father to the attention of his father, who is a good friend. Smear me, you boor.