Doctor Scratch wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 9:59 pm
I was passed an interesting tidbit earlier by an "informant." It turns out that
FAIR Mormon has teamed up with another organization for this year's annual FAIR Conference:
Our partners, the Valiant Conference, join us in nurturing confident expressions of faith both online and offline. FAIR's traditional lineup of scholars and researchers will counter criticism of the Church and provide inspiring evidence to strengthen faith. Additional Valiant speakers will provide practical insight into how families and Church leaders can translate research into spiritual strength.
Stay tuned for exciting updates! Keep an eye on your email and follow FAIR and Valiant Conference on social media for announcements about speakers and topics.
I don't know about you, but I hadn't heard about the Valiant Conference. So what is it?
You can check out their website for yourself, but the organization describes itself as "A gathering of Latter-day Saint women who confidently stand with Christ." I perused the website a bit and I admit that I was a bit perplexed by the lack of information. The Valiant Conference hosts 3 conferences each year (including the FAIR Conference), and they do indeed seem to be focused on "confidently stand[ing] with Christ," but something about the whole website cast a pall of uneasiness over my mind as I read. Simply put, it feels as though crucial information is being withheld. Was this originally a grassroots organization, I wonder? Or, instead, was this something that was dreamed up by the More Good Foundation? Or was it financed/spearheaded by the COB? Part of my reasons for wondering these things has to do with the information listed on the Valiant Conference's "Sponsors" page. Their key sponsors are: FAIR, FamilyProclamation.org, and Public Square Magazine: a publication that DCP has mentioned more than once. So is this actually a Mopologetic organization in disguise?
Doctor Scratch, you've identified some important connections here. Carol Rice is serving as the conference director. Who is she? Among other things, she is the listed author of a recent "
open letter" to the
New York Times published on the Public Square Magazine website that criticizes the newspaper's coverage of women who responded on Facebook and Instagram to the church's recent Relief Society broadcast. Here is the full text of the letter:
I write not to presume representation for all Latter-day Saint women. From the Intermountain West corridor to far-reaching global communities, we have different experiences and deep sentiments that shape our perceptions at a moment like this.
Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ released a Relief Society broadcast to the membership of the Church. The overall intent of the broadcast seemed to be focused on how women are essential to the work of the gospel. President Nelson said, “Women have been at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan from the beginning… [and] if the world should ever lose the moral rectitude of its women, the world would never recover.” Despite these touching words, there are some women who have felt the message from the broadcast did not place women on equal footing with men and, additionally, that the Church is keeping women out of positions of power. This has led other news sources to announce that the majority of LDS women feel this sense of disempowerment when it comes to the Church. Our hearts go out to these women who have felt unheard, unlistened to, and underrepresented. We do not deny their personal experience; however, we feel this widely broadcasted message is not giving fair credence to women who have also felt empowered, loved, and valued within the Church.
We are a mosaic of narratives, not a monolith.
This is the exception taken with the recent article published by The New York Times, which demonstrates a lack of professionalism, sensitivity, and respect towards our community. Our experiences cannot be constrained within cultural constructs. We recognize it is difficult to fathom our feelings without a lens of faith. However, to answer your question, we feel elevated and empowered in our efforts. While an extensive review of the claims made about women’s religious experience could be necessary, it goes beyond the scope of this letter. However, we choose not to view all human relationships through the lens of ‘power differentials.’ Quite simply, we believe it is inaccurate to paint all individuals as inherently self-interested. Power, as described in certain ideologies as a measure of control, is not an unimportant concept, but it does not have a place within the gospel of Jesus Christ. We see ourselves and our place in the church beyond the dichotomy of ‘privileged’ and ‘oppressed.’
While not every woman would articulate these thoughts in identical terms, in our collective voice, we ask that The New York Times editors and its readership please hear this:
We choose to follow Him.
Our religious conviction and membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reflect a resolute commitment that is not merely a convenient affiliation; it is rooted in profound reverence for Jesus Christ, His priesthood, His plan, His redemption, and His church. He is the source of our joy; the God of our fathers—and our mothers.
Our belief rests on the assurance of a very personal Savior who can and does heal our individual pains because we do not expect perfection from our leaders or claim it of ourselves.
Protesting against His prophets and criticism against His church is not our way.
Nothing holy is born out of grievance. Nor is sustainable testimony fueled by anger.
It is our hope that discussions regarding our community be approached with greater consideration for the deeply held convictions that guide us. We seek conversations rooted in understanding and mutual respect. Sadly, it is you—while posing questions about our empowerment—that we feel unheard by.
The letter is co-signed by at least three women affiliated with the Valiant Conference.
The bio for RIce beneath the letter states that she is "the president of Skyline Research Institute and the Director of Communications for Public Square Magazine, a joint project of the Elizabeth McCune and the John A. Widstoe Foundation."
The Skyline Research Institute is a non-profit organization that runs a
website extolling the virtues of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." It's unclear to me whether Skyline has any other functions.
I would note that the 2022 FAIR Conference featured three speakers with connections to the
Skyline Research Institute. Brent Andrewsen, chairman of Skyline (as well as chairman of the
Sutherland Institute Board of Directors), delivered a paper at the 2022 conference titled, "Foundational to Our Faith: 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World,'" Carole Rice spoke on "Teaching and Communicating the Doctrine of the Family to the Rising Generation," and Angela Fallentine gave an address titled, "Why Marriage? Why Family? Introducing a New Framework."
I note that the 2024 FAIR and Valiant Voices Conference is being held at the
American Heritage School campus in Salt Lake City. Valiant's press release announcing the conference describes the campus as "stunning" and as "a convenient and inspiring space." The FAIR website gushes that the venue is "extraordinary," "remarkable," and "captivating."
Why is the conference being moved to the American Heritage campus? According to its website, American Heritage is a K-12 private school that
strengthens teachings of the restored Gospel throughout our academic curriculum in a variety of ways. For example, teachers gather every morning to sing a hymn, pray and listen to a brief devotional before beginning classroom instruction. Homeroom teachers begin each day in class with a morning devotional for the students and each grade presents a class devotional once per year for the entire School. . . . Moral and religious education is incorporated daily in every class and every subject – not as a separate subject and not in a separate location. Students read a large variety of literature from Shakespeare to Tolstoy to writings of the prophet Joseph Smith. All literature that we study is virtuous, of the highest academic standards, original source material and teaches moral truths. A providential view of history is taught and re-enforced through the use of timelines in each classroom that begin with pre-mortal life, continue with developments in the Bible and Book of Mormon as well as world and American history and end with the Second Coming. Additionally, students are taught to see the hand of God particularly in the establishment and preservation of America through stories that are shared from American history.
https://af.americanheritageschool.org/our-method/
I recall that Elder Ronald Rasband dedicated American Heritage's Salt Lake City campus in November 2022. According to a
Deseret News article dated November 18, 2022, the campus "was a multi-year effort following an invitation from Elder Rasband to consider bringing the school to the state’s capital." Rasband dedicated the former LDS meetinghouse as "a house of learning ... that will teach truth and prioritize integrity, faith, charity, freedom and discipleship." (One of Rasband's children is on the school's board of trustees.)
Are FAIR and the Valiant Conference paying to use the American Heritage campus in August? Does American Heritage open its space to other organizations for their events?
In any case, I hope the FAIR-Valiant Conference partnership works out better than FAIR's disastrous partnership with This is The Show.