There are a number of things that seem problematic about this. For starters: who paid the (rather exorbitant) bill for this? Did Gordon pay for this out of his own pocket, or instead did he tap into the coffers of the FAIR volunteers' donations? My second question is this: Why does FAIR need or want press in national news outlets? The thing is: there is really a whole lot of history here, and all of the dirty and ugly history of FAIR is a mere couple of clicks away. Sure: they divested themselves of their messageboard (sort of), but it's easy enough to track down all of the crappy things they've done. Plus, their key personnel--Gordon, Allen Wyatt, Mike Parker, John Lynch, DCP, and so on--are all figures with checkered pasts. I mean, how would they typical reader react to the stuff that Allen Wyatt did with his cyber-squatting? In addition to dumping the messageboard, they have also seemingly distanced themselves from Juliann and Will Schryver, though there is still a historical connection between all of them.
Then there is the issue of the "press release" itself. It is staggeringly dishonest:
Scott Gordon, President of FAIR, addressed the Mormonism and the Internet conference at Utah Valley University on Thursday and explained the history and purpose of the most prominent Mormon apologetics organization.
Uh, no. FARMS/ The Maxwell Institute is still the most prominent apologetics organization, even if they are trying to eschew the word "apologetics."
"We decided that FAIR was there to provide information and not to debate."
Does Gordon not read the entries on the FAIR Wiki? Many of them are bristling with anger and hostility. Maybe the FAIR people are not publicly and openly debating, but the spirit of vicious polemics most certainly informs what they do. Instead, they have retreated, and now they are hiding behind organizational labels like "FAIR" or "Mormon Voices." Most of the FAIR volunteers won't even put their names on the "information" they produce.
FAIR's award-winning podcast
What award was this, exactly? Was it something that was awarded by an outside organization? For some reason, I suspect that this award was given to FAIR by, say, SHIELDS, or FARMS, or some other Mopologetics-friendly organization.
Scott Gordon wrote:"We have Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, socialists, members with same sex attraction, Ex-FLDS, Ex-anti-Mormons, and for a while we even had one Catholic."
(emphasis added)
What the? They have somebody with SSA, and this is widely known within the organization? Or, at least, it is widely known enough that Gordon feels comfortable enough tossing this comment out there in a national publication? How does the inclusion and involvement of this person this work, exactly? Kudos to them if they are actually being tolerant towards this person (or persons?), though I have to admit that I'm skeptical about this? (Who on earth would this be, I wonder?)
When asked by an audience member if apologists really understand the experiences of those who are struggling with their faith, or who have left the Church, Gordon noted that many members of FAIR have family members and friends who have left the church, and some FAIR members themselves have lost their faith and then returned to the Church.
Does anyone--including Gordon himself--actually believe this?
"[I]f, while hoping that everybody else will be honest and so forth, I can personally prosper through unethical and immoral acts without being detected and without risk, why should I not?." --Daniel Peterson, 6/4/14