A crowd of Latter-day Saint scholars, believers, influencers, apologists and others gathered Thursday for the second day of FAIR Conference 2026, a three-day conference focused on answering questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Conference speakers — including scholars, researchers and BYU religion professors — delivered presentations on topics such as the translation of the Book of Mormon, common misconceptions of Latter-day Saint temple worship and how to identify reliable sources.
Here are six quotes from several of Thursday’s conference speakers.
Book of Mormon translation
In a presentation on Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon, Latter-day Saint researcher Gerrit Dirkmaat stated: “I can’t describe to you exactly how Joseph and Oliver translated the Book of Mormon, any more than I can tell you precisely how the molecules of water behave when Jesus steps on them to walk across.
“Miracles, by their definition, are beyond explanation. That is the reason we believe in them — because they cannot happen any other way than by the power of God.”
Brigham Young’s character
Brett Dowdle, a historian in the Church History Department who has worked extensively on the Joseph Smith Papers, gave a presentation entitled “Here is Brigham: The Private Character of Brigham Young.” He taught, “As Latter-day Saints become increasingly familiar with the Brigham Young who appears in the documents, they will discover a multifaceted man who, although not perfect, was far from the caricature that so many have imagined him to be.”
Dowdle also quoted Young’s daughter Susa as saying, “My father was never harsh nor unjustly severe. I never saw him whip one of his children in my life. … Certainly we all obeyed him, but it was because we loved him so well. He was so just, so fond of me and so kind to us all.”
Fairness in representing faith
“Fairness represents sympathetically the viewpoints of multiple and equally opposing perspectives,” said Keith Erekson, researcher at the Church History Department. “If the subject of the treatment recognizes him or herself, then it is probably fair. If the author belittles other perspectives or emphasizes emotion, polarization and estrangements, then fairness has been compromised.”
Erekson noted that antagonism toward faith in public discourse “revels in pointing out anomalies, taking things out of context, mounting long lists to produce information overload, alleging deep conspiracies by past actors or present church employees, and reducing the richness of reality into false choices.”
How to approach hard questions in church history and doctrine
Casey Griffiths, a BYU religion professor and co-host of the Church History Matters podcast, gave a presentation on approaching hard questions in Latter-day Saint history and doctrine. He stated, “Before we claim that the church teaches something, we need to be more careful about our claims. Before we say something is an official teaching in the church, we need to run it through a couple models.”
Griffiths shared two models he’s often taught his students. The first helps identify truthful information by considering if the information comes from reliable sources, such as current correlated church publications, cumulative teachings of church officers, harmonized scripture canon, and the united voice of Latter-day Saint prophets and apostles.
The second model says gospel truths can be categorized into core eternal doctrines, supporting teachings, policy teachings and esoteric teachings. The core doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ are relatively few in number, Griffiths said, quoting Latter-day Saint apostle David A. Bednar.
The true focus of Latter-day Saint temple worship
Jasmin Rappleye, a Latter-day Saint content creator and scholar, delivered a presentation exploring prominent misconceptions regarding Latter-day Saint temples and worship. She stated, “In a Latter-day Saint temple, yes, we make covenants and we promise to take those covenants very seriously. But the temple is also crystal clear that it is only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are saved.
“The promises we make help us emulate and become more like Jesus Christ. But I believe all the symbols that are associated with our covenants are there as vivid reminders that it is only through the grace and sacrifice — the infinite, eternal sacrifice — of Jesus Christ that we are saved.”
The ‘supreme importance’ of context
In a presentation unraveling the story of the Mountain Meadows massacre, Janiece Johnson — a historian specializing in the event — spoke of the “supreme importance” of context.
“Context is going to change everything,” she said, also noting the importance of turning to expert sources. “When we look at the most complicated pieces of our history, we need experts’ help.”
One person cannot do what an entire department can do, Johnson said. That is “a strength” and demonstrates “that we are willing to deal with difficult things, that we don’t just discount them because they don’t fit our prior assumptions and that we do the work to wrestle with difficult things.”