FAIR

FAIR, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of doctrine, belief and practice aimed at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church.

The organization was founded in 1997 by a group of LDS defenders of the faith who frequented the America Online Mormonism message boards. In order to reach a wider audience, FAIR was incorporated as a non-profit organization in the state of New York, the fledgling organization put up its first Web site in March 1998. FAIR is staffed completely by students of the scriptures, ancient languages, early Christian history, early LDS history, and LDS doctrine and apologetics. Many of the members are authors of currently-available apologetic publications. Members of FAIR are located all over the United States, and in many other countries such as Canada, Finland, Denmark, Austria, Australia, and England.

Some FAIR writers are scholars, while others are simply hobbyists. FAIR has some members who read Greek and Hebrew; others are familiar with early Christian history and early LDS history. Still others are just familiar with anti-Mormonism in general. As apologists, they defend Mormonism against unfair or uninformed criticism. They respond to questions and issues related to anti-Mormonism that have been brought to their attention. They write articles, do book reviews, and hold a conference once a year; they also print books.

A new effort from FAIR is the creation of a "defense league," similar to the Jewish Defense League, to give guidance to the press and thus improve reporting of the faith and Mormon beliefs.