Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
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The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) is an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Mormon apologetics. The group is formally part of the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts at Brigham Young University (BYU), which is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
FARMS supports and sponsors what it considers to be "faithful scholarship", which includes academic study and research in support of Christianity and Mormonism, and in particular, where possible, the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This research primarily concerns the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old Testament the New Testament, early Christian history, ancient temples, and other related subjects. While the organization allows some degree of academic freedom within these topics, FARMS is committed to the conclusion that Latter-day Saint scriptures are authentic, historical texts written by prophets of God.
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History
FARMS was organized in 1979 as a private not-for-profit organization. In 1997, FARMS became part of Brigham Young University after an invitation by Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and chairman of the BYU Board of Trustees. In extending the invitation, Hinckley noted: "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 wish to express my strong congratulations and appreciation for those who started this effort and who have shepherded it to this point."
In 2001, FARMS ceased to become a separate entity and within Brigham Young University, which consolidated FARMS with a number of related academic concerns to form the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts. However, the title FARMS is still used informally to refer to a distinctive cluster of BYU faculty and staff.
Controversy
Due to its commitment to "faithful scholarship," FARMS has been a focus of some controversy within the Mormon community. Work produced under FARMS's auspices has been critiqued on at least three fronts: (1) by "revisionists"--liberal Mormons, secular scholars, or former Mormon writers--who favor naturalistic accounts of Mormon scriptures (e.g., who believe the Book of Mormon is a creation of Joseph Smith, not a translation of an ancient document), (2) by evangelical or fundamentalist Christians who see FARMS as creating apologetic scholarship in support of cultish claims, and (3) by orthodox Latter-day Saints who fear that FARMS scholarship is contentious and therefore un-Christian or that it tends to privilege intellectual evidence over faith.
While scholars associated with FARMS often resist being characterized as apologists because of that term's pejorative connotations, FARMS has been an important center for producing work that critiques claims by revisionists, countercultists, and amateur Mormon enthusiasts, especially through the organization's longest-running journal, the FARMS Review (http://farms.byu.edu/publications/reviewmain.php). FARMS has been cited as representative of a new trend within Mormonism: the emergence of progressive forms of Mormon orthodoxy, committed to the literal reality of Mormon faith claims but willing to rethink traditional understandings of those claims. A prominent example of this trend is work FARMS has produced supporting a limited geography model for the Book of Mormon. Supporters, including high-ranking church leaders, see this model as consistent with archaeological and genetic findings about ancient American peoples, as well as with the Book of Mormon text; yet the model has met resistance from Mormons who prefer a more traditional understanding of their scripture as narrating events that occurred across the entire Western hemisphere. This is to say that FARMS plays a contested but influential role in shaping how Mormons understand their faith.
Publications
A number of periodicals and books have been published under the FARMS imprint, including:
- Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (http://farms.byu.edu/publications/jbmsmain.php). A scholarly journal, published semiannually, devoted to the latest research on the Book of Mormon.
- FARMS Review (http://farms.byu.edu/publications/reviewmain.php). A review journal, published semiannually. It focuses on books and articles written about Mormonism and the Book of Mormon.
- Insights (http://farms.byu.edu/publications/insightsmain.php). A newsletter, published semimonthly, providing updates on the latest FARMS research, as well as current events, reports on conferences and symposia, scripture insights, and announcements of new publications.
FARMS has also republished many of the writings of LDS scholar Hugh Nibley in the 14-volume Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
Bibliography
Duffy, John-Charles. "Defending the Kingdom, Rethinking the Faith: How Apologetics Is Reshaping Mormon Orthodoxy." Sunstone, May 2004, 22-55.
External link
- Official FARMS website at BYU (http://farms.byu.edu)de:F.A.R.M.S.