Website Launched

Hey! I finished the YFAIR website after almost three discarded, self-coded templates were made. I chose the third, and am happy with the results. See for yourself at youth.fairlds.org

Read more about current events on my blog post at the Y-Fair Blog which is linked to from there.

Tata!

New Mission Statement

I havn't been absent from this blog by accident, rather I've been busy workin' hard at YFAIR. We now boast a new mission statement that goes like this...

"Youth Foundation of Apologetic Information and Research
YFAIR's mission is to bear witness of Jesus Christ and His restored Church while helping strengthen and defend the testimonies in the hearts of youth everywhere. To this end, we will assist other youth in understanding the doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We will support them in this capacity with media and information that will develop comprehension and testimony, and we will do it in a style that is both logical and inspirational."

We worded it very carefully to express our deepest desires for those affected by this organization. YFAIR's mission is to bear witness of Jesus Christ and His restored Church. I was adamant about putting Christ at the beginning because it is sooo important that a Christian organization have Jesus Christ at the center of its purpose. How could we attempt to accomplish anything for the souls of our brothers and sisters if we don't strengthen their testimony of our Savior? That's right, we couldn't!



We're still a developing organization, but I think that this was an important milestone for us. Now we have a clear picture of our purpose and a standard to measure our progress against. The standard has been erected, now let us see who will take up the banner...

Enlisted Men

I'm not one to sit on the sides for long. If I can be out there fighting, nothing's going to stop me. So I picked up a wooden sword, trimmed a can for a helmet and enlisted in FAIR. I was put under the command of a man named John Lynch, a general, and he directed me on how to begin a youth-group.

Together, we went on recruiting and organizing until we had a semi-functional team that could begin to undertake projects. He then put me in contact with Sister Vickey Taylor who amazes me with her super attitude! Who knew that a person could be so optimistic? Both of them have really kept me excited about the work of Y-FAIR...but what is the work of YFAIR? I'll explore that more next post, so look for it!

What's Not FAIR?

You might be wonderin', what the heck is this blog about? Great question! Honestly, I keep trying to conserve my time for things that are really important. This is one of those things; so since you asked let me tell you about the Foundation of Apologetic Information and Research, or FAIR, which is the central purpose for which I created this blog.

The key to understanding what FAIR does can be found in the word apologetics, which should rightly remind you of the word apology except in this case apologetics means the branch of theology that defends and explains Christian doctrine(1). It does not mean that we are in any way sorry for what we believe--in fact it's quite the opposite--it does mean, however, that we are fascinated by our religion and wish to learn as much as we can about it.

You may have heard some about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints about half of which are accurate. You may have met some Mormons in your time, and just between you and I, I've met a lot being a member of the church since eight years old. I have found it to be true that a diversity exists among us that is equal to that of the rest of the world, but faithful members all have some things in common for example: we believe that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all the world and that by no other name can a soul return to the Kingdom of Heaven.

I joined FAIR after the 2008 conference held in Sandy, Utahm I thought it would be a waste of my time at first, but now I just want to share what I learned there everyone. I had the opportunity to speak with some pretty cool guys like Scott Gordon, President of FAIR, John Lynch, Chairman of the Board, and other officers of FAIR. To these folks the work of defending the faith isn't just an interest, but a calling and sacred duty. Like a starry-eyed child watching warriors march to battle, I wanted it to my duty too.

Thus the Youth FAIR was born in my heart...