It may be the “largest database,” but since it misleads members of the Church, what good is a large database? A smaller, accurate database would be more effective.
FairMormon does some good work in many areas, but they also contribute to the confusion and loss of faith that we see happening in many cases because of their strict adherence to the Mesoamerican theory of Book of Mormon geography.
Take a look at this part of the “largest database of faithful answers.” FairMormon is a gift to anti-Mormon web pages in several respects, but especially when it comes to Book of Mormon geography.
The first thing they do is say “The Church has no official position on any New World location described in the Book of Mormon.” To support this, they cite the phony fax from the “Office of the First Presidency,” here:
https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Book_of_Mormon/Geography/Statements
I’ve previously shown here http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/11/how-to-create-some-doctrine.html that this “fax” is plagiarized from the entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. That entry was written by David Palmer, who cites his own book to support the article. It’s classic citation cartel practice, and you’ll see more from Brother Palmer in this FairMormon article.
______________
As you read the FairMormon article on Cumorah, you’ll notice a few key points.
1. FairMormon never cites Letter VII because they don’t want members of the Church to know that Joseph and Oliver unequivocally identified the New York hill Cumorah as the site of the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites. This is why you can’t trust FairMormon, and why so many members of the Church go to anti-Mormon web sites, which do explain Letter VII and how the LDS scholars and educators repudiate Joseph and Oliver to promote their Mesoamerican theories.
2. FairMormon claims David Whitmer, one of the 3 witnesses, was a liar (they use the euphemism to explain their rejection of his oft-repeated statement by saying “some historians question its accuracy”). This is the same approach that has led to the suppression of David Whitmer’s testimony in other media, as I’ve shown and will show again soon.
3. FairMormon refuses to quote modern prophets and apostles who have spoken about Cumorah being in New York and instead claim that “Since the 1950s, opinion among Book of Mormon scholars has increasingly trended toward the realization that the Nephite Cumorah and the Hill in New York cannot be the same.” FairMormon and many other LDS scholars and educators frequently claim the scholars know more than the prophets and apostles, so this is not unusual. Here, they quote Elder Dallin H. Oaks, as if he supports the two-Cumorahs theory!
4. FairMormon refuses to quote what President Joseph Fielding Smith said on at least two occasions. Referring to the two-Cumorahs theory that FairMormon promotes, President Smith said, “This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.” Instead of quoting President Smith, FairMormon quotes criticism of him by a Mesoamerican proponent, and then supports it with 40-year-old hearsay from a student in a class at BYU.
5. FairMormon quotes Brother Palmer’s “geographic conditions” for the Hill Cumorah that include the self-serving requirements for volcanoes and no cold or snow. The Mesoamerican theory depends on its own retranslation of the text anyway (i.e., horses are tapirs, towers are huge stone pyramids, etc.), but these “requirements” for Cumorah have led to the comical search for Cumorah in Southern Mexico that has consumed the time and effort of many people for over 100 years. Worse, these requirements rely on the premise that Joseph and Oliver were ignorant speculators who misled the Church.
_____________
You can read the rest of the article and see the other logical and factual fallacies, but I point out the five above to explain why, if you have people who want to know about the Church, or people who have questions about the Book of Mormon, you should not send them to FairMormon.
Source: Book of Mormon Wars