FAIR, Sunstone conferences are this week

Two of the largest independent conferences about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will take place next week — FAIR and Sunstone.

FAIR — the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research — will gather for their 10th annual conference on Thursday, Aug. 7, and Friday, Aug. 8, at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy.

The annual Sunstone Symposium will be Wednesday, Aug. 6, through Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Sheraton Hotel, 150 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City.

This is the first year that both conferences have overlapped, but organizers of both events still report a high number of advance registrations. Both conferences charge a registration fee.

Here's a capsule rundown for the two conferences:

• FAIR:

"This year marks a full decade of FAIR Conferences," Scott Gordon, FAIR president, said. "During that time FAIR has grown, and the work that needs to be done has continued to grow, as well." Reaction to "Mormonism" in the light of the recent presidential bid of Mitt Romney has surprised some people, but apologists know that anti-Mormon sentiment is alive and well.

"The FAIR Conference is a great way to get informed. This year's conference is geared toward providing the information and answers you need to deal with the new topics that are being discussed."

With national discussions about the LDS running high, because of the FLDS controversies and Romney's presidential bid, he believes what FAIR offers is more important than ever to church members,

There will be two new dimensions to this year's FAIR Conference — FAIR's first-ever panel discussion, "Philosophy and Mormonism" (Aug. 7, 1:15 p.m.); and FAIR will experiment with some live Internet streaming on its Web site of all the conference that it can.

"We've always just had speakers before," Gordon said.

Regarding the live Internet broadcasts, he said he can't guarantee there won't be some glitches. But if it works, the broadcasts will be free to anyone, though FAIR will accept donations from remote listeners. FAIR will also eventually post all of its conference talks online, although it may take a long time to do so.

On attendance, Gordon said despite FAIR's lack of paid, advance ads to promote the conference and the Sunstone conflict, advance registration is as high or higher than last year.

"If someone comes once, they tend to come back," he said.

Gordon describes the FAIR Conference as a "frank, thought-provoking, faith-building and enjoyable experience."

Conference sessions begin at 9 a.m. each day and end at 5:45 p.m. Registration is available before the first session each day. Dress is business casual.