Question: Do Latter-day Saint apologists receive compensation for their efforts?

Learn more about apologetics and defending the faith

Key sources	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Maxwell Legacy in the 21st Century,” on pages 8-21 of the “2018 Annual Report” of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship off-site Youtube Daniel C. Peterson, "The Interpreter Foundation and an Apostolic Charge," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 30/0 (28 December 2018). [vii–xviii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Elder Neal A. Maxwell on Consecration, Scholarship, and the Defense of the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 7/0 (8 November 2013). [vii–xx] link
FAIR links	FAIR FAQ Apologetics—defending the faith If FAIR is not officially representing the church, why not? Mentions of FAIR in various media Roger Ekins, "Defending Zion," Proceedings of the 2003 FAIR Conference (August 2003). link Dan Peterson, "Random Reflections on the Passing Scene," Proceedings of the 2003 FAIR Conference (August 2003). link Daniel C. Peterson, "Humble Apologetics," Proceedings of the 2008 FAIR Conference (August 2008). link Dan Peterson, "Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics," Proceedings of the 2012 FAIR Conference (August 2012). link Daniel Peterson, "'Apologetics: What, Why and How?'," Proceedings of the 2018 FAIR Conference (August 2018). link
Online	Marianne Holman Prescott, "Be Faithful Disciple-Scholars Even in Difficulty, Elder Holland Says at Maxwell Institute," Church News (13 November 2018), off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "Charity in Defending the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 1/0 (28 September 2012). [i–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Role of Apologetics in Mormon Studies," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 2/0 (14 December 2012). [vii–xlii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 4/0 (10 May 2013). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Introduction, Volume 6: The Modest But Important End of Apologetics," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 6/0 (6 September 2013). [vii–xxvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Reflections on the Mission of The Interpreter Foundation," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 9/0 (11 April 2014). [vii–xx] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Some Notes on Faith and Reason," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 10/0 (27 June 2014). [vii–xx] link Daniel C. Peterson, "An Exhortation to Study God's Two 'Books'," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 13/0 (2 January 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Questioning: The Divine Plan," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 15/0 (19 June 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Toward Ever More Intelligent Discipleship," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 16/0 (11 September 2015). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Making Visible the Beauty and Goodness of the Gospel," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17/0 (4 December 2015). [vii–xxii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "On Being a Tool," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 19/0 (6 May 2016). [vii–xvi] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Three Degrees of Gospel Understanding," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 21/0 (9 September 2016). [vii–xii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Power is In Them," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 26/0 (8 September 2017). [vii–xii] link Daniel C. Peterson, "The Word and the Kingdom," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 28/0 (4 May 2018). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Is Faith Compatible with Reason?," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 29/0 (24 August 2018). [vii–xvi] link Daniel Peterson, “Why Latter-day Saints Need to Defend Our Beliefs, Even as We Avoid Contention,” Latter-day Saint Living (1 November 2018), * off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "Better Kingdom-Building through Triage," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 46/0 (20 August 2021). [vii–xiv] link Daniel C. Peterson, "Contending without Contention," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 51/0 (10 June 2022). [vii–xx] link
Video	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Maxwell Legacy in the 21st Century" (2018 Neal A. Maxwell Lecture), Provo, Utah, 10 November 2018. Youtube
Print	Neal A. Maxwell, “The Disciple-Scholar,” in Henry B. Eyring, ed., On Becoming a Disciple-Scholar: Lectures Presented at the Brigham Young University Honors Program Discipline and Discipleship Lecture Series (Salt Lake City, Bookcraft: 1995), 1–23.

Question: Do Latter-day Saint apologists receive compensation for their efforts?

Don't give up your "day job": There are no paid positions in Latter-day Saint apologetics

Those who wish to achieve a substantial level of income would be well advised to avoid LDS apologetics entirely, as it can consume substantial amounts of a person's "off-time." Most LDS apologists perform volunteer work to defend the faith while holding down their normal "day job."

Members of FAIR are not paid for their efforts

FAIR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and all of its members (with the exception of some administrative staff) are unpaid volunteers.

All efforts devoted to FAIR are performed only after its members spend time with their families, perform their "day job," and fulfill church responsibilities. FairMormon is not, and should not be, the top priority in any of its members' lives. This means that the work sometimes proceeds slowly, but it does proceed forward.

Having a "day job" with a Church sponsored institution does not preclude one from practicing apologetics

Some individuals who practice LDS apologetics happen to be employed by institutions sponsored by the Church: typically Brigham Young University. Critics often use the ad hominem fallacy to claim that those who work for BYU are being paid by the Church, and so shouldn't be listened to.

Being employed at a Church school is certainly a form of bias. But those who work at a secular institution have their own sources of bias—if they argued that angels appeared to farm boys and provided gold plates, their colleagues might think less of them!

Employees at Church schools are not paid for apologetics&mash;they are paid for whatever scholarly research they do. This may or not have apologetic value.

Certainly no one at BYU is compelled to do apologetics, or worries about losing their job if they don't—if anyhthing, we wish BYU employees would do more to defend the Church than they do.

As always, the only way to know if an apologetic argument is worthwhile is to read and engage with the argument and the evidence offered.

Notes

Question: Do Latter-day Saint apologists receive compensation for their efforts?