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Faith, Doubt, and “Caractors”

Faith, Doubt, and “Caractors”

Last updated on: June 26, 2026 at 5:40 pm by Dan Peterson

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Faith, Doubt, and “Caractors” 2026-06-26T17:40:13-06:00 Dan Peterson

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“The Angel Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith in His Room” (Tom Lovell, LDS Media Library)

Two new articles appeared today in the journal of the Interpreter Foundation, each of them accompanied by a helpful and concise “Interpreting Interpreter” summary that has been prepared by the invaluable Kyler Rasmussen:

The first is “The Opposite of Faith Is not Doubt: The Spiritual Gift of Doubt,” which was written by Caleb Lemon and which appears in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 69 (2026): 99-118:

Abstract: Doubt is not the opposite of faith but functions as a constructive spiritual gift that often facilitates faith development, protects against dogmatism, and reframes faith as relational fidelity rather than intellectual certainty. Drawing on scriptural theology and developmental perspectives on meaning-making, doubt commonly—though not universally—serves as a catalyst through which belief matures from inherited assumption to reflective commitment and ultimately toward greater openness, complexity, and compassion. Doubt also performs a vital epistemic role by preventing rigid certainty and fostering intellectual humility within religious life. By reconceptualizing faith as sustained trust and commitment in the presence of uncertainty, doubt distinguishes itself from nihilism. The true erosion of faith occurs not through questioning but through the loss of meaning itself. Ultimately, doubt, when properly understood, does not weaken discipleship but frequently deepens and refines it, enabling believers to engage faith with greater resilience, relational depth, and moral maturity.

It’s accompanied by “Interpreting Interpreter: The Gift of Doubt,” which was written by Kyler Rasmussen:

This post is a summary of the article “The Opposite of Faith Is not Doubt: The Spiritual Gift of Doubt” by Caleb Lemon in Volume 69 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreterarticles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https:/interapreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/qzt3v_XwzTw.

The Takeaway: Lemon explores doubt as a refining spiritual gift that can lead believers to a more mature faith, fostering humility, openness, compassion, and the ability to sustain loyalty and commitment in the face of complexity.

The second is “Mi’kmaq, Meldrum, May, and Mark,” which was written by Jerry D. Grover Jr.‘ It appears as Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 69 (2026): 119-128:

Abstract: The Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon, edited by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum, compares Caractors Document glyphs to purported Native American Mi’kmaq glyphs to support the theory that the Book of Mormon took place in the eastern United States. The glyphs used to support the theory are, in fact, taken from the Anthon Transcript document forgery produced by Mark Hofmann.

And, in its turn, it is accompanied by “Interpreting Interpreter: Deceptive Caractors,” which was written by Kyler Rasmussen:

This post is a summary of the article “Mi’kmaq, Meldrum, May, and Mark” by Jerry D. Grover in Volume 69 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https:/interapreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/HctNQEGe2YI.

The Takeaway: Grover shows that the comparison between Mi’kmaq glyphs and claimed Book of Mormon characters in Hocking and Meldrum’s Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon relies on (1) glyphs developed in the 1600s by a Jesuit missionary, and (2) characters from Mark Hofmann’s Anthon Transcript forgery.

A photograph taken just before the 23 March 1877 execution of John D. Lee for his role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Lee is shown seated to the left of the center of the photograph. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

As you may have noticed, I’ve been involved, since last Tuesday morning, in various discussions (some useful and informed, and some neither useful nor well-informed) of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre, both before cameras (for ultimate use in our on-going Becoming Brigham series) and, now, here on this blog. For those who might be interested in further information about the subject, though, here are three books that I can recommend. They reflect the latest and best scholarship on the Massacre, as well as on the events leading up to it and its aftermath:

Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley, and Glen M. Leonard, Massacre at Mountain Meadows (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Richard E. Turley and Barbara Jones Brown, Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath (Oxford University Press, 2023)
Janiece Johnson, Convicting the Mormons: The Mountain Meadows Massacre in American Culture (The University of North Carolina Press, 2023)

Another important scholarly reference publication that served as a basis for at least the latter two books is Richard E. Turley Jr., Janiece L. Johnson, and LaJean Purcell Carruth, The Mountain Meadows Massacre: Complete Legal Papers, 2 vols. (University of Oklahoma Press, 2017).

There is no excuse any more, if there ever really was one, for inaccurate and sensationalized anti-Mormon portrayals of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The actual facts are bad enough.

I would also suggest this short but more general survey, presented at a relatively recent FAIR conference: Craig L. Foster, “Murder, Mayhem and Mormons: Was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Really a Violent Faith?”

The 27 June 1844 martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail in Illinois, as portrayed by Gary E. Smith (LDS.org)

Tomorrow, Saturday, 27 June, will be the 182nd anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at the Carthage Jail in Illinois. It was a terrible day in our history. And, while we worship neither Joseph nor Hyrum, we don’t pray to or through them, and we don’t seek their intercession as saints in the manner of other Christian traditions, I think it entirely appropriate to think of them just a bit this weekend. Here is a quartet of resources that might help you to do so:

Scott Facer Proctor, “Two Eyewitness Accounts of the Martyrdom”
Scott Facer Proctor, “Eyewitness Accounts of the Martyrdom: A Photo Essay”
Becoming Brigham — Episode 1: Who Killed Joseph Smith?
Becoming Brigham, Episode 2—Shorthand & Bloodstains, Part One

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