In my experience thus far in defending my faith as a Latter-day Saint, I have already encountered several types of arguments that I've seen before on anti-Mormon websites. Perhaps the only difference is that the non-professional anti-Mormons on these forums don't get paid for their distortion of fact. There are a few that I would like to address, and I hope I can find a motive other than greed or pride for these mistakes so obvious to even lay members of the Church.
What I would like to tackle first are the opinions of Church authorities. Not the opinions themselves, but their use in the hands of those who don't know how to use them: anti-Mormons. Statements taken out of context and distorted are dangerous in the hands of these anti-Mormons, and only when a Latter-day Saint comes and shows the anti-Mormon how to use them is a cure even possible. Old habits are hard to break, however, and you will find that these anti-Mormons who have been taught otherwise will continue to wield these words improperly.
An example would be the popular Journal of Discourses. Not as popular among Mormons as anti-Mormons. They love to use the Journal of Discourses to tell us what we believe. There are a few courses that a knowledgeable Mormon could take. For instance, one could state that the Journal of Discourses is not at the same level asScripture, and that it is mere speculation and opinion. One could quote Joseph Smith who said, "A prophet is only a prophet when acting as such."
If one wanted to know where they got such an idea one might look at the Bible. As a Mormon, I consider the Bible an inspired work of God along with the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. Unlike many fundamentalist and conservative Christians, however, I do not claim that it is inerrant. It should be noted while Mormons do not consider opinion to be doctrine, many Christians do. For instance, Paul once said in Corinthians that his opinion on the matter of marrying one who does not profess the faith was not from God. He made it known that it was merely his own opinion.
So perhaps there is already an unconscious acceptance among these Christians that it is like this in other religious groups as well. It is not true, of course. Even if the Journal of Discourses were to be considered Scripture, we would recognize opinion when we see it as well as the influence of the science and tradition of the day. I don't know of any Christian church that follows what Paul says about women speaking in church.
In any case, it seems that anti-Mormons want to catch us in a trap that they subconsciously think will work because they unknowingly have accepted opinion as Scripture themselves. I'm sorry, but that isn't the way things work. Doctrine isn't written willy-nilly in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Doctrine isn't written from impromptu sermons. Anti-Mormons will have to look at a better source in order to hold their own on a sure foundation.