Today in sacrament meeting one of the speakers gave a talk on the subject of “truth and tolerance.” After quoting parts of Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ sermon on the same subject, the speaker, following Elder Oaks’ cue, condemned moral relativism and stressed the importance of obeying God’s commandments. During the speaker’s talk I was reminded … Read more
The Creation of Adam (1512) by Michelangelo. In an episode of Family Guy (“Road to the Multiverse”), Stewie and Brian go into a parallel universe where Christianity never existed. Because Christianity and its attending superstitions never existed in this alternate universe, the gag runs, civilization was able to progress more rapidly, so when Stewie and Brian … Read more
Whom do men say that I am? In an excellent discussion on the New Historicism, Rick Duerden says the following in a section he titles “Histories R Us.” This combination of language and history complicates our notions of history just as it complicates our notions of language. Thus, because language is not a simple and … Read more
Here is my latest article from the Student Review discussing the recent essays put out by the Church that address controversial issues. (Link. Cross-posted here.)
A man who needs no introduction. One thing I have always admired about Brigham Young is his pragmatic advice. Here is the first of two quotes by Brother Brigham on how to read the Bible that reflects his trademark pragmatism. [If] there is a scholar on the earth who professes to be a Christian, and he … Read more
My new article with the Student Review was published today, just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s on pages 12–13. Enjoy!
The Provo Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Notice the representation of the primeval waters, a very fitting temple motif.) Tonight I was set apart as a veil worker at the Provo Temple. I am both humbled and excited by this opportunity to serve in the temple, and can only hope … Read more
While I was stomping around in Vienna last spring, I paid a visit to the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek located in the Hofburg palace. Inside the library (which, after getting lost in more than once, my friends and I agreed is the most Kafkaesque library in existence) is a fabulous papyrus museum that houses Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, … Read more
One of my favorite professors, a man whom I greatly admire and respect, David Rolph Seely, delivered a wonderful devotional a year ago on the subject of being created in God’s image and likeness. (Brother Seely is over in Jerusalem until August. I miss him so much!) You can also read this devotional online here. … Read more
The Ancient of Days (1794) by William Blake. The Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft has an excellent edition of the Lutherbibel that includes an informative Sach– Und Worterklärungen section–––basically the equivalent of the “Bible Dictionary” in the LDS edition of the Bible. Besides the fact that Baal is correctly identified as a rain and fertility deity, and not a … Read more
Thomas Nagel (b. 1937). I have not yet had a chance to read Thomas Nagel’s recent book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False (Oxford University Press, 2012). However, given the negative reaction of some outspoken atheistic materialists to the book, as chronicled by Andrew Ferguson at The … Read more
The cover page of the new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History seminary manual. The Church has released a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History manual for seminary students. One of the remarkable aspects of the new manual is that it includes a discussion of several sensitive topics in … Read more
Are these really the best adjectives to describe MormonThink? One of the complaints I hear from the proprietors and/or supports of MormonThink is that it is unfair to characterize MormonThink as being “anti-Mormon” or as being unfair and overly critical of the Church. If you read the purpose statement on MormonThink you’ll see gratuitous (and … Read more