What You’ll Read About in the New Institute Manual on Early Church History

Some time ago I blogged about a new seminary manual on the Doctrine and Covenants released by the Church. The manual is significant because it includes discussions of sensitive topics related to Church history, such as the multiple accounts of the First Vision, the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Utah War, the history of plural … Read more

A Thought on Joseph Smith

Carlfred Broderick (1932–1999) The Latter-day Saint psychologist and family therapist Carlfred Broderick shared the following thought on Joseph Smith in his 1996 volume My Parents Married on a Dare: And Other Favorite Essays on Life. I am impressed with the enormous amount of scholarship that has, in recent years, provided us with a far more textured … Read more

How the Internet is a Double-Edged Sword

The Internet is pretty cool. With the right Internet connection, I can speak to somebody in China or Brazil in real time. I can watch my favorite TV shows and movies whenever I want. I can play video games with people all across the world. I can order food, download music, look at pictures of … Read more

An Amusing Thought from Geza Vermes

“Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea” (Source) The legendary Geza Vermes (of blessed memory) has an amusing thought in his introduction to the 1992 volume Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of Their Origins and Early Development. An anecdote recorded in the Babylonian Talmud (Menahot 29b) portrays Moses as seeking permission from … Read more

10 Commandments for Balancing the Life of the Mind and Spirt on Campus

Sound advice. The Latter-day Saint historian and theologian Philip Barlow has what he calls his “Ten Commandments for LDS students attempting to balance faith and learning while at college.” They are: 1. “Seek truth, seek good, and bind them together” 2. “Do not disparage the intellect” 3. “Understand that reason is not the only avenue … Read more

Another Note from Reza Aslan

The historical Jesus? I am currently making my way through Reza Aslan‘s recent volume Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Rather than offering a review his book (I instead direct the reader’s attention to the reviews offered by Stephen Prothero, Stuart Kelly, Craig A. Evans, Greg Carey, and Allan Nadler), I wanted to call attention … Read more

Jackets and Assumptions

Pictured: yours truly wearing his beloved jacket, in the presence of one D. Vader and one S. Trooper. Last week I visited my family in Idaho. The evening I arrived, my parents and I went out to dinner to celebrate our reunion and to catch up on things. Everything went great. The next morning I … Read more