“Hadestown”

Last updated on: May 6, 2026 at 11:11 pm By Dan Peterson

One of the principal motivations behind our Becoming Brigham series (becomingbrigham.com) is our sense that Brigham Young has been libeled, traduced, and slandered to such an extent that even some innocent members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taken in — and their testimonies of the Restoration damaged — by the constant drumbeat of criticisms and misrepresentations. The attacks on Brother Brigham are, of course, challenging to faith in him as an apostle and... Read more

“A Grief Observed”

Last updated on: May 5, 2026 at 4:20 pm By Dan Peterson

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Tonight, we attended a performance of Shadowlands at the Aldwych Theatre in the West End, starring Hugh Bonneville as C. S. Lewis and Maggie Siff as Joy Davidman. It’s based, ultimately, on the story behind Lewis’s A Grief Observed, which was pseudonymously published in 1961 by Faber and Faber. (T. S. Eliot, who was one of the company’s directors at the time, is said to have found the book intensely moving.) Apart from a few points in the play... Read more

A very memorable story

Last updated on: May 4, 2026 at 5:59 pm By Dan Peterson

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I’m pleased to report that Episode 15 of the Interpreter Foundation’s Becoming Brigham series is now available online. Focused on the relationship between Brigham Young and Emma Smith, it’s entitled “The Lion and the Lady.” And, yes, it does refer in passing to plural marriage in Nauvoo. When we’ve gone out on our four- or five-day filming expeditions for Becoming Brigham — I assume that they’ve done the same thing on the filming trips for Witnesses and Undaunted and... Read more

Mrs. Harris goes to Paris . . . and on to heaven

Last updated on: May 3, 2026 at 4:37 pm By Dan Peterson

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I decided almost immediately upon boarding the plane yesterday that I was too tired to read anything serious while on board. So I watched four (4) movies and slept not a single wink during the flight. Here is my movie diet during our crossing from North America to the British Isles. Thus armed, the Peterson Obsession Board is likely to point out my poor taste and the lowbrow character of my viewing choices: 1) Mercy (2026), with Chris Pratt... Read more

“Was Joseph a Sexual Predator?” and other fun issues

Last updated on: May 2, 2026 at 4:19 pm By Dan Peterson

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Fourteen (14) installments of Becoming Brigham are currently available online at, well, becomingbrigham.com. On Monday, there will be fifteen. In the meantime, the teaser or trailer for Episode 15, which runs about thirty-seven seconds, is accessible right now. The fifteenth episode will be about the complex relationship between Emma Smith and Brigham Young: “The Lion and the Lady.” My wife and I attended a concert by the Utah Symphony last night, in Maurice Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake City.... Read more

“Color in the Book of Mormon”

Last updated on: May 1, 2026 at 1:17 pm By Dan Peterson

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A new article, this one written by David Grandy, has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 68 (2026) : 421-442: “Color in the Book of Mormon”: Abstract: Given that only four colors are mentioned in the Book of Mormon (white, black, red, and gray), readers may ask, “Where are all the other colors?” But this is a distinctively modern question, that is, one keyed to the early modern understanding of color pioneered by Isaac... Read more

“God’s Equation”

Last updated on: April 30, 2026 at 2:56 pm By Dan Peterson

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A new article of mine appeared early this morning in Meridian Magazine. Whether it does its job or not, my hope for it is that it might help at least a little bit in understanding some of the narratives of the Old Testament: “Why the Fertile Crescent Matters: A Map That Unlocks the Bible’s Geography and History” And please don’t forget to watch and rewatch and recommend Becoming Brigham. All of its episodes are and will continue to be... Read more

Panel Perspectives on the Book of Abraham, and Other Fun

Last updated on: April 29, 2026 at 5:16 pm By Dan Peterson

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Fourteen installments of our Becoming Brigham series are up, as of today. And every one of them is available here. I’m pleased with their visual quality, as well as with their content, and I hope that you are, as well. (I hope that you’ve been watching them.) I confess, though, that I’m not even remotely satisfied by their reach, to this point. As I say, I don’t think it’s a problem with their quality. While I’ve heard a quibble or... Read more

“The Dream that Changed My Life”

Last updated on: April 28, 2026 at 7:06 pm By Dan Peterson

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I would like to remind you yet again of the two-day gathering that will take place about a month from now on the Provo campus of Brigham Young University, devoted to the Book of Mormon and sponsored by the Interpreter Foundation: “For a Wise Purpose in Him” The 2026 Small Plates of Nephi Conference May 29-30, 2026 The program for the conference is now up, as is a list of the presenters. It should be a very rich offering,... Read more

On the trail of ancient Martians

Last updated on: April 27, 2026 at 1:50 pm By Dan Peterson

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I’m pleased to say that “Becoming Brigham, Episode 14 — The Prophet’s Shadow” is now up and available for viewing at no charge. And, of course, for sharing with others. How did Brigham Young come to accept radical doctrines like the three degrees of glory and plural marriage when they initially shocked him? Why was Brigham Young willing to follow Joseph Smith even when he didn’t fully understand or even like what Joseph was teaching? What would the Church... Read more

Who was the last judge of Israel?