Bukhara and Samarkand, where I’ve spent pretty much the past week, lie in what the West has long called Transoxiana (roughly, “beyond the [River] Oxus”). The name was first coined by Alexander the Great [“the Great”!) — or, anyway, by somebody in his entourage, in the fourth century BC. I’ve always been amused by the corresponding Arabic term for the area, which is Mā Warāʾ an-Nahr (ما وراء النهر, “what is beyond the river”). The corresponding Chinese term for the... Read more
Even over here in Uzbekistan, I’ve seen the report that, on a vote of 5-2, the city council of Fairview, Texas, has given grudging conditional approval for construction of a proposed Latter-day Saint temple in their small town, which is located in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. The approval comes after a lengthy and often rather acrimonious process that involved refusals, compromises by the Church, architectural modifications and reductions in size, and considerable commentary, not all of which was... Read more
Tuesday was the last day of the “Diplomacy of the Heart” conference. The morning began with a “breakfast conversation” led by Brent Bishop of the Sharetix Foundation on “Purposeful Planning: Aligning Values, Vision, and Action for a Fulfilled Life.” The first morning session was chaired by Gregory C. Hill, who is the Chief Administrative Officer and Dean of Faculty at the University of Utah’s Asia Campus, in Incheon, South Korea. (I had been unaware, until a couple of days... Read more
It’s difficult to overstate the historical and cultural importance of the place where I’m sitting at this very moment. For one thing, Samarkand is located on what has come to be called, quite famously, the “Silk Road.” The term was originally coined in German, in the nineteenth century, as die Seidenstraße. It entered English and other languages not long thereafter, although some prefer nowadays to term it — a little less attractively, I think — the “Silk Routes.” Why?... Read more
I was the respondent in the first full, public session of the conference today. (The overall conference title is “Diplomacy of the Heart: The Power of Intercultural Dialogue and Education in Peacebuilding.”) Given the fact, as discovered and announced over on the Peterson Obsession Board, that I’m a religious and cultural bigot and something of a white supremacist who despises all things non-Western, it’s not at all clear to me why I was invited to participate in such meetings.... Read more
Wow. I flew over Bandar Abbas on the night that this happened: “Massive explosion at Iranian port kills 14 and injures hundreds” The topic of fluctuations in religious faith and commitment continues to interest me: “Gen Z is finding religion. Why? 3 theories for Gen Z’s return to God and faith.” “The Plateau Of The Religious Nones Continues” “This Just In: Traditional Religion In The US Now ‘Obsolete’” I cannot imagine anybody who would deserve this award more than... Read more
I’m eleven hours off of my normal time zone and have been almost completely without internet access for the past couple of days or so. I apologize for being late in calling these new items from the Interpreter Foundation to your notice, but I had little alternative. They went up on Thursday and Friday: “Jeremiah “the Prophet,”” written by Loren Blake Spendlove Abstract: This article, which focuses on the role of Jeremiah as a prophet, is based on a... Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I read Cassidy Nichole Pyper, ““Not Only Men but Women Also”: An Argument for Alma’s Intentional Inclusion of Women,” BYU Studies 64/1 (2025): 21-44. I have to admit that, when I began the article, I wasn’t really expecting much. Sister Pyper contends, for example, that, when the Book of Mormon refers to, or addresses, “brethren,” that term can and should generally be taken to include women, sisters, as well. But I’ve assumed that more inclusive... Read more
On Saturday, 5 April, my friend Don Bradley lost his son Donnie suddenly, in an unspeakably tragic and horrible incident. (I don’t feel that, on my own initiative, I can go further into the details of what happened.) I’ve spoken with Don within the past few hours. As you can easily imagine, he is absolutely grief-stricken. He has now set up a gofundme account in honor of his boy: Help Extend Donnie’s Legacy of Love through UNICEF FOR DONNIE’S... Read more
In his very brief article “The Seven Seals, the Age of the Earth, and Ongoing Revelation” (BYU Studies 64/1 [2025]: 95-96, Professor Nicholas J. Frederick argues that Doctrine and Covenants 77 — which is built upon a revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832 — should not be taken in isolation when Latter-day Saints discuss their doctrinal position (if we really even have one -dcp) on the age of the earth. Dr. Frederick says that statements that... Read more
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