A little article of mine went up this morning in Meridian Magazine: “When “Great” Men Are Anything But: Rethinking Power Through the Lens of Christ” Statues may rise for those called “great,” but history often forgets the blood they shed to get there. The world crowns the conqueror, but heaven sees greatness another way. I have never had strong feelings or a firm opinion about the famous Shroud of Turin and, although I find it interesting, I haven’t spent a... Read more
As I’ve noted here, I was born to a marginally active Latter-day Saint mother and a nominally Protestant father. It was many years before I discovered the depth of the roots of my maternal family in the Restoration. But I want to say something about one of my ancestors here. Polly Peck was born in Cumberland County, New York, on 16 April 1774, two years before the Declaration of Independence was written. She married Joseph Knight in Windham County,... Read more
One of my nephews — my late brother’s eldest son — has been in town, along with a daughter of his who is participating in a camp at BYU. On Thursday evening, they took us out to dinner at AjiPeru. I enjoyed the lomo saltado and washed it down with glasses of cold chicha morada and maracuya. (I’m not even remotely a “foodie,” but describing meals and menus clearly drives a few of my anonymous online critics mad[der], which... Read more
Eighty-one years ago today, Allied troops came ashore on the beaches of Normandy during “Operation Overlord,” more widely known as the “D-Day” invasion. Although much fighting, suffering, destruction, and death remained to be endured, it was the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. The debt that we owe to those who fought on the coast of France, and especially to those who gave their lives on that horrible day, can never be repaid. And it should never... Read more
Newly posted on the comatose and never-changing website of the Interpreter Foundation: The Temple: Plates, Patterns, & Patriarchs: “Ancient Israelite Temple Ritual through the Telescope of Restoration Scripture,” written by David M. Calabro: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in The Temple: Plates, Patterns, & Patriarchs, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-plates-patterns-patriarchs/. For video and audio recording of this conference talk, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2022-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/videos/calabro/. “One of... Read more
I’ve just finished reading the 2024 book Lucid Dying: The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2024), written by Sam Parnia, M.D., Ph.D. I found it both enjoyable and fascinating. I may even re-read it, and I heartily commend it to the notice of anybody who is interested in the problem of consciousness and/or in near-death experiences (or in what Dr. Parnia himself prefers to call “recalled experiences of death”). As... Read more
Two or three weeks ago, reports circulated in the news media that the Trump administration was considering suspension of the right of habeas corpus, at least for some. See, for example, “Trump administration considers suspending habeas corpus” “Stephen Miller says Trump administration ‘looking at’ suspending habeas corpus” And this Wall Street Journal opinion piece by William A. Galston (in whose company, for what little it may be worth, I once spent a week at a small seminar in Málaga,... Read more
A few months ago, motivated by nothing in particular, I re-read T. E. Shaw’s translation of The Odyssey of Homer. (For those who might be unaware, T. E. Shaw was a pseudonym for T. E. Lawrence, who is otherwise known as “Lawrence of Arabia” — a character who has fascinated me for much of my life. There is much more to him than is contained even in the [great] David Lean film about him.) It was the first time... Read more
My wife and I were back in Nauvoo and Carthage, Illinois, a few weeks ago. We were there for several days of work on the series of mini-documentaries that the Interpreter Foundation is producing under the title of Becoming Brigham. Every time I visit the area, I find myself thinking about the remarkable way in which the history of that part of Illinois has unfolded. Thomas Sharp and his conspirators down in Warsaw, to the south of Nauvoo, and... Read more
Very recently, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued three new sets of official resources to help Church members understand and answer their own questions and those of others on their respective topics. These three are focused on: Church Financial Administration Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Religion vs. Violence There is much in these materials to learn and to ponder, and I think that members of the Church and the Church itself... Read more
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