Newly posted on the never-changing website of the Interpreter Foundation: The Book of Mormon in Context Lesson 17: “Filled with Love towards God and All Men” (Mosiah 1-3) On the evening of Sunday, 31 March 2024, Martin Tanner and Terry Hutchinson discussed Book of Mormon lesson 17, “Filled with Love towards God and All Men,” covering Mosiah 1-3, during the. Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show. Their conversation was recorded and, having been freed of commercial... Read more
“A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.” (William F. Buckley, Jr.) I was powerfully reminded of that famous early quotation from the late William F. Buckley while reading the following two articles: Deseret News: “What the U.K.’s explosive Cass Review means for gender medicine in the U.S.: The report is a gauntlet thrown down... Read more
On several occasions over the past few years, in various venues — see here, for example — I’ve published a list of four books that I recommend as a kind of “basic packet” or “starter kit” for people struggling with their testimonies, and I’ve explained that I think it important to preemptively strengthen faith as well as to defensively fend off attacks, criticisms, or doubts. Let me explain a little bit of what I have in mind: Suppose that,... Read more
This entry was newly posted today on the blog of the Interpreter Foundation: “Hearing the Voice of the Lord in the Mind: Additional Testimonies” (Part Seven of a Series Compiled by Dennis B. Horne): See the Introductory blog (#1) for explanation about this series on hearing the voice of the Lord in the mind. The below are additional accounts shared by those who have experienced this spiritual gift and have thereby been able to bless and enlighten others. Most... Read more
Two new articles went up today on the moribund and perpetually static website of the Interpreter Foundation: ““Our Great God Has in Goodness Sent These”: Notes on the Goodness of God, the Didactic Good of Nephi’s Small Plates, and Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s Renaming,” written by Matthew L. Bowen and Pedro Olavarria Abstract: Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s speech (Alma 24:7–16) reveals multiple allusions to significant texts in Nephi’s small plates record. Thus, when he declares “I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great... Read more
This just went up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: “Hugh Nibley Observed: Nibley and the Environment,” written and presented by Terry Ball: “I am honored to participate in this lecture series remembering the studies, life, and legacy of Professor Hugh Nibley. I did not have the privilege of personally knowing Professor Nibley. He retired before I joined the faculty at BYU, but I do happen to have two stories to contribute to the corpus of Nibley lore—both... Read more
I want to share a few more passages that I marked during my recent reading of Amy Tanner Thiriot, Slavery in Zion: A Documentary and Genealogical History of Black Lives and Black Servitude in Utah Territory, 1847-1862 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2022). It seems that the Saints in Utah were, by and large, unsympathetic to slavery The presence of the enslaved in the Latter-day Saint settlements had caused discussion and dissent, but only fragments of the... Read more
Some while ago, I read William J. Peters, At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better (New York and London: Simon and Schuster, 2022), written with Michael Kinsella. A practicing grief and bereavement therapist, William Peters holds degrees from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and the University of California at Berkeley. He is the founder of the Shared Crossing Project and director of its Research Initiative. Michael Kinsella earned a Ph.D.... Read more
For one of the monthly reading groups to which we belong, we read Amy Tanner Thiriot, Slavery in Zion: A Documentary and Genealogical History of Black Lives and Black Servitude in Utah Territory, 1847-1862 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2022). Her biography on the back cover of the book identifies Sister Thiriot as “an independent historian and adjunct university instructor in the BYU-Idaho Family History Research program.” Our discussion was on Sunday night. The book is not... Read more
Like many of you, I expect, I was powerfully struck by the remarks of President Jeffrey R. Holland in the Saturday morning session of the just completed General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And, given my own peculiar personal interests, I found this passage from it of particular note: Another experience began 48 hours after my wife’s burial [in late July 2023]. At that time, I was rushed to the hospital in an acute... Read more
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