Having been on the road much of the day and having spoken at a fireside this evening, I’m a bit late with this notification. However, today being Friday, a new article went up this afternoon in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Possible Remembrance and Re-enactment of Old World’s Hieros Gamos in the Book of Ether,” written by Michaël Ulrich: Abstract: This paper explores the conclusions that can be drawn from a Mesopotamian origin theory for... Read more
This is my final warning: Decent people who may be in or near the Pacific Northwest on the evening of Friday, 12 September 2025, should maintain a safe distance from the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that stands at 4195 Southwest 99th Avenue in Beaverton, Oregon, on that evening between approximately 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM. In fact, it might be prudent to avoid Oregon’s Washington County altogether — from late afternoon, perhaps, until... Read more
The big news of the day, of course, was the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University. It’s a dark day for the university, for the state of Utah, and for the United States. And a horrible day, an indescribably horrible day, for Charlie Kirk’s family. On a personal note: This one hit literally rather close to home for me. I live within (long) walking distance of UVU, driving past it on most days, and... Read more
President Russell M. Nelson entered his 102nd year of mortality today. Remarkable. Here are a few links that seem appropriate to the occasion: “Church Releases Photo of President Nelson on the Eve of His 101st Birthday” “President Nelson’s Op-Ed in Time Magazine Hits the Right Note” “As President Nelson turns 101, here’s a look at how he’s brought temples ‘closer’ to Latter-day Saints: ‘Construction of these temples may not change your life, but your time in the temple surely... Read more
This particular item is probably also to be found — I haven’t looked for it there yet — in the legendary (but not merely mythical) Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™: The Interpreter Foundation Podcast — August 21, 2025: Interpreter Articles and “Are Latter-day Saints Happier?” For the second 21 August 2025 episode of the Interpreter Foundation Podcast, Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and John Thompson discussed various recent articles in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith... Read more
We attended church this morning here in Seaside. We weren’t really late, but we ended up sitting toward the back of the cultural hall. One of those who bore testimony was a former longtime member of the ward who had returned for a visit. She marveled at the numbers; apparently the chapel has been considerably expanded since she and her family moved away. Another person who testified was a young husband and father, a recent convert who had, with... Read more
We headed to Fort Stevens State Park this morning, where we were able to look at what remains of the Peter Iredale, a four-masted steel ship that ran ashore in 1906 and is now (when the tide is low) one of the most accessible shipwrecks on the West Coast. It has been slowly decaying on the beach for more than a century. Then we clambered around some of the former gun emplacements there that were designed to defend the... Read more
If all goes according to current expectation, he will celebrate his 101st birthday next week and, thereby, enter his 102nd year on earth. And he’s just published a short and simple article in Time Magazine: “Russell M. Nelson: We All Deserve Dignity and Respect.” Some, I have little doubt, will mock its simplicity. But that won’t detract from the power of what he has to say. I’m reminded of words that I’ve heard attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:... Read more
With our friends, we headed up to Astoria this morning. It’s the oldest city in the state of Oregon and, in fact, having been founded in 1811, was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Astoria is located on the south shore of the mighty Columbia River, near where the Columbia confronts the Pacific Ocean — creating the most continually turbulent estuary in the United States (and, possibly, in the world). Astoria was named after John... Read more
We drove back from Depoe Bay over to the Portland Airport this morning to pick up friends of ours who had just flown in from Salt Lake City. Then we drove westward to Seaside, where we and our friends enjoyed dinner out with another pair of Utah friends who are also visiting here, both of them natives of Oregon. He earned his medical degree from the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. He is also a past mission... Read more
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