Today, 27 June, is the 181st anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. I haven’t been looking for such things, but I have already seen one celebratory note about the murders. It was posted by a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it puts me in mind of Matthew 7:16-20. This article, written by Matthew Roper, went up earlier today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Anachronisms:... Read more
I’ve begun writing down notes for the presentation that I plan to give on Friday, 8 August, at the 2025 FAIR Conference. And, by the way, the conference organizers have included a special discount code that folks can use in order to register for the conference at a reduced rate — which, the organizers say, is “just our way of saying thank you and making it easier for more people to attend.” The discount code that they’ve given to... Read more
Yesterday on social media, I noticed an attack by a former Latter-day Saint on the idea of a “great apostasy” of the early Christian church. I didn’t spend much time reading what he had to say, and I’m not specifically engaging with him here — I may or may not yet do so — but I thought that I might make a general comment affirming my confidence that there was, indeed, such a universal falling away. To me, the... Read more
After considerable discussion that began several months ago and grew more intense within recent weeks, we at the Interpreter Foundation have decided to move on from our long-running radio program and to turn, in its place, to a video and audio podcast. Our inaugural effort, in two parts, can be accessed through the following links. We appreciate constructive feedback, and we hope that you’ll find these both enjoyable and useful: The Interpreter Foundation Podcast — June 23, 2025 In... Read more
I want to share a passage from a 2023 book by Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, entitled Science at the Doorstep to God: Science and Reason in Support of God, the Soul, and Life after Death (Ignatius Press) that I marked while reading it a while ago: Though some have contended that scientific evidence overwhelmingly favors materialism—that is, rejection of God, religion, or a spiritual dimension of humans (e.g., a soul)—it is interesting to note a survey conducted by the... Read more
Some of you, I think, will be interested in this ninety-minute interview: “Mayim Bialik Chats with Bruce Greyson on Remarkable ‘Breakdown’ Podcast: Check out the new episode of Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown Podcast, where she sits for a chat about NDEs with IANDS founder Dr. Bruce Greyson.” “Mayim Bialik Explores Near-Death Experiences With Bruce Greyson, MD, in Not-To-Be Missed ‘Breakdown’ Podcast.” Neuroscientist and actress Mayim Bialik, Ph.D., interviewed IANDS founder and University of Virginia Professor Emeritus Bruce Greyson, MD, in... Read more
As I sit in the airport at Kansas City, waiting for a flight back to Salt Lake City that has been repeatedly delayed, news has just come out that American B2 bombers have struck nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The bombers are now safely out of Iranian airspace. The big remaining question is whether the Iranian nuclear facilities have been destroyed. Israel has already used “bunker buster” bombs in the current conflict (as well as... Read more
The Interpreter Foundation’s bizarre obsession with Brigham Young — it’s all Brigham, all the time, right? — unabashedly continues with the Foundation’s latest publications, which were made available today: I’ve been looking forward to the appearance of this article since Josh Coates first told me that he was working on it: “A Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates”: Abstract: Historical reports containing information about the properties of the golden plates provide upper and lower bounds for calculating... Read more
The Interpreter Foundation’s weirdly obsessive fixation on Brigham Young continues to be unashamedly displayed in these materials that have recently been posted on its website: The Temple: Plates, Patterns, & Patriarchs: “How Luke’s Gospel Portrays Jesus as the Exodus or Way of the Temple,” written by John S. Thompson: 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,... Read more
Here’s a little interview with me (not quite forty-two minutes long) on Keystone that some at least might find of interest: “LDS scholar: The Book of Mormon witnesses are DANGEROUS” The witnesses of the Book of Mormon “golden plates” either lied, were tricked, or were telling the truth. In this episode, David sits down with long-time scholar Daniel C. Peterson to talk about the different theories, and whether or not they align with the available evidence. We began the... Read more
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