The reason for the honor is the humanitarian service given by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-nelson-catholic-community-services   The Church and the Saints give a great deal of such service.  However, a certain class of critics (who may or may not do any such service themselves) typically have harsh [Read More…]

    Bill Maher is a leftist and an atheist and, much worse, an abject slime ball.  In this clip, his language is vulgar at several points, and, even as he praises the Mormons, he smugly insults us.  Still, he has a point:   “Maher Thanks Trump for Exposing Evangelicals as ‘Shameless Hypocrites’”   And that [Read More…]

    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/441828/your-kurdish-superhero-week   In some ways, this impressive story is reminiscent of the (true) story of Desmond Doss, recently recounted in Mel Gibson’s film Hacksaw Ridge, which (as I’ve indicated), I very much like.  Here’s a review of the film:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/441785/hacksaw-ridge-and-loving-offer-two-visions-hell-earth     [Read more…]

    Ask yourself: if that is what Jesus is all about — that is, getting us to love one another — then why did everyone reject him? Stanley Hauerwas         [Read more…]

    Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, Haaretz, offers a perspective on the independent presidential ticket of Evan McMullin and Mindy Finn:   http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/u-s-election-2016/1.751044   And, while we’re at it, some observers have noted that Mr. Donald J. Trump has received remarkably few newspaper endorsements.  Still, he’s gotten a few.  Here’s a noteworthy one:   “KKK’s official [Read More…]

    Notwithstanding its rather sensational and even inflammatory title, this nearly 50-minute documentary offers a sober and serious historical account — plainly from a mainstream conservative point of view that isn’t on board with Donald Trump  —  of the emergence of the Trump movement out of the Tea Party and the elections of 2008 [Read More…]

    This would have been unimaginable not too many years ago:   http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/us/cover-girl-muslim-afia-trnd/index.html   It’s progress.   And I’m pleased.     [Read more…]

    Friends:   Today, for the 224th consecutive week of its 225.5 weeks of existence, the Interpreter Foundation published a new article in its flagship online publication, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   “‘Arise from the Dust’: Insights from Dust-Related Themes in the Book of Mormon (Part 1: Tracks from the Book of [Read More…]

    Tad R. Callister, emeritus member of the Seventy and currently general president of the Sunday School, delivered a very good address at BYU on Tuesday.  It’s not quite 33 minutes long.  I commend it to you.  If need be, you can even watch it in smaller increments, as I did:       [Read more…]