Here are two further sets of notes from John W. Welch, ed., Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book, 1992): “Nephi’s Bows and Arrows,” by William J. Hamblin (41-44) “I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow.” (1 Nephi 16:23) “The symbolic message of the broken bow, first detected by Alan Goff, was highlighted in the March 1984 issue of the F.A.R.M.S.... Read more
We attended a matinee performance on Wednesday afternoon of the play Giant, which stars John Lithgow as the writer Roald Dahl. Running at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Giant focuses on issues of anti-Semitism and on Dahl’s fierce criticism of Israeli military violence against civilians in Beirut, which actually did engulf him in criticism in 1983 and which seem exceptionally timely in 2025. The play also stars Elliot Levey and Rachael Stirling (who, by the way, is the daughter of... Read more
It was odd to wake up this morning and to recognize nobody at breakfast. “Empty chairs and empty tables.” Our group were already dispersed by about 7 AM, but my wife and I chose to sleep in. However, we ourselves moved from the group hotel, which is located almost directly adjacent to the Gloucester Road Station of the Underground, to a hotel over near Marble Arch. We can stay in this one on points, which means that, in a... Read more
We were up early this morning for a brief visit to Winchester Cathedral, where Jane Austen is buried. Then we drove to Chawton, where Jane lived her last eight years. We walked over to Chawton House, one of the estates that belonged to her brother — that’s a slightly strange and complicated story, including his changing his surname from Austen to Knight — and saw there the graves of her mother and her sister, as well as a small... Read more
We attended church at the Hyde Park Chapel on Exhibition Road this morning. What a marvelous location! It’s very near to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and the Albert Memorial. Every time I’ve attended sacrament meeting at Hyde Park, I’ve run into interesting people. One significant occasion was in 2012, which was probably the worst year of my life thus far. My parents were already gone by that time,... Read more
Yesterday, we did a walking tour in Southwark that focused on the dark and impoverished side of greater London in the nineteenth century. This morning, we walked through the Mayfair district, one of the most expensive areas in the world. (It’s also apparently the most expensive item in the London version of Monopoly.). Mayfair is a section of the City of Westminster, in Central London. Part of the West End, it lies between Oxford Street on the north, Regent... Read more
In the morning, we did a walking tour in the borough of Southwark, which lies at the south end of London Bridge. It’s where Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre stood in Southwark. But our focus was on the dark underside of the Victorian city, in which conditions for the poor were truly miserable. We had a local guide named Sue, because Peter Fagg was unable to be with us today. I wish that he had been, because, if I’m not... Read more
This new item has now gone up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: The Temple: Plates, Patterns, & Patriarchs: “From Jared to Jacob: The Motif of Divine Ascensus and Descensus in Genesis, the Book of Moses, and the Enochic Tradition,” written by Matthew L. Bowen and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. We left Cardiff this morning to drive to Oxford. En route, Peter Fagg shared some passages from Dylan Thomas’s 1954 BBC radio play Under Milk Wood, an interesting portrayal... Read more
I’m very pleased to report that video- and audio recordings of the recent Interpreter Foundation conference on “Abraham and His Family in Scripture, History, and Tradition” — which was held on the campus of Brigham Young University on two successive Saturdays (3 May 2025 and 10 May 2025) — are now available on the Interpreter Foundation’s website. I hope that you will enjoy them. I also call your attention to the latest installment in an ongoing series of Interpreter... Read more
Two new items went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Come, Follow Me — Doctrine and Covenants Study and Teaching Helps (2025) — Doctrine and Covenants 51–57, May 26 – June 1: “A Faithful, a Just, and a Wise Steward” Jonn Claybaugh has generously supplied another concise set of notes for students and teachers of the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum. “Interpreter Radio: Come, Follow Me in Context: May 26 – June 1: “A Faithful, a Just,... Read more
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