“The Tests of Abraham and Sarah”

Last updated on: June 3, 2026 at 10:37 pm By Dan Peterson

Unsurprisingly, since today is a Wednesday, an article has gone up on the perpetually unchanging website of the Interpreter Foundation: Reprint: “The Tests of Abraham and Sarah,” written by David R. Seely and Jo Ann Seely: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Abraham and His Family in Scripture, History, and Tradition, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, John S. Thompson, Matthew L. Bowen, and David R. Seely. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/abraham-and-his-family. “In... Read more

God’s Grandeur

Last updated on: June 3, 2026 at 12:05 pm By Dan Peterson

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“Come, Follow Me — Old Testament Study and Teaching Helps (2026): June 8-14: 1 Samuel 8-10; 13; 15-16 — “The Lord Looketh on the Heart,”“ written by Jonn Claybaugh Once again, Brother Claybaugh generously contributes a concise and helpful set of notes for students and teachers of the Sunday School curriculum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In today’s edition of the Deseret News: “Faithful Answers for Difficult Conversations: Why more Latter-day Saints are turning to FAIR... Read more

Happy Birthday, Brother Brigham!

Last updated on: June 1, 2026 at 11:57 pm By Dan Peterson

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Today was (and, for at least a little while in some time zones, still is) the 225th anniversary of the birth of President Brigham Young. To mark it, the Interpreter Foundation and Redbrick Filmworks have released Episode 19 of our Becoming Brigham mini-documentary series. It’s slightly more than twenty-one minutes long: Becoming Brigham Episode 19 — Another Birthday! 225 Years! I hope that you’ll enjoy it. I also wrote an article for Meridian Magazine: “Brigham Young’s 225th Birthday: Remembering... Read more

A Follow-Up on How I Met President Jeffrey R. Holland

Last updated on: May 31, 2026 at 8:29 pm By Dan Peterson

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On 27 December 2025, I responded to that morning’s sad news with a blog entry here that I titled “Memories of President Jeffrey R. Holland.” Among the memories that I included in that blog entry was the following: I first met President Holland — to me, he has always been “President Holland,” from the beginning — when I was a new member of the faculty at Brigham Young University. And it wasn’t a very auspicious start. I had been... Read more

Two full days. Very full.

Last updated on: May 30, 2026 at 11:34 pm By Dan Peterson

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The Interpreter Foundation’s second (and final) day began early, at eight o”clock on a cold and rainy morning, with a really strong two-hour plenary session: Steve Smoot opened with a stimulating presentation on “The Combat Myth in Jacob’s Christological Reading of Isaiah.” Jeff Bradshaw followed with an insightful discussion entitled “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Precious Temple Teachings of the Small Plates of the Book of Mormon.” The weather turned sunny and beautiful in the afternoon. In the Thomas... Read more

Yup, the Interpreter Foundation is still clearly defunct

Last updated on: May 29, 2026 at 9:47 pm By Dan Peterson

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This coming Monday, 1 June 2026, will be the 225th anniversary of the birth of President Brigham Young. With that in mind, I wrote an article for Meridian Magazine under the title of “Brigham Young’s 225th Birthday: A Quintessentially American Story.” Also, on Monday itself, a special birthday installment of the Interpreter Foundation’s Becoming Brigham series will be posted. In the meanwhile, though, here’s a brief teaser for it: “Another Birthday! 225 Years” A new article, this one written... Read more

Touching the third rail: Apologizing for the priesthood ban?

Last updated on: May 28, 2026 at 8:48 pm By Dan Peterson

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I hope that I’ve made it clear enough and mentioned often enough that I found the pre-1978 priesthood ban baffling and, to say the least of it, awkward, and that I was absolutely delighted when it was rescinded. The day that I heard about President Spencer W. Kimball’s priesthood revelation — I was in Zollikofen, Switzerland, at the time, slowly returning from six months in the Middle East — was one of the happiest days of my life. I... Read more

On “moral images”

Last updated on: May 27, 2026 at 4:16 pm By Dan Peterson

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This article went up earlier today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Reprint: “I Will Bless thee and Make Thy Name Great”: Sacralizing Names and Spaces as a Function of Etiology in the Abrahamic Narratives,” written by Matthew L. Bowen: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Abraham and His Family in Scripture, History, and Tradition, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, John S. Thompson, Matthew L. Bowen, and David R. Seely. For more... Read more

An “Other Gospel”?

Last updated on: May 26, 2026 at 5:39 pm By Dan Peterson

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Once again, on the unchanging website of the Interpreter Foundation, Jonn Claybaugh has provided a concise set of notes for students and teachers of the Sunday School curriculum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Come Follow Me — Old Testament Study and Teaching Helps (2026): June 1-7: Ruth; 1 Samuel 1-7 — “My Heart Rejoiceth in the Lord” I’m offering another reminder of the Interpreter Foundation conference on the Small Plates of Nephi that will convene... Read more

Where is our Thomas Aquinas?

Last updated on: May 25, 2026 at 3:21 pm By Dan Peterson

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“Was Persecution in Missouri Inevitable?” The latest installment in our Becoming Brigham series is now available online (at, of course, no charge). This episode — the eighteenth — features the Latter-day Saint historian Dr. Matt Godfrey. We’re making every effort to interview premier authorities on the issues that we’re investigating, and to base the content of our series on their work. Some years ago, I was irritated by a gratuitous insult to my faith in Thomas Cahill’s otherwise interesting... Read more

What does the name "Isaac" mean?