“As Loneliness Rises Among Americans, Experts Warn It’s Making Many Sick”

From the inimitable Stephen Smoot:

“Zelph on the Shelf Just Accidentally Proved that Mormon Stories is a Cult”

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The latest incarnation of the biweekly Hamblin/Peterson column has now appeared in the Deseret News:

“Deification in the ‘Conference of the Birds'”

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You can now watch a presentation that was given on Mesoamerican ecology and cosmology in the Book of Mormon by Dr. Mark Wright at the Book of Mormon Central 2018 Conference:

“In the Fields and in the Forests” (BMCC 2018)

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The actor Chris Pratt was pretty reckless the other day.  I wonder whether his career will survive:

“Watch Chris Pratt’s MTV speech on God’s love, learning to pray”

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I’m happy to hear this:

“Finally! A new Mormon hymnal, designed for a global church”

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Not a very pleasant story:

“Utah couple says foster agency denied them due to their Mormon faith”

The agency, the Ukrainian Resource Center, is a Christian organization — I assume that that means an Evangelical Protestant organization — based in Virginia.

They are, of course, within their rights to bar members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from helping the Ukrainian orphans whom they’re trying to assist.  But that doesn’t mean that they’re beyond criticism.

Feel free, if you’re so inclined, to contact them.  (I may write them a note myself.)  Please, though, if you do so, be kind and . . . well, Christian about it.  Their contact information is available here:

https://www.ukrainianresourcecenter.com

I would suggest emphasizing to them our belief in the deity, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that his is the only name through which salvation is possible.  In other words, point out to them that they are fundamentally wrong in declaring us to be non-Christians.

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A kind reader called my attention to the following item:

“As Loneliness Rises Among Americans, Experts Warn It’s Making Many Sick”

I find this information striking and significant.  Many studies have noted the rise of the religious “nones,” particularly among younger people.  Is it likely that the recent notable surge in religious disaffiliation is completely unrelated to the rise in loneliness described in the link just above?

I very much doubt it.  And, even apart from my personal spiritual beliefs, I don’t think that an increase in atomistic individualism is something to be celebrated.  It seems, in fact, to be profoundly unhealthy.  And virtual relationships via social media don’t come anywhere near compensating for the harm done.

Others have pointed out that it’s not only religious affiliation that’s declining, especially with the younger generation.  Service organizations in general (e.g., Kiwanis, Rotary, the Lions Club) are on the decline, fraternal organizations such as the Masons are shrinking, and, for that matter, the U.S. volunteer rate is at its lowest level in years.  And the American marriage rate is substantially lower than it was within recent decades.

To say that this trend is socially healthy seems to me to fly in the face of the evidence.

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Mark your calendars!

The twentieth annual FairMormon conference will be held 1-3 August 2018, in Provo, Utah.

And here’s an early warning:  There will almost certainly be a public event on the evening of 21 September 2018 to celebrate the publication of two new (and exceptionally important) books in Royal Skousen’s epochal Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, on The Nature of the Original Language.  Don’t miss this!