Of Cannabis And Cardston, Among Other Things

Canada's first temple — With its new Meridian Idaho Temple, the Church seems to me to be reaching back for inspiration to the Cardston Alberta Temple (shown here in an image from the LDS Media Library), which is nearly a century old. That pleases me, because I love the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Cardston Temple, one of my absolute favorites, is plainly influenced by Wright’s “prairie style.”

A new podcast, available via the website of the Interpreter Foundation:

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The Latter-day Saint community of Cardston, Alberta, figures prominently in this article from the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail:

“In age of pot shops, a new kind of ‘dry’ community looms”

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“Church Joins National Weekend of Prayer for Faith, Hope, and Life: Prayer invitation coincides with Suicide Prevention Awareness Month”

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“The Blind Shall See: Improving Our Spiritual Vision: He’s studied medicine, but it’s the stories of Jesus in the Bible that have trained Sarit Catchatoorian in his life’s pursuit.”

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The always interesting Robert Boylan, regarding the unusual Latter-day Saint belief that the “Ancient of Days” in Daniel is Adam, rather than God:

“The Ancient of Days Not being God the Father in Non-LDS Writings”

“Andrew Chester on Adam being the “Ancient of Days” in The Testament of Abraham”

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There’s been much (entirely legitimate) consternation regarding the current sexual misconduct scandal in the Catholic Church. But such misbehavior likely isn’t confined solely to Catholics, or Christians, or even theists. He hasn’t been proven guilty yet, of course, so far as I know, and I have absolutely no opinion on whether or not he is:

“America’s leading atheist, accused of sexual misconduct, speaks out”

And, alas, there was this one . Which I regret and hope is untrue, since I’m somewhat acquainted with one of the central figures in the account and since he vehemently denies the accusations. But who knows?

“Will Misogyny Bring Down The Atheist Movement? The continuing debate over a murky sexual encounter at a 2008 convention for cheekily anti-establishment skeptics underscores a broader dilemma: How can a progressive, important intellectual community behave so poorly towards its female peers?”

“Rebel or Reject? How sexual harassment allegations against a guest speaker rocked Santa Barbara City College last semester — and, one professor says, cost him his job.”

And then there’s this one:

“The Krauss Debacle: More Allegations Surface”

Now, let me be unmistakably clear: I’m not claiming or even insinuating, because these men are outspoken atheists, that the offenses of which they’ve been accused were caused — if they occurred at all (on which I’m uninformed and, therefore agnostic) — by their atheism. But it does seem to me fair to point out that such accusations aren’t confined to priests, bishops, and cardinals.

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On a more cheery note, don’t miss the Interpreter Radio Show:

https://interpreterfoundation.org/the-interpreter-radio-show/

For whatever it may be worth, I’m planning to be in the studio and on the air for the show tonight (9 September 2018, at 7 PM, Utah time)