“Artifact or Artifice?”

“Artifact or Artifice?” December 1, 2018

 

The L.A. Temple
The Los Angeles California Temple  (Wikimedia Commons public domain)  While I was growing up in southern California, this was my temple.  It’s also where my parents were sealed after my father’s conversion, and where my brother and I were sealed to them.  So I was pleased to catch a glimpse of it in the distance during our final approach to Los Angeles International Airport just a few minutes ago.

 

A new article — or, anyway, an article that’s still relatively new (I’ve been traveling) — in the pages of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:

 

“Orson Scott Card’s ‘Artifact or Artifice’: Where It Stands After Twenty-five Years”

 

The article is by the indefatigible Jeff Lindsay, who also has a short related article on his blog:

 

“The Evolution of Language and the Book of Mormon”

 

***

 

From the Australian newsroom of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an article about some of what I was up to this past Thursday:

 

“Perspectives on Religious Freedom and Truth by BYU Scholar”

 

And, for those who might have been wondering what I was up to Down Under but who missed the following two earlier articles, I offer a pair of links:

 

“Sydney Congregation Learns about Evidence and Witnesses of the Book of Mormon”

 

“Daniel C. Peterson to Deliver Religious Liberty Lecture at University of Notre Dame”

 

I want to express my particular gratitude to those who spent a great deal of time with us, and a great deal of effort on us, during our stay in Australia — most notably to Brother and Sister Keith Thompson, to Elder and Sister Robert Dudfield, and to Elder and Sister Lloyd in Melbourne.  They made things very easy — and very pleasant — for us.

 

***

 

Particularly in view of my talk about religious liberty on Tuesday evening in Sydney, I was pleased to see this item:

 

“Latter-day Saint Leaders Discuss Religious Intolerance at Baghdad Conference: Church continues to assist Yazidis”

 

***

 

Stephen Smoot weighs in on an issue that has potential implications for the debate between adherents of the “Heartland” model of Book of Mormon geography and advocates of a Mesoamerican setting for the Book:

 

“‘No Kings Upon the Land’: A Note on 2 Nephi 10”

 

Also relevant to the Heartland vs. Mesoamerican issue is the following short piece from Book of Mormon Central:

 

“Where is the Location of the Hill Cumorah?”

 

I freely confess that I’m partial to a Mesoamerican model.

 

Posted from Los Angeles, California

 

 


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