You Mean, There’s, Like, Opposition? Disagreement?

The burned stake center in St. George — During my recent visit to southern Utah and southern Nevada, I snapped this photograph. The nearly completed new stake center for the St. George East Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located directly across the street from the St. George Utah Temple, was largely destroyed early on Saturday, 26 January 2019, in a fire that was deliberately set by an arsonist and that is now being investigated as a “hate crime.”

“Are 2 church fires in St. George connected?”

***

From a Catholic journal: “As Mormons open Rome temple, doctrinal hiccups with Vatican endure”

For the record, I judge the Vatican ruling to have been misguided. I’ve written on the question of whether or not the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian church in the book Offenders for a Word: How Anti-Mormons Play Word Games to Attack the Latter-day Saints and I’ve commented specifically on the question of the Trinity in an essay included in Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson, eds., “To Seek the Law of the Lord”: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch. Unfortunately, that essay (entitled “Notes on Mormonism and the Trinity”) is not yet available online.

***

You might find this short video, from Book of Mormon Central, to be of interest:

WATCH: Archaeological evidence for Egyptian writing by Israelites in Book of Mormon times

***

Incidentally, I’ve learned this morning — from someone writing anonymously, of course — that one of the governing principles of my life is my fear of taking a clear public stand on controversial issues. Thinking about it, I realize that this incapacitating cowardice on my part explains the existence of this blog; my newspaper columns; my deep involvement in the old Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) and its successor, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship; my long-time involvement in FairMormon; my deep current involvment in the Interpreter Foundation; my public debates in Las Vegas with Robert Spencer and Michael Shermer; my radio debates from years ago with James White, of Alpha and Omega Ministries, and Bill McKeever, of Mormonism Research Ministry; my willingness to take the arguments of the Intelligent Design movement seriously; my vocal opposition here and elsewhere (and elsewhere) to anti-Islamic bigotry; and my outspokenness on this blog regarding Donald Trump. If I deem a position even slightly controversial, or feel that it departs in any way from accepted mainstream consensus, I flee from it in panic, like a vampire from sunlight.

A white feather — Perhaps this great honor should be bestowed upon me? (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

You mean, there’s, like, opposition? Disagreement?