A report from the floor

The Interpreter Foundation’s Thursday chapter reprint has appeared:  Seek Ye Words of Wisdom: “All Kindreds Shall Be Blessed: Nephite, Jewish, and Christian Interpretations of the Abrahamic Covenant,” written by Noel B. Reynolds:

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Seek Ye Words of Wisdom: Studies of the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Temple in Honor of Stephen D. Ricks, edited by Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, and Shon D. Hopkin. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/seek-ye-words-of-wisdom/.

“Over the last two decades there has been a small, but important, revival of scholarly interest in the ancient promises God made to Abraham. The resurgence of scholarly study on this topic appears to be a natural consequence of the major transitions taking place in Old Testament studies across the board. As the last two centuries’ dominance by source criticism fades faster and faster, scholars favoring holistic and literary approaches to the canonical texts are taking new looks at old materials that had been thought by most to have been exhausted long since.”

The Deseret News ran an article today about Aaron Sherinian’s keynote address at the 2025 FAIR Conference, which he gave last night (Wednesday night):  “Latter-day Saint communications manager asks church members to ‘move off the sidelines’: Communication Department director shared statistics he called a ‘wondrous reality check’ about faith and the church”

I’m up at Thanksgiving Point again today, at the 2025 FAIR Conference, and I’ll probably be here until well into the evening.  You can look at the Thursday program, as well as at abstracts of the presentations and at the biographies of the speakers, here.  But I want to share some of my own brief and inadequate comments about the events of the day:

• Ashly Stone & Don Bradley: Live Recording of the Come Back Podcast — I enjoyed this very much.  I’ve known Don for a very long time, and we’ve talked about his spiritual journey — not only since his return to faith and to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but during his period out of the Church, when he was an atheist.  But I learned biographical details about him today that I don’t think I had heard before.  His is a remarkable story, and I hope that you will listen to it when it’s available.
• Meagan Kohler: “A Broader Framework for Understanding Gender Equality in the Church” — Sister Kohler’s remarks surprised me; they were not what I was expecting but, rather, much better.  She drew powerfully upon her own harrowing personal experience, prior to her conversion to the Restored Church.  I strongly recommend listening to what she had to say.
• Randy Austin & Kerri Nielsen: “Protecting Children—The Crucial Role of Church Clergy and the Abuse Help Line” — This was a very helpful presentation by a licensed clinical social worker (Kerri Nielsen) and an attorney (Randy Austin) who has developed particular expertise over decades in the problem of child abuse.  There is a lot of sensationalistic nonsense online about the Church, its General Authority leaders, and child sexual abuse.  It’s very good, therefore, to have sensitive, informed, balanced, sober, data-driven discussions such as this one.  Again, highly recommended.  (I’m afraid that I may be coming off as uncritical and overenthusiastic, but today’s sessions have indeed been very good.)  “I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse,” said attorney Austin at the conclusion of his remarks, “I have not spent my life helping an organization that seeks to conceal child abuse.”
• Brandon Mull: “Overcoming the Disappointments of this Life” — It was interesting to hear the New York Times best-selling fantasy author talk about the fact that “Sometimes things fail to go as planned.”  He was very, very personal, especially in recounting the collapse of his first marriage and what he learned from the process (including a rather remarkable personal revelation).  And he bore a prolonged strong testimony.  A good talk for people who have experienced sometimes horrific disappointments and failures.
  

Following a break for lunch — some of my critics over at the Peterson Obsession Board will point with derision to the fact that I tend to eat every single day (even, believe it or not, on Fast Sunday weekends), but I’m not going to conceal the fact that I do — there were several more speakers:

• Moderated by Jennifer Roach Lees: Panel Discussion with the Women of Ward Radio: The Role of Women in Defending the Church — This was a very good discussion, with seven articulate and thoughtful panelists and Jennifer Roach Lees as the moderator.  I am absolutely delighted to see women stepping forward to defend the Kingdom.  They can do things that men cannot do effectively or, in some cases, cannot do at all.  Please check Ward Radio and Women of Ward Radio out.
• Michael R. Ash: “A Mesoamerican Urim and Thummim” — This presentation suggested really interesting connections between the Urim and Thummim, as it was experienced by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s, and traditions of scrying and divination in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.  The idea merits serious examination.
• Matthew Christiansen: “Cherishing the “Dark Nights of the Soul”: Re-framing Unfortunate Faith Crises into Essential Faith Journeys” — Again, a very approachable presentation that I think many will find helpful.  This has been a consistently good FAIR Conference day.
• Josh Coates: “Plate Math: A Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates” — Early this year, in Interpreter, Brother Coates published the results of some of his research as “A Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates.”  In this presentation, he offered a very conversational summary of his findings and the procedure by which he reached them.  I highly recommend his remarks.

Finally, I want to call attention to a horrifying example, drawn from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™, of vicious theistic fanatics seeking to damage people living in the Edenic South Pacific paradise of Tonga — people who never did anything to hurt them:  “How the Church of Jesus Christ Helps Ensure Safety for a Tongan Community: A Seawall built on the island of Lifuka gives protection against tsunamis and erosion”