“A Democratic Salvation”

The still relatively new official logo of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A newly published article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship is available at no charge on the website of the Interpreter Foundation. (That’s still probably more than it’s worth.) Even without being told the identity of the author of the article, veteran readers will be instantly able to recognize the nit-picky logic, debate acrobatics, lack of substance, and mean-spirited ad hominem viciousness that are the hallmarks of his writing style:

Abstract: Over the centuries, many religious thinkers — precisely because they are religious thinkers — have put a premium on intellectual attainment as a prerequisite for salvation. This has sometimes yielded an elitism or snobbishness that is utterly foreign to the teachings of the Savior. The Gospel as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints values education and knowledge, certainly. But not unduly. Intellectuals, while heartily welcome among the Saints and, when faithful, much appreciated for their potential contributions to the Church, have no claim on any special status in the Kingdom simply because of their (real or pretended) intellectuality, whether here or in the hereafter.

***

Also available on the Interpreter Foundation’s website is this contribution from Hales Swift:

“Baptism as the Establishment of a Covenant Community (Mosiah 18)”

A Video Supplement for Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 19: We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him (Mosiah 18-24)

***

Some of you may have missed this brief video message:

“President Nelson Addresses Reintegration of Church Worship and Activities”

***

Those who are still faithfully filling their Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How God Poisons Everything” Files should not miss my immediately preceding blog entry — “When it’s available, you should go back to church” — which contains four very valuable examples of the toxic effects of church attendance. Here are some additional candidates for inclusion in your Hitchens File:

“Church Supports COVID-19 Response Efforts in Nigeria”

“Welsh Latter-day Saints partner with local organisations to provide essential supplies for thousands during COVID-19 crisis”

“Gail Miller, Owner of the Utah Jazz, Sews Masks for ProjectProtect During COVID-19”

“Church Helps Repatriate Argentine Citizens During COVID-19 Pandemic: “Everyone wants to return home to their family,” says resident”

And here, finally, is an account of someone in New Zealand who took direct and decisive action against Latter-day Saint buildings in which religious poison was being spread:

“Arsonist disappointed mosque shootings ‘overshadowed’ his crimes”