It’s a nice round figure:   http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2015/12/30000-congregation-milestone-reached.html   May the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come.     Read more

    http://www.people.com/article/amputee-soldier-islamophobia-racism-facebook-post     Read more

    It seems highly improbable.  And my guess is that some of the Tea Party types would bolt the Party if, at a brokered convention, Romney became the 2016 nominee.  Some would rather go down to electoral defeat and hand the presidency to Hillary Clinton than support someone they see as a “RINO.”   And Governor Romney himself has shown no visible enthusiasm for the idea.  Quite the contrary.   But the demagogic, unconservative, and increasingly sinister Donald Trump continues... Read more

    A writer on Mormon history lays out some of his concerns:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865643612/Mormons-and-the-Trump-proposal.html?pg=all   And I might add that, even today, Mormons may well be more vulnerable to federal religious discrimination — if the government is ever allowed to discriminate according to religious affiliation — than many other groups.  According to some studies (see, for example, here), members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more popular among the American public than atheists and Muslims, but... Read more

    I hope that we can help the refugees who’re fleeing the turmoil in the Middle East.  It’s our human duty to do so.  For those of us who are Christians, it’s our Christian duty to do so.   But if the federal government under the Obama administration is going to be this deliberately ineffectual, that definitely makes the admission to the United States of refugees (or anybody else, really) quite problematic:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428540/tashfeen-malik-social-media-ignored-dhs   What fantasy world are... Read more

    http://www.christiantoday.com/article/five.atheists.who.lost.faith.in.atheism/61784.htm   Thanks to Kevin Taylor for calling my attention to this interesting article.  I’ve spent considerable time with the work of each of these writers, and have written columns on at least two or three of them.     Read more

    My friend John Gee has alerted me to this urgently important item from the world of science:   http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/15/shocker-vegetarian-diets-worse-for-climate-than-eating-bacon/     Read more

  Actually, I like fruitcake.     Don’t forget, as you make your Christmas purchases or compile your Christmas wish-list, that the Interpreter Foundation publishes books:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/books/     Read more

    New in the Deseret News from Taylor Halverson:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865643572/Appreciation-and-the-myth-of-the-zero-sum-game.html   While I’m at it, I greatly appreciate Dr. Halverson’s contributions, not only to the Interpreter Foundation and the Deseret News, but elsewhere.     Read more

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/if-you-dont-believe-country-honor-and-allah-can-co-exist-meet-these-muslim-boy-scouts/2015/12/14/137f5674-a26e-11e5-9c4e-be37f66848bb_story.html?tid=sm_fb   Thanks to Jabra Ghneim for calling this article to my attention.     Read more