A nice scriptural reflection on what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “Life Together,” on the blog of the Interpreter Foundation:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/sustaining-suffering-and-enduring-each-other/   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

    http://mormanity.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/insights-into-ancient-nahom-great.html   http://mormanity.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/stunning-new-video-gives-details-and.html   Posted from Madrid, Spain       Read more

    Brant Gardner, a very thoughtful student of the Book of Mormon who has both formal training and on-site experience regarding ancient Mesoamerica, offer a valuable perspective on a subject of perpetual controversy:   http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2015-fairmormon-conference/history-and-historicity-in-the-book-of-mormon   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

    Nicol Sorenson-Legakis kindly shared this with me, but I was too slow to get it posted by Thanksgiving:   http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/11/25/5-facts-to-silence-your-smug-millennial-nephew-this-thanksgiving/   However, Christmas-holiday dinners still lie ahead, and there are lots and lots of smug and ignorantly left-leaning young’uns with whom we’ll need to deal.   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

    This is an eloquent and well-aimed message to the self-proclaimed “caliph” of the self-described “Islamic State,” and I concur with it absolutely:   http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/11/an-open-letter-to-caliph-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

    I have some doubts about the conclusions drawn from this study.  But it does fit my observations of pre-Islamic Arabia (see my biography of Muhammad), where a suddenly-rising income gap between rich and poor during the generation or two just prior to the birth of Muhammad seems to have led — curiously — to a relative neglect of widows, orphans, and the poor that is repeatedly condemned in the Qur‘an:   http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/economic-inequality-dampens-generosity-of-wealthy   Whatever the merits of the study,... Read more

    Please join in on this:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-launches-a-savior-is-born-christmas-initiative   I’m going to be trying to do my part.  And, if enough of us join in, we can share the message — the real message of Christmas — with many scores of millions of people.   There is no more important thing in the world, and certainly no Christmas gift more valuable.   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

    We visited the small but beautiful town of Ávila today, where they’re celebrating the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of their famous and beloved saint, Teresa (generally known as either St. Teresa of Jesus or St. Teresa of Ávila).   One of the great mystics of the Catholic tradition, she is the author of such works as El Castillo Interior (“The Interior Castle”), El Camino de Perfección (“The Way of Perfection”), and an autobiography, which are considered not only masterpieces... Read more

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865640785/After-6Spectre7-James-Bond7s-future-is-uncertain.html?pg=all#Sl6EBJ8YJEJF3xva.01   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more

  I’m more than a bit late in calling attention to this little item, alas!, but I think some may still find it amusing . . .  while others may find actually find it helpful:   http://www.millennialstar.org/a-helpful-template-for-progressive-mormons-to-help-them-respond-to-the-latest-news/   Posted from Madrid, Spain     Read more