A really interesting insider’s perspective from the niece of one of the three new apostles just called:   http://www.mormonobserver.com/2015/10/05/want-a-new-apostle-with-a-diverse-background-hes-already-there/   Thanks to Bradley Perkins for bringing this piece to my attention.     Read more

    What with the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology conference and the Annual International Law and Religion conference, along with who knows what else, this week at BYU is proving to be what the French call an embarrass de richesses, an “embarrassment of riches” or a confusing overabundance.   And don’t forget the visit of Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman!   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/details-about-berman-lectures-on-october-7-8/   My teaching schedule will probably allow me to attend only one of his three lectures, alas.... Read more

    “Earth, stars, and the vastness of space; yesterday, today and tomorrow; and the endlessly increasing knowledge of the relation of forces, present an illimitable universe of numberless phenomena. Only in general outline can the universe be understood. In its infinite variety of expression, it wholly transcends the human mind. . . .  In the midst of this complexity man finds himself. As he progresses from childhood to manhood, and his slumbering faculties are awakened, he becomes more fully... Read more

    Would I have liked to see non-Utahn, non-American apostles named?   Yes, I would have liked that.   I was delighted with Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s call to the Twelve, for example, and then to the First Presidency.   I’m pleased to see people from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia serving in the Seventy and in the Presiding Bishopric.   I love the increasing internationalization of the Church, and I expect it to continue, even to accelerate.... Read more

    The intelligent, college-educated Lorenzo Snow recalled seeing Joseph Smith for the first time. “I made a critical examination as to his appearance, his dress, and his manner as I heard him speak,” Snow said. He was only twenty-five years of age and was not, at that time, what would be called a fluent speaker. His remarks were confined principally to his own experiences, especially the visitation of the angel, giving a strong and powerful testimony in regard to... Read more

    “An acquaintanceship with the literature of the world may be won by any person who will devote half an hour a day to the careful reading of the best books. The habit of reading good books is one that gives great comfort in all the stages and among all the vicissitudes of life. The man who has learned to love good reading is never alone. His friends are the great ones of human history, and to them he... Read more

      One of the very best things that happen at BYU every year is the Annual International Law and Religion Symposium.  Here’s the program for this year’s meetings:   http://www.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Symposium%202015%20Program%20Web%20Version.pdf   As a by-product of the 2015 meetings, I was able to attend a special joint lecture this afternoon by Dr. Yahya Al-Btoush, the Grand Mufti of the Jordanian Armed Forces, who spoke in Arabic, and Father Nabil Haddad, a Melkite Catholic priest who founded and directs the... Read more

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-05/nobel-prize-in-science-how-to-not-win/6821468     Read more

      I would like to call everybody’s attention to this year’s meeting of the Society for Mormon Theology and Philosophy, which will be held at the end of this week on the campus of Brigham Young University:   http://www.smpt.org/conferences_2015.html   There will be a considerable variety of approaches and topics, and I intend to be there for as much of the conference as my teaching schedule will permit.     Read more

    I’m continuing on with my little series about the character of Joseph Smith and his family.  These posts are drawn from a yet-unpublished book manuscript with which I tinker from time to time:   Newell Knight described Joseph in particular as “kind,” and others who knew him recalled his compassionate actions and attitude.[1] “We found him a boy of truth,” remembered Joseph Knight, Jr., of the twenty-one-year-old farmer’s son.[2] “So honest and plain were all his statements that... Read more