I had an enjoyable time last night participating in a panel at Brigham Young University. Camrey Bagley Fox (who played Emma Smith in Witnesses), and Mark Goodman (the director of Witnesses) and Russell Richins (the producer) and I (executive producer) took questions after a showing of the film in the Education in Zion Auditorium of the Joseph F. Smith Building. We had a reasonably good audience — which surprised me, given that campus seemed incredibly deserted generally for... Read more
It being Friday, another new article (this one a book review), has gone up in the pages (literal and virtual) of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Examining the Origins of Temple Worship,” written by John Lynch Review of Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Freemasonry and the Origins of Latter-day Saint Temple Ordinances (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2022). 556 pages. $39.99 (paperback). Abstract: With the precision of a renowned surgeon, the finesse of a master politician, the insights of an eminent theologian,... Read more
Conference Talks: “The Ark and the Tent: Temple Symbolism in the Story of Noah” (Jeffrey M. Bradshaw) Jeffrey M. Bradshaw compares Moses’ tabernacle and Noah’s ark, and then identifies the story of Noah as a temple related drama, drawing of temple mysticism and symbols. After examining structural similarities between ark and tabernacle and bringing into the discussion further information about the Mesopotamian flood story, he shows how Noah’s ark is a beginning of a new creation, pointing out... Read more
All the way back in 2016, I posted the following here on this blog: Encouraged by my wife, I’ve been enjoying the Anglo-American miniseries The Crown. And, I must say, I’ve been enjoying it very much. For someone who is both an Anglophile and a passionate lover of history, it’s a feast. And, since I’ve been quite sick for the past week or so, it’s come at a very good time. I’ve felt too terrible to read a... Read more
My father was born one hundred and nine (109) years ago today. He’s been gone now for somewhat more than nineteen years. But I’m thinking about him today, and I wanted to use this opportunity to commit a small handful of anecdotes about him to writing. As I’ve said on prior occasions here, this blog serves several functions, one of which is as an occasional venue for first drafts of my own life history and the story of... Read more
I’ve just published a new item in Meridian Magazine that some of you might find worthy of a glance: “Why We Can’t Simply Dismiss the Book of Mormon Witnesses” Another item that went up today on the Interpreter Foundation website is this one: “Nibley Lectures: Time Vindicates the Prophets — The Prophets and the Plan of Life” Between 7 March 1954 and 17 October 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of thirty weekly lectures on KSL Radio... Read more
I would like to call your attention to an event — a special showing of the film Witnesses, accompanied by questions and answers and discussion — that will be held on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo this coming Friday evening. Admission is free, and there is abundant public parking that is reasonably close to the venue. But tickets are required and seating is relatively limited: https://calendar.byu.edu/student-life/film-witnesses-2022-09-16 I would love to see you there.... Read more
A couple of days ago, I finished reading William J. Peters (with Michael Kinsella), At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better (New York City: Simon and Schuster, 2022). I found it interesting. Here are five of the passages in the book that I marked during my reading: In the first two of them, William Peters recounts some personal experiences of his own. In February 1993, I contracted... Read more
Something new has just been posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon — Insights Episode 21: Who Felt or Saw the Plates? Critics have long claimed that the various witnesses—both official and unofficial—never interacted with the plates in a physical way. First hand accounts indicate otherwise. What are we to make of such criticism? This is the twenty-first in a series compiled from from the many interviews conducted during the course... Read more
I don’t know how much longer this can or will go on, but he is, quite simply, astounding: “President Russell M. Nelson Celebrates 98th Birthday: Prophet spends the day participating in meetings at Church headquarters in Utah” I’ve just completed reading William J. Peters (with Michael Kinsella), At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better (New York City: Simon and Schuster, 2022). I picked it up last Saturday... Read more
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