“Being self-taught is no disgrace; but being self-certified is another matter.”  (Hugh W. Nibley)     Read more

    John 11:45-53 Compare Matthew 26:1-5; Mark 14:1-2; 11:18; Luke 22:1-2; 19:47-48   1.   It’s the raising of Lazarus, in the verses immediate preceding this passage (see here) that seems to solidify the decision of the Jewish leaders to seek Jesus’ life.  That miracle was simply too big, too obvious, too attractive, for them to let it pass with response.   2.   On the idea “that it is expedient for you that one man should die for... Read more

    Please watch it to the end:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBQ-IoHfimQ   Thanks to Doug Ealy for sharing it with me.     Read more

    I strongly endorse this article and all of the reasons given by the author:   http://www.slate.com/articles/life/classes/2015/09/geology_class_is_the_best_science_elective.html   I myself never took geology, but I wish I had.  And, now, whenever I visit Hawaii or Yellowstone or wherever, I commonly buy (and use) a simple book on the local geological features and their history.  And, when my wife and I drive long distances, we commonly have a copy of The Roadside Geology of Utah or The Roadside Geology of... Read more

    In case you haven’t heard about the game, see this:   http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25292028/byu-beats-nebraska-33-28-with-a-hail-mary   But here’s something that I got a kick out of.  It’s a tweet that Tanner Mangum sent out at 10:59 AM on 5 July 2013 — somewhat more than two years ago, before he left for his mission in Chile:   “I love it when I hear people say I’m throwing away my career by serving a mission.  It’ll make it that much sweeter when... Read more

    My wife and I belong to a reading group with which we’ve met pretty much monthly for something on the order of twenty-five years, or  maybe even a bit longer.  There are several people in it whose names would be quite familiar to those who’ve followed Mormon cultural activity, historical writing, and other scholarship over the past half century or more, so it’s been a lot of fun for us.   We typically meet on the first Sunday... Read more

    “I stayed up part of the night worried as to whether I should say this, but I’m going to say it . . .  If there are here some of you who have been tricked into the conviction that you have gone too far, that you have been weighed down on doubts upon which you alone have a monopoly; that you have had the poison of sin that makes it impossible ever again to be what you could... Read more

    John 11:1-44   1.   Bethany is just over the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem.  Jesus, who probably had little money, seems to have stayed there with his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (= El‘azar or Eleazar) when he was in Judea.  Then he would walk over the hill to Jerusalem, along a road that still runs directly past the Garden of Gethsemane.   2.   When Jesus heard the news that Lazarus was very ill, he deliberately... Read more

    The Church, the custodian of the gospel on earth, looks with full favor upon the attempts of men to search out the facts and laws of nature. It believes that men of science, seekers after truth, are often assisted by the Spirit of the Lord in such researches. It holds further that every scientific discovery may be incorporated into the gospel, and that, therefore there can be no conflict between true religion and correct science. The Church teaches... Read more

    Again today, we enjoyed the fresh corn, tomatoes, and peaches that we bought yesterday morning.   Even though winter is on its way, I like this season.  Different colors are beginning to appear.  The temperatures are pleasant.  And we enjoy the harvest.   Yesterday, I threatened to cite a favorite poem once again.   I keep my threats.   Here it is.  “Herbstag” or “Autumn  Day,” by Rainer Maria Rilke:   Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war... Read more