1.  I’m puzzled by some Latter-day Saints who were unfazed for years at the idea that Joseph Smith used something called the Urim and Thummim in translating the plates of the Book of Mormon, but who, upon hearing of his use of a “seer stone” — which was, I have to say, easily discoverable from readily available discussions — are now upset.  It seems to me that the fundamental problem is using a rock to translate.  Once having... Read more

    “Everybody can be great . . . because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Martin Luther King, Jr.   Many of you will have heard the story of Joseph Millett, a nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint.  But some won’t have.  And it’s a true story, well worth hearing... Read more

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/08/10/how-isis-gained-traction-in-the-middle-east/     Read more

    With my Friday afternoon FairMormon remarks in mind, Christopher Bradford has just called my attention to the following, from a Facebook site called “The Absurdity of Atheism”:   https://www.facebook.com/TheAbsurdityOfAtheism/photos/a.120785388118183.1073741827.120687034794685/390881311108588/?type=1&fref=nf&pnref=story   Theist: “God exists.” Atheist: “That’s an extraordinary claim. Show me some extraordinary evidence.” Theist: “What could be more extraordinary than cosmic fine-tuning? Our universe is fine-tuned to support life with a precision that defies comprehension. Wouldn’t you say that’s extraordinary evidence of design?” Atheist: “It might be if... Read more

    Americans might well, given their constitutional guarantees of human rights and due process, be nervous about the actions currently being taken by Israel against certain domestic Jewish ultranationalists, but I certainly commend them for their willingness to go after such people:   http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-08-09-08-21-05   It shows the even-handedness of which Israel is capable at its best, which is rare-to-nonexistent in the region more generally.  Moreover, courts in Israel have, on more than one occasion, found for Palestinians, Muslim and... Read more

      Thanks to Kevin Flanigan for calling this particular article to my notice:   http://www.inquisitr.com/2322602/scientists-discover-10000-year-old-monolith-under-mediterranean-sea/   As he notes, “we constantly underestimate the ancients.”   And I would add another, more melancholy, reflection:  The people who clearly went to a great deal of trouble erecting this thing would never have imagined that it would eventually be roughly 150 feet under the sea.  It’s a solid piece of rock, but such, nonetheless, is the transience of mortal human accomplishment.... Read more

    Luke 17:7-10   There is an analogous passage in the Book of Mormon, in King Benjamin’s marvelous speech.  And, to me anyway, there’s a striking anecdote (from outside the Book of Mormon) in which it plays a role:   Truman Madsen once told me of a year-end Christmas party for the missionaries who served on Temple Square.  This was a long time ago, when those missionaries were older local men rather than today’s young full-time sister missionaries.   President... Read more

    Michael Otterson, the head of the Public Affairs Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke on Friday morning at the seventeenth annual conference of FairMormon.  His remarks were entitled “On the Record.”   Here is a complete and official transcript of his speech, which I thought both important and well done:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/full-transcript-michael-otterson-address-at-fair-mormon-conference   I was there for the speech, but I’m grateful to Steven Poor for pointing out to me that the full... Read more

    “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow     Read more

    My wife and I brought the Catholic philosopher Stephen Webb to our ward today.  He was able to attend sacrament meeting and almost all of Sunday school with us, before he and I had to leave for the airport.   He was, he said, very positively impressed.   I was certainly happy to have him there, and we had an excellent conversation on the way up to the airport, ranging from temples (he recently attended the open house of... Read more