I spoke for about twenty minutes early this afternoon to members of the Utah Valley Interfaith Association and representatives of local government and other groups in connection with the full-size model of the ancient Israelite tabernacle that is currently located there. The model, which is open for free tours, stands adjacent to the church at 1230 South 500 East. Here is a rough text of what I had to say this afternoon. It’s been a long day —... Read more
In the most recently posted episode of The Interpreter Radio Show — originally broadcast on 16 April 2023, but edited since airtime in order to remove commercial and other extraneous breaks — the discussants are Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson, and Martin Tanner. Here are the two segments of the program that are now available, at no charge and entirely at your convenience, as a service provided by the Interpreter Foundation: The New Testament in Context Lesson 20: “What... Read more
This post, which focuses again on the famous passage in Matthew 5:48 (in the King James Version, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”), is a continuation of “On Being ‘Perfect’ (Part One),” which went up on 2 April 2023. In our effort to understand Matthew 5:48, we should certainly not ignore the verse’s context. That is an all-too-common error in the explication and deployment of quotations from the Bible;... Read more
These new entries went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation, all of them compiled or selected by Dennis B. Horne: “Elder Spencer W. Kimball’s Apostolic Call Experience: From his own writings” ““I feel impressed to say…”: Items regarding President David O. McKay from the Journal of President Spencer W. Kimball” “Precious Highlights in President Spencer W. Kimball’s Journal: Located, described, linked, and dated by Dennis B. Horne” [The labor that went into this makes it... Read more
I spent about 5.5 hours today — minus a ten-minute break! — recording an interview with Stephen Murphy for his Mormonism with the Murph podcast. Brother Murphy is based in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He tells me that the recorded material, which will be divided into (at least) two parts, will likely go up in about three weeks. As the sheer length of it might perhaps suggest to you, it was a wide-ranging conversation. “The Teachings... Read more
My wife and I went out to dinner last night with a former student of mine and her husband, who himself recently retired as a professor of biology at a university in Texas. They have been in the MTC lately and will soon begin eighteen months as a Church service couple in Egypt. She was a participant in an intensive Arabic program that I led, quite poorly, for BYU in Jerusalem back in the first half of (gulp!)... Read more
Oy veh. This is not a story that I was happy to see: “Duncan Event at BYU Law School ‘Canceled’” And here, for your convenience, is the article to which reference is made: “BYU Cancels Debate Event on Abortion: Beams before Motes” Which leads me into a more general topic. We have, I think, entered into a period of flat-out insanity. Regarding which, I share now a bunch of links, in simple chronological order, that I’ve been accumulating... Read more
I’ve had a number of people ask whether I could share a link to a video of my remarks on Easter Sunday. Not feeling entirely comfortable (or authorized) to treat a sacrament meeting talk that way, though, I sat down today with my friend Tom Pittman and recorded it. The talk is now available on YouTube as “Truly He has risen!” My delivery seems a bit lifeless to me, as I watch it now — sometimes a live... Read more
I’m very pleased to have just received in the mail a hard copy of BYU Studies Quarterly 61/4 (2022). This latest — special — issue of BYU Studies was created by Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson, and is entitled A Guide to the Book of Abraham. I had already, some weeks ago, received an electronic pre-print copy of the volume, but I am delighted now to have both a hard copy of... Read more
I was the speaker in my ward’s sacrament meeting this Easter morning. Below is a fairly accurate text of what I said. (I wasn’t always reading it so, at some points, the wording is only approximate. I share it as an expression of my testimony, wishing everybody within my reach a blessed and happy Easter Sunday: I’m grateful to the choir and for the beautiful harp solo. I’m grateful, too, for the assignment to speak to you... Read more
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