I’ve already called attention to the exchange between Dr. Phillip Jenkins, a Catholic-turned-Episcopalian historian at Baylor University who has suddenly emerged as a harsh critic of the Book of Mormon and those who believe in it, and my friend Dr. William Hamblin:   Here.   And here.   The conversation has continued since then, with these two entries: Jenkins Rejoinder 2 Jenkins Response 5: Peer Review     Read more

  In the Interpreter Foundation’s 125th scripture roundtable, Cassandra Hedelius, Jeff Bradshaw, McKay White, and Dan Peterson discuss 2015 Gospel Doctrine lesson 27, which focuses on passages in Matthew 28, Luke 24, and John 20-21:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scripture-roundtable-125-new-testament-gospel-doctrine-lesson-27-he-is-not-here-for-he-is-risen/     Read more

    Somebody — to my embarrassment, I can’t now recall who it was — reminded me the other day of this prophetic 1919 poem by Rudyard Kipling.   In order to understand it, it’s important to know that copybooks were the notebooks used in class by nineteenth-century British schoolchildren.   Kipling’s phrase copybook headings refers to the proverbs or maxims, expressing moral virtues such fair dealing, honesty, thrift, and so forth, that were commonly printed at the top of each... Read more

    It was nearly five decades ago now, in August 1967, that Elder John W. Welch first encountered the ancient literary device known as chiasmus while serving as a missionary in Regensburg, Germany — and then almost immediately discovered it in the Book of Mormon.   Here’s an online bibliography of materials on the subject of chiasmus:   http://chiasmusresources.johnwwelchresources.com   It was a remarkable find.     Read more

    This is a fantastic effort to recover the family histories — and the history generally — of African-Americans in the period just after Emancipation and extending back before:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/historic-freedmen-records-released   I’m very, very happy that the Church is doing this.     Read more

    Blaine Johnson, a Latter-day Saint attempting to serve people in the area, calls these two interesting items to my attention:   http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/fl/Zomia-A-Region-Resisting-Modern-Statehood.htm   http://humansecurity.org/rohingya-refugees/     Read more

    “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.   Read more

    A short while ago, I published Mitt Romney’s tweet calling for the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the South Carolina state house as a tribute to the victims of the racist mass murders in Charleston.   There’s a debate going on in conservative circles about this matter.   David French, a southerner with a Yankee law degree from Harvard, defends the battle flag here.   I think he raises good points.   Reihan Salam, by contrast,... Read more

    Michael Oren is not only the former ambassador of Israel to the United States, but a superbly-trained and well-published scholar of the Near East.   His reflections are, accordingly, worthy of note, whatever one’s political persuasions might be:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420065/former-israeli-ambassadors-memoir-condemns-obamas-foreign-policy-matthew-continetti     Read more

    A tweet from Mitt Romney:   Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.   I agree with him.   (Thanks to Adam Trone for calling my attention to it.)     Read more