*** I too found his atheistic reductionism dismal. But he was apparently a very fine scientist and he was certainly an interesting writer who helped us to understand the rich complexity of nature, and he died on the day after Christmas: “The Miracle of Bugs: Through his study of the lowly ant, the late biologist Edward O. Wilson highlighted the complexity and wonders of life.” Speaking of the amazing variety and, if you will, the... Read more
*** I have, to this point, made no comment here (or anywhere else, really, public or private) about the very well publicized announcement by Mr. Jeff T. Green that he is formalizing his decade-long apostasy from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by demanding that his name be removed from its records. First of all, I think it simply a very sad story. Beyond that, I have no particular interest in Mr. Green — I... Read more
*** Now that Christmas is securely behind us, I can share a cynical poem by an American academic, poet, and translator about the extreme commercialism that, in some cases, genuinely does mar the holiday: The Corporate Christmas Carol by Joseph S. Salemi God rest ye merry businessmen, Start markups on your trash! Remember that this holiday Is when you rake in cash! It saves you from those creditors You owe from that last crash… Oh, tidings of... Read more
I was thinking, this morning, about the famous passage at Moses 1:39 that says For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It’s often quoted, and I think with good reason. Many years ago, with my late friend Huston Smith, the eminent comparative religionist, I co-wrote an article on “The Purpose of Earth Life (Comparative Perspective)” for Macmillan’s Encyclopedia of Mormonism. One of the paragraphs... Read more
*** I published this column in the Deseret News for Christmas 2012. The reference to Newtown, Connecticut, was inspired — if that’s the right word for it — by the terrible massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which had just occurred on 14 December of that year: His first wife, Mary, died after a miscarriage. His second wife, Fanny, died in a freak household fire. Trying to save her, he himself was burned so... Read more
*** I often consider the question in my mind of which holiday I regard as the most important, Christmas or Easter. I’m inclined, on the whole, toward Easter, because it commemorates two of the most fundamentally important events in both the divine plan and human history: the Atonement of Jesus Christ and his Resurrection. If those two events had not occurred, Christmas would be of no real significance. On the other hand, of course, if... Read more
*** I had certainly not planned that this year’s Interpreter Christmas message would be . . . well, from me. In fact, I had things all arranged for an essay from someone else. But then there were complications. And they came too late for me to reasonably impose on anybody other than myself. So I hurriedly threw something together, and it has just appeared: “Christmas and a Condescending God,” by Daniel C. Peterson Abstract: As religious holidays... Read more
*** And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be... Read more
*** And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him... Read more
*** Today marks the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1805. Which, I suppose, explains why I was awakened this morning by the distant sound of braying donkeys. Some critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are rolling out their annual claim that Latter-day Saints celebrate “Smithmas,” the Prophet’s birthday, with more enthusiasm and vigor than we celebrate the mainstream Christian holiday of Christmas. For many such unfortunates, I... Read more
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