*** Kyler Rasmussen continues his personal investigation of Joseph Smith’s claims and the probability of their being true with a new blog entry on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Estimating the Evidence Episode 7: On Three Consonants and a Turn *** The theatrical run of the Interpreter Foundation’s Witnesses movie continues to wind down, but it will actually pick up a new movie house this coming weekend — the Worm Creek Opera House... Read more
*** To repeat: “The First Presidency Urges Latter-day Saints to Wear Face Masks When Needed and Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19: “We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders”” to urge: “to try earnestly or persistently to persuade (someone) to do something” (Oxford) *** From Ezra Taft Benson, “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”: Sixth: The prophet does not have to... Read more
*** New, from Jonn Claybaugh, on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Come, Follow Me — D&C Study and Teaching Helps: Lesson 35, August 23–August 29: D&C 93 — “Receive of His Fulness” *** And here are nine (count ’em, nine!) links to articles from a prior number of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Daniel C. Peterson, “Light Began Once More to Grow” Abstract: Readers are surely aware that the birth... Read more
*** An essay by Richard L. Bushman was published earlier today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Mormon, Moses, and the Representation of Reality” Abstract: In this essay, Richard Bushman borrows a critical perspective from Erich Auerbach’s Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. He analyzes the representation of antiquity in two of Joseph Smith’s striking translations, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses. The two texts, produced within a few years... Read more
*** Just a reminder that this may well be — although I can’t guarantee that it will be — the very last week for people to see Witnesses on a big screen. For BYU Education Week — that is, this week — there are four theaters within a reasonable distance of the BYU campus that are specially screening Witnesses. And, even after roughly 2.5 months, the film is still being shown in a small number of... Read more
*** Here, for your Sabbath reading pleasure, are five links to articles in a previous number of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Stan Spencer, “What Did the Interpreters (Urim and Thummim) Look Like?” ABSTRACT: The interpreters were a pair of seer stones used by Book of Mormon prophets and provided to Joseph Smith for translating the Nephite record. Martin Harris described them as two white, marble- like stones that could be looked into when placed in a hat. Joseph Smith... Read more
*** The fourth play that we saw during this sojourn in southern Utah was a musical adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo on the stage at Tuacahn, near St. George. Very near to Snow Canyon State Park. The setting among the red rocks at Tuacahn is so magnificent that I sometimes think that I don’t really care whether the play is any good. Fortunately, though, The Count was quite enjoyable. My only real complaint is that... Read more
*** A new article — this one by Brian C. Hales — has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Joseph Smith as a Book of Mormon Storyteller” Abstract: For nearly 200 years, skeptics have promoted different naturalistic explanations to describe how Joseph Smith generated all the words of the Book of Mormon. The more popular theories include plagiarism (e.g. of the Solomon Spaulding manuscript), collaboration (with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, etc.), mental illness (bipolar, dissociative,... Read more
Starting tomorrow, Friday (13 August): Announcing Special Screenings of “Witnesses” During BYU Education Week And here’s another new item from the website of the Interpreter Foundation: ““What Would You Do with a Thousand Years To Do Whatever You Wanted?”: Contemplating the “Complete Bibliography of Hugh Nibley” (CBHN)” *** A note regarding the comments section here at Sic et Non: Sometimes, comments don’t appear immediately but are marked with something like “pending approval.” ... Read more
*** Another installment of Kyler Rasmussen’s investigation has gone up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Estimating the Evidence Episode 6: On a Disagreeable God *** This article by Maureen Proctor in Meridian Magazine really resonated with me: “To Those Who Think it is a “Relief” to Leave the Church” I’ve encountered the same claim many times: People who have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have explained... Read more
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