In both editions of my book Abraham Divided, I devoted several pages to words that the English language has borrowed from Arabic (and, if I recall correctly, to at least one word borrowed from Persian). For whatever reason, I find etymologies fascinating. And I can justify their inclusion in this book because I think they provide an interesting window into the richness and variety of Islamic civilization. In any case, I plan to add some additional etymological specimens... Read more
*** I spent part of this morning and this afternoon involved in the funeral for a French sister (born in Marseilles, in January 1928). Having converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in immediately postwar France at the age of nineteen — she was baptized during the month of December, in the Mediterranean Sea — she came to the United States in 1952, where she met her husband in California. She was a member of... Read more
I’ll bet that title caught your attention. Well, here’s the newly published article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, written by the brilliant and fearless Gregory L. Smith, that provided that title: “Feet of Clay: Queer Theory and the Church of Jesus Christ” Review of Taylor G. Petrey, Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism (Chapel Hill, NC The University of North Carolina Press, 2020). 288 pages. $29.95 (paperback). Abstract: Tabernacles of Clay examines the... Read more
The Interpreter Foundation’s theatrical film, Witnesses, will have its formal opening in theaters three months from today, on 4 June 2021. (Once again, mark your calendars!) I’ve said that, for us, it’s not really about the money but, really, about the size of the audience that the film can reach. We want it to have an impact. So we want to get it out there on as many screens as we can for as long as we... Read more
First of all, I want everyone out there to be aware of the Interpreter Foundation’s new specialized website: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon I’ve mentioned the website here before, obviously, but I think that I probably haven’t put enough emphasis on it. We launched it not very long ago, and it’s still growing. Moreover, it will continue to grow: Although it’s manifestly occasioned by and intended to accompany and to supplement our Witnesses theatrical film,... Read more
Continued from “A Note on Evidence (Part One)”: I’ve tried to explain to this blog’s resident atheist that, in cases where the publicly-available, objective, agreed-upon evidence is insufficient to convince everyone beyond a reasonable doubt — where an issue remains unresolved, that is, but where a decision must inescapably be made — individuals are left to make up their own minds. He doesn’t like this explanation. Heck, he doesn’t like the phrase. He disapproves of my... Read more
*** New today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Robert Joseph, “The Lord Will Not Forget Them! Māori Seers and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand” Abstract: This essay demonstrates that the key prophetic matakite dreams and visions of at least the nine nineteenth-century East Coast Māori seers appear to have been (and should continue to be) fulfilled surprisingly by the coming of The Church of Jesus Christ... Read more
There is a zealous atheist who comments multiple times daily on my blog. (He’s entirely welcome to do so, by the way. He’s polite and — by social media standards, anyway — quite respectful.) One of his recurring themes is that there is no evidence at all to support the claims of theism. I find that assertion deeply problematic and difficult to take seriously. As I’ve said here several times before, I can understand people who say... Read more
I’m pleased to report that the Interpreter Foundation’s Witnesses theatrical film won first prize on Saturday night in the Feature Film category at the twentieth annual LDS Film Festival. That is a well-deserved honor for Mark Goodman, Russell Richins, and James Jordan, the principal movie makers behind the project. Again, I want to stress that Witnesses will have its national debut on Friday, 4 June 2021. I hope that you will note that date, or Saturday the... Read more
My wife and I will be back at the LDS Film Festival this afternoon. At 4 PM, in Room 201, Russell Richins (the producer of Witnesses) and Mark Goodman (the film’s director) will speak and entertain questions on the theme “From Plates of Gold to Big Screens of Silver: Witnesses releasing Summer 2021.” (Incidentally, at the Festival screening of Witnesses on Wednesday night, our distributor, Brandon Purdie, revealed that the opening date for the film has now been... Read more
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