On Friday night, my wife and I watched a new (2021) film called The Dig, which stars, among others, Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, and Lily James. It will be just a bit slow for some folks, but I enjoyed it. The movie tells the story — fairly accurately — of the 1939 discovery of the sixth-seventh century East Anglian ship and burial horde at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, England. And, last night, my wife and I listened in... Read more
But, first: Book of Moses Essays #41: Moses 1 in Its Ancient Context: Moses in the Presence of God (Moses 1:31, chapters 2-4) *** And this: A couple of days ago, I posted an entry that was partly about anti-Semitism. (Even the funny little pseudo-documentary video to which I linked in that entry originally ended by blithely — and satirically — blaming the loss of the RMS Titanic on “the Jews”; that obviously unserious... Read more
A (massive) new article, this one by David M. Belnap, has just been published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “The Inclusive, Anti-Discrimination Message of the Book of Mormon” Abstract: Attitudes of superiority lead to societal conflict. The racial interpretation of a few Book of Mormon verses has contributed to these attitudes and conflicts, yet hundreds of inclusive messages are found in more than half of the book’s verses. God’s message, love, mercy, and justice are for... Read more
Rumor has it that there is a football game scheduled for this weekend, COVID pandemic willing. Here are a few links to articles about people in the game that might be of particular interest to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was alerted to them in a newsletter that I receive from the excellent Deseret News writer Tad Walch: “The rehabilitator in chief: How Andy Reid built a champion on second chances”... Read more
I’m very happy about this: “New Vice President for The Interpreter Foundation” She joins me, Steven T. Densley Jr. (Executive Vice President), Allen Wyatt (Vice President of Operations), Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw, Kristine Wardle Frederickson, Jeffrey Dean Lindsay, and Noel B. Reynolds on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. *** Some more past articles from Interpreter: Daniel C. Peterson, “The Modest But Important End of Apologetics” Robert F. Smith, “Adam Miller’s New Hermeneutic?” Review... Read more
New, on the nearly moribund website of the Interpreter Foundation: Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 7 “Upon You My Fellow Servants”: D&C 12–13 and Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75 The discussants for the Interpreter Radio Roundtable on Come, Follow Me Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 7, “Upon You My Fellow Servants” on D&C 12–13 and Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75, were Neal Rappleye, Jasmine Rappleye, and Hales Swift. This roundtable was extracted from the 3 January 2021 broadcast of the... Read more
Newly appearing in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, an article by John A. Tvedtnes: “Tree of Life, Tree of Healing” Abstract: The late Hebrew scholar John Tvedtnes takes readers on a grand tour of Jewish and Christian stories and traditions that attest to the Tree of Life as not only a means to prolong life, but also to impart a healing power to individuals and to the earth itself. In a future day, it is... Read more
For what it’s worth, I’ll be on the Interpreter Radio Show tonight (Sunday night), from slightly after 7 PM until 9 PM, Utah time. The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. *** Throughout my childhood, and specifically during almost the entirety of my high school years, roughly when I was beginning to pay attention... Read more
First, though: The executive board of the Interpreter Foundation met this morning, from 9 AM to just a few minutes after 12:00 noon. (Virtually, I should add, lest some of my perpetual critics suffer cardiac arrest while vying with one another in their indignation and outrage over yet another redundant example of my depravity.) Anyway, it seems from that meeting that, in fact, Interpreter isn’t dead yet. In fact, here are some new items that have just... Read more
I’m pleased to announce that yet another new article — this one by John Gee — has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Fantasy and Reality in the Translation of the Book of Abraham” Abstract: The volume editors of The Joseph Smith Papers Revelations and Translations: Volume 4 propose a theory of translation of the Book of Abraham that is at odds with the documents they publish and with other documents and editorial comments published... Read more
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