On conspiracy theories and other timely matters

Last updated on: October 27, 2025 at 8:00 pm By Dan Peterson

Forewarned, they say, is forearmed. So — although this forthcoming Bravo miniseries will, no doubt, be meticulously accurate and balanced, and although it will almost certainly offer its viewers a scrupulously fair portrayal of Latter-day Saints and their church — prudence would suggest that we should be prepared not only for its imminent release but for the specific themes that it will emphasize and the approach that it will pursue: “Surviving Mormonism: Heather Gay Breaks the Silence: Heather Gay’s... Read more

Some Thoughts on Mind and Brain (and Spirit?)

Last updated on: October 26, 2025 at 6:01 pm By Dan Peterson

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Last night, my wife and I met with friends for dinner and for discussion of a book by Sharon Eubank titled Doing Small Things with Great Love: How Everyday Humanitarians Are Changing the World. I like the book very, very much. It’s inspiring but, at the same time, practical and realistic and self-critical, and it powerfully makes the point that, while we can’t do everything or solve all problems, we can and should be doing something. I commend it... Read more

The persistence (and the absence) of memories

Last updated on: October 25, 2025 at 3:10 pm By Dan Peterson

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This is great news: “The Church of Jesus Christ Announces the Addition of 55 New Missions in 2026: The new missions will help accommodate a rising number of missionaries and bring the worldwide total to 506 missions” And, from the Deseret News, here’s a bit more in response to the upcoming Bravo miniseries Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay: “‘Surviving Mormonism’ and it’s just … a church member showing up with cookies” One inevitably thinks of the dying words of Mr.... Read more

“His Secret is with the Righteous”

Last updated on: October 24, 2025 at 10:02 pm By Dan Peterson

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This article, newly published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 437-486, is available at no cost online: ““His Secret is with the Righteous”: Instructional Wisdom in the Book of Mormon,” written by Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt Abstract: This study argues that the Book of Mormon both adopts and develops the instructional wisdom tradition found in Proverbs 1–9 and other pre-exilic Near-Eastern texts. After outlining the structure, rhetoric, and themes of Hebrew instructional wisdom, it... Read more

“Unmasking Halloween: Its Origins and Meaning”

Last updated on: October 23, 2025 at 10:08 pm By Dan Peterson

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I published a seasonally appropriate article today in Meridian Magazine that some readers might be able to enjoy without requiring medical attention: “Unmasking Halloween: Its Origins and Meaning.” And here’s an article that I published in Meridian back on 28 October 2021 for that year’s Halloween: “Ways of Remembering the Dead.” In it, I discussed the history and development of the Halloween holiday, which is both complicated and, I think, very interesting. (And, I hasten to add, not at... Read more

“Surviving Mormonism”

Last updated on: October 23, 2025 at 9:01 am By Dan Peterson

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The curious obsession of cable television with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues: “Bravo Announces New Limited Series Surviving Mormonism with Heather Gay: Exposing the ‘Dark History’ of the Religion: According to Bravo, the series “delves into outdated and controversial practices and empowers victims to share their experiences”” This is something to which serious scholars of theology and religious history will definitely be looking forward, and it will obviously contribute mightily to interfaith respect and mutual understanding.... Read more

“Truth and Treason”

Last updated on: October 21, 2025 at 4:54 pm By Dan Peterson

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This thirty-one-minute video interview podcast with Christopher Blythe went up sometime yesterday evening: “Daniel Peterson on Brigham Young.” It was recorded several weeks ago, and there is one correction to it that I need to make: We have now rethought our plan for releasing our series of Becoming Brigham mini-docmentaries. Instead of “Octoberish,” as I said in the interview, we’re now planning for a launch sometime in mid-January. I hope that you’ll watch them, that you’ll enjoy them and... Read more

A “most beautiful and wondrous and moving thing”

Last updated on: October 20, 2025 at 7:12 pm By Dan Peterson

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In case you missed it when it first appeared in Meridian Magazine, the Interpreter Foundation — it wasn’t my idea! — has reposted my article “Brigham Young, Race, and Slavery: Reexamining Utah’s 1852 Service Act” on its blog. And here’s a five-minute video from Christopher Blythe at BYU: “Tim Ballard, Blood Libel, and Anti-Mormonism” I’m currently reading a book entitled Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death, written by Alexander Batthyány. Prof. Batthyány holds the Viktor... Read more

My ongoing (and, thus far, futile) war against “helpmeets”

Last updated on: October 19, 2025 at 10:00 pm By Dan Peterson

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This is important. If you’re confused or on the fence about the matter, you need to get things straight. And this will help: “Polygamy Denial Debunked: A Look At The Primary Sources” Here are some recent articles that I’ve found interesting: The Atlantic: “Is Moderate Drinking Okay? “Every drink takes five minutes off your life.” Maybe the thought scares you. Personally, I find comfort in it.” At the very least, the once-popular conviction that alcohol (or, at least, red... Read more

Ancient Egyptian Cosmology Illustrated in Soil Core Samples

Last updated on: October 18, 2025 at 12:27 pm By Dan Peterson

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This is a remarkable story: “A prophet’s flash of inspiration 41 years ago started President Oaks on the path to this moment: On April 4, 1984, a call woke President Hinckley at home at 2:30 a.m. It changed the course of President Oaks’ life” And this 3.5-minute video is worth watching: “‘God’s hand, untouched.’ A photographer finds light in the darkness of a burned Latter-day Saint church: Stephanie VanWagoner was asked by police to photograph the aftermath of the Grand Blanc... Read more

What does "Bethesda" mean?