“‘This is a real disease’: Hospital giving behind-the-scenes look at intensive care in the COVID-19 era: Utah reports another 1,363 new cases Wednesday, 6 deaths” “Calling Utah one of world’s ‘worst hot spots,’ governor pleads for compliance” *** I just saw this on Scott J. Pierson’s Facebook page, and, with his kind permission, I’m sharing it here for your consideration: I saw a statistic yesterday that indicated Australia’s normal seasonal range for the flu... Read more
I was extremely pleased to see this: From national CBS News: “Republican and Democrat running against each other for Utah governor unite for joint ad” From the Deseret News: “In our opinion: Utah’s politics aren’t an aberration. They’re a model for the nation: Those who designate Utah a sleepy state in election years should wake up to its increasingly unique influence” Because — as manifested in the recent passion for “erasing” people, and elsewhere — we’re... Read more
In 1882, young Jews calling themselves “Lovers of Zion” began actively to promote immigration to Palestine among their people. This was the beginning of what came to be known as “practical Zionism,” which advocated building Jewish settlements in Palestine. (It was “practical” in the sense that it pushed for real action to implement the dream Jews had been dreaming for nearly two millennia.) Jews returning to Palestine in the late 1800s and early 1900s began the heavy work... Read more
Here are some new items on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Interpreter Radio Show — October 4, 2020 The 4 October 2020 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show featured Neal Rappleye, Jasmine Rappleye, and Hales Swift. They reviewed the October 2020 General Conference in the first portion of the show and, in the second, engaged in a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #44 (Ether 1-5). The complete show is now archived and available online,... Read more
From The Atlantic: “The Vaccine News That Really Matters: Soon COVID-19 vaccine makers will release early data from large clinical trials, and the results could be ambiguous.” *** Has the COVID-19 pandemic got you down? Well, I have just the thing to cheer you up! “Ice Melt in Alaska Threatens to Unleash Unprecedented ‘Mega-Tsunami’, Scientists Warn” This article reminds me more than a little bit of the 2015 Norwegian film The Wave (Bølgen),... Read more
Meanwhile, as Arabs and Muslims faltered and desperately sought a reason why, a new humiliation was brewing. A new movement was beginning to gain force among the world’s scattered Jews. This was Zionism, a movement designed to realize the long-standing Jewish dream of a return to the Holy Land. It arose during the very period when a liberal European-style nationalism, with dreams of parliaments and self-determination, was finally beginning to grow on Arab soil. Since, at least in... Read more
It’s science. Well, social science, anyway. And it has a connection to Brigham Young University: “‘Handmaid’ reality: Deeply religious marriages have more spousal equality” Some will not be pleased by the item above. They should, however, not shoot the messenger. As in me. *** Those planning to lash out at me about the articles below regarding Sweden and its response to COVID-19 should read them carefully and completely — even the longer ones —... Read more
But, sadly, this understandable desire to get the attention of the West is frequently joined with an unwillingness on the part of some Near Easterners to take responsibility for the flaws of their own native area. The fact of Western dominance is exaggerated to the point of hallucination. It overwhelms them, much as the absolute sovereignty of God has swallowed up human will in Islamic theology. Many Arabs and other Muslims that I have known seem genuinely to... Read more
A new article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. This one is by Professor Louis C. Midgley: “Tocqueville on New Prophets and the Tyranny of Public Opinion” Abstract: Louis Midgley discusses the rise and fall in popularity of Alexis de Toqueville’s unrivaled volumes entitled Democracy in America and the impressive renaissance of interest they have enjoyed since 1930. They were published at a time when Europe was looking for guiding principles to replace aristocratic... Read more
Below are two passages that I’ve extracted from Ronald E. Romig, Eighth Witness: The Biography of John Whitmer (Independence, MO: John Whitmer Books, 2014): In 1870 when Elizabeth Ann [Whitmer, who had married Oliver Cowdery] was fifty-five and had been widowed for two decades, William McLellin, one of Joseph’s original apostles, asked her to describe the translation process. She responded willingly, he recorded: She gave me a certificate And this is the copy. [Elizabeth Ann (Whitmer) Cowdery,... Read more
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