I’m not, to put it mildly, an uncritical fan of the late Carl Sagan. But I’m afraid that this comment is, in many cases, far too close to the truth: “In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be... Read more
My friend Martin Tanner and I substituted tonight on the Interpreter Radio Show for the usual first-Sunday hosts, who couldn’t be there for this episode. As always, I enjoyed it. I’ve been thinking about this statement from my friend Don Bradley, who gave me permission to use it here some time ago: I want to share part of my faith here with those who aren’t familiar with it, and to testify of it to them, to... Read more
The entire twelfth chapter of the Qur’an is devoted to a beautiful retelling of the story of Joseph of Egypt. It is the only chapter of the Qur’an that is entirely occupied by a single narrative. The story of Moses is one of the more commonly repeated in the Qur’an.[1] Saul, David, and Solomon are also mentioned.[2] The Qur’an knows the biblical stories of David and Goliath, as well as the parable Nathan tells to David in 2... Read more
Earlier this evening, we had the largest screening to date of the Interpreter Foundation’s theatrical film, Witnesses. Somewhat more than fifty invited guests were in the audience in a large theater, masked and distanced. The film has been modified slightly since the previous screening. The feedback from these events is valuable. On the general subject of witnesses, here are some quotations about the 1978 revelation on priesthood from Adventures of a Church Historian, the memoirs of the... Read more
I’ve been encountering the claim, of late, that the Centers for Disease Control have finally been forced to admit that they’ve grossly inflated the death toll caused by the coronavirus “hoax” — the phony “scamdemic,” as one person put it. This is not only wrong, it’s dangerously wrong. If it’s taken as true, it will likely lead many Americans into risky behavior that will kill people — if not themselves, then others around them. “Orac” is the... Read more
Some readers will already have noticed a number of similarities between the Qur’an and the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And, indeed, there are many. The present section will highlight some of them. In this regard, perhaps the most obvious feature of the Qur’an is the fact that it contains many of the same stories and refers to many of the same historical figures that are familiar to the West from the... Read more
There’s good, or at least promising, coronavirus news: “University of Utah Health now using saliva testing for COVID-19 instead of nasal swab: Daily average tops 400 as Utah confirms more than 500 new COVID-19 cases Friday, 5 additional deaths” “Steroids reduce deaths of critically ill COVID-19 patients, WHO confirms: The finding strengthens evidence that clinicians should give severely sick people the drugs” “Will there be a COVID-19 vaccine by November? The CDC surely thinks so:... Read more
I have no real interest in Mr. Jonathan Neville. I have no real interest in his ideas. I’m generally familiar with his views, but I don’t read his blog. I don’t read his books. I pay essentially no attention to him. Although, increasingly, I regard his attitudes as dangerous to the unity of the Saints — even potentially schismatic — and although I’m unpersuaded by the arguments of the “Heartland” movement itself and am, in fact, somewhat troubled... Read more
Two new book reviews have just appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, one by Brian Hales and the other by Brant Gardner: “Theories and Assumptions: A Review of William L. Davis’s Visions in a Seer Stone” A review of William L. Davis, Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2020, 264 pp. paperback $29.95, hardcover $90, e-book... Read more
This is roughly how the relevant text read in my old book Abraham Divided, from the mid-1980s. But it’s a passage, I think, that now needs considerable expansion and nuancing. Comments are welcome, as are suggestions of issues that you would want to see covered, questions to which you would like answers: The sixth of the five pillars of Islam never quite made it into the authoritative lists, although there were a number of prestigious thinkers who... Read more
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