The Interpreter Foundation continues to make useful and interesting materials available in a variety of formats and media for students of the scriptures and doctrines of the Restoration — usually for free, sometimes at cost. Here are three of the latest examples: “Standing in the Holy Place: Ancient and Modern Reverberations of an Enigmatic New Testament Prophecy” Abstract: On the Mount of Olives, just prior to the culminating events of the Passion week, Jesus gave one of... Read more
I’ve just received the following from my colleague and friend Royal Skousen, and I share it with his authorization. It concerns his wonderful edition of the Book of Mormon, which I really appreciate and from which my wife and I do our shared Book of Mormon scripture reading. Posting this here may have destroyed some of its formatting, but I think it’s still pretty clearly comprehensible. I recommend his edition to all serious students of the Book of... Read more
Apparently, BYU’s male a capella group, Vocal Point, was featured on a recent CNN program memorializing victims of the coronavirus pandemic. They sang “Be Thou My Vision.” Here’s an earlier recording of them performing that beautiful song: “Be Thou My Vision” (BYU Vocal Point) It’s a popular piece on the campus of Brigham Young University. At least, it’s popular when there are people on campus. Here, for example, is a rendition of the same song by BYU’s female... Read more
I listened to a talk last night by the evangelical philosopher J. P. Moreland, whose undergraduate degree was actually in chemistry. He was arguing against scientism, the notion that all true knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that only scientific knowledge is genuine knowledge. By the way, try demonstrating the truth of that proposition — that the only real knowledge is scientific knowledge — scientifically! Feel free to use any technique of any science to do so, whether... Read more
The intelligent, college-educated Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) — higher learning was a rarity in early nineteenth-century America — recalled seeing Joseph Smith for the first time: “I made a critical examination as to his appearance, his dress, and his manner as I heard him speak,” Snow said. He was only twenty-five years of age and was not, at that time, what would be called a fluent speaker. His remarks were confined principally to his own experiences, especially the visitation... Read more
President Russell M. Nelson posted the following on his Facebook page today: We join with many throughout this nation and around the world who are deeply saddened at recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life. We abhor the reality that some would deny others respect and the most basic of freedoms because of the color of his or her skin. We are also saddened when these assaults on human dignity lead to escalating... Read more
I offer here a summary passage from Mark D. Roberts, Can We Trust the Gospels?: Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007). Roberts, who, at the time his book was published, was senior pastor at Irvine Presbyterian Church in southern California, earned a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Harvard University. In the quotation that I cite below, Rev. Roberts refers to Q (which stands for German Quelle, meaning “source”), a hypothesized written collection of... Read more
The late Cornell University historian of science William Provine (1942-2015) was not only a vocal atheist but a forthright proponent of what he saw as the implications of modern science: Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear. . . . There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I’m absolutely certain that I am going to... Read more
John W. Welch, et al., eds. Knowing Why: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True (American Fork: Covenant Communications, 2017), 314-318, treats Alma’s famous exclamation “O that I were an angel”: I was especially struck by these paragraphs: Alma’s use of trumpet imagery is interesting in light of the timing in which he wrote this thoughtful and moving piece of prophetic poetry—the 16th year of the reign of the judges. This was the 49th... Read more
Martin Tanner and I will have Dr. Stanford Carmack as our guest this evening on the Interpreter Radio Show during its first hour (7-8 PM). During the second hour (8-9 PM), Martin and I will discuss Alma 23-29. 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. In the meantime, here are a couple of items from... Read more
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