It is often said of the socialist paradise known as Communist Cuba that, although, sure, yeah, it has sentenced its people to perpetual poverty and taken away their freedom, it has also vastly improved the health of its children and infants. Here, for example, from his previous bid for the presidency, is Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT): “Sanders on Cuba: “Of Course Their Economy Is Terrible,” But They Have Health Care And Education” Senator Sanders could potentially... Read more
Every once in a while, I’m asked to explain the difference between the terms Near East and Middle East. You may not have asked. You may not even care. But I’ll attempt an explanation here nonetheless. My comments aren’t based on specific research, which would be interesting to pursue, but simply on my sense of things after years of being in and around the academic field. Originally, I think, the terms Near East and Middle East... Read more
Proceeding with my notes from Daniel Johnson, “‘Hard’ Evidence of Ancient American Horses,” BYU Studies Quarterly 54/3 (2015): 162-164: As of 2015, the scholarly consensus was that all “native” horses in the Americas must have descended from European stock, mostly Spanish and Portuguese, mostly strays. However, Daniel Johnson observes, the evidence for this is weak. Indeed, it seems to be mostly supposition. As a matter of fact, historical records seem to lean in the opposite direction. Spanish cavalry personnel... Read more
My wife and I were quite disappointed last week, after having already delayed our tickets once, to miss out altogether on the Utah Opera’s production of Silent Night, about the famous “Christmas Truce” during the First World War. She was still too sick to go. But we received considerable compensation on Monday night. As some of you may perhaps be aware, I’ve been deeply involved over the past two or three years as an executive producer (with... Read more
A few more notes from Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon (Provo: BYU Studies, 2018). The passages below are actually cited from Lucy Mack Smith’s Biographical Sketch of Joseph Smith. In March 1829, Lucy Harris brought charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against Joseph Smith. Those charges were heard before a magistrate in Lyons, New York. Lucy Mack Smith provided an account of witness testimony during the proceedings: The... Read more
Newly published on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man “The Theory of Evolution is Compatible with Both Belief and Unbelief in a Supreme Being” Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article by David M. Belnap originally appeared in Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man (2016). Abstract: David Belnap, professor of biochemistry and biology at the University of Utah, explains how the theory of evolution neither unequivocally... Read more
Three or four times, perhaps, I’ve publicly mentioned my one and only direct experience with water witching, or dowsing, with a divining rod. It was successful, completely against my expectations and to my considerable shock. (See one account here.) Although I’ve simply described what happened in my case without drawing any grand conclusion from it, I’ve been severely ridiculed in certain quarters for recounting the story. (It seems that some critics’ professed commitment to transparency and accurate history... Read more
Bill Hamblin and I published this column in the Deseret News several years ago: Most religions have attempted to build their sanctuaries on prominent heights to be visible to all the faithful. Since no such natural heights were available in the flat flood plains of ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), ancient priests and kings determined to build ziggurats (Akkadian “ziqqurratu”), artificial square or rectangular stepped temple platforms. Functionally, temples were placed on raised platforms to give them prominence... Read more
“Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:7) My attention was called, earlier this morning, to an article that appeared in the New York Times back on 15 March 2013: “The Stories That Bind Us” I commend it to your attention. It’s not long. I have long sensed that stories are essential to forming... Read more
In “‘Hard’ Evidence of Ancient American Horses’ (Part 1),” I began to extract notes from an article about Pre-Columbian horses in the Americas that appeared in 2015, surveying the state of the question at that time: Daniel Johnson, “‘Hard’ Evidence of Ancient American Horses,” BYU Studies Quarterly 54/3 (2015). I continue with that project, thinking that some might find my notes of interest: Growing up near Los Angeles, I often saw the fossils of the Western Horse (Equus occidentalis) that had... Read more
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