As we approach the New Year, this column, which Bill Hamblin and I published in the Deseret News several years ago, might be of interest to a few: January, the first month of the calendar year, most likely takes its name from the ancient Roman divinity Janus, who was believed to be the gatekeeper of heaven. More generally, he was the god of doors, gateways (including city gates), and boundaries, and thus of beginnings and transitions, as... Read more
An extract from a conversation that occurred about two hours ago at a McDonald’s drive-through in Richmond: Me: And we’d also like a couple of chocolate milks. McDonald’s: A couple? Me: Yes. A couple. McDonald’s: Two? Three? Four? How many? Me: Two. McDonald’s: Okay. Then two. Me: Yes. Two. I found the exchange fascinating, and I want to follow up with an informal and quite unscientific survey: What does the expression a couple mean to... Read more
I’ve said that I’m done with Christmas for the next eleven months or so. And I mean it. But here’s a poem — “The Journey of the Magi,” by T. S. Eliot — that has always puzzled and intrigued me. I first encountered T. S. Eliot in high school and was smitten with him, probably to a considerable extent because I couldn’t understand what he was talking about but suspected that it was Very Deep. Among Eliot’s poetical... Read more
Now that Christmas is securely behind us, I can share a cynical poem by an American academic, poet, and translator about the extreme commercialism that, in some cases, genuinely does mar the holiday: The Corporate Christmas Carol by Joseph S. Salemi God rest ye merry businessmen, Start markups on your trash! Remember that this holiday Is when you rake in cash! It saves you from those creditors You owe from that last crash… Oh, tidings of bottom-lines grown... Read more
I’ve been pushing The Christ Child: A Nativity Story, encouraging everybody to watch it by the end of Christmas Day, today. It’s not the only film worth watching on Christmas, of course. One of my sons has called my attention to a new article on the Fox News website about Mr. Krueger’s Christmas, a movie that was produced in 1980 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Paul Batura: Jimmy Stewart’s other Christmas... Read more
Someone called President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 Christmas message to my attention. That was a president for whom I could have respect, and I love what he had to say that year: “On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ with prayer, feasting, and great merriment. But, most of all, we experience it in our hearts. For, more than just a day, Christmas is a state of mind. It is found throughout the year whenever faith overcomes doubt, hope conquers despair,... Read more
Merry Christmas to everybody out there! For some reason, I’ve had a particular piece of music going through my mind for the past twenty-four hours or more. It’s a German carol, first attested in 1622, entitled “Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt” (“From Heaven on high, O angels, come!”), but also known from its nonsense refrain as “Susani” or “Susani, Susani.” In its original version, its first verse goes as follows: Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel,... Read more
As I write, it’s that unique night of the year on which the frightening words Some assembly required take on a terrible, terrible reality. *** With his wife, President Russell M. Nelson has sent a personal Christmas card out to the members of the Church and to the world: “President Nelson Shares Christmas Message: Offers blessing to feel of the Savior’s infinite love” *** I also think that you’ll enjoy the message that Elder... Read more
Sister Sharon Eubank wrote the 2016 Interpreter Foundation Christmas message: “The Song I Cannot Sing” Jenny Oaks Baker provided our Christmas message for 2017: “Christmastime: When Our Souls Can Sing” Elder Spencer J. Condie wrote the 2018 Christmas message: “Christmas in Transition: From Figgy Pudding to the Bread of Life” *** Bill Hamblin and I published the column below in the Deseret News at Christmastime several years back: Owing to... Read more
In reading various responses to the controversy engendered by the Washington Post‘s would-be “exposé” regarding the finances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I find myself thinking about a statement from St. Thomas Aquinas: “For those with faith,” St. Thomas said, “no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice.” I also find myself thinking about a famous story from Genesis 41 (given here, partially, in the NIV translation):... Read more
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