Luke 18:9-14 Compare Matthew 23:12; 18:4; Luke 14:11   There is a fine but very important line between the peace that the Gospel can bring, on the one hand, and, on the other, smug, complacent self-satisfaction.   Few spiritual offenses are worse than self-righteous and judgmental pride.   We should be continually on guard against it.  For one thing, it’s very easy to fall into.     John 7:1-13   “It cannot be,” said Jesus in Luke 13:33,... Read more

    This is, in its way, very, very big news:   “Plans Unveiled for Salt Lake Temple Renovation: Details and project renderings have been released regarding the upcoming closure and renovation of the historic Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”   ***   It has been a remarkably rough week, globally, for followers of Jesus Christ:   “Church Leaders Offer Words of Sorrow and Comfort Following Bombings in Sri Lanka”   “President Nelson... Read more

    Professor William J. Hamblin and I published this column in the Deseret News for 1 April 2016:   The essential message of Easter is that Jesus rose from the tomb. Visiting the tomb of Jesus began on the first Easter, when some of Jesus’ female disciples — and later Peter and John and others — visited the empty tomb in search of confirmation of the resurrection (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20). According to ancient tradition, the earliest Christians... Read more

    In this passage, from an uncompleted manuscript on my computer, I draw on Erlendur Haraldsson and Karlis Osis, At the Hour of Death: A New Look at Evidence for Life After Death:   Such accounts do not seem to be dismissible as mere bereavement fantasies.  Responding to the question whether “deathbed visions are merely outward projections of the patient’s psyche,” Osis and Haraldsson note that our data have shown that terminal patients did not see in their visions those persons they... Read more

    Χριστός ἀνέστη!   Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!   In Greek, the language of the New Testament — and in equivalent phrases in other languages influenced by Greek Orthodox usage — it is customary to greet one another on Easter Sunday with Khristos anesti!  To which the traditional response is Alithos anesti!   Christ is risen!   Truly he is risen!   I’ve been quite moved by the 2019 Easter video message issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day... Read more

    Luke 17:11-19   To me, Doctrine and Covenants 101:8 has always been one of the most striking passages in that volume of scripture:   “In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.”   The episode in the Savior’s life recorded at Luke 17:11-19 is a clear illustration of that principle — and it’s altogether too humanly familiar.   I doubt that I’m alone in... Read more

  In order to avoid any potential disturbance to the delicate ecology of ongoing discussions regarding the topic of this post, I have deleted it. Read more

    A recurrent joke, very popular among some atheists and religious skeptics (especially at this time of the year), runs as follows:   “Easter has been cancelled”   “Why?”   “They found the body.”   In that context, I offer the column below, which Bill Hamblin and I published in the Deseret News back on 30 March 2018:   Written most likely A.D. mid-50s — that is, about two decades after the death of Jesus — Paul’s first letter... Read more

    I’ll be over in Israel and/or Palestine a bit in May and June, accompanying tours there, so I’ve decided to gather up links to columns that I’ve written for the Deseret News about some of the sites that we’ll be visiting.  I’m not sure that this is an exhaustive collection of such columns, but some might find these links of value:   Lod (David Ben Gurion International Airport):   “A modern airport and a very ancient history”  (18... Read more