That the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives is unfortunate, from my point of view, but scarcely unexpected.  In fact, of course, it surprised very few.  The party out of power typically does well in off-year elections.   Was it a referendum on Mr. Donald J. Trump?  My sense is that, by and large, it was not.  (And I say that as someone who is scarcely a fan of Mr. Trump.)   Will we see Nancy… Read more

    In miscellaneous science news:   “Why the world should remember this forgotten Danish physicist: The little-known physicist Ludvig Lorenz ought to be better known, for he truly stands alongside the great figures in international science.”   “Discovery of ancient ramp may solve Egyptian pyramids mystery”   I found this article quite intriguing:   “The Hidden Coastal Culture of the Ancient Maya: For thousands of years, ancient Maya kings ruled a vast inland empire in Mexico and Belize. But just… Read more

    I will go forward. . . .  I will smile at the rage of the tempest, and ride fearlessly and triumphantly across the boisterous ocean of circumstance. . . .  And the ‘testimony of Jesus’ will light up a lamp that will guide my vision through the portals of immortality, and communicate to my understanding the glories of the Celestial kingdom.  (Eliza R. Snow, 1804-1887)    One of the greatest lights in the first generations of the Church… Read more

    While hosting me for my little fireside up in American Fork last Saturday, Ben Pack kindly gave me (among other things) a copy of David Hammer, comp., The Pamphlets of Orson Pratt: The Complete Collection (Salt Lake City: Eborn Publishing, 2017)   One of the essays contained in the volume is “Evidences of the Book of Mormon and Bible Compared,” which was published as Number 4 in the series Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon.  This particular… Read more

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    Many years ago, back during the relatively moderate Iranian presidency of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, I was invited to participate as an all-expense-paid guest in a conference in Tehran that focused on the thought of the early seventeenth-century Iranian philosopher Mulla Sadra.   Then as now, going to Iran as an American was slightly unusual, and it remains one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had.  I think, accordingly, that I’ll jot down a few reminiscinces of… Read more

    Please share this with anybody who might be interested:     Saturday, November 10, 2018, 9:00 am–5:00 pm 251 TNRB (N. Eldon Tanner Building), Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Sponsored by: BYU College of Humanities, Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages The Interpreter Foundation The conference will focus on LDS conceptions of ancient and modern Temple theology as reflected in the Bible and LDS scripture. It is free and open to the public, with no RSVP or entrance fee…. Read more

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    Here are five more passages that I’ve extracted from John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (New York: Gallup Press, 2007), which I believe to be a quite important book:   [L]ike other religious and ethnic groups, Europe’s Muslims are not homogenous. . . . [M]any do not even practice their religion.  They are at best cultural Muslims.  Indeed, most of those who rioted and torched France’s banlieues (suburbs) in 2005… Read more

    As I think I’ve made very clear over the past three years or so, I have profound reservations about President Donald J. Trump.  He was not my first choice for president.  Nor would he have been, in an ideal world, my tenth choice or my twentieth, or my hundredth.  And, in fact, I didn’t vote for him in 2016.   My initial and principal reservations concerned Mr. Trump as a potential (and now current) head of state.  His… Read more