From an uncompleted manuscript: The second president of the Church, Joseph Smith’s immediate successor, was Brigham Young. Recalling his own early experiences with Joseph Smith, he remarked, Who can say aught against Joseph Smith? I do not think that a man lives upon the earth that knew him any better than I did, and I am bold to say that, Jesus Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this earth. I feel like... Read more
I’ve had a number of very interesting and quite unexpected experiences over my absurdly long life and, at some point, I need to write them up. Among those experiences, I’ve been privileged to meet a number of quite fascinating people, including such folks as the last shah of Iran, the radio operator for the failed first attempt (in 1931) to transit the North Pole under the ice in a submarine, the leader of the first successful American expedition... Read more
Many, many years ago, when I was still a graduate student at UCLA, my friend S. Kent Brown introduced me to Father Samir Khalil Samir SJ, an eminent authority on Christian Arabic literature, during some academic meetings in Claremont, California. Father Samir encouraged me — and that’s putting it rather mildly — to devote some attention to the writings of Arabic-speaking Christians, as well as to those of Muslims. Arabic Christianity, he lamented, fell between two stools among Western... Read more
Dr. Melik: This morning for breakfast he requested something called “wheat germ, organic honey and tiger’s milk.” Dr. Aragon: [chuckling] Oh, yes. Those are the charmed substances that some years ago were thought to contain life-preserving properties. Dr. Melik: You mean there was no deep fat? No steak or cream pies or . . . hot fudge? Dr. Aragon: Those were thought to be unhealthy . . . precisely the opposite of what we now know to be... Read more
We had dinner with Royal Skousen and his wife this evening, and I was surprised and delighted to be able to be able to leaf through Royal’s next publication: He had with him the massive proof copies of The Nature of the Original Language, parts 3 and 4 of volume 3 of the Critical Text Project of the Book of Mormon. To celebrate what I believe will prove to be an unusually important (and perhaps even controversial)... Read more
This little video is really interesting, and it takes only about nine minutes to watch: “Wormholes Explained: How They Would Break Spacetime” Will we someday be able to travel throughout the universe using such channels? Or is that just a pipe dream? Could this be the way that divine beings move about? We should, of course, be very careful about wedding theology or doctrine too closely to the changeable findings of whatever contemporary science has... Read more
Often called “The Prayer of St. Francis,” it almost certainly didn’t originate with him. Its first known appearance was actually in French, in December 1912. He lived from 1181/1182 AD to 3 October 1226. But it’s still wonderful: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offense, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring... Read more
On Friday, it being Friday, a new article appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture: “Missourian Efforts to Extradite Joseph Smith and the Ethics of Governor Thomas Reynolds of Missouri” Happy weekend! *** But what about the journal’s title? Within the past day or two, President Russell M. Nelson, whom believing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regard as a prophet, seer, and revelator, has issued an official... Read more
Many, many years ago — on 6 November 1996 — back long before I was as decrepit and washed up as I now am, I presented a little item on “The Concept of God in Islam and Mormonism” to a gathering on the campus of Brigham Young University that was co-sponsored by BYU’s Muslim Student Association and by the University’s David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies. My discussion partner was Imam Siraj Wahhaj, of the Taqwa Mosque in Brooklyn,... Read more
For those who may have missed the obituary for Richard L. Anderson — whom I consider a friend and a faithful-academic hero — and/or for those who might be interested in attending his funeral services, here’s a link: https://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/richard-l-anderson/article_82ab3705-cc39-5b0f-b082-89247e9aa41c.html I paid hasty and inadequate tribute to him on this blog and on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: “Richard Lloyd Anderson (1926-2018)” And here’s another tribute: “In memoriam: Richard Lloyd Anderson (1926-2018)” ... Read more
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