A quotation of which I’m fond, from a man for whom I always had enormous respect — Hugh B. Brown (1883-1975), who served as the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church during the years in which I became aware of such things:   “We should all be interested in academic research. We must go out on the research front and continue to explore the vast unknown. We should be in the forefront of learning in... Read more

    I’ve had occasion several times before to quote from John Charlton Polkinghorne, KBE (Knight of the British Empire), FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society), who is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and clergyman.  He was a professor of mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge until he resigned his professorial chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest in 1982.  He served as the president of Queens’ College, Cambridge, from 1988 until 1996.   And now I’m going to do it again:   Again and again in physical science we... Read more

    The beat goes on:   Nomadic life breeds hardiness, frugality, eagerness for material things, fortitude, and hospitality. Such qualities are essential to sur­vival. Furthermore, the nomad was and is an individualist, impa­tient of discipline, reluctant to submit to restraint or authority. (In early Islam, it was always wondered whether the bedouins could ever be real Muslims.) This trait had interesting consequences. With a few exceptions where they came in contact with the Romans or the Persians, or in... Read more

    Another installment from the initial draft of my forthcoming book:   In 175 B.C., aggressive Jewish reformers found an enthusiastic but dangerous ally in a new Seleucid monarch who called himself Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus believed in Hellenism, yes, but he also thought that Hellenism would provide him with higher tax revenues—revenues that he desperately needed in order to keep his many wars going. Casting his eyes around the empire for money, he found a promising source of untapped... Read more

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    From yet another of my manuscripts-in-progress:   Such displays of emotion seem difficult to counterfeit.  If they were fake, Joseph Smith must have been guilty of an almost unfathomable cynicism.  But of such cynicism and falsity his friends and associates saw no trace whatever.  “The people fairly adored him,” recounted one woman.[1]  He showed “not the least affectation,” remembered Wandle Mace.[2] “There was not the slightest appearance of ostentation or conscious power on his part,” recollected Mercy R.... Read more

    I’m sorry to note that Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve has died:   “Elder Robert D. Hales Dies at Age 85”   It wasn’t really unexpected, I suppose; he’s been in poor health for quite some time.   Elder Hales wasn’t flashy.  He was quiet.  But he was solid.  And his contributions were considerable.  Someone shared an experience with him online a few days ago, when it was announced that he was entering the... Read more

    Some notes from Janice Miner Holden, Bruce Greyson, and Debbie James, eds., The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation (Santa Barbara, Denver, and Oxford: Praeger, 2009):   “By the early 1970s, resuscitation technology had advanced to the point where people were being brought back from the brink of death in numbers unprecedented in human history. . . .  For the first time in history, enough people were reporting this type of experience that professional health care... Read more

    Here are two further items for the ever-growing file of materials demonstrating that, just as some critics have alleged, the world would be a better place without the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:   “Latter-day Saints Provide Famine Relief in Africa, Middle East: LDS Charities partners with global relief organizations”   “How the LDS Church is changing lives in India”   If you would like to join in these evils, you can easily do so, here:  ... Read more