Some years ago, a Latter-day Saint scientist with whom I was speaking ventured the passing hypothesis that what we have in the various scriptural and other creation accounts of the Mormon tradition might well be records of a process of terraforming, of making a suitable candidate planet actually adequate to sustaining human life.   It’s obviously not my field, and I haven’t given it a great deal of sustained thought.  But there is, in the back of my... Read more

    I’ve always despised the romanticization of Che Guevara, the transformation of a murderous and possibly sociopathic communist thug into a dashing, iconic tee-shirt image.   And now we have the pending glorification of the co-author of the Communist Manifesto:   “Engels Returns to Manchester”   “Engels Returns to Manchester (2)”   Scores of millions of people died as a direct result of the malevolent fantasies and idiotic ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and it irritates me very... Read more

    Several people have written, asking me what I think about this:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865685087/Instructor-says-BYU-Idaho-fired-her-for-a-Facebook-post.html   One even wanted to know whether, as an employee of BYU-Provo, I dared to speak publicly on the subject.   The answer to his question is that, yes, of course I dare to speak publicly on it.  Obviously, though, since the Church and the University and I see eye to eye on these matters, it takes no great daring on my part, and will create no... Read more

    Some of you may have heard of this incident — e.g., “Students safe after deadly terrorist attack 1 mile from BYU Jerusalem Center” — a few days ago.   Here, though, is some very useful background to the story:   http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/israel-palestinians-jordan-turkey-temple-mount-islam-attack.html   Jerusalem’s Temple Mount may well be the most politically sensitive thirty-seven acres in the world.   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    “I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five. I never spent so pleasant a month before, or bade any place goodbye so regretfully. I have not once thought of business, or care or human toil or trouble or sorrow or weariness, and the memory of it will remain with me always.” Mark Twain   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    I’m worlds apart both in theology and, I think, in sensibility from the Watchtower Society.  But this is a deeply regrettable development — a catastrophic setback, really — for religious liberty and freedom of conscience, not only in Russia but beyond:   http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-appeal-637816?utm_campaign=NewsweekFacebookSF&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social   This article from the Salt Lake Tribune may hit a bit closer to home for most of my readers:   “Mormonism’s Russia dilemma: How to grow a fledgling faith with missionaries who can’t do missionary... Read more

    Yesterday, we drove a bit around the western end of Oahu.  We ate lunch in a restaurant in Hale‘iwa called “Breakers,” and I want to mention it because the coconut shrimp (local, I think) and the fish and chips (locally caught ono, for sure) were among the best we’ve ever had, anywhere.  I recommend it.   Later, we drove over to Laie, via Waimea and Kahuku Point.  There, we had dinner with Keith Lane and Jennifer Clark Lane... Read more

    I’m about to confirm the perception, fervently entertained in some circles, that I’m in the grip of an all-mastering obsession with the scholarly oeuvre of Mr. Jeremy Runnells.  I shall do so by offering a link to something that was evidently posted yesterday by someone whom I don’t know.  (Several readers of my blog have called my attention to it.)   As anybody who follows this blog will readily acknowledge, virtually every entry on it is about Mr. Runnells.... Read more

    A vitally important statement of defiant, indeed downright heroic, disbelief:   http://babylonbee.com/news/gladly-believe-god-just-show-evidence-opinions-identical-mine/   Thanks to Kevin Taylor for notifying me of this highly significant document.   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    I’m terribly sorry, but I failed to make a note to myself yesterday of who it was that brought this item to my attention, and now I can’t remember.  In any event, I’m grateful:   https://mic.com/articles/182057/more-than-20000-muslims-gathered-in-canada-for-three-days-to-denounce-terrorism#.roLjIILkp   I realize that the Ahmadiyya are a distinct and often rejected Islamic religious minority — they’ve actually been called “the Mormons of Islam” — but it’s not as if they’re the only Muslims speaking out against terrorism.  And these voices need... Read more