Matthew Bowen continues with his really interesting series of articles for Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/if-ye-will-hearken-lehis-rhetorical-wordplay-on-ishmael-in-2-nephi-128-29-and-its-implications/   Posted from Carentan, Normandy, France     Read more

    He was a basically agnostic cynic, but her story really moved and impressed him:   “She is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.”   “Whatever thing men call great, look for it in Joan of Arc, and there you will find it.”   Mark Twain (1835-1910)   Posted from Carentan, Normandy, France     Read more

    A new half-hour-long podcast is accessible through the website of the Interpreter Foundation, concerning “the most important Mormon woman that most have never heard of”:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/lds-perspectives-podcast-lisa-olsen-tait-susa-young-gates-and-genealogy-work/   Enjoy!   Posted from Paris, France     Read more

    This is more important than you might think:   https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/ancient-rivers-show-lack-of-plate-tectonics-on-mars-and-titan   Despite the earthquakes and other negatives associated with plate tectonics, the movement of Earth’s plates also contributes to the habitability of the planet.  (I’ll enlarge on that point, someday, in a much more substantial publication.  It’s scarcely original with me, but it will probably be new to many.)   Posted from Paris, France     Read more

I certainly wish that I had called the column "Some alternatives to Christian ethics" instead of "An exhaustive examination of all of the alternatives to Christian ethics," since, as one astute writer points out, I don't deal with Buddhism, Hinduism, and other world faiths Read more

    Some readers of this blog may have noticed that I wasn’t a fan of Donald Trump.  (To be clear, I also didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton.)  I’m a serious, life-long political conservative; I resigned from the Republican Party on the night that Mr. Trump accepted the party’s nomination.   Much of my concern about Mr. Trump has always centered on his character and personality.  I’ve tried to be cautiously optimistic about his presidency.  I’ve liked many (though not... Read more

    An interesting report:   http://ldsmag.com/in-secular-france-what-did-the-media-think-of-the-paris-temple/   Posted from Paris, France     Read more

    I wrote this on our last full day in Egypt – Wednesday — but then finally ran into the internet difficulties that I had expected to have during the entirety of our time on the Nile.  So I’m only posting an account now:   Up early, of course.  This time to beat the heat and the crowds.   We crossed the Nile by a bridge – there was none when I first came, nor for the next few... Read more

    “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” Louis Pasteur (d. 1895) Posted from Paris, France     Read more

    My friend and colleague Ralph Hancock agitated the hive again, a few days ago.   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679606/Religion-and-politics-101.html   Posted from somewhere north of Esna, Egypt     Read more