Since I’m widely known to have reservations about the temporary immigration bans that have been proposed by the Trump administration, I’ve been accused of believing that our borders should be completely open and that there should be no vetting whatever for foreigners seeking to enter the United States.   The fact that I believe nothing of the sort, and, consequently, have never said anything that can be reasonably construed to endorse open borders and no vetting, plainly doesn’t deter certain... Read more

    1.   I’ve been serving on a fairly demanding University committee this year.  Today, we finished our work for the semester.  Things won’t pick up again, I think, until fall term.  Hallelujah!   2.   We just returned from a really good production of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Hale Center Theater in Orem.  I’m not likely to confuse it with Jean-Paul Sartre or Ingmar Bergman, but it’s really fun and the cast did an excellent job.... Read more

    A very nice little story recounted by the irreplaceable Jeff Lindsay:   http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2017/03/cabbie-fail-new-convert-learns.html     Read more

    https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/have-the-valley-of-lemuel-and-the-river-laman-been-found     Read more

    Wow.  It turns out that I’m fallible, too.  Mortal.  Subject to error.  Affected by the Fall.  I don’t make nearly as many blunders as my critics, of course.  But still . . .  It’s been a shock.   The other day, I falsely implied (though I didn’t really come right out and say) that this weekend’s Book of Mormon conference would be held on the campus of Utah Valley University:   “Coming up this Saturday”   But it... Read more

    There have been endless debates about the nature of Albert Einstein’s religious beliefs, or whether he even had any.  Certainly he wasn’t an orthodox Jew, let alone a Christian.  But he also expressly rejected claims that he was an atheist.  And it’s possible, even likely, that his views fluctuated substantially over time.   Here’s an interesting article on the subject:   http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/albert-einsteins-surprising-thoughts-on-the-meaning-of-life?utm_source=realclearscience&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=partner     Read more

    The home we seek is in eternity; The Truth we seek is like a shoreless sea, Of which your paradise is but a drop. This ocean can be yours; why should you stop Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew? The secrets of the sun are yours, but you Content yourself with motes trapped in its beams. Turn to what truly lives, reject what seems — Which matters more, the body or the soul? Be whole: desire and journey... Read more

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445698/college-intellectual-diversity-problem-addressed-arizona-state-university   This is right in our backyard, practically speaking.  And it’s in an area that already has a large representation of Latter-day Saints.  (The LDS Institute is located right on campus, across the street from ASU’s law school.  There are three temples in the greater metropolitan area.)   What I’m getting at, to be clear, is that I hope that Latter-day Saint students will avail themselves of what promises to be an excellent — and accessible —... Read more

    An essay from a professor of law at Brigham Young University:   http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5031244-155/op-ed-muslim-ban-is-a-failure   And yes, I recognize that Mr. Trump’s executive order — especially in its second iteration — isn’t strictly a “Muslim ban.”  But Mr. Trump aspired to the imposition of such a ban, and Rudy Giuliani freely admits that the first version of the executive order was an attempt to move as far in that direction as they thought the Constitution would allow them to... Read more

    I really, really regret that I won’t be able to be there.  But there’s no excuse for you if you’re not:   https://bookofmormoncentral.org/content/bmaf-2017   Posted from Falls Church, Virginia     Read more