https://aeon.co/ideas/eating-people-is-wrong-but-its-also-widespread-and-sacred   I think I’ll have pasta or a hamburger tonight, instead.  Or maybe some Thai food.  (I was going to say “I think I’ll have Thai tonight,” but, in this particular context, that’s perhaps just a tad too ambiguous.)     Read more

    Some extreme critics of Mormonism in particular and of religious faith more generally think that the world would be a much better place without them.   That’s debatable, to say the least of it.   Here are two recent examples of good being done by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from among literally thousands of instances that might be cited:   “What the Peruvian First Lady Said About Mormons After They Donated 200+ Tons of... Read more

    I’m very grateful to Matthew Wheeler for calling this wonderful article to my notice:   10 Images Of Jewish-Muslim Unity That Go Beyond The Headlines     Read more

    Last night, I was invited to join an online discussion about the supposed contradiction between the teaching and practice of polygamy (or, as Mormons tend to call it, plural marriage, or, most accurately, polygyny), by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century, and the twenty-first century opposition of that church to same-sex marriage.   I took a quick glance at the discussion and decided that it wasn’t a serious one.  It reminded me... Read more

    In a letter to T. Dimitrov dated 19 May 2002, William Phillips replied to several questions. To the inquiry, “What do you think about the existence of God?” he gave the following answer:   “I believe in God. In fact, I believe in a personal God who acts in and interacts with the creation.  I believe that the observations about the orderliness of the physical universe, and the apparently exceptional fine-tuning of the conditions of the universe for the... Read more

    New Edition of Royal Skousen’s Analysis of Textual Variants We are pleased to announce the publication of the second edition of volume 4 of Royal Skousen’s Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. is six-book set, entitled Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon (ATV), ful lls the central task of the critical text project, to restore the original text of the Book of Mormon to the extent possible using schol- arly means. In the six books of... Read more

    Yesterday’s KnoWhy from Book of Mormon Central:   https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-did-alma-ask-about-having-god’s-image-engraven-upon-one’s-countenance   If you’re not following Book of Mormon Central, you’re missing out on a rich trove of attractively-presented materials drawing on the work of many faithful scholars over the course of decades.     Read more

    https://www.someecards.com/news/politics/white-supremacist-muslim-history/   We could quibble, even argue back and forth, over some of the points made.  But the mirror-image fact is that we could quibble just as well, and even argue back and forth, over some of the common assumptions made about ISIS and Islam.   Thanks to Kirk Brocas for alerting me to this item.     Read more

    http://kutv.com/news/local/saratoga-springs-residents-speak-out-over-temple-announcement   I confess to being more than a little bit puzzled by the fact that some folks are always “angered” by the announcement of a new temple.  Even in Utah Valley’s little Saratoga Springs.  Really.  Check out the comments following the relevant articles in the Salt Lake Tribune (if you can stomach them), and in the news media up in Idaho.   I grew up in a suburban Los Angeles County town that was graced with at... Read more

    An interesting new study on the way political divisions in America are reflecting in differing attitudes toward science:   https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/talking-back/ldquo-who-here-believes-in-science-rdquo/     Read more