The invaluable (and prolific) Jeff Lindsay makes an excellent point in this short article:   http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2017/02/why-faith-is-necessary-to-appreciate.html     Read more

    Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Søren Kierkegaard     Read more

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-contributor/2017/02/14/what-those-little-gold-trumpet-players-top-all-those-churches/97617766/   There are some nice pictures here of Arizona temple interiors.     Read more

    It is difficult to generalize about Islam.  To begin with, the word itself is commonly used with two related but distinct meanings, as the equivalents both of Christianity and Christendom.  In the one sense, it denotes a religion, a system of beliefs and worship; in the other, the civilization that grew up and flourished under the aegis of that religion.  The word Islam thus denotes more than fourteen centuries of history, a billion and a third people, and... Read more

      Former believers will, of course, typically view this as a positive.  They’ve escaped the Morg.  They’ve been liberated.  They’ve emerged from Plato’s cave.  “How could I ever have been so gullible?” they’ll ask themselves (and others).  “I was brainwashed.”  “They lied to me.”  “I was stupid.”  “I was uninformed.”   Implicitly, it represents a rather unflattering view of the faithful believers with whom they’ve broken communion.   However, an equally unflattering view is on offer from some... Read more

    On the Interpreter Foundation website, an interview with the Latter-day Saint geneticist Ugo Perego concerning three controversial topics: Joseph Smith’s children, Amerindian DNA, and the Mountain Meadows Massacre:   Episode 6: DNA Detective Work – Ugo Perego     Read more

    “Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.” –Senior White House policy advisor Stephen Miller   (See here.)   I was so impressed by Mr. Miller’s declaration that I’ve been inspired to translate it back into something like its original German:   “Unsere Gegner, der Mediensektor, und die ganze Welt werden... Read more

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/texas-mosque-fire.html?_r=0     Read more

    I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)         Read more

    It’s nice for the University’s efforts to get this kind of national recognition:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865672874/Conan-gives-BYUtvs-Studio-C-high-praise.html     Read more