“Mountains have been formed by one [or other] of the causes of the formation of stone, most probably from agglutinative clay which slowly dried and petrified during ages of which we have no record.  It seems likely that this habitable world was in former days uninhabitable and, indeed, submerged beneath the ocean.  Then, becoming exposed little by little, it petrified in the course of ages.” Ibn Sīnā [Avicenna] (AD 980-1037)       Read more

    The city of St. George has come a very long way since my mother grew up there.  Within even my own lifetime it’s become prosperous, much larger, and very attractive.   And now a new project comes along that looks like a really nice idea.   But it saddens me deeply to learn (from my friend Michael De Groote) that the project entails knocking down the little adobe house that Orson Pratt — pioneer leader, mathematician, and member of... Read more

    This is a real puzzle:   http://www.space.com/34303-alien-megastructure-star-strange-dimming-mystery.html     Read more

    “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson       Read more

    This week’s column in the Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664099/On-taking-the-leap-of-faith.html     Read more

    It’s time to mark your calendar for the third “Temple on Mount Zion” conference, in memory of Matthew B. Brown:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/third-temple-on-mount-zion-conference-announcement/     Read more

    I sometime encounter people who not only reject the “supernatural” aspects of the Bible but casually dismiss it altogether as no more than a collection of fairy tales invented by primitive goat herds.  As this and a host of other parallel cases plainly show, however, that’s far too broad a characterization and much too glib a dismissal.  I can’t, off hand, think of an archaeologist specialized in the area — whether religious believer or not — who flatly rejects... Read more

    http://www.ldsliving.com/Pew-Research-Shares-6-Things-They-ve-Found-About-Mormons-Everyone-Should-Know/s/83344?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email     Read more

    I’m not making this up:   http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/cod-speak-regional-accents-a7345511.html   I think it’s time that we take a stand on behalf of immigrant codfish and against aquatic prejudice.  Contact your candidates and demand that they speak out.  Preferably with a cod interpreter standing near them on stage.     Read more

    Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.  Maya Angelou     Read more