I’m a real Jane Austen fan. Once upon a time, in fact, I worried (half seriously or, anyway, perhaps three percent seriously) that my great affection for her novels (and for every movie based upon them or upon her, excepting only and decisively the execrable 1940 Pride and Prejudice, co-written by Aldous Huxley and starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier) might cast doubt upon my masculinity. But I no longer worry: I have a friend who holds the... Read more
Some new items have gone up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Conference Talks: Dualism is Dead! Long Live Dualism! presented at the 2016 Second Interpreter Science & Mormonism Symposium: “Body, Brain, Mind, and Spirit” on Saturday, 12 March 2016, by James E. Faulconer The New Testament in Context Lesson 27: “He Is Risen,” Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20–21 In the 4 June 2023 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, the panel... Read more
Our focus today was on the city of Gloucester, and most particular on the city’s cathedral. When I think of Gloucester, I’m afraid that the very first thing that occurs to me is Richard III, who reigned from 1483 until his death — the last English king to die in combat and the last of the Plantagenet monarchs — at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Prior to his brief tenure as king of England, Richard was... Read more
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1890 novel The Sign of the Four, Sherlock Holmes explains his method as a private detective to Dr. Watson: “When you have eliminated the impossible,” he says, “whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” If a person is determined to disbelieve in the proposition that Jesus rose physically from the dead, if that person dismisses the notion as flatly impossible and unworthy of serious consideration, just about any alternative hypothesis might serve... Read more
With others who remained of our tour group, we walked up Gloucester Road this morning, then down Cromwell Road past the magnificent Natural History Museum. We turned left on Exhibition Road to the Hyde Park Chapel, where we attended sacrament meeting. I was curious as to whether I would meet anybody there that I knew, this time around. (The first time I attended sacrament meeting at Hyde Park, I ran into Don Marshall. The last time, Governor Gary... Read more
Well, our tour is at an end, and some of our number have already headed off. All good things must pass. (In this world, anyway.) We did just two stops today, but they were both fairly lengthy, and both focused on extraordinarily important religious sites. (In response to no discernible demand from the general public, I’ll probably post a narrative summary of the overall tour in a day or two or three. After all, this blog serves as... Read more
Two new articles appeared earlier today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: “Doctrine and Covenants 21: Metanarrative of the Restoration,” written by Steven L. Olsen Abstract: Joseph Smith dictated Doctrine and Covenants 21 at the inaugural meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830. The present study examines the literary craftsmanship of the revelation to plumb the depths of its role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The analysis explores the meaning of patterns of... Read more
I maintain a blog for many reasons. One of them is purely personal: It’s a kind of journal for me, and, even more particularly, it’s a way of remembering things, and especially of remembering people, whose memory I refuse to allow to be wholly lost. So, for instance, I’m afraid that readers of this blog will have to put up with my regular yearly memorials to my brother and my parents. This week, though, marks the ninth anniversary... Read more
In the 11 June 2023 episode of the Interpreter Radio Show, Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen discussed Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 28, the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Joseph Smith Papers project and recent book titles and Interpreter articles. The “New Testament in Context” portion of the 11 June 2023 show, for the Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 28, “Ye Shall Be Witnesses unto Me,” covering Acts 1–5, will be posted separately on Tuesday,... Read more
A new item has gone up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Conference Talks: “Notes from Stephen H. Webb,“ which was presented on behalf of the then recently deceased Stephen H. Webb at the 2016 Second Interpreter Science & Mormonism Symposium: Body, Brain, Mind, and Spirit on Saturday, 12 March 2016: Science and Mormonism have nearly always been on very friendly terms, with Church members sharing the deep conviction that, as expressed by former scientist and apostle Elder... Read more
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