http://www.iclrs.org/index.php?pageId=1&contentId=1&blurbId=60260       Read more

    Some useful background information on the controversy about the failed recent coup:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/07/16/fethullah-gulen-the-islamic-scholar-turkey-blames-for-failed-coup/   And also this, from the often controversial but indisputably well-qualified Daniel Pipes:   “Why I Rooted for the Turkish Coup Attempt”   And this:   “How Erdogan Is Rolling the Dice, and How/Why America Must Check Him”   Read more

    A really revealing account from someone who worked with Mr. Donald Trump, and who saw Mr. Trump up close and personal, for eighteen months:   “‘The New Yorker’ Talks to Trump’s Ghostwriter”   In other words, should Mr. Trump be elected, we’re in for . . . nobody, including Mr. Trump, really knows what.   Quin Hillyer outlines a way in which Mr. Trump’s coronation at the national convention of his recently-adopted political party might still be prevented:   “Coburn... Read more

    “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games.  Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan   When I was in Tehran a number of years ago, my movements were limited and closely monitored.  I wasn’t permitted to visit any private Iranian homes.  But one or two of those... Read more

    I really like this blog item that was posted by Jonathan Max Wilson back in January of this year, and I commend it to you:   https://www.sixteensmallstones.org/revelation-is-real-even-in-a-policy-meeting-in-the-lds-church/#more-3312   Many critics say that revelation in the Church has ceased.  Its leaders disagree.     Read more

    In June of 2015, the Central Eurasian Mission was established in Istanbul, responsible for Church affairs not only in Turkey but in several other countries adjacent to it.  My friend and colleague Dr. James A. Toronto, formerly president of the Italy Catania Mission, was called to serve as its president.  (His is one of the very few Church callings for which I actually feel just a tiny bit of envy.)   There were already small branches in Turkey, but... Read more

    This is an inspiring blog entry, from Jeff Lindsay:   http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-mormon-scholar-and-his-students.html   And, while I’m at it, I would like to mention again two charities that are either essentially Mormon or have major Mormon involvement, and to which my wife and I have been paying particular attention over the past couple of years:   Liahona Children’s Foundation   Operation Underground Railroad     Read more

    In this, the 172nd scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation, Ben McGuire, Mike Parker, and Dan Peterson comment on Alma 32-34, which, it so happens, are the precise chapters covered in the 2016 Gospel Doctrine manual’s Lesson 28: http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scripture-roundtable-172-book-of-mormon-gospel-doctrine-lesson-28-the-word-is-in-christ-unto-salvation/       Read more

    For any who might be unfamiliar with the so-called “fine-tuning” argument — an extremely interesting topic — this is a fairly clear basic introduction:   http://biologos.org/common-questions/gods-relationship-to-creation/fine-tuning     Read more

    In the 171st scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation, Bruce Webster, Martin Tanner, Stephen Smoot, and Daniel Peterson discuss 2016 Gospel Doctrine lesson 27, which is devoted to Alma 30-31:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scripture-roundtable-171-book-of-mormon-gospel-doctrine-lesson-27-all-things-denote-there-is-a-god/     Read more