Responding to the prominent Calvinist theologian Richard Mouw, a friendly critic of Mormonism (whom I respect), the Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl Givens takes up a theme that Truman Madsen raised in BYU Studies 15/1 (1974) (“Are Christians Mormon?”) and that David Paulsen revisited in BYU Studies 45/1 (2006) (“Are Christians Mormon? Reassessing Joseph Smith’s Theology in His Bicentennial”):   http://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/06/mormons-at-the-forefront   Is Mormonism becoming more orthodox?  Or is mainstream Christianity, at least in certain respects, perhaps becoming more “Mormon”?  ... Read more

    The late Fawn Brodie, an alleged biographer of Joseph Smith, initially claimed that Nauvoo isn’t an authentically Hebrew word but, instead, was a mere  figment of Joseph’s fertile (and unscrupulous) imagination.  She has been followed in this claim by some critics of Mormonism.   Robert Boylan sets them straight:   http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.it/2016/05/is-nauvoo-genuinely-hebrew-worda.html   Posted from Terricciola, Italy     Read more

    Perfect for a Sabbath day:   http://www.littlethings.com/amazing-grace-a-cappella-byu/?utm_source=simp   Posted from Terricciola, Italy     Read more

    For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream.  He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.  (Robert Jastrow [d. 2008], NASA astronomer, physicist, and cosmologist, from his book God and the Astronomers, commenting about current trends... Read more

    In the 165th scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation, Kristine Frederickson, Craig Foster, Ben McGuire, and Daniel Peterson discuss Mosiah 29 and Alma 1-4, the Book of Mormon chapters covered by Lesson 21 in the 2016 Gospel Doctrine manual: Scripture Roundtable 165: Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 21, Alma… Did Judge Righteous Judgments   Posted from Terricciola, Italy     Read more

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inviting its members to participate in a new online campaign:   https://www.lds.org/sabbath-day?cid=hisday_ldsliving?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email   Posted from Terricciola, Italy     Read more

    This article isn’t talking about politics — although, obviously, mass emigration from the Middle East would have enormous political and economic ramifications for the region itself and for the entire world.   I have to say that the major sites in Israel were unusually uncrowded this year, and that the temperatures were noticeably cooler.  That was very pleasant.   Such conditions, though, may be an aberration.   Posted from Paris, France     Read more

    Sadiq Khan, the son of a seamstress and a bus driver who had emigrated to the United Kingdom from Pakistan, has been elected mayor of London.   Should Mr. Donald Trump succeed in his plan to become Generalissimo of the United States, he will seek to bar folks like Mr. Khan from entering our fair land.  (As you may have noticed, he enthusiastically endorses the immigration of Polish workers — and, for that matter, of young female models from... Read more

    Cassandra Hedelius, Craig Foster, Martin Tanner, and Bruce Webster join for this, the 164th scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation.   It focuses on 2016 Gospel Doctrine lesson 20, which, in turn, focuses on Mosiah 25-27 and Alma 36:   Scripture Roundtable 164: Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 20, My Soul Is Pained No More   Posted from Paris, France       Read more

    For those who are puzzled by the distinction, maybe this will help a bit:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865582350/The-division-between-Sunni-and-Shi6ite-Muslims.html   Posted from Paris, France     Read more