One little point about today’s reading, Alma 39:   I’m struck by the name Isabel, which may point to the roots of the Book of Mormon in an ancient text with Near Eastern connections, as follows:   The Jezebel [אִיזֶבֶל / אִיזָבֶל] of 1 Kings in the Old Testament has long given that name a bad reputation — such that it would have been quite an appropriate name to bestow upon a harlot.   In fact, the book of Revelation does give that name to... Read more

    It’s not uncommon for anti-Mormons to acknowledge that Joseph and Hyrum Smith shouldn’t have been murdered by a mob but then, in the very next breath, to deny that they were martyrs.  After all, didn’t they have smuggled guns with them in Carthage Jail?  And didn’t they fire back at their attackers, killing two of them?   First of all, while I wouldn’t be even remotely sad if the Smiths had managed to take out a couple of the... Read more

    This new article in the New Era, the Church’s magazine for young people, is, I think, a rather important statement that’s well worth consideration:   https://www.lds.org/new-era/2016/07/science-and-our-search-for-truth?lang=eng   And it’s made even better than it would otherwise be by the inclusion of someone from Mormon Scholars Testify who also happens to have published books entitled The Heart of the Gospel: Explorations into the Workings of the Atonement (2013) and God’s Organizing Power: Explorations into the Power and Blessings of the Priesthood... Read more

    John Ruskin was the foremost art critic of Victorian England, as well as a watercolorist, social thinker, and essayist.  He was enormously influential in his day, and continues to be read today.  Born in London in 1819, he traveled extensively on the European continent and taught at the University of Oxford.  In 1871, though, he bought a home on the shore of Coniston Water in the Lake District, and it was his principal residence until his death in... Read more

    There’s no salvific value in his death, of course — although it does seal his testimony as a witness (Greek martyros).   But I still believe that we should remember it:   Along with his beloved and loyal elder brother Hyrum — the fact that his elder brother was loyal to him unto death has always struck me as a testimony, in and of itself — Joseph Smith was assassinated by an anti-Mormon mob on 27 June 1844.   Elder John... Read more

    Although a few Latter-day Saints signed on to Trumpism early (which I find troubling and virtually incomprehensible) and even though quite a few more Latter-day Saints  are reluctantly choosing Mr. Donald Trump as the lesser of two evils in the general election (which I cannot personally do, but which I thoroughly understand), on the whole Mormons have proven remarkably resistant to the appeal of this aberrant cult of aberrant personality.   “Utah’s not the only place where Trump... Read more

    A thoughtful piece by the important contemporary American Muslim thinker and leader Hamza Yusuf:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/06/24/the-orlando-shooter-googled-my-name-i-wish-he-had-reached-out-to-me/   Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England     Read more

    The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.  (William Wordsworth) Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England     Read more

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656876/In-our-opinion-California-considering-bold-restrictions-for-religiously-affiliated-schools.html   Nearly ten years ago, I think, I was over in California for a public lecture in Sacramento.  I hadn’t been there in many years — basically, not since I had come for “Junior Statesmen” events at the state capitol building when I was in high school.   So, just before taking me to the airport, my host gave me a quick tour of the city.   We drove by such sites as Sutter’s Fort and .... Read more

    It’s the responsibility of faithful Latter-day Saint academics and students to fix this problem.  It will take time, but there’s evidence that things are changing:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656927/Mormon-discrimination-diminishing-on-campuses.html?pg=all   Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England     Read more