In today’s reading, Alma 2, we meet Amlici, a follower of Nehor, whom we met in the previous chapter.  Like Nehor’s, his tale is deservedly brief.   Some salient facts about Amlici:  He’s cunning, wise (in a worldly way), and, plainly, ambitious.  And, when he doesn’t get what he wants, he turns against his people.  He makes war on them, and, when he thinks it would be advantageous, he allies himself with their long-term hereditary enemies.   I think... Read more

    This is a very interesting address, and a very good one, by Michael Otterson, the managing director of Public Affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/boundary-maintenance-mormonism-address-michael-ottereson     Read more

    As a relief from the relentless drumbeat of bad news from and about Muslims — much of it, without question, generated by evil people wrapping themselves and their evil acts in the mantle of Islam, but some of it unjust, unfair, distorted, misrepresented, and flatly unbalanced — I offer the following two stories of Muslims seeking to serve and to help Christians:   “Muslims in Bulgaria pull together to rebuild Christian church”   “King Abdullah II of Jordan... Read more

    Those who’ve been paying attention are aware of the violent thuggery that has surrounded some Trumpist rallies, as well as of the Leader’s encouragement of such violence and his offers to pay any legal expenses (should such arise) incurred by the thugs.   And now there’s this.   I find Trumpism repulsive and deeply troubling.  And the parallels to the rise of fascism in 1920s and 1930s Europe are, to me, impossible to ignore. I’ve spent a lot... Read more

    It was, and is, simply the Christian thing to do:   http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/3765268-155/remembering-a-time-when-mormon-missionaries     Read more

    A nice little piece from New York City:   http://theodysseyonline.com/tc-columbia/muslim-mormon-walk-bar/393500     Read more

    People who encounter me have wondered about this question for years.  But, now, science comes to the rescue!   http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2016/04/07/what-makes-a-person-creepy/#.Vw2_mUuegdv     Read more

    One more — one last — post about what I’ll be doing in Arizona this weekend:   On Friday, at 11:30 AM, I’ll be speaking about Mormonism and Islam at the LDS Institute at Arizona State University in Tempe.  The event is aimed at the students there, as well as a few invited guests, but I don’t imagine that they would kick anybody out who wanted to drop by and listen.   The LDS Institute in question is located... Read more

    “You can spit on a rose, but it’s still a rose.”  (Marty Rubin)   I guess this remark stands out to me because I’ve been reading too many anti-Mormons of late.     Read more

    The tide in the American culture wars has definitely turned.  And, on the whole, it has turned against religious believers:   http://www.wsj.com/article_email/why-are-companies-taking-sides-against-religious-liberty-1460320357-lMyQjAxMTE2NjEyMTExODE2Wj     Read more