Or, in other words, are people in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming doomed?   http://www.wired.com/2016/03/think-can-drive-fast-enough-escape-erupting-volcano/     Read more

    In today’s reading, The Words of Mormon, a voice from many centuries later, out of chronological order, shows up in the record.  It’s the voice of the prophet-editor Mormon, from whom the Book of Mormon as a whole takes its name.   The little book, known as “The Words of Mormon,” represents a major structural division in the Book of Mormon.  It links the Small Plates of Nephi to the rest of the Book of Mormon, which is made up of... Read more

    With the sudden and untimely passing of Stephen Webb (you can read his obituary here), I find myself thinking back to a poem by Theodore Roethke about another premature death.  Oddly, I first came upon it, and was very moved by it, when it appeared in a college admissions test of some kind — the ACT or the SAT, or something of that sort — that I was taking in high school.  It had such an impact on me... Read more

    http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/stephen-h-webb-1961-2016/ Inexpressibly sad.   Posted from San Jose, California     Read more

    “Donald Trump: The Post-Truth Candidate”   “Donald Trump is Melting Down”   “Culture Rot: Donald Trump is the Effect, Not the Cause”   And, as a bonus, Ann Palmieri called my attention to this important documentary analysis of the recent debates:   https://www.facebook.com/CarolRosenthal/videos/10153943764088680/?pnref=story   The level of discourse and discussion has been appalling, and, in my serious judgment, the blame for that rests almost entirely with the execrable Mr. Trump, reality-TV star.   Posted from Monterey, California  ... Read more

    Taylor Halverson offers a helpful little piece in the Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865649339/Teaching-our-kids-about-Joseph-Smiths-Book-of-Mormon-translation.html?pg=1   Posted from Monterey, California     Read more

    Today’s reading, the (again very short) book of Omni, briefly mentions a number of extraordinarily important historical items.   We learn for the first time, for example, about Zarahemla and its people, the Mulekites.  Mosiah becomes the king of a unified Nephite/Mulekite state.  And we hear of the Jaredites, and of their last king, Coriantumr.   I choose, however, to concentrate on something that I find amusing.   Jarom, on whom I commented in his role as the author... Read more

    Here is the tragedy: when you are the victim of depression, not only do you feel utterly helpless and abandoned by the world, you also know that very few people can understand, or even begin to believe, that life can be this painful. There is nothing I can think of that is quite as isolating as this. Giles Andreae   Our friend and much-admired colleague, the Catholic theologian and philosopher Stephen H. Webb, published this short essay in... Read more

    Cassandra Hedelius, Bruce Webster, Martin Tanner, and Craig Foster gathered for this conversation about Mosiah 4-6.  It’s the 160th scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scripture-roundtable-160-book-of-mormon-gospel-doctrine-lesson-16-ye-shall-be-called-the-children-of-christ/   Posted from Monterey, California     Read more

    I’m pleased to announce a new entry on the Mormon Scholars Testify website, for Dr. Mark W. Cannon:   http://mormonscholarstestify.org/3319/mark-w-cannon   Posted from Monterey, California   Read more