Positive statements about Utah and Mormons from somebody who might have been expected to think otherwise:   http://theodysseyonline.com/george-fox-university/confessions-of-non-mormon/240561   Thanks to Kevin Taylor for alerting me to this.     Read more

    Matthew 27:62-66   His disciples hadn’t always grasped the idea that Jesus would rise from the dead, but the prophecy was well enough known to concern the local authorities.   And, in fact, theft of the body will become one of the common skeptical explanations — already in antiquity — for the claim that Christ was resurrected.   And what a brilliant plot that would have been!  “Hey!” say the apostles to one another.  “Let’s steal the body, conceal... Read more

    Last year’s Christmas devotional piece in Interpreter was kindly contributed by the prominent Latter-day Saint writer Orson Scott Card:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/christmas-is-about-a-baby/#more-6417   It was the first in a series that has since added generous contributions from Mitt Romney (for Easter) and, now, Clayton Christensen.   You may or may not have noticed this fact, but the articles that appear in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture are accessible in a number of formats, including audio.  Sometimes the authors... Read more

    “Politicians compete for the highest offices. Business tycoons scramble for a bigger and bigger piece of the pie. Armies march and scientists study and philosophers philosophise and preachers preach and labourers sweat. But in that silent baby, lying in that humble manger, there pulses more potential power and wisdom and grace and aliveness than all the rest of us can imagine.” Brian D. McLaren     Read more

    Matthew 27:57-61 Mark 15:42-47 Luke 23:50-56 John 19:38-42 Compare Mark 16:1   1.   Matthew, Luke, and John say that the tomb in which Jesus was placed was a new one, hewn out of the rock by Joseph of Arimathea, who was the Savior’s living contemporary.   This is one of the reasons why many (including myself) think it highly unlikely that the Garden Tomb was the burial place of Jesus, since archaeological analysis seems to identify the... Read more

    My wife and I had dinner last night with, among others, Laura Hales and Brian Hales in The Roof Restaurant, overlooking Temple Square.  And then, afterwards, we attended the annual Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with Laura and Brian in the Conference Center.  (Brian was a member of the Choir for fourteen years.)   The featured headliners were Laura Osnes and Martin Jarvis, along with Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Ben Bliss, and Tyler Simpson from the Metropolitan Opera in... Read more

    Although this article was written by a former but long-time neighbor and member of my ward, it was Nicol Sorenson-Legakis who called it to my attention:   http://ldsmag.com/the-real-trouble-with-trump/     Read more

    Another key part of the Church’s 2015 Christmas campaign, “A Savior is Born”:   https://www.mormon.org/christmas/infographic     Read more

    The odds are high that what’s behind the wall will turn out to be reminiscent of Geraldo Rivera’s dramatic, live-on-camera entrance into Al Capone’s vault, which, as I recall it, found a pile of dusty debris and a broken bottle or two.   On the other hand, it could potentially be a remarkably big deal:   http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151218-nefertiti-tomb-mystery-egypt/       Read more

    Although I’m reliably informed (by anonymous internet commentators who don’t know me) that I hate, fear, and despise all non-Mormons, I was very pleased to read about this:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-interfaith-christmas-jubilee-los-angeles     Read more