![\"Melchizedek,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/05\/800px-AbrahamApollinareClaseJRS.jpg\")
<\/a>Unsurprisingly, since today is a Wednesday, an article has gone up on the perpetually unchanging website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0Reprint: \u201cThe Tests of Abraham and Sarah,\u201d<\/a> written by David R. Seely<\/a> and Jo Ann Seely<\/a>:<\/p>\n Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Abraham and His Family in Scripture, History, and Tradition<\/em>, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, John S. Thompson, Matthew L. Bowen, and David R. Seely. For more information, go to https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/books\/abraham-and-his-family<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the biblical tradition, Abraham and Sarah are the literal and spiritual father and mother of Israel and the nations. When the Lord changed their names in Genesis 17, he promised Abram and Sarai, \u201cNeither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.<\/em> And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. . . . As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations;<\/em> kings of people shall be of her\u201d (vv. 5\u20136, 15\u201316; emphasis added).\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Also newly published on the website of the completely comatose Interpreter Foundation is this item, written by Daniel T. Ellsworth<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cBeyond \u2018Church Culture\u2019: A Response to Jeff\u2019s Strong\u2019s Torn.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 It addresses a matter with which, sadly, all too many Latter-day Saint families are familiar.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that, if one has no moral qualms about supporting Ken Paxton for a seat in the Senate of the United States representing Texas, one can have no justifiable or defensible moral reservations about another person\u2019s supporting Graham Platner for a seat in the Senate representing the state of Maine. \u00a0And vice versa<\/em>. \u00a0(See this, from National Review<\/em>: \u201cOn Voting for Terrible People.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n Should the personal morality of a candidate matter? \u00a0Shouldn\u2019t we simply cast our votes on the basis of a candidate\u2019s policy positions? \u00a0After all, as many people have been recently saying (who wouldn\u2019t, I think, have said anything remotely of the kind back a decade or two), we\u2019re not voting for a choirboy or for our pastor.<\/p>\n I think that personal morality and character do matter. \u00a0Why? \u00a0I have many reasons, but one of them is that new and unanticipated issues will surely arise over the course of, say, a six-year term in the Senate. \u00a0(And please remember too that, once safely ensconced in Congress, incumbent representatives and senators tend to be reelected to \u00a0multiple terms in office. \u00a0Which means that thy will likely be in their positions for quite a while.) \u00a0As the years go by, new policy issues and unforeseen challenges in foreign affairs will appear, and the person who has been elected to office will unavoidably be obliged to deal with them on the basis of the resources of personality, character, intellect, and education that he or she has brought to the task. \u00a0I would much prefer that the people entrusted with setting policy directions and making decisions at such moments be people of sound judgment, solid intellect, and good character.<\/p>\n But I seem to have been born in the wrong era, and (still in yesterday\u2019s poetic vein) I can\u2019t help but remember the seven opening lines of Ezra Pound\u2019s poem Hugh Selwyn Mauberley<\/i>:<\/p>\n Last night, we watched The Boss Baby<\/em><\/a> (2017) with a Third-Generation Unit. \u00a0Tonight, we\u2019re intending to watch Finding Dory<\/em><\/a> (2016). \u00a0Life is good. \u00a0But who knows what we\u2019ll watch tomorrow <\/em>night? \u00a0Life is uncertain, full of risks.<\/p>\n We went over by ferry from Port Townsend to visit Whidbey Island earlier today. \u00a0The weather was perfect, and the sea was calm. \u00a0While waiting for the ferry and while crossing the water, we saw various kinds of sea birds and animals, including a sea otter that was floating on its back enjoying a leisurely meal, as well as a couple of sea lions. \u00a0This is my favorite kind of landscape, with mountains and beautiful bodies of water and mountains and forests. \u00a0If I had to make a choice, much as I enjoy the Hawaiian Islands and the deserts of southern Utah and northern Arizona \u2014 and I really do enjoy them \u2014 I would opt for this type of landscape. \u00a0It\u2019s not hard to figure why I love my grandmother\u2019s home country of Norway and Switzerland, where I served my mission.<\/p>\n Finally, I remind you of the prize (the precise nature of which is yet to be determined) that I announced on Sunday that will be given for the zaniest answers to the following urgently burning questions:<\/p>\n Although this competition is principally designed to tickle the fancy of the folks at the Peterson Obsession Board, all \u2014 <\/em>including even normal<\/em> human beings \u2014 are welcome to propose answers to the questions.<\/p>\n Posted from Discovery Bay, Washington<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Unsurprisingly, since today is a Wednesday, an article has gone up on the perpetually unchanging website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0Reprint: \u201cThe Tests of Abraham and Sarah,\u201d written by David R. Seely and Jo Ann Seely: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Abraham and His Family in Scripture, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":116492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>\n
\n
<\/a>\n