{"id":38650,"date":"2016-12-13T18:18:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T01:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=38650"},"modified":"2016-12-13T18:18:52","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T01:18:52","slug":"thoughts-years-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/12\/thoughts-years-end.html","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts at the year’s end"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tissot,<\/a>
J. J. Tissot, \u201cThe Widow\u2019s Mite\u201d (\u201cLe denier de la veuve\u201d); Wikimedia Commons public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2016 United States tax year is coming to a close, and many Americans are thinking about charitable gifts, as well as about Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of worthwhile charities that do a host of good things. \u00a0They nourish children, fight diseases, support museums, furnish scholarships, underwrite schools and colleges, sponsor missionaries, fund research, combat human\u00a0trafficking, sustain symphony orchestras, provide medical care, dig freshwater wells, and many other things that I can\u2019t even begin to list here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From time to time, I\u2019ve mentioned two such charities here on this blog:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liahona Children\u2019s Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Operation Underground Railroad<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not that they\u2019re the only good ones around. \u00a0Far from it. \u00a0But they\u2019re really good, and my wife and I have given to each of them. \u00a0(Both, by the way, have LDS connections. \u00a0Not that such connections are required for a worthwhile charity!)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For believing Latter-day Saints, of course, there is also\u00a0the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, which \u2014 on the basis of\u00a0donations even beyond the basic tithes and offerings \u2014 does a very great deal of solid humanitarian work and other useful\u00a0deeds. \u00a0(See here<\/a>, for example. \u00a0And here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, once again, it\u2019s my duty and my pleasure to mention the Interpreter Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Very nearly four\u00a0years ago a very confident pseudonymous critic on a small, extraordinarily\u00a0nasty, and mostly atheist ex-Mormon message board presumed to prophesy:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy Jan. 1, 2014 Interpreter will be dead.\u00a0. .\u00a0. \u00a0Either totally dead or down to token \u2018blog\u2019 style postings.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(Bond James Bond, 25 January 2013)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope he kept\u00a0his day job.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Interpreter Foundation was launched almost precisely 231 weeks ago. \u00a0This Friday will mark the 230th consecutive week that it has published at least one article \u2014 which is not to mention its books, its blog, its nearly two hundred posted scripture roundtables, and so forth.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That poor \u201cMr. Bond\u2019s\u201d\u00a0prediction\u00a0was proved wrong is entirely due to generous donations of time and labor and, yes, money from a great many people, to all of whom I\u2019m deeply grateful. \u00a0Our operation is almost entirely volunteer. \u00a0Although our bylaws allow the Foundation\u2019s top leadership to draw up to $500 annually for their services, none has ever taken anything<\/em>. \u00a0Nor are our authors paid. This is a labor of love, passion, and commitment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you need guidance\u00a0on how to donate to the Interpreter Foundation, you can find such information here<\/a>. \u00a0And please don\u2019t overlook the brief discussion of AmazonSmile, which can painlessly permit you to enlist Amazon to support the Interpreter Foundation (or some other charity) with each book or other item that you purchase there. \u00a0In those cases, it\u2019s Amazon.com that gives the money. \u00a0There is\u00a0absolutely no cost to you<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 The 2016 United States tax year is coming to a close, and many Americans are thinking about charitable gifts, as well as about Christmas. \u00a0 There are hundreds, if not thousands, of worthwhile charities that do a host of good things. \u00a0They nourish children, fight diseases, support museums, furnish scholarships, underwrite schools and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThoughts at the year's end<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    The 2016 United States tax year is coming to a close, and many Americans are thinking about charitable gifts, as well as about\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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