{"id":62186,"date":"2018-06-22T14:58:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T20:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=62186"},"modified":"2018-09-05T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T15:53:30","slug":"joseph-smiths-universe-vs-some-wonders-of-chinese-science-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/06\/joseph-smiths-universe-vs-some-wonders-of-chinese-science-fiction.html","title":{"rendered":"“Joseph Smith\u2019s Universe vs. Some Wonders of Chinese Science Fiction”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Thanks to one man, Jeff Lindsay, Shanghai has become a significant center of faithful Mormon scholarship in recent years. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

New, and novel, in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Smith\u2019s Universe vs. Some Wonders of Chinese Science Fiction\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m continually amazed at the sheer productivity of the Interpreter Foundation. \u00a0And there are some intriguing things \u2014 even fun<\/em> things \u2014 on the way.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Really. \u00a0Please, if you haven\u2019t done so in a while, go onto our main website<\/a> and spend some time looking around.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SF<\/a>
Fall colors in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thus far, June has been many things. \u00a0Among them, unfortunately, is that it has been a month of losses.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charles Krauthammer\u2019s death is, in my judgment, a major bereavement. \u00a0He was one of my very favorite political commentators:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCharles Krauthammer, R.I.P.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCritic-in-Chief\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, of course, there have been significant losses in the Mormon community<\/a>, as well, including the composer Crawford Gates and the scholars Stephen Robinson and John Tvedtnes \u2014 irreplaceable voices, all of them:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn A. Tvedtnes (1941-2018)\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRIP Stephen Robinson\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Hill Cumorah composer Crawford Gates saw music through spiritual eyes\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Certain very hostile critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> responded to the death of John Tvedtnes with their customary gracelessness. \u00a0Here\u2019s a reply to one of them:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Defense of the late John Tvedtnes\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Margaret Dayton, a friend and neighbor who attended the funeral services for Steve Robinson today, passed this on to me, which appeared on the back of the funeral program:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maranatha: A Prayer for the Second Coming<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

poem by Stephen E. Robinson, 2002<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The path for some is never lighted,<\/span><\/p>\n

Their love poured out all unrequited,<\/span><\/p>\n

And wrongs they suffer never righted<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2019til Shiloh comes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some promises remain unspoken<\/span><\/p>\n

To faithful hearts who lay all broken;<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of coins, they get a token,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2019til Shiloh comes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some old wounds are never healed<\/span><\/p>\n

While answers sought, but not revealed,<\/span><\/p>\n

Leave God\u2019s purposes concealed<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2019til Shiloh comes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some noble souls seem quite forsaken,<\/span><\/p>\n

Their dreams and hopes like plunder taken,<\/span><\/p>\n

Their lotted hearts left hungry, aching<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2019til Shiloh comes.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From such pains, Oh God, keep me secure<\/span><\/p>\n

But if not, through Hell let me stay sure,<\/span><\/p>\n

And in the dark, let me endure<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2019til Shiloh comes<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Immediately following the poem, there appeared this note at the back of the program:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shiloh came for Steve<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

June 17, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I pray God\u2019s blessings upon Steve Robinson, Crawford Gates, and John Tvedtnes, as well as upon Charles Krauthammer, who wasn\u2019t sure that God exists. \u00a0I trust that Brother Krauthammer has been very pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0 \u00a0 New, and novel, in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture: \u00a0 \u201cJoseph Smith\u2019s Universe vs. Some Wonders of Chinese Science Fiction\u201d \u00a0 I\u2019m continually amazed at the sheer productivity of the Interpreter Foundation. \u00a0And there are some intriguing things \u2014 even fun things \u2014 on the way. \u00a0 Really. \u00a0Please, if you haven\u2019t […]<\/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-62186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"Joseph Smith\u2019s Universe vs. Some Wonders of Chinese Science Fiction"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    New, and novel, in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   "Joseph Smith\u2019s Universe vs. Some Wonders of Chinese Science\" 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