{"id":67464,"date":"2018-11-16T15:58:12","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T22:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=67464"},"modified":"2018-11-16T15:59:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T22:59:03","slug":"by-small-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/by-small-means.html","title":{"rendered":"“By Small Means”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
A modern image of some of the artifacts related to the Book of Mormon
(Wikimedia CC: David A. Baird\/Historical Arts and Castings)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

New, in the soon to be renamed Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018By Small Means\u2019: Rethinking the Liahona,\u201d by\u00a0Timothy Gervais<\/span><\/span> and John L. Joyce<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Liahona\u2019s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a\u00a0wedding dowry Ishmael provided to Lehi\u2019s family. The paper displays the integral connection Nephi had to the Liahona\u2019s functionality and how this connection more clearly explains the lack of faith displayed by Nephi\u2019s band during the journey than traditional conceptions of its faith-based functionality.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is an important statement from Book of Mormon Central regarding the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon<\/em> that\u2019s being published by the FIRM Foundation:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Executive Summary of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a significant resource for those who are thinking and talking about President Russell M. Nelson call for us to reemphasize the official name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, which believing members regard as having been given to us by divine revelation:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA \u2018Mormon\u2019 By Any Other Name\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping that this will be helpful to at least some folks out there:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I good enough? A conversation on mental illness with Elder J. Devn Cornish (+podcast)\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Incidentally, before he was called to serve as a General Authority of the Church, Elder J. Devn Cornish<\/a> was a physician and a professor at a prominent medical school.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this topic is obviously something that\u2019s been on his mind for a while, as is manifest from the title of this 2016 address in General Conference:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I Good Enough? Will I Make It?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCNN Features Video of Latter-day Saint Praying as She Escapes Deadly Camp Fire\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regarding those fires, by the way, see my post from yesterday entitled \u201cParadise Lost\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/paradise-lost.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This has the potential \u2014 if members of the Church will rise to the occasion \u2014 to be really spectacular and to do a very great deal of good. \u00a0I have to admit that I particularly like the vending machines. \u00a0They\u2019re actually fun:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c5 Incredible Ways the Church\u2019s #LightTheWorld Will Be Different This Year\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0 \u00a0 New, in the soon to be renamed Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture: \u00a0 \u201c\u2018By Small Means\u2019: Rethinking the Liahona,\u201d by\u00a0Timothy Gervais and John L. Joyce The Liahona\u2019s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by […]<\/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-67464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"By Small Means"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    New, in the soon to be renamed Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   "'By Small Means': Rethinking the Liahona," by\u00a0Timothy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/by-small-means.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""By 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