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First, though, I offer links to three items that were recently posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:<\/p>\n
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Conference Talks: \u201cWhat Did Joseph Smith Know about Temple Ordinances by 1836?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n This talk was given by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw on Saturday, 25 October 2014, during the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s 2014 Temple on Mount Zion Conference<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The New Testament in Context: Lesson 8: \u201cBlessed Are Ye,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Matthew 5 and Luke 6<\/a><\/p>\n In the 22 January 2023 Come, Follow Me<\/em> segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Steve Densley and Mark Johnson joined with with an individual calling himself \u201cDan Peterson\u201d to discuss New Testament lesson 8, on Matthew 5 and Luke 6, \u201cBlessed Are Ye.\u201d\u00a0 Peterson was ill \u2014 even sicker than he typically is (physically speaking) \u2014 and not in very good voice.\u00a0 So he made his contribution, such as it was, from a distance via telephone.<\/p>\n The other segments of the 22 January 2o23 broadcast program can be accessed at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreter-radio-show-january-22-2023<\/a>.\u00a0 The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard live on Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640.\u00a0 Alternatively, in outlying areas (for example), interested people \u2014 and even uninterested<\/em> people \u2014 can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Come, Follow Me<\/em> \u2014 New Testament Study and Teaching Helps: Lesson 8, February 13 \u2014 19: Matthew 5; Luke 6 \u2014\u00a0\u201cBlessed Are Ye\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Students and teachers of the \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d curriculum for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> can benefit from these brief notes that Jonn Claybaugh generously and regularly contributes on the website of the Interpreter Foundation.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As I write, the death toll from the terrible 6 February 2023 earthquakes near Gaziantep, Turkey, has surpassed 12,000.\u00a0 I expect that it will go much higher before the count is finished.\u00a0 The dysfunction and mutual hostility of the governments in the area \u2014 particularly in Syria, has long taken a massive toll on the region, and it adds a special bite to the damage and death unleashed by the quakes.\u00a0 It is difficult to get aid and aid workers into some of the affected areas.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been happy to read, though, of Israeli rescue teams and supplies reaching Turkey, and of Greek assistance going to Turkey as well, despite the multi-generational history of friction and conflict between them.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to see humanity rise above politics once in a while.<\/p>\n Which is why reports of last night\u2019s State of the Union Address were disheartening to me.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like Joe Biden\u2019s apparently rather aggressively partisan tone, and his mischaracterization of some Republican positions.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like the shout of \u201cliar!\u201d directed by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene at President Biden.\u00a0 I pine for the old days of (at least) formal civility in Congress.\u00a0 Life is better when people follow rules of decorum and politeness.\u00a0 However, I do agree with Senator Mitt Romney that Representative George Santos should be ashamed of himself and that Mr. Santos doesn\u2019t belong in the House of Representatives.<\/a>\u00a0 (I\u2019m not being political here.\u00a0 I hope that I hold both sides \u2014 every side \u2014 to the same uniform standard.)<\/p>\n But back, briefly, to the disaster in Turkey and Syria:\u00a0 The human toll is dreadful.\u00a0 But the toll taken on the historical treasures of the region is also<\/em> horrible:\u00a0 \u201cTurkey-Syria earthquake: Historic mosques and ancient landmarks reduced to rubble: The earthquake damaged many ancient monuments including Turkey\u2019s Gaziantep castle, Yeni Mosque, the Latin Catholic Church and Syria\u2019s ancient Aleppo citadel\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n At this distance, there isn\u2019t much that we can immediately do for the victims of the earthquakes, nor for those who are attempting to help them.\u00a0 But I recommend support of the humanitarian and relief efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:<\/p>\n \u201cStatement of Support for Communities Impacted by Earthquakes in T\u00fcrkiye and Syria\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s too late to give to the Church for the urgent needs of the people affected by the recent temblors; those resources have to be already in place at the time of a disaster in order to be available right away.\u00a0 But resources expended on dealing with this<\/em> crisis will need to be replaced in order to be ready for the inevitable next<\/em> one:<\/p>\n \u201cHumanitarian Programs:\u00a0Church humanitarian work primarily helps those in need who are not members of the Church. There are many people in virtually any community in the world who struggle to meet their basic needs. The Church seeks to help as many as possible.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019ve always loved this statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith:<\/p>\n \u201cA man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The news and the photographs coming in from Turkey and Syria ought, I think, to motivate us to greater kindness and charity, and to greater generosity.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Flying into Honolulu a few hours ago, I had a reasonably good view of Pearl Harbor.\u00a0 Like most if not all other Americans, I can\u2019t ever see it or think of it without immediately remembering what happened there on 7 December 1941.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s overshadowed these days by the high-rises of Honolulu, and, of course, for Latter-day Saints, its significance pales when compared with the temple in Laie and Brigham Young University\u2019s Hawaii campus and the Polynesian Cultural Center. \u00a0But it\u2019s an important place, and I thought of it while approaching Honolulu:\u00a0 \u201cMormon tabernacle near Pearl Harbor became a refuge for GIs after the attack: Pearl Harbor \u2022 The building wasn\u2019t damaged, and thousands of LDS servicemen were sheltered there.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 I\u2019ve been told that, before Honolulu became a city of high-rise hotels, it served as a navigational landmark for approaching ships.\u00a0 I even gave a fireside in it once.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
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