For some reason (I can’t imagine why) Loyd Ericson removed our discussion from his facebook page. Since I suspected something like this might happen, I copied it up to the point where I left the discussion.  More may have been said later. I have not changed any statements of anyone in the discussion.  The strange formatting reflects the way the the text copied.  I can’t figure it out. Here, for the record, is the discussion that Loyd Ericson wants to... Read more

In this case, Loyd Ericson (a man mentioned by some in whispered tones as a potential editor of the new Mormon Studies Review) gives a truly astonishing performance. http://www.facebook.com/loydo38/posts/474279645969940 [Note: this discussion has been removed from Facebook by Loyd Ericson, so this link is dead.  For a copy of the discussion, see https://mormonscriptureexplorations.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/why-it-is-impossible-to-have-a-rational-discussion-with-some-people-2/] Read more

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamblinofjerusalem/sets/72157632739283316/detail/ Read more

The Mysticism conference will be held on 15-16 March, not 15-16 May, which I incorrectly put in my first post. http://www.mormonscholars.net/announcements/untitledpost Read more

Nibley fans might be interested in checking out some of his unpublished letters being posted as a blog. http://hughnibley.net/ Read more

(Revised 4 Feb 2013) It is a common anti-Mormon assertion that Joseph Smith invented stories about the restoration of the priesthood in 1834, falsely claiming that the angelic John the Baptist, and later Peter, James and John, restored the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods.  (See, for example, G. Palmer, An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, (Signature, 2002), 215-234.  See list of reviews here.) There are, in fact, a number of pre-1834 sources that allude to the restoration of the priesthood, which I... Read more

Revelations in Context provides historical background on the people and events behind the D&C, with lots of nice illustrations. http://history.lds.org/series/doctrine-and-covenants-revelations-in-context?lang=eng#/ More broadly, there is a nice Church History web page as well. http://history.lds.org/?lang=eng   Read more