I was recently perusing the latest publications of NAMI and happened on an article in the Journal of Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture that caused me to reflect more deeply on LDS attitudes toward Book of Mormon historicity. The article, “The Historicity of the Book of Mormon,” was originally a paper presented by Elder Dallin H. Oaks at the 1993 FARMS Annual Dinner, but was subsequently published in the volume Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures (2001), edited... Read more

This year was an interesting year for FPR.  We moved to Patheos at this time last year, but it didn’t seem to change us much.  In fact, you would hardly know it was the Mormon Moment by visiting FPR this year.  Not a single post on Mitt Romney, the Book of Mormon Musical, or Pantsmaggedon. We did, however, actually play some important part in the Mormon Political Moment with Chris H.’s bid for Wyoming’s congressional seat.  Chris also suffered a... Read more

There was some exciting discussion developing here the other day about such topics as how smart it is and the smarts that are required to participate on the blogs and face books. Or as the great elitist Cicero put it: Nomina stultorum in parietibus [paginisque librorum faciei et commentis blogum] semper videmus [et in podcastibus audimus]. *Crib sheet with reference to grammar in dusty print edition. nomina — neuter plural accusative of third declension noun: nomen, nominis. stultorum — masculine plural genitive of... Read more

Author’s Note: this is a minor revision and update of a post I wrote for FPR back in 2010. I like Santa Claus. He is not real, but he has spiritual significance for me. In this way, Santa is like Job. I do not think that Job was a real person, but I do think that Job is one of of the most powerful books of the Bible. Symbolic meaning sometimes has the greatest impact. Watching A Christmas Carol (the... Read more

I protest at church all the time. I scoffed out loud at a hideous comment about the Connecticut shootings just last hour in Sunday School. I am wearing my University of Utah tie today. (Update: I just stomped out of priesthood over pontificating against secularism in relation to recent tragedies…by same guy I scoffed at during Sunday School.) Maybe these are more tantrums than they are protests. Y’all know me well enough. I wore my Democrat tie to church two... Read more

The June 1976 Ensign magazine has long been a favorite of mine. It deals with a number of political and social issues from a variety of LDS perspectives. One brief entry has been coming to my mind lately. Wallace F. Bennett served in the United States Senate from 1951 through 1974. My uncle served on his staff for a period of time. So I am biased in my deep respect for the Bennett family. In this issue of the Ensign,... Read more

Rawls is not easy to understand. This is largely because of how Rawls presents his ideas, though this difficulty creates opportunities for debate within political philosophy. Below is a lecture by Harvard Government Professor Michael Sandel on Rawls and issues of wealth, inequality, and distributive justice. While I disagree with much of Sandel’s academic criticism of Rawls, I think that he does an excellent job in this lecture and in his recent books looking to present the concept of justice... Read more

The analysis of power seems to be something that I care about. Whether it is D. Smith or Ralph Hancock, who in my view accord too much power to LDS leadership, I seem to get riled up about this issue. While Nate Oman takes a view very similar to my own to how power operates (perhaps to his chagrin), there are some points that I want to further push with respect to his analysis. Oman has the enviable knack of... Read more

Yesterday, Casper College held a memorial service for Jim Krumm and Heidi Arnold, the two faculty membered murdered here in Casper last Friday. This performance of “Be Still, My Soul” by the Casper College Choir will never leave me. (Thank you to K2 Radio for the video)   Read more

PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION AAR/SBL/ASOR Regional Meeting Seattle University Seattle, Washington May 3-5, 2013 SPECIAL TOPICS: MORMON STUDIES Description of the goals and rationale This special topic of Mormon Studies promotes the exploration of a wide range of topics relating to Mormonism. This section seeks to provide scholarly inquiry into Mormon history, culture, belief and practice, theology, scripture, and the role of Mormonism in contemporary politics. This section encourages the study of Mormonism from multiple disciplines and methodologies. This section will... Read more