Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1009

“In Defense of Christmas Cheer”

    So now we’re past Thanksgiving.   To me, that legitimates the beginning of Christmas carols, lights, and decorations.   I’ve not been happy to see Christmas advertisements and shopping extend back earlier and earlier in the year — only 364 shopping days ’til Xmas! — often into October and sometimes even into September.  Too [Read More...]

Is the Church of England — the Anglican Church, cousin to American Episcopalianism — doomed?

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015...   Posted from Madrid, Spain    

“Trinitarians admitting to Trinity being illogical and irrational”

    http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.c...   I’ve been struck in the past, and reminded of it again during this visit to Spain, by the frequency with which members of the Trinity have been depicted corporeally in Christian art — with the Holy Spirit represented by a dove, of course, and the Son being predictably shown as a human, but [Read More...]

“When Pres. Uchtdorf Helped Save a Plane Hijacked by Terrorists (As Told by Elder Holland)”

    http://www.ldsliving.com/When-Pres-Uc...   Posted from Madrid, Spain    

“How America’s Demographic Revolution Reached the [Christian] Church”

    Fascinating analysis of recent survey data about religion in America:   http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-a...   The better we Latter-day Saints understand our changing religious, cultural, and moral environment, the better we’ll be able to function and to flourish in it.   Posted from Madrid, Spain    

Marbella, Sevilla, Málaga, y Madrid

    In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world.  (Federico García Lorca — born 5 June 1898; executed by the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War on 19 August 1936)   I don’t know whether García Lorca’s dictum is true or not — I’ve been in [Read More...]

“‘There are Opportunities for Almost Anyone’: Warren Aston on Book of Mormon Research”

    A nice little piece about someone who has contributed significantly to our understanding of historical setting of the Book of Mormon:   http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/201...   I agree that plenty of non-specialists — including many people altogether outside of the academy — are capable of making valuable contributions to Book of Mormon studies.   In fact, I [Read More...]

“Reasons for gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day”

    Today’s weekly column for the Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Happy Thanksgiving to all!   Posted from Madrid, Spain    

Thoughts for Thanksgiving (5)

    Here’s column that Bill Hamblin and I published jointly in the Deseret News back in 2013:   American traditions of Thanksgiving are generally associated with Puritan harvest feasts in early colonial times, and particularly with the one in October 1621, when Chief Massasoit and about 90 other Native American men joined slightly more [Read More...]

“Gratitude is Good for the Soul, and It Helps the Heart, Too”

    Nicol Sorenson-Legakis brought this seasonally-appropriate little article to my attention:   http://www.npr.org/sections/health-sh...   Posted from Marbella, Spain