Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1016

“The failing churches of ancient Roman Asia”

    Since I’m in Turkey at the moment, and since, in the Church’s adult Sunday school curriculum, we’re coming to the point where we’ll be discussing the Revelation of John, I’ve been thinking about this Deseret News article that I published back in July.  Some, I think, might find it interesting, and perhaps even [Read More...]

“All Things According to His Will

    For the 146th scripture roundtable published by the Interpreter Foundation, Cassandra Hedelius, Craig Foster, Martin Tanner, and Bruce Webster focus on 2016 Gospel Doctrine lesson 2, which is based upon 1 Nephi 1-5 and 1 Nephi 7:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scri...   Posted from Istanbul, Turkey    

A diamond found in a field

    A young man once long ago claimed he had found a large diamond in his field as he was ploughing. He put the stone on display to the public free of charge, and everyone took sides. A psychologist showed, by citing some famous case studies, that the young man was suffering from a [Read More...]

“Islam is a religion of violence: Or, why abstract theology actually matters”

    I’m not endorsing this article — I actually disagree with it at several pivotal points — but I do think that it raises interesting issues for serious (informed) discussion.  Especially right now, in the wake of the Paris attacks:   http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/joeljmi...   Maybe I’ll write something on the topic myself at some future [Read More...]

“Nomadic tent shrines and stone temples”

    The latest bi-weekly Hamblin-Peterson column for the Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Posted from Istanbul, Turkey

That shiftless boy from Palmyra

    Everybody says Joseph Smith was lazy because of the things he didn’t do, but what about the things he did do? What good does it do to say that you, with your tiny routine of daily busywork, think another man is lazy if that man happens to accomplish more than ten ordinary men [Read More...]

“A Modern View of Ancient Temple Worship”

    Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture actually published two review articles on Friday, not just one:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/a-mo...   Posted from Amsterdam, The Netherlands    

Je suis français aujourd’hui.

    We arrived in Europe to the horrible headlines out of Paris.   This is a war.  Nobody should doubt that.   I’m moved by reports that the crowd at the stadium sang “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, after the attacks there:   http://video.foxnews.com/v/4611886625...   I hope that we’ll see more and more evidence [Read More...]

“Vanquishing the Mormon Menace”

    I’m a bit late — I’ve been otherwise occupied for the past several hours — but I want to note that Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture has, yet again, continued its monotonously regular habit of publishing new articles on Friday:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/vanq...   Posted from Amsterdam, The Netherlands    

Father Trump Knows Best, in His Little House on the Prairie

  And he’s plainly leaving it to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet, the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, and Norman Rockwell:     I don’t know who bears responsibility for this image of the pious paterfamilias Donald Trump — I would be much more than happy to, um, “credit” him or her for it! — but it’s [Read More...]