Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1101

“Environmental Stewardship and Conservation”

    An official statement from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on our responsibility to care for the Earth:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article...   Posted from Durango, Colorado  

“Don’t call believers in homeopathy idiots”

    This is an insightful and important little article:   http://www.theguardian.com/commentisf...   I think that the author’s advice would be helpful to people in more than one field.  And, more generally, many internet polemicists and (often anonymous) message board commenters could profit from the suggestion that they not treat with contempt those with whom [Read More...]

Theological disputes are important, but sometimes they need to be set aside.

    Benjamin Franklin is said to have commented to his fellow signers of the Declaration of Independence that, if they didn’t all hang together, they would assuredly hang separately.   Defenders of religious liberty in the United States may well find themselves in a similar situation, and in the not too far distant future. [Read More...]

A presidential executive order is urgently needed

    It is imperative that the rule barring military personnel at recruiting stations from carrying firearms be eliminated.   These are invariably weapons-trained people.  Many if not most or all of them are combat veterans.  One of those murdered in Tennessee was a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart.   Yet they are obvious [Read More...]

“Can We Count on Legal Protection for Our Beliefs?”

    As usual, Cassandra Hedelius doesn’t disappoint.  Here’s an insightful warning from her about the mounting threat to religious liberty in the United States:   http://ldsmag.com/can-we-count-on-leg...   Must reading, it seems to me, for anyone who cares about the future of our First Amendment rights.   Posted from Santa Fe, New Mexico    

“Obama’s Nuclear Deal with Iran: Worse Than We Could Have Imagined”

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article...   This is the kind of thing that you get when you elect (and then re-elect!) a weak, inexperienced, and incompetent leftist to the presidency of the United States.   But he’s a nice guy, and a good father, and it was genuinely good to have elected somebody with black ancestry.   [Read More...]

“Talking Past Each Other: ‘Love Wins’ vs. Human Nature”

    The invaluable Ralph Hancock weighs in on disagreements about the nature and purpose of marriage:   http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/201...   Posted from Santa Fe, New Mexico    

“Astronomers discover our long-lost ‘solar twin’”

    This is potentially really important.  It’s certainly interesting:   http://news.sciencemag.org/space/2015...   Posted from Santa Fe, New Mexico    

An addendum to my previous post about Elder Packer

    I got a kick out of Elder Ballard’s expression of gratitude to Sister Packer, at the funeral, for her role in convincing Elder Packer not to call his fellow apostles at 5 AM.   For the link, see here.   That suggests that my experience of getting a really early morning phone call [Read More...]

Personal Encounters with Elder Packer (Part 4)

    I regret that I was unable to attend or watch the funeral services for President Boyd K. Packer on Friday.  He has been a titanic presence in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for my entire adult life.   Fortunately, those services are online, and I intend to watch them when [Read More...]