Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1184

Threatened by change, I simply want to hunker down in denial and anti-intellectual obscurantism, or something like that.

    My attention has just been called to an interesting essay by Dr. David Bokovoy entitled “How to Save LDS Youth in a Secular Age.”   I may engage at greater length and detail with Dr. Bokovoy’s essay at some point in the near future — my hasty glance through it suggests much that [Read More...]

New Testament 13

    Matthew 3:1-6 Mark 1:2-6 Luke 3:1-6 John 1:19-23   In this passage, John’s clothing in camel’s hair and a leather girdle, his dwelling in the desert, and his subsistence on primitive fare available in the desert, are all reminiscent of the prophet Elijah.  It’s not at all surprising that, in John 1:19-23, those [Read More...]

“What Command Syntax Tells Us about Book of Mormon Authorship”

    Another intriguing — and subtly very significant — paper from Dr. Stanford Carmack:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/what...   With its publication, The Interpreter Foundation completes its journal articles for 2014.  The Foundation, which was launched slightly more than 128 weeks ago, has now published at least one article every Friday for 127 consecutive weeks.   [Read More...]

“Forbes” magazine reports on Provo’s world-record-setting live nativity

    Christmas is over for 2014, of course, but I thought that you might enjoy reading this item, nonetheless:   http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue...   Just this morning, I read the claim that, in Latter-day Saint sacrament services that fall on Christmas Day or just before, references to Joseph Smith outnumber those to Jesus by, on the [Read More...]

Two films, one funny, one sad

    I loved Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken, and had high hopes for the movie adaptation of it that had its debut yesterday.  I intended to get to it yesterday, on Christmas, but, for various reasons, didn’t.  And I confess that my enthusiasm for the film has already waned somewhat, based upon what I’m hearing [Read More...]

Human reason and the rationality of the universe

    “I believe that a full understanding of this remarkable human capacity for scientific discovery ultimately requires the insight that our power in this respect is the gift of the universe’s Creator who, in that ancient and powerful phrase, has made humanity in the image of God (Genesis I: 26-27). Through the exercise of [Read More...]

A thought on motherhood

    “One thing is certain: When the time has come, nothing which is man-made will subsist. One day, all human accomplishments will be reduced to a pile of ashes. But every single child to whom a woman has given birth will live forever, for he has been given an immortal soul made to God’s [Read More...]

“Temple attendance is a Christlike gift”

    My 2014 Christmas column for the Deseret News went up this morning, and I’m frankly shocked.  None of the Usual Suspects have commented.  There’s been no mockery, no derision, no atheist manifestos, no response at all.  Nada.   Weird.  I can’t imagine that they take a day off at Christmas time.  One or [Read More...]

A final apostolic testimony

    As Christmas 2014 draws toward its close, it seems appropriate to post a powerful apostolic testimony that many of us older folks heard when it was first given on 6 April 1985.   Elder Bruce R. McConkie, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, had been suffering from cancer for about eighteen months at [Read More...]

Christmas Cheer 32

    For this final installment of “Christmas Cheer” for 2014, I’ve chosen a very short video of a very small act:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxNMU...   We’re all capable of doing little things like this.