Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1196

Alma 8

    I’ve known several people who’ve had an experience much like that of Alma and Amulek in today’s reading, Alma 8.   I’ve known one or two who tell of having been accepted into a house while serving as missionaries because someone had seen them in a dream or a vision.   And I’ve [Read More...]

Christmas Cheer 18

    Posted from Orlando, Florida    

Alma 7

    Today’s reading, Alma 7, features the prophecy that the Savior will be “born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers” (7:10).   Generations of anti-Mormons have made merry over this obvious error; anybody familiar with Christmas carols knows that Jesus was born in the “little town of Bethlehem,” not [Read More...]

Of emptiness and ersatz fullness

    “Far better it is for you to say: ‘I am a sinner,’ than to say: ‘I have no need of religion.’ The empty can be filled, but the self-intoxicated have no room for God.”  (Fulton J. Sheen)   Posted from Orlando, Florida    

Was the Universe created for humans?

    “We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures. .  .  If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the Universe was created for man to live in.” John A. O’Keefe [Read More...]

A question for Muslims, students of Islam, and similar folk out there

    For a project that I’m hoping to launch in the next couple of weeks or so, I’m trying to put together a small list of historically-significant Muslims, past or contemporary, who could serve as acceptable role models for believers wanting to live Islam sincerely in modern pluralistic societies.   Does that make sense?  They don’t [Read More...]

“Who were the ‘wise men’?”

    Today’s biweekly Hamblin-Peterson column has appeared in the Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   It’s seasonally appropriate.   Posted from Orlando, Florida    

“The Mormon Advantage”

    A really interesting article, in a secular magazine, by a Roman Catholic commentator:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article...   Be warned, though:  As a friend observed, this article really sent the haters into a frenzy.  Newspaper and magazine comments sections are rarely worth reading, and this is no exception to the general rule.   Posted from [Read More...]

Music of Christmas 16

    I asked my Havana-born daughter-in-law to recommend a Cuban Christmas carol.  That gave her pause.  It seems that the Castro brothers haven’t been major patrons of Christmas music.   So she recommended two general Hispanic Christmas songs, and I got a kick out of the suggestions:   First, the familiar Feliz Navidad, by [Read More...]

“Why Jews — and everyone else — should see ‘Meet the Mormons’”

    Thanks to Jabra Ghneim for bringing this article, in a Jewish publication, to my notice:   http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-...   Posted from Orlando, Florida