Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1211

A young Mormon flash mob in Zürich, Switzerland

    A group of young Latter-day Saints stage a flash mob in Zürich, handing out “I’m a Mormon” pass-along cards afterwards:   http://www.hlt.ch/news/eine-neue-idee...   Thanks to Tom Walker for bringing this to my notice.  I like it a lot better than having missionaries accost people walking along the sidewalk, and I think this sort [Read More...]

“A place designed to make saints”

    A reflection, in my weekly Deseret News column, on the difficulties of mortal life:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Posted from Newport Beach, California    

St. Thomas on conversion

    “To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them.”  (St. Thomas Aquinas)     Posted from Newport Beach, California    

On eating “halal” meat

    I received an email a few days ago warning me against eating “halal” meat — that is, meat from animals that have been slaughtered in Islamically approved ways (i.e., the Islamic equivalent of kosher laws).   It saddens me enormously to receive such emails, which increase paranoia, hostility, and mistrust against Muslims on [Read More...]

A new French Foreign Legion?

    According to the 11 October 2014 issue of The Economist, France supplies the largest — it’s not clear whether it’s the largest Western European, or the largest overall — contingent of foreign recruits for the so-called “Islamic State.”   Surprisingly, nearly twenty percent of them are female.  In some cases, entire families have gone. [Read More...]

Omni

    Today’s reading, the (again very short) book of Omni, briefly mentions a number of extraordinarily important historical items.   We learn for the first time, for example, about Zarahemla and its people, the Mulekites.  Mosiah becomes the king of a unified Nephite/Mulekite state.  And we hear of the Jaredites, and of their last [Read More...]

A tour of BYU’s new Life Sciences Building

    I’m reliably informed that we Mormons hate and fear science.  So, watching this, I have to ask myself, “What on earth were we thinking?”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=072lM...   Posted from Newport Beach, California    

That’s right: If you vote Republican you’re probably a racist who favors slavery.

      Charlie Rangel gives voice to the same  slanderous suspicion with which I’ve dealt recently here on this blog:   http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/...   Posted from Newport Beach, California    

Rhinorex condrupus!

    A cool BYU dinosaur discovery in eastern Utah:   http://news.byu.edu/archive14-sep-rhi...   Posted from Newport Beach, California    

President Eyring headed to Vatican, will address gathering on marriage there

    Some of you may have missed this interesting story:   http://www.sltrib.com/home/1779221-15...   Posted from Newport Beach, California