Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 211

Late 1870, near Logan, Utah

    Here are some reminiscences from William Pilkington, as given in Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon (Provo: BYU Studies, 2018).  Young William boarded with and worked for Martin Harris Jr. for a year, near Logan, Utah, and, while there, met a very old man who […]

Revision 4.24 “Contrasting Islam and Latter-day Saint Teaching” (Part 4)

    Islam insists on an absolute gulf, an unbridgeable chasm, between God and everything else in the universe. There is no kin­ship between Creator and creature, any more than there is a genetic relationship between Thomas Edison and the lightbulb.[1] In Islam, Jesus too is a creature.[2] Educated Muslims will proba­bly understand what we […]

Revision 4.23 “Contrasting Islam and Latter-day Saint Teaching” (Part 3)

    Islam is an absolutely rigorous, pure monotheism. “To God alone is true worship due,” declares the Qur’an.[1] In this regard, it resembles Judaism rather more than Christianity. There is no God-man in Islam, no divine Son. A chasm separates man from God. Even the doctrine of the Trinity, with its claim that three […]

Martin Harris, testifying in 1870

    Here are some further reports about Martin Harris just before and following his arrival in Utah in 1870, from Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon (Provo: BYU Studies, 2018):   Edward Stevenson first heard Martin Harris bear testimony that an angel had shown him the […]

Is religion a failed attempt at scientific explanation?

    Here’s a passage from Alister McGrath, The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010).  McGrath is a former atheist, now an Anglican priest, who holds three Oxford doctorates — in molecular biophysics, theology, and intellectual history.  In this passage, he cites the very prominent British […]

Revision 4.22 “Contrasting Islam and Latter-day Saint Teaching” (Part 2)

    I have already hinted in this chapter at some of the differences between the Qur’anic version of biblical stories and the earlier Hebrew accounts. It will be recalled that, according to the Qur’an, Abraham and Ishmael came down to west central Arabia and there founded the Meccan Ka’ba, asking that they might be […]

Can the study of history yield genuine knowledge?

    There are those — some of them read my blog — who appear to argue that science is the only valid kind of knowledge, and that anything that isn’t scientific isn’t really knowledge.   I find such claims — if that’s indeed what they’re really saying — unspeakably weird and obviously false.   […]

When Political Opinion is the New Religion

    This item is newly posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:   Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 37 “Arise and Come Forth unto Me”: 3 Nephi 8-11 On 16 August 2020, Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson, and Mike Parker were the discussants in an Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 37, “Arise […]

Revision 4.21 “Contrasting Islam and Latter-day Saint Teaching” (Part 1)

    So far, I have emphasized the similarities between Islam and Chris­tianity. Specifically, I have concentrated on resemblances between Islam and the restored gospel. This has been deliberate. I have tried to correct the misperception held by many people that Islam is a totally foreign religion, even a form of paganism. Such opinions are […]

Regarding the Young/Dumb at BYU, and Watermelons

    If you are one of these selfish and irresponsible idiots, please stop it.  If you know one of these selfish and irresponsible idiots, please tell him or her to stop it:   “Large parties held in Provo as COVID-19 on the rise at BYU”   There may be light at the end of […]