Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 233

Revision 1.2 “Post-Biblical Judaism”

    In the previous passage from my forthcoming book, I wrote briefly about the scandal of what we in the West have often called “world history.”  Now I focus a bit more:   Post-Biblical Judaism There is a similar gap—not scandalous, but still more than a bit unfortunate—in our knowledge of the history of […]

Some all-too-hasty thoughts for American Independence Day 2020

    The Fourth of July holiday isn’t about quasi-military parades and fireworks, spectacular and enjoyable as those can be, nor even about flag-waving.  Other nations have powerful military organizations and weaponry.  Other nations have flags.   Independence Day isn’t about nationalism, which, in itself, can be (and often has been) quite toxic.  Spanish and […]

On some proposed psychological explanations for near-death experiences

    Notes based upon Pim van Lommel, Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience (New York: HarperCollins, 2010) [originally published in Dutch as Eindeloos Bewustzijn], 125-127, where Dr. Van Lommel discusses possible effects of the fear of death:   It has been suggested that, in situations where their lives are threatened, human minds will […]

“Please Keep the Name ‘Redskins'”

    With his permission, I again share a thought-provoking Facebook entry posted by a friend, neighbor, and fellow Interpreter Foundation volunteer:   “Please Keep the Name Redskins” by Tom Pittman I am Native American. I am a member of the Tlingit tribe of Southeast Alaska. I am of the Raven moiety, and of the […]

“A faithful testimony”

    Two excerpts from Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon (Provo: BYU Studies, 2018), on Edward Stevenson and Martin Harris:   Stevenson recalled, “While I was living in Michigan, then a Territory, in 1833, near the town of Pontiac, Oakland Co., Martin Harris came there and […]

Middle Eastern Book Revision 1.1

    I’m going to resume rewriting and expanding a book here.  I begin with something of an “apology” (in the classical sense) for the volume:   I have a little book in my home library that I treasure. I love it for its impressive title: The History of the World in Two Hundred and […]

Commencing another look at the geology of the Book of Mormon

    Over the next while, I intend to share notes from a very significant book: Jerry D. Grover, Jr., Geology of the Book of Mormon (2014).  Brother Grover — who, incidentally, served from 1995 to 2007 as a member of the Utah County Commission — is a licensed Professional Structural and Civil Engineer and […]

“Every Saint who knew him loved him”

    Some further notes from Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, Personal Glimpses of the Prophet Joseph Smith (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2009):   James Leithead emigrated from Scotland to Canada, and it was there that he first heard the Restoration preached.  He and his wife were baptized in May 1837, and […]

“Offering Americans Religious and Political Salvation”

    The latest piece to appear in the pages of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship is by Craig L. Foster:   “Offering Americans Religious and Political Salvation” Review of Derek R. Sainsbury, Storming the Nation: The Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith’s Political Missionaries (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2020). 400 pages. $27.99 (hardback). […]

“What can I do, as one person, to make this world a better place?”

    I’ve spent a fair amount of time here sharing notes excerpted from Paul McFate, 52 Good Reasons to Go to Church, Besides the Obvious Ones (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2004).  With the two quotations below, I bring to a conclusion my working through McFate’s very brief (and, sadly, very hard to find) little book.  […]