Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 250

Was Jesus “White”?

    The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent out a letter earlier this week calling upon local leaders to ensure that the foyers of our meetinghouses contain artwork that is focused on Jesus Christ.  This is, of course, entirely consistent with the renewed emphasis on the proper name […]

1820, Again

    In response to yesterday’s blog post “SOMETHING happened in 1820 . . .,” my friend and colleague Ed Snow called my attention to another set of passages in the paperback edition of William J. Bernstein, The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World Was Created (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004):   […]

Religion and “Deaths of Despair”

    A reader of, and commenter on, this blog who goes by the moniker LB has kindly called this fascinating article — which appeared on 6 May 2020 in JAMA [Journal of the American Medical Association] Psychiatry — to my attention:   “Religious Service Attendance and Deaths Related to Drugs, Alcohol, and Suicide Among US […]

Happiness, Excitement, Health, and Wealth?

    I continue to share my notes from Paul McFate, 52 Good Reasons to Go to Church, Besides the Obvious Ones (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2004).  Here are some additional examples of the good things that might come to you and your family if you regularly attend religious services:   More Happiness and Excitement in […]

SOMETHING happened in 1820 . . .

    The hosts for the 10 May 2020 installment of the Interpreter Radio Show were Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. During the first hour of the program, they discussed Dr. Gee’s new book Saving Faith.  During the second hour, they conducted a roundtable on the upcoming Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon […]

A Lost Book by Luke?

    I cannot resist (and am not inclined to resist) the temptation to quote a couple of additional passages from the translator’s preface to J. B. Phillips, The Young Church in Action: A Translation of the Acts of The Apostles (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955):   The period covered by this book [the […]

Has the volcano responsible for the destruction in 3 Nephi been located?

    I turn, again, to sharing notes from Jeff Wynn and Louise Wynn, Everyone is a Believer: The Growing Convergence of Science and Religion (2019):   But what caused the “vapor of darkness” described in 3 Nephi [chapter 8, verses] 19 and 20?  This was almost certainly a smothering blanket of volcanic ash.  As attention-garnering as it was, […]

J. B. Phillips on Luke as historian

    I’ve long been a fan of J. B. Phillips (1906-1982) and his translation of the New Testament (and some of the Old).  In fact, somewhat more than a year ago, I posted a blog entry about him that included a story that I think some readers might find quite surprising, as he himself […]

At the very foundation of the Restoration

    Newly announced on the website of Cruise Lady: Latter-day Adventures:   Hill Cumorah Finale & Sacred Church History Tour   My wife and I will be accompanying this tour, which will run from 14 July 2021 to 23 July 2021.  I’m really quite excited to be doing it.   ***   New, from the […]

“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest,” revisited

    In response to my immediately previous blog entry, entitled “David Whitmer’s June 1829 journey from Fayette to Harmony and back,” I received the following comment and question:  “If you zoom in on the actor’s (who is playing David Whitmer) lower back, you can clearly see an electronic device of some sort with a bundle […]