Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 280

“The spirit of contention”

    I continue with thoughts that are more or less in the vein of my immediately previous post (“An apostle makes a political move”):   I make a pretty serious effort — largely successful, though not invariably so — to avoid politics on my blog during the Sabbath.  I believe that Sundays (or whatever […]

An apostle makes a political move

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often accused by its critics of unseemly interference in political matters.  I’ve seldom if ever been impressed by the accusation.  But I did, just once, see a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles consciously and expressly seeking to have a political impact […]

“One of the ugliest political spectacles I have ever witnessed”

    From a recent article by the superb conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg:   I have criticized—and defended—Mitt Romney many times. But the effort, admittedly mostly from the worst goons, buffoons, and satraps of Trumpism, to describe him as a person of low character in defense of President Trump is one of the ugliest political […]

Current American politics explained, and other scientific news

    Here’s a remarkable little essay by the Dutch computer scientist and philosopher Bernardo Kastrup that merits some serious pondering: “Consciousness Cannot Have Evolved: The sooner we acknowledge it, the sooner we’ll solve the hard problem of consciousness”   And here’s another provocative essay by Manuel Berdoy, of the Division of Medical Sciences at the […]

“It was incredible, how fantastic I felt!”

    I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker:  My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2012).  Mr. Besteman, who died (for the last time) in 2012, had a career as […]

Mitt Romney a RINO? A Democrat?

    Of course, nobody really expected graciousness from President Trump:   “Trump Hits Romney as ‘Democrat'”   And, quite predictably, many infuriated Trumpists have been denouncing Senator Romney as a “RINO,” a “Repubican in Name Only.”   This is flat nonsense.  It is either ignorant or dishonest or some blend of the two.   […]

“Bad Grammar in the Book of Mormon Found in Early English Bibles”

    Another new article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.  It was written by Dr. Stanford Carmack:   “Bad Grammar in the Book of Mormon Found in Early English Bibles” Abstract: This study describes ten types of grammatical usage found in early modern Bibles with correlates in the original […]

Am I a conservative?

    Since I’m not a fan of Mr. Donald J. Trump and since I have recently posted and will shortly post some items that have infuriated his partisans, I think it important to offer some context for my position:   I’ve been repeatedly denounced as a liberal because of my disinclination to bow the […]

Reprise: “Harry Reid, My Brother”

    I’ve plainly angered and alienated a number of people over the past day or so because of my belief that Mitt Romney’s principled and courageous vote in the Senate regarding the impeachment of President Trump is worthy of respect, regardlesss of one’s stance on the merits of his vote. So — what the […]

Sacred Calendars and the Millennium

    I published the article below in the Provo Daily Herald on 1 December 1999:   The approach of the year 2000 has led to much reflection, speculation, and arrant nonsense.  For some it has become an excuse to celebrate the “party of the millennium.”  Some fear the economic and social chaos of the […]