Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 878

A tiny historical note about Tuscany

    The English form of their name obscures the fact somewhat, but the region of Italy known as Tuscany — in Italian, Toscana — recalls the rather mysterious ancient people known as the Etruscans.  The Latin titles by which they were known among the ancient Romans were Etrusci and Tusci.  The former gives us the term [Read More...]

“Who were the first apostles of Jesus?”

    The original Christian apostles were closely interrelated men from a tiny provincial area.  Were they appropriate leaders for a worldwide church?  The Lord plainly thought so:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Posted from Terricciola, Italy    

Two thoughts from Peter Kreeft, of Boston College

    “The national anthem of hell is, ‘I Did It My Way.'”   “In an age that has thrown off all tradition, the only rebellion possible is orthodoxy.”   Posted from Terricciola, Italy    

DN: “Archaeology and the boyhood of Jesus in Nazareth”

    As the saying goes, the mute stones speak:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Posted from Terricciola, Italy    

How would Ptolemy have viewed Newton?

    Because a fact seems strange to you, you conclude that it is not one. . . .  All science, however, commences by being strange.  Science is successive.  It goes from one wonder to another.  It mounts by a ladder.  The science of to-day would seem extravagant to the science of a former time. [Read More...]

“Mormons at the Forefront”

    Responding to the prominent Calvinist theologian Richard Mouw, a friendly critic of Mormonism (whom I respect), the Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl Givens takes up a theme that Truman Madsen raised in BYU Studies 15/1 (1974) (“Are Christians Mormon?”) and that David Paulsen revisited in BYU Studies 45/1 (2006) (“Are Christians Mormon? Reassessing Joseph Smith’s Theology [Read More...]

“Is ‘Nauvoo’ a genuinely Hebrew word?”

    The late Fawn Brodie, an alleged biographer of Joseph Smith, initially claimed that Nauvoo isn’t an authentically Hebrew word but, instead, was a mere  figment of Joseph’s fertile (and unscrupulous) imagination.  She has been followed in this claim by some critics of Mormonism.   Robert Boylan sets them straight:   http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.i...   Posted from [Read More...]

A BYU choir’s wonderful rendition of “Amazing Grace”

    Perfect for a Sabbath day:   http://www.littlethings.com/amazing-g...   Posted from Terricciola, Italy    

God and the Astronomers

    For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream.  He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who [Read More...]

“Alma . . . Did Judge Righteous Judgments”

    In the 165th scripture roundtable posted by the Interpreter Foundation, Kristine Frederickson, Craig Foster, Ben McGuire, and Daniel Peterson discuss Mosiah 29 and Alma 1-4, the Book of Mormon chapters covered by Lesson 21 in the 2016 Gospel Doctrine manual: Scripture Roundtable 165: Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 21, Alma… Did Judge [Read More...]