Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 935

“‘The Book of Mormon is True’ studies the importance of a unique vocabulary”

    This sounds very interesting, and I look forward to reading it:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...   Other studies that have found seemingly distinct authorial voices within the Book of Mormon include:   Grant Hardy.  Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010)   Roger R. Keller.  Book of Mormon Authors: [Read More...]

Two testimonies from an internationally noted planetary scientist

    Here’s one in writing:   http://mormonscholarstestify.org/2791...   Here’s another in the form of a beautifully produced four-minute video from the Church:   https://www.lds.org/pages/we-lived-wi...    

BOM 2 Nephi 32

    I suspect that the church sign above has been photoshopped.  But it takes very little searching to discover real anti-Mormon websites and other materials exhorting their audiences absolutely not to pray about the Book of Mormon.  So, whether or not the sign is authentic, the sentiment is genuine.   Which puts me in mind [Read More...]

“Nine memorable quotes from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird'”

    Harper Lee, the author of the legendary American novel To Kill a Mockingbird, died on Friday at the age of eighty-nine.  Here are nine quotations from that must-read book:   http://m.deseretnews.com/top/3604/0/9...   Thanks to Nathaniel Hancock for bringing this article to my attention.   And, by the way, a commenter added two more good [Read More...]

“No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning”

    I’m not remotely qualified to judge the scientific merits of this debate, but it’s fascinating to see that the notion of a cosmic “Big Bang” roughly 13.7-13.8 billion years ago, which only became established doctrine within my lifetime (after the demise of Fred Hoyle’s “Steady State” alternative), may perhaps be on the way [Read More...]

“The Great Jerusalem Temple Prophecy: Latter-day Context and Likening unto Us”

    The linked item below was called to my attention by its author, my friend and colleague Jeff Chadwick, with the following note:   “SUNDAY SCHOOL ALERT: In the BOOK OF MORMON, Nephi starts his long Isaiah section not with Isaiah chapter 1, but with Isaiah chapter 2 and THE GREAT JERUSALEM TEMPLE PROPHECY. [Read More...]

Of making many objections to Mormonism there is no end

    And (with apologies to Ecclesiastes 12:12) much study can be a weariness of the flesh.   But here’s a remarkable resource for responding to such objections:   http://en.fairmormon.org/Table_of_Con...   It certainly doesn’t exhaust all that might be said, and my own strong preference is to set forth reasons to believe rather than to [Read More...]

“Poll shows BYU students prefer socialist Sanders”

  Does anybody else out there who cares about BYU and the future of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints find this at least a little bit, umm, problematic?   Does anyone wonder what our students have been taught at home, and what they’re being taught in their political science and history and [Read More...]

BOM 2 Nephi 31

    Today’s reading, 2 Nephi 31, is a marvelously clear statement of the necessity of baptism.  I certainly can’t improve on it, so I’m going to quote it.  At least one or two passages, anyway — “for my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of [Read More...]

The mark of a cynic

    “A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.” H. L. Mencken