Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 939

The Donald, Vladimir, and Saddam: A New Mutual Admiration Society?

    A while back, Mr. Donald Trump had some very positive things to say about Mr. Vladimir Putin, who had just had some good things to say about him:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...   Now, Mr. Trump has made a rather wistfully positive remark about the late Mr. Saddam Hussein, a former resident of the Iraqi [Read More...]

BOM 2 Nephi 28

    Today’s reading, 2 Nephi 28, leads me to ask a few questions:   Is there any religious contention today?  (See verse 3.)   Are there theologians and ecclesiastical leaders and academics in religious studies out there who take a purely or largely intellectual approach to matters of religion, neglecting revelation and the Spirit?  (See [Read More...]

“Seek ye for the Kingdom of God”

    For the Interpreter Foundation’s 156th scripture roundtable, Cassandra Hedelius, Craig Foster, Stephen Smoot, Martin Tanner, and Bruce Webster discussed Jacob 1-4, the passages from the Book of Mormon that form the basis of 2016 Gospel Doctrine lesson 12:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scri...   Posted from Ka’anapali, Maui, Hawai‘i    

“With Kinshasa Temple Groundbreaking, Church Growing Rapidly in Africa”

    http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article...   See also   “Ground Broken for First Central Africa Temple”   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii    

“Mormonism, Islam, and the Question of Other Religions”

    I delivered these remarks at the FairMormon conference that was held in August 2011:   http://www.fairmormon.org/perspective...   I like to imagine that perhaps one or two people out there might find them of at least some slight interest.   I apologize for the fact — I just noticed it — that my block [Read More...]

A new form of water created?

    Or, more precisely, of ice?   Here’s a strange item out of the University of Nebraska:   http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoda...   And, by the way, Ameritas (in the article) is actually not a misspelling of Emeritus.   I’m looking at a whole lot of water right now.  But there’s absolutely no ice in sight.  Weird, [Read More...]

What is government?

    Government is an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself. Ibn Khaldun (1332 [Tunis]-1406 [Cairo])   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii    

Honesty in Science (or Not)

    Stephen Smoot brings this interesting item to my notice, accompanied by this ironic comment:  “I’m confused, Dan. I have been assured by a whole bunch of Internet atheists, including atheist ex-Mormons, that scientists are walking embodiments of objectivity, honesty, and critical rationality. Only theists, and especially filthy ‘apologists,’ would do something like falsify [Read More...]

“Press Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ”

    Cassandra Hedelius, Stephen Smoot, and Daniel Peterson participated in the Interpreter Foundation’s 155th scripture roundtable.  It focuses on 2016 Gospel Doctrine lesson 11, which, in its turn, is built around 2 Nephi 31-33:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scri...   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii    

On caring about appearances

    Cure yourself of the affliction of caring how you appear to others.  Concern yourself only with how you appear before God, concern yourself only with the idea that God may have of you. Miguel de Unamuno (d. 1936)   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii