Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 951

“A Wrested Development: Mourning with Those that Mourn as a Rhetorical Weapon”

    A very insightful little piece:   http://www.sixteensmallstones.org/a-w...   I’ve noticed exactly the same thing, but J. Max Wilson does a really good job here of identifying what’s going on.    

Thank You, Iowa!

    Well, Mr. Donald J. Trump, of New York City, came and gave Iowa a try.   Townspeople:Oh, there’s nothing halfwayAbout the Iowa way to treat you,When we treat youWhich we may not do at all. There’s an Iowa kind of special Chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. We’ve never been without.That we recall.We can be coldAs our falling thermometers in [Read More...]

BOM 2 Nephi 14

    The first verse of today’s reading, 2 Nephi 14 (= Isaiah 4) seems as if it should really have been numbered with the previous chapter.   But the rest of 2 Nephi 14/Isaiah 4 is a refreshing contrast to the preceding chapter, for, whereas the verses immediately before it had condemned the daughters of Jerusalem, this [Read More...]

Knowledge, hate, and love

    By men, of course, he meant people:   “Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.” John Steinbeck    

News Flash: Bill Maher ISN’T actually the embodiment of pure scientific rationality, fed on pure objective evidence!

    Bill Maher likes to make fun of religions and religious people.  He absolutely oozes smug superiority.   I seldom think about him and I don’t watch him, but I know that Mormons are a favorite target of his often mean-spirited jibes.  Just within the past few days, for instance, I saw, somewhere, a [Read More...]

Warning: Three More Articles That Are Critical of Mr. Donald Trump

    “Dear Trump Voters, Your Darling is a Two-Timing Cad”   “Ben Sasse Asks the Donald: Would a President Trump Govern According to the Constitution?”   “A Serious Senator Sasse Challenges Trump’s One-Man View of Governing”   To paraphrase the immortal line from the 2007 fantasy film September Dawn, “Iowans, do your duty!”   [Read More...]

The father of microcredit

    A Muslim hero of mine:   “Grameen Bank was formed as an institution owned by its borrower members, who are poor women.  Through its unique decision-making process, Grameen Bank has given millions of women the means to emerge from the shadows in a male-dominated society and to make something of themselves.” Muhammad Yunus [Read More...]

Has the Church’s stance on homosexuality caused a recent rash of suicides?

    You may have seen this claim of late.   It’s evidence, or so we’re told, that the Church is wrong on the matter of homosexuality.  And that the Church’s position is not only mistaken but, to some degree or another, evil.  Callous.  Hateful.   But is the factual claim true in the first place? [Read More...]

A video tour of the new Provo City Center Temple

    If you haven’t had a chance to tour the new Provo City Center Temple during its open house — or even if you have — you will, I think, enjoy and profit from this video tour (“Architectural details of the Provo City Center Temple”).  The visual quality is excellent and the informative commentary [Read More...]

BOM 2 Nephi 13

    Today’s reading, 2 Nephi 13 (= Isaiah 3), is, in many ways, a horrifying one.   By means of various symbols, Isaiah is trying to express the total upending of “normalcy” in Jerusalem and Judah that will come as a result of divine judgment upon their unrighteousness and unfaithfulness.   Generals, judges, wise counselors, “prophets” [Read More...]