Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 983

“HaShem and Allah: Who Knew?”

    A nice report on a joint Jewish-Muslim activity:   http://www.jewishjournal.com/morethod...   I like this sort of thing very much.  It gives me at least some faint hope.   Posted from Richmond, Virginia    

“Scriptural Style in Early-Nineteenth-Century American Literature”

    Some critics of Mormonism have triumphantly announced that they’ve identified Joseph Smith’s source for his Book of Mormon . . .  in a book called The Late War, and/or in a book called The American Revolution.  (Their theory doesn’t account for the Witnesses, or correlations between the Book of Mormon and its claimed setting [Read More...]

The Title Page of the Book of Mormon

    Still inspired by something that Elder David A. Bednar said roughly two years ago in a speech at Brigham Young University, and in sync with the 2016 Gospel Doctrine curriculum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I’m launching a project to read through the Book of Mormon, one chapter each day, and to [Read More...]

Three more reflections on Christmas before it goes away for a year, plus a bonus item

    Three serious but very different (non-Mormon) responses to Christmas:   “The Only Christmas Gift That Matters”   “Christmas in an Age of Existential Crisis”   “This Christmas, We Must Revive the Virtue of Gratitude”   And, as an extra treat, something that promises simultaneously to depress, irritate, and amuse you:   “Students Sign [Read More...]

“The Preposterous Book of Mormon: A Singular Advantage”

    On 8 August 2014, Robert F. Smith delivered an interesting paper at the annual FairMormon conference.  The text is available online, and it makes for good reading in connection with the approaching focus of the adult Sunday school curriculum on the Book of Mormon:   http://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/...   Posted from Richmond, Virginia    

“This thing which is come to pass”

    Reflecting on the Christmas story and its legacy:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article...   Posted from Richmond, Virginia    

“Jesus Christ’s Interactions with the Women of the New Testament”

    Even on Christmas Day — if it falls on a Friday – Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture continues to produce:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/jesu...   Posted from Richmond, Virginia    

“Joseph Smith’s Last Christmas”

    A little item — don’t expect too much — from the non-LDS historian John Turner:   http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousb...   As for us, we’ve been hitting some of the family Christmas traditions:   We had the missionaries (Sister Lawson and Sister Gerrigues) over last night for a Cuban pork dinner, accompanied by juca (or cassava) and [Read More...]

“How Mormon volunteers launch the best Christmas lights in San Diego”

    A nice LDS contribution to Christmas in southern California:   http://timesofsandiego.com/life/2015/...   And, as a bonus, I add this item (brought to my attention by Jabra Ghneim):   “Twenty photos of temples looking like winter wonderlands”   Posted from Richmond, Virginia, which is warm, green, and humid today    

Music of Christmas 29

    For my final installment of “Music of Christmas” for 2015, I offer two pieces.   I’ve always loved Miklos Rozsa’s score for the movie Ben Hur.  And his “Star of Bethlehem” is, in my opinion, one of its two highlights:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0cFM...   I heard a wonderful arrangement of it not long ago, performed [Read More...]