Category: Gospel of Jesus Christ
A Simple Example from the Book of Mormon Showing Why Scholarship Is Needed
Many Latter-day Saints seem unaware of the great body of scholarship that can strengthen faith and understanding for members of the Church and those exploring it. Such scholarship can be…
The Light of Christ and the Birth of Christ
This is the short message I gave near the end of the musical Christmas Devotional for the Appleton, Wisconsin Stake on Dec. 24, 2022 in Neenah, Wisconsin. The Light of…
The Church Announces Support for a Bill Supporting Same-Sex Marriage
The Church has spoken in favor of a federal bill supporting same-sex marriage, while still maintaining the position that homesexual activity is inconsistent with the teachings of the Gospel. Here…
Joshua Berman’s Ani Maamin: An Orthodox Jewish Scholar Provides Help in Keeping the Faith in the Face of Secular Bible Scholarship
During a recent trip to Atlanta, my wife and I connected two of our Latter-day Saint friends with dear Jewish friends there. Among the many topics of the evening, we…
A Catholic Family Gets a Visit From the FBI: A Time to Carefully Follow Stories on Threats to Religious Freedom
The opening talk of the October 2022 General Conference, “Caring for the Poor and Distressed” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, asked us to not only do more to help to…
A Tough Question: What’s the Single Most Impressive Evidence for the Book of Mormon?
A critic recently asked me a tough question: what’s the single most impressive piece of evidence for the Book of Mormon? I think he wasn’t looking for evidence that might change open his mind, but perhaps was looking to simplify his goal of attacking the Book of Mormon. But for those who really want to understand more, what evidence is most important and impressive? Here I offer a few thoughts and several possibilities for the “one best” issue to consider.
Watch the 2022 FAIR Conference for Free!
Watch the 2022 FAIR Conference for free! Formerly the FAIR Mormon Conference, the FAIR Conference features many outstanding Latter-day Saint scholars and authors who share insights on many important topics…
The “Arise from the Dust” Theme and the Unity of Isaiah
In my exploration of the “arise from the dust” theme in the Book of Mormon, published in several articles for Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day saint Faith and Scholarship (see “Arise from the Dust,” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and “Strong Like Unto Moses”) and the topic of my 2018 presentation at the FAIR Latter-day Saints Conference, I noted that passages from Isaiah 49 and Isaiah 52 play an important role in the Book of Mormon. Both involve the theme of dust….
Do I Dare Join the Woman in the Boat?
“Woman Reading in a Boat” by Arthur Becher, ca. 1910. I just awoke from a dream, or series of dreamlike images, in which I stood on my familiar shore…
Many Questions about Dementia and Just One Answer So Far
An expert on senior care, Professor Thomas Kitwood, once quipped that “when you’ve met one person patient with dementia, you’ve met … one person with dementia.” The point, of course,…
