Posted in Ancient Near East Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Origins Problems Scholarship Science Videos

Evaluating Book of Mormon Claims: Where Do We Stand after 187 Years?

After 187 years of critics poking fun at the Book of Mormon and exposing its weaknesses, today it seems to be the established view of numerous highly educated elites that…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Problems Scholarship Science Scripture

The Great and Spacious Book of Mormon Arcade Game

My two recent articles on Lehi’s Trail at The Interpreter  (“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Map, Part 1” and Part 2) have been noted and responded to by RT…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Critics Faith Science

Getting Nuclear with Doubt: Lessons from a Sixth-Grade Nerd

When I was in sixth grade, our teacher taught a science section on the nature of the atom. In our classroom we had a physical model with some wooden balls…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Evidence Faith Gospel of Jesus Christ Media Science Social Issues The Church

Weighing Mormonism: Thoughts for Mormon Doubters (and Readers of the New York Times)

The New York Times and Shaken Faith in Sweden The arguments that weigh against Mormonism and the LDS story of a divine Restoration came to the front page of the…

Continue Reading...
Jesus Christ
Posted in Bible Book of Mormon Doctrine Evidence Jesus Christ Science

Faith, Reason, and the Resurrection

Based on a talk given in Hangzhou, China, on Easter Sunday, 2013. Fairly close to the original talk, but with added material, particularly in the last section. The discussion of…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Evidence Faith Science

On Evidence, Knowledge, and the Whims of the Heart

Continuing on the theme of the LDS testimony and how Mormons come to “know” some things that science can’t confirm, I’ll address a common misunderstanding. Mormon “knowledge,” some say, is…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Evidence Faith Science

Mormon Testimonies and the Scientific Method

In a caricature of the LDS testimony, Mormons are said to believe in their religion because of a stray warm feeling that they mistake for knowledge from God. Some gullible…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Faith Gratitude Scholarship Science Travel

Climbing Mount Ritter: The Deliverance of John Muir

Enjoyed a tribute the life of John Muir on PBS tonight. What a majestic life. What awe and respect for the glories of nature that God has given us. Though…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Scholarship Science

“If Only 10% of These Charges, Are True, The Church is False” – The Fallacy of Quantity Versus Quality

In one of my first experiences in helping to teach the Gospel out here in Wisconsin, we had a new convert in our home who had been given volumes of…

Continue Reading...
Posted in Book of Mormon Critics DNA Evidence Science

Extinct Indian Tribe Challenges “Asia Only” Theories for Origins of Ancient Americans

In the heated controversy about DNA and the Book of Mormon, critics have insisted that science has “proven” that the origins of ancient Americans were exclusively from northern Asia via…

Continue Reading...