First, I’ve added a new section to the menu at left on Travel/Speaking plans.
Second, our book is now available to order from BYU Bookstore for $9.50, or a free pdf from the Life Sciences webpage.
Is the Endowment Best Understood as a “Gift”? And What does Incense have to do with Anything?
We LDS often say “endowment means a gift.” Yes, but that is both incomplete and not even the main or most important part! As it turns out, “endow” has several hundred years of financial/property/donation/gift ideas behind it, so it’s not surprising to hear that kind of meaning applied to the temple ordinances. This, however, is the tip of a very large iceberg, and all the interesting stuff is below the surface.
May 4th is Not Just Star Wars Day…
Few Latter-day Saints, I think, know that May 4 is a significant day in LDS liturgical history. (This is reposted from last year.) Continue reading
New book (and new essays!) on the Church, science, and evolution
For several years, I have been one of several co-editors nursing a book on Latter-day Saints, faith, and evolution through the production stage. I’m pleased to announce it’s now available. Free. Continue reading
Understanding Who Genesis Is TO Tells Us What Genesis Is FOR
I gave my second Institute lecture on the early chapters of Genesis this week, and laid some important groundwork.
Some announcements, new videos, and personal lessons
Before anything else… I will not have weekly posts on Doctrine&Covenants because a) it’s not my area, and b) I think it’s our hardest book to teach in the four-year cycle. I really struggle with D&C, to be honest. There will be some posts here and there, but I’m trying to write some books and articles.
Merry Christmas! I Give You… My Dissertation On Latter-day Saints and Creation/Evolution Conflict
Now available from ProQuest, in Pdf, paperback, or hardcover, the new hot dissertation EVERYONE wants to read!
“The Scientist is Wrong”: Joseph Fielding Smith, George McCready Price, and the Ascent of Creationist Thought among Latter-day Saints in the Twentieth Century
A few notes, followed by the Dissertation Abstract, and my story:
Mary and the Annunciation as a Model for Scripture Study
At the opening of BYU’s 2019 Reconciling Evolution workshop—which focuses on biology pedagogy with religious students— Associate Academic Vice-President John Rosenberg represented the University in welcoming the dozens of participants to BYU. He spoke on the pursuit of knowledge, using medieval depictions of Mary, Gabriel, and the Annunciation. I have adapted my notes from his presentation for this post, by permission.
Church History/ Doctrine& Covenants Resources (and the blog) for 2025
(Post with minor updates from four years ago.)
I do not intend to write a weekly post on the Come Follow Me section. D&C is the book I have taught the least, read the least, know the least about, and have the most limited mental bibliography. While I do American religious history, 1820-1850 is not my time period or specialty at all. Second, I am up to my eyeballs in writing projects: turning my dissertation into a book, some spin-off articles, and some other things. I will continue to write posts, some about D&C and Church history, but approximately… whenever the muse strikes and I have time.
Canaanite Santa Claus, Handel’s Messiah, and the Real St. Nicholas
I’ve plugged Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) before, a great magazine (with pictures!) aimed at laypeople interested in the history, text, interpretation, and archaeology of the Bible. (Notably, there are some LDS in there from time to time!) It’s scholarly but accessible, includes multiple perspectives, and the letters to the editor are illustrative and amusing. Worth subscribing to. Continue reading
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