With the alignment of Seminary to the Come Follow Me schedule, this year’s high school seniors will graduate with D&C twice, but no Old Testament.
Continue reading “Recorded Devotional for Seminary Seniors who Didn’t Get the Old Testament”
Tales from the Archive: Henry Eyring Teaches the First Presidency about Carbon-14 Dating
Henry Eyring Sr. taught chemistry at the University of Utah, but also served on the general Sunday School board for the LDS Church from 1946 onwards. He frequently spoke about science and religion. Continue reading “Tales from the Archive: Henry Eyring Teaches the First Presidency about Carbon-14 Dating”
Tales from the Archive: Apostasy at the Logan Institute
In 1950, a number of LDS teachers at the Logan Institute and BYU signed a letter to President J. Reuben Clark regarding one of their newly-hired colleagues. Continue reading “Tales from the Archive: Apostasy at the Logan Institute”
Science as a Legitimate Contributor to our Knowledge of Creation and Earth History
As noted in a prior post, Orson F. Whitney authored the 1909 First Presidency statement on “The Origin of Man.” He sent a letter to John Widtsoe with that draft, along with some notes. Although Whitney was strongly opposed to evolution, he acknowledge that science could play a role in clarifying earth history. Continue reading “Science as a Legitimate Contributor to our Knowledge of Creation and Earth History”
D&C 20:1, Plain Reading, and Literal Reading; or, Chexegesis Before You Wrexegesis
The line “check yourself before you wreck yourself” is from a rap song and also happens to be good advice. “Chexegesis before you wrexegesis” adapts that wisdom to the realm of scripture, that you shouldn’t make strong declarations about scripture’s meaning without checking up on what it actually says and means. Continue reading “D&C 20:1, Plain Reading, and Literal Reading; or, Chexegesis Before You Wrexegesis”
A quick note on the blog, Amazon, and compliance
I’ve been writing online for about 17 years, and now with my own site, I get the upside of controlling all my own content, presentation, and associations, and the downside of figuring out how to do the tech aspects, pay for it, etc. Continue reading “A quick note on the blog, Amazon, and compliance”
What I’m Doing Here, and What I Hope Others Will Do
I am not an “evolution apologist.” Although I suspect I have more scientific training than your average historian, I’m not a scientist. And more likely than not, neither is my average reader. For that reason, and because I don’t follow the specialized and technical literature, I don’t engage in scientific debate about evolution. Rather, in keeping with my own training and expertise, my approach is historical, scriptural, and theological. And historically, I understand how and why evolution has come to be the dominant way to make sense of mountains of data across multiple fields, and why 98% of scientists accept evolution as the best explanation of all that data. Continue reading “What I’m Doing Here, and What I Hope Others Will Do”
The 1909 First Presidency Statement in Its Historical Context
Some Latter-day Saints have touted the 1909 First Presidency statement as the definitive doctrinal repudiation of evolution for all time; Elder McConkie wanted it canonized and added to the 1978/82 scripture revisions, for example.
Continue reading “The 1909 First Presidency Statement in Its Historical Context”
Tales from the Archives: Mission President?!
Imagine coming off your mission, and later getting called back, but as Mission President. Oh, and it’s only a few years later, so… you’re a 26 yr-old Mission President. Also, your mission territory includes “China, India, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and the Pacific Islands.” That was the experience of Grant Heaton. Continue reading “Tales from the Archives: Mission President?!”
Joseph Fielding Smith on Scriptural interpretation and Scientific Conflict
My dissertation involves a lot of President Joseph Fielding Smith, particularly the way he interpreted scripture, his influential assumptions, and conclusions. Continue reading “Joseph Fielding Smith on Scriptural interpretation and Scientific Conflict”
