In 1984, Neal A. Maxwell was interviewed privately. At that point, he had served as Apostle for three years, as Seventy for five, Commissioner of Church Education, etc.
Page 16 of 39
Come Follow Me: Helaman 1-5, History, and Causality
Today’s text includes a good bit of carry-over from the war chapters, while adding political intrigue and plots. Continue reading
Personal Reflections on Scripture, Authority, and Negotiating Faith
In response to my recent post on the temple, “How Long Adam and Eve were in the Garden,” someone asked why I don’t just jettison the Adam and Eve story entirely. The short and dramatic answer is… Continue reading
I am a conservative, and I believe in America…
And that is why I will not vote for Donald Trump, nor any politician at the local or state level who supports him.
Make America honorable again, by voting out Trumpism wherever it is found.
Remembering Armand Mauss and His Work
I’m on the road, and pressed for time, but wanted to leave a brief memory and paean for Armand Mauss, an LDS sociologist, academic, disciple, and wonderful person. Some biography and other memories here from the SLTrib, here from a number of LDS scholars, here from Claremont, where he had been on the Mormon Studies Council. Continue reading
Leonard Arrington on Church Office Culture and Magazines in 1973
I don’t have anything particular to say here, only that I’d like to increase my short posts with a thought, a historical observation, etc., often from my dissertation work. This is from Leonard Arrington’s journals, Dec 4, 1973, talking about the chain of command with the newly reorganized Church magazines.
Come Follow Me: Alma 40-42, Three Generations of Rebels and Repentance
These chapters (beginning in 39) are all focused on Corianton, who gets quite the paternal talk. Assuming that these chapters aren’t using Corianton merely as a framework to talk doctrine (i.e. why would this all be recorded, or is Mormon expanding it?), we can guess that Corianton hadn’t understood some things, such as the resurrection, justice, mercy, atonement. And granted, it’s not as if these are basic arithmetic, easily graspable.
What do we know about Corianton? Continue reading
Come Follow Me: Alma 36-39 Notes and Suggestions
The Book of Mormon has a variable pace. Occasionally, we skip through decades or even hundreds of years on a single page. Other times, like today, Mormon’s editing moves us into super slow motion, relatively speaking. What is probably only a few hours in real time for Alma to speak to his sons occupies six full chapters, which we slow down further by breaking it up into two weeks of study. (This will be significant for understanding Alma 43 onwards, and I’ll comment further there.)
“We don’t know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden”: Genre and the Temple, Part 3
See here and here for parts 1 and 2
Some Latter-day Saints, including some General Authorities like Joseph Fielding Smith, have tried to resolve apparent discrepancies between scripture and science on the age of the earth by asserting that “we don’t know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden.” The implication is that the while the earth went on existing, potentially for millions or billions of years, Adam and Eve remained effectively in stasis in the garden planted eastward in Eden.
I see three arguments against this view.
Come Follow Me: Alma 32-34
I open today with the structure of the text we’re covering. Alma 30-34 are really one unit, which we break up. In the 1830 Book of Mormon, they constitute one chapter, Alma XVI. Presumably, we’re breaking these up because of their doctrinal nature; we want to slow down and spend time on them.
Today we cover Alma 32-34, which looks like thisin the rough big-picture outline.
32– Alma continues preaching at Antionum; “faith sermon” on the hill Onidah.
33– Crowd’s negative response; Alma continues his sermon.
34– Amulek takes over, and preaches to the crowd on the hill.
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