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
Historian of Religion, Science, and Biblical Interpretation
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
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
The line “check yourself before you wreck yourself” is from a rap song but also happens to just 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
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
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
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.
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
My dissertation involves a lot of President Joseph Fielding Smith, particularly the way he interpreted scripture, his influential assumptions, and conclusions. Continue reading
Logos is my preferred source of electronic books. I’ve used it for 20 years. Continue reading
In June 1965, the LDS Sunday School presidency informally began a new series on science and religion, written by LDS scientists. Continue reading
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