Sic Et Non

    ***   Earlier this evening, the Interpreter Foundation posted the fifth in its series of short-feature “reels” deriving from the overall Witnesses film project.  That project is, very literally, a gift that goes on giving:   “Undaunted Witnesses Episode 5: Blessings of Kirtland“   Incidentally, in the end there will be considerably more […]

    ***   I recently read online that I’m burning with incandescent rage about the Hulu/FX miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.  Among other things, I learned that I’m beside myself with furious envy at its success.  With that in mind — and scarcely able to see the keys on my computer for sheer […]

    ***   My blog enjoys the attention and ministrations of a resident devotee of scientistic atheism.  (I’m not sure exactly what to call him in that regard.  He’s definitely not a scientist, as he himself will freely admit — well, not freely, actually; the sequences of neurochemical brain processes that result in that […]

    ***   For some reason, I got to thinking along the following lines while I was on the flight this afternoon from Salt Lake City to JFK:   Much is said about the allegedly patriarchal and misogynistic culture imposed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints upon its members and upon […]

    ***   I’ve just finished recording a podcast with Richard T. Steadman (“Richie T”) of The Cultural Hall.  I’m not sure when it will go public.  Maybe next Tuesday or so.  (I assume that it will go public!)   ***   Here are some new items for you on the website of the […]

    ***   Yesterday afternoon, I participated in recording a “Follow Him” podcast on 1 Samuel 8-18 with Hank Smith and John Bytheway.  I had a great time (which may perhaps explain the fact that I went on for far too long); they’re extremely interesting chapters, recounting a great but tragic story.  The podcast […]

    ***   We’re gradually approaching the dog days of summer.  With that in mind, it’s probably as good an occasion as any to inflame some of my more obsessive critics again, and to give them an opportunity to slander me and to distort what I say.  So I think that I’ll take up […]

    ***   The literarily-inclined Orson F. Whitney served as a member of the Council of the Twelve from 1906 until his death in 1931.  I share a quotation from his memoirs that may already be familiar to most of my readers.  But it’s a  wonderful passage, and perhaps some out there don’t know […]

    ***   With his kind permission, I republish here the summary of Episode 4 of Under the Banner of Heaven that the inimitable Jim Bennett posted on his Facebook page:   Come, Brother. Come, sister. Abide with me as we range Under the Banner of Heaven Episode Four, Church and State. Beards vigorously encouraged. […]

    ***   Just up!   Undaunted Witnesses Episode 4: Joseph Smith: Man, Prophet—or Both? As an uneducated farm boy claiming to see God the Father, Jesus Christ, and various angels, Joseph Smith also claimed to translate an ancient record and receive modern revelation. Experiencing sorrow and failure as well as joy and success […]

    ***   Two new articles appeared today at noon in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship:   ““Can You Suppose That the Lord Will Spare You?”: Moroni’s Charged Rhetoric in Alma 60:30–32,” by Matthew L. Bowen Abstract: Under the duress of a lengthy war, and prompted by recent Lamanite military successes, as […]

    ***   It’s an appropriate time, I think, for a status report on the Interpreter Foundation’s Witnesses movie project.   The first part of the project was production of the film Witnesses, which was released in theaters in June of 2021.  We are excited that it is now available everywhere on streaming platforms: […]

    ***   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being held up right now more or less as a foreign object of horror and ridicule in the Hulu/FX miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.  Not for the first time — think of such cultural monuments as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A […]

    ***   If you’re at all interested in the topic of life before and after life, don’t let the opportunity pass you by to see Remembering Heaven while it’s in movie theaters.  (I don’t know the extent of its distribution, but I know that it’s playing at several locations here in Utah Valley.). […]

    ***   But briefly, first, please have a look at this article from today’s Meridian Magazine:   ““Undaunted”: See the Docudrama that Tells the Rest of the Story Behind the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon”   ***   I’m pleased to mention here that tomorrow, 10 May 2022, is the date for […]

    ***   Well over three decades ago now, I spent a summer in Berkeley, California, participating in a small seminar led by the preeminent student of comparative religions Huston Smith (1919-2016) and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.   It was an extraordinary and memorable experience on many levels — not the […]

    ***   I’m pleased to announce (although, owing to my schedule today, I’m announcing it about four and a half hours late) that the third installment of the Interpreter Foundation’s “Undaunted Witnesses” reels went up this (Saturday) evening:   Undaunted Witnesses Episode 3: David Whitmer, Witness, with Camrey Bagley Fox and Gerrit Dirkmaat […]

    ***   Intercontinental flights aren’t the ideal platform for blogging, so I’m afraid that I’m a bit late with these notifications.  Still, I hope that you’ll enjoy them.  They certainly haven’t gone out of date since yesterday:   “Rich Vein or Fools Gold?” by Morgan Deane Review of Patrick Q. Mason and J. […]

    ***   Under the Banner of Heaven continues to enjoy its fifteen minutes of fame, so here are another couple of interesting reads on the subject:   “What ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ gets right — and wrong — about Mormons”   I don’t agree with everything in the interview.  I do, however, […]

    ***   We bade farewell to our tour group this evening.  It always seems that the time has been just a bit too short, and this tour was no exception.  I hope that they had a good time, that their knowledge and understanding of some of the scriptural stories and the history of […]