(by Dan Peterson sic et non blog)
A vocal number of angry secularist ex-Mormons like to complain online about humanitarian aid given out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It’s not enough, they say.
I won’t address the very serious question of whether or not the figures from which they work are even accurate.
I’ll also leave aside the likelihood that they themselves give little or nothing, because I can’t know in any individual case what they do. But study after study indicates that religious people typically give far more to charity, and far more service, than do secularists. And religious people still donate more time, labor, and money even if their specifically religious contributions are factored out. (Moreover, for what it’s worth, the Mormon strongholds of Utah and Idaho rank first and second, respectively, in donated service. That’s unlikely to be coincidental.)
But the complainers aren’t finished. Not by a long shot. Organizations such as the Red Cross give far higher percentages of their budgets to humanitarian aid than does the Church, they say.
Which may well be true. For the obvious reason that organizations such as the Red Cross were founded to do only humanitarian work, whereas the Church was established to build and maintain chapels and temples and universities and seminaries and institutes and proselytizing programs and youth camps and genealogical research facilities, and so forth, along with humanitarian work.
But the Church, they say, boasts about its humanitarian efforts. It should keep those efforts secret. (Imagine their complaints if we did keep all of our efforts secret — as, in fact, most of our efforts are kept quiet. The Church does nothing, they would then say.)
Some of them love to quote this passage, from the very teachings of Jesus that most of them otherwise reject:
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:1-4)
It’s a handy weapon, I suppose.
But they seem to have forgotten this passage, also from Matthew, just a few verses earlier:
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
How to reconcile the two passages?
I think the point is that our goodness, if we can muster it, ought not to be a matter of personal boasting, nor of seeking status in the eyes of mortal humans, but should, rather, serve as a means of drawing attention to God, his Kingdom, and his Gospel. People looking on should be motivated to say, “I want to be a part of that,” not “My, my, that Max Mustermann is a remarkably admirable fellow.”
And that, I think, is how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is trying to act. It’s thoroughly scriptural.
But the more sneering and disagreeable critics will do what they will do. And, curiously, they seem to enjoy it.
As Friedrich the Great of Prussia famously said, Jeder wird nach seiner Façon selig werden.
“Everyone will be saved in his own way.” Or, in a perhaps more appropriate translation for this context, “Everybody will be made happy after his own fashion.”
We get to choose. And so do they. Whatever floats their boat.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/a-note-regarding-complaints-about-lds-humanitarian-efforts.html
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Some quotes warning about apostasy
“I will give you one of the Keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if he does not repent, will apostatize, as God lives.” (History of the Church, 3:385; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on 2 July 1839, in Montrose, Iowa; reported by Wilford Woodruff and Willard Richards.)
“I will give you a key which Brother Joseph Smith used to give in Nauvoo. He said that the very step of apostasy commenced with losing confidence in the leaders of this church and kingdom, and that whenever you discerned that spirit you might know that it would lead the possessor of it on the road to apostasy.” (Heber C. Kimball, Deseret News [2 April 1856], 26; spelling and capitalization modernized.)
“In order to conduct the affairs of the Kingdom in righteousness, it is all important that the most perfect harmony, kind feeling, good understanding, and confidence should exist in the hearts of all the brethren; and that true charity, love one towards another, should characterize all their proceedings. If there are any uncharitable feelings, any lack of confidence, then pride, arrogance and envy will soon be manifested; confusion must inevitably prevail, and the authorities of the Church set at naught.” (History of the Church, 4:165–66; from a July 1840 letter from Joseph Smith to Oliver Granger, written from Nauvoo, Illinois.)
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/im-sincerely-worried-and-i-hope-that-this-will-stop.html
“I will give you a key which Brother Joseph Smith used to give in Nauvoo. He said that the very step of apostasy commenced with losing confidence in the leaders of this church and kingdom, and that whenever you discerned that spirit you might know that it would lead the possessor of it on the road to apostasy.” (Heber C. Kimball, Deseret News [2 April 1856], 26; spelling and capitalization modernized.)
“In order to conduct the affairs of the Kingdom in righteousness, it is all important that the most perfect harmony, kind feeling, good understanding, and confidence should exist in the hearts of all the brethren; and that true charity, love one towards another, should characterize all their proceedings. If there are any uncharitable feelings, any lack of confidence, then pride, arrogance and envy will soon be manifested; confusion must inevitably prevail, and the authorities of the Church set at naught.” (History of the Church, 4:165–66; from a July 1840 letter from Joseph Smith to Oliver Granger, written from Nauvoo, Illinois.)
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/im-sincerely-worried-and-i-hope-that-this-will-stop.html
How a sewer leak led to another important archaeological discovery in Jerusalem
(by Daniel Peterson deseretnews.com 7-11-19)
In 2004, workers were summoned to repair a damaged sewer pipe. The pipe lay under a small potato field in the Palestinian Arab neighborhood of Silwan, in southeastern Jerusalem just outside the Old City walls. Following standard local practice, a team of archaeological observers accompanied them, wrote Yaakov Katz in "New Discovery in Jerusalem's City of David: 2,000-year-old Pilgimage Road," published June 30 in The Jerusalem Post, online at jpost.com.
To their surprised delight, the team discovered several wide stairs located just a dozen yards from what they soon confirmed to be the ancient pool or “mikveh” of Shiloah. Ancient pilgrims would ritually immerse themselves at Shiloah in order to be cleansed for their climb up to Jerusalem’s temple, which loomed just above them to the north, wrote Katz about his tour of the discovery. Shiloah, which gave the Arab village of Silwan its name, appears in the New Testament as “Siloam” — figuring, for example, in the account of the healing of a blind man given at John 9:1-9.
Eventually, a largely intact ancient stone road was identified, extending from Silwan up to the area of what is known today as Robinson’s Arch, a partially surviving entrance to the southwestern corner of the ancient temple platform. The “Pilgrim’s Road” or “Pilgrimage Road,” as it’s coming to be called, is approximately 2,000 old and is very likely the path that Jesus and his disciples — like other Jewish leaders and sages, as well as ordinary people — would have taken to ascend to the temple of Jerusalem, Katz reported.
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus estimated that roughly 2.7 million people visited Jerusalem annually for the various Jewish holidays — notably Passover, Shavuot (the “Feast of Weeks” or “Pentecost”), and Sukkot (the “Festival of Booths” or “Feast of Tabernacles”) — performing more than a quarter of a million sacrifices during their visits, Katz reported.
The great first-century rabbis Shammai and Hillel — famous still today for their prominence in the early third-century Jewish text known as the Mishna, the oldest surviving work of rabbinic literature — debated what age children must be before their fathers were obligated to take them along on pilgrimage, Katz noted. They were almost certainly discussing the “Pilgrimage Road.” Hillel said that the father need bring the child only if he or she was able to walk up the 750-meter road to the temple. The more demanding Shammai, by contrast, contended that a child should accompany parents on pilgrimage as soon as he or she was capable of sitting upon a father’s shoulders.
Unlike most archaeological digs, the excavations following the 2004 discovery were underground, leaving the busy modern Jerusalem streets and the mostly Arab neighborhood above it — and, to the limited extent possible, the area’s ever-sensitive politics — undisturbed. Dozens of fiber-optic cable cameras were used in order to determine where to work. The ceiling of the tunnel needed constant reinforcement with steel beams so as to support the weight of the city above, Katz wrote. The effort has been very expensive — costing hundreds of millions of dollars that have been supplied not only by the Israeli government but by such generous private donors as Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle), and Jan Koum (co-founder of WhatsApp), Katz reports.
Midway up the road, archaeologists located a set of stairs alongside an ancient roadside shop. But the stairs lead only to a somewhat puzzling platform. Researchers have identified just one archaeological parallel to it, a platform in Rome that apparently served somewhat the same function as the famous “Speakers’ Corner” in London’s Hyde Park, Katz writes. Accordingly, they suggest, Jerusalem’s similar platform may have served as a place for announcements or speeches targeted at passing pilgrims. Next to it, they found the charred remains of a male palm tree (conceivably burned during the successful Roman siege of the temple in A.D. 70). Obviously not there to provide fruit, perhaps the tree supplied shade for speakers on the platform, he notes in the article.
Also found was a rather crude ancient depiction of a seven-branched candelabra, perhaps carved by a child who had just seen the great menorah at the temple.
Recently, Israeli authorities officially unveiled the site, where, in a tunnel, tourists will be able to walk a nearly 350-yard stretch of the ancient street.
There is a potentially ironic aspect to this: In recent years, vastly amplified by the internet, “mythicist” claims that Jesus was merely a fictional character — claims that are taken seriously by very few credentialed scholars, whether Christian believers or not — have become surprisingly popular. This occurs at a time when the tangible reality of Jesus’s first-century world is becoming ever more evident.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900079097/daniel-peterson-how-a-sewer-leak-led-to-another-important-archaeological-discovery-in-jerusalem.html
In 2004, workers were summoned to repair a damaged sewer pipe. The pipe lay under a small potato field in the Palestinian Arab neighborhood of Silwan, in southeastern Jerusalem just outside the Old City walls. Following standard local practice, a team of archaeological observers accompanied them, wrote Yaakov Katz in "New Discovery in Jerusalem's City of David: 2,000-year-old Pilgimage Road," published June 30 in The Jerusalem Post, online at jpost.com.
To their surprised delight, the team discovered several wide stairs located just a dozen yards from what they soon confirmed to be the ancient pool or “mikveh” of Shiloah. Ancient pilgrims would ritually immerse themselves at Shiloah in order to be cleansed for their climb up to Jerusalem’s temple, which loomed just above them to the north, wrote Katz about his tour of the discovery. Shiloah, which gave the Arab village of Silwan its name, appears in the New Testament as “Siloam” — figuring, for example, in the account of the healing of a blind man given at John 9:1-9.
Eventually, a largely intact ancient stone road was identified, extending from Silwan up to the area of what is known today as Robinson’s Arch, a partially surviving entrance to the southwestern corner of the ancient temple platform. The “Pilgrim’s Road” or “Pilgrimage Road,” as it’s coming to be called, is approximately 2,000 old and is very likely the path that Jesus and his disciples — like other Jewish leaders and sages, as well as ordinary people — would have taken to ascend to the temple of Jerusalem, Katz reported.
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus estimated that roughly 2.7 million people visited Jerusalem annually for the various Jewish holidays — notably Passover, Shavuot (the “Feast of Weeks” or “Pentecost”), and Sukkot (the “Festival of Booths” or “Feast of Tabernacles”) — performing more than a quarter of a million sacrifices during their visits, Katz reported.
The great first-century rabbis Shammai and Hillel — famous still today for their prominence in the early third-century Jewish text known as the Mishna, the oldest surviving work of rabbinic literature — debated what age children must be before their fathers were obligated to take them along on pilgrimage, Katz noted. They were almost certainly discussing the “Pilgrimage Road.” Hillel said that the father need bring the child only if he or she was able to walk up the 750-meter road to the temple. The more demanding Shammai, by contrast, contended that a child should accompany parents on pilgrimage as soon as he or she was capable of sitting upon a father’s shoulders.
Unlike most archaeological digs, the excavations following the 2004 discovery were underground, leaving the busy modern Jerusalem streets and the mostly Arab neighborhood above it — and, to the limited extent possible, the area’s ever-sensitive politics — undisturbed. Dozens of fiber-optic cable cameras were used in order to determine where to work. The ceiling of the tunnel needed constant reinforcement with steel beams so as to support the weight of the city above, Katz wrote. The effort has been very expensive — costing hundreds of millions of dollars that have been supplied not only by the Israeli government but by such generous private donors as Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle), and Jan Koum (co-founder of WhatsApp), Katz reports.
Midway up the road, archaeologists located a set of stairs alongside an ancient roadside shop. But the stairs lead only to a somewhat puzzling platform. Researchers have identified just one archaeological parallel to it, a platform in Rome that apparently served somewhat the same function as the famous “Speakers’ Corner” in London’s Hyde Park, Katz writes. Accordingly, they suggest, Jerusalem’s similar platform may have served as a place for announcements or speeches targeted at passing pilgrims. Next to it, they found the charred remains of a male palm tree (conceivably burned during the successful Roman siege of the temple in A.D. 70). Obviously not there to provide fruit, perhaps the tree supplied shade for speakers on the platform, he notes in the article.
Also found was a rather crude ancient depiction of a seven-branched candelabra, perhaps carved by a child who had just seen the great menorah at the temple.
Recently, Israeli authorities officially unveiled the site, where, in a tunnel, tourists will be able to walk a nearly 350-yard stretch of the ancient street.
There is a potentially ironic aspect to this: In recent years, vastly amplified by the internet, “mythicist” claims that Jesus was merely a fictional character — claims that are taken seriously by very few credentialed scholars, whether Christian believers or not — have become surprisingly popular. This occurs at a time when the tangible reality of Jesus’s first-century world is becoming ever more evident.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900079097/daniel-peterson-how-a-sewer-leak-led-to-another-important-archaeological-discovery-in-jerusalem.html
Thursday, July 11, 2019
What does John 20 reveal about why John wrote his Gospel?
(by Taylor Halverson deseretnews.com 6-27-19)
Like the other New Testament Gospels, which were written as ancient biographies of Jesus, John devotes the majority of his text to the words, deeds and events of Jesus’ life leading to his crucifixion and stunningly unexpected resurrection.
John 20 records that Jesus appeared to his disciples giving them peace, assurance and knowledge that he truly had returned. He calmed the tears of beloved Mary. He showed himself to the disciples, breathing the Holy Ghost to them. And he empowered them with undeniable knowledge of his resurrection when he let them touch his resurrected body. Thomas, speaking for all, declared in grateful humility, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
For the millions and billions of us not blessed with the opportunity to be in the intimate group of disciples who saw Jesus soon after his resurrection, Jesus reassuringly says to all of us, through his words to Thomas, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
How can we believe when we have not seen?
This is the why of John’s Gospel!
After recording these glorious episodes of Jesus’ post-resurrection interactions with his disciples, John reveals why he wrote his Gospel: that we too might believe.
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these (signs) are written (i.e., the Gospel of John), that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31, emphasis added).
If you were writing, what would you write about? Would you choose to write to convince people that Jesus is the Christ? That is why John wrote. John wanted his readers to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
If you were trying to convince someone, through your writing, that Jesus is the Christ, how would you do it? Of all the things that Jesus said, which specific words of Jesus would you record and why? Of all the things that Jesus did, which deeds would you put to paper to endure in the memory of readers across the ages? What signs, symbols or tokens would you make use of to point someone to the reality that Jesus is the Christ?
What is a sign?
The underlying Greek word for “sign” is semeion, which is a sign, symbol, token, message, miracle or wonder. A “sign” or semeion is something that stands in place of a larger reality. A “sign” or semeion points to truths greater than itself. A “sign” or semeion is a token that represents something else, that draws the mind to see anew.
I’ve emphasized the word “signs” in the quote at the beginning of this article because of its significance to why John wrote his Gospel.
John used “signs” to unmistakably point the way to Jesus.
John used “signs” to unmistakably signal that Jesus is the Way.
What is a token?
Let’s pause for a moment on the word token. I love this word. So beautiful and simple. Recently I learned that the word token comes from the same root word as teacher. Both teacher and token mean “to show, to present, to point out, to explain, to demonstrate, to declare (to make clear).”
What does a teacher do? They point and signal to greater realities. A teacher lifts the sights and perspectives of learners. A teacher delivers tokens, or symbols, to learners of greater things yet to come, of more beautiful realities to experience.
So the signs we see in the Gospel of John are teachers to us, tokens that beckon us forward to taste of the fruit of God’s love, much like Lehi did in his dream of the tree of life. Lehi was a teacher, who pointed the way, who showed the way, who gave signs of the love of God so that people could know for themselves that Jesus is their Savior.
If we explore the rest of the Gospel of John looking for signs, or tokens, that Jesus is the Son of God, we find in abundance.
Signs in the Gospel of John
John guides us by using the word semeion (“sign”) on seven occasions in his Gospel.
Sign 1: Changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11)
Sign 2: Healing the government official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
Sign 3: Healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15)
Sign 4: Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:5-14)
Sign 5: Jesus miraculously walking on water on the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-24)
Sign 6: Jesus heals the blind man (John 9:1-7)
Sign 7: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45)
If we read the Gospel of John through the lens of “How does this Gospel make the case that Jesus is the Son of God?” (whether or not John used the Greek word semeion in the passage) we would find a multitude of witnesses. And we know that John could have shared many more signs of who Jesus is, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this (Gospel)” (John 20:30, emphasis added).
Here are some additional signs from the Gospel of John that I think of as witnesses that Jesus is the Christ:
All the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are beautiful witnesses for Jesus Christ. What makes John’s Gospel so compelling is that he clearly tells us his purpose in writing “But these (signs and tokens) are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31). I see John’s thesis statement as an invitation for us to read again more closely, to look for the clues and evidence that John has shared in his Gospel. And most importantly, I see John inviting all of us to look for signs all around us that Jesus is the Christ.
So …
When you read John’s Gospel, what signs or tokens do you see that Jesus is the Christ?
And when you reflect on your life and the world around you, what are the signs or tokens you see that witness of Jesus?
----------------
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900077130/taylor-halverson-what-does-john-20-reveal-about-why-john-wrote-his-gospel.html
Like the other New Testament Gospels, which were written as ancient biographies of Jesus, John devotes the majority of his text to the words, deeds and events of Jesus’ life leading to his crucifixion and stunningly unexpected resurrection.
John 20 records that Jesus appeared to his disciples giving them peace, assurance and knowledge that he truly had returned. He calmed the tears of beloved Mary. He showed himself to the disciples, breathing the Holy Ghost to them. And he empowered them with undeniable knowledge of his resurrection when he let them touch his resurrected body. Thomas, speaking for all, declared in grateful humility, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
For the millions and billions of us not blessed with the opportunity to be in the intimate group of disciples who saw Jesus soon after his resurrection, Jesus reassuringly says to all of us, through his words to Thomas, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
How can we believe when we have not seen?
This is the why of John’s Gospel!
After recording these glorious episodes of Jesus’ post-resurrection interactions with his disciples, John reveals why he wrote his Gospel: that we too might believe.
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these (signs) are written (i.e., the Gospel of John), that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31, emphasis added).
If you were writing, what would you write about? Would you choose to write to convince people that Jesus is the Christ? That is why John wrote. John wanted his readers to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
If you were trying to convince someone, through your writing, that Jesus is the Christ, how would you do it? Of all the things that Jesus said, which specific words of Jesus would you record and why? Of all the things that Jesus did, which deeds would you put to paper to endure in the memory of readers across the ages? What signs, symbols or tokens would you make use of to point someone to the reality that Jesus is the Christ?
What is a sign?
The underlying Greek word for “sign” is semeion, which is a sign, symbol, token, message, miracle or wonder. A “sign” or semeion is something that stands in place of a larger reality. A “sign” or semeion points to truths greater than itself. A “sign” or semeion is a token that represents something else, that draws the mind to see anew.
I’ve emphasized the word “signs” in the quote at the beginning of this article because of its significance to why John wrote his Gospel.
John used “signs” to unmistakably point the way to Jesus.
John used “signs” to unmistakably signal that Jesus is the Way.
What is a token?
Let’s pause for a moment on the word token. I love this word. So beautiful and simple. Recently I learned that the word token comes from the same root word as teacher. Both teacher and token mean “to show, to present, to point out, to explain, to demonstrate, to declare (to make clear).”
What does a teacher do? They point and signal to greater realities. A teacher lifts the sights and perspectives of learners. A teacher delivers tokens, or symbols, to learners of greater things yet to come, of more beautiful realities to experience.
So the signs we see in the Gospel of John are teachers to us, tokens that beckon us forward to taste of the fruit of God’s love, much like Lehi did in his dream of the tree of life. Lehi was a teacher, who pointed the way, who showed the way, who gave signs of the love of God so that people could know for themselves that Jesus is their Savior.
If we explore the rest of the Gospel of John looking for signs, or tokens, that Jesus is the Son of God, we find in abundance.
Signs in the Gospel of John
John guides us by using the word semeion (“sign”) on seven occasions in his Gospel.
Sign 1: Changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11)
Sign 2: Healing the government official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
Sign 3: Healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15)
Sign 4: Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:5-14)
Sign 5: Jesus miraculously walking on water on the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-24)
Sign 6: Jesus heals the blind man (John 9:1-7)
Sign 7: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45)
If we read the Gospel of John through the lens of “How does this Gospel make the case that Jesus is the Son of God?” (whether or not John used the Greek word semeion in the passage) we would find a multitude of witnesses. And we know that John could have shared many more signs of who Jesus is, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this (Gospel)” (John 20:30, emphasis added).
Here are some additional signs from the Gospel of John that I think of as witnesses that Jesus is the Christ:
- John the Baptist witnesses that Jesus is the Messiah (John 3:27-30).
- Jesus is compared to John the Baptist, who never did any signs but was considered a true man of God (John 10:40-42).
- Jesus is crucified on the cross (John 19:16-30).
- Jesus is resurrected (John 20:1-17).
- Jesus helps the disciples miraculously catch a large quantity of fish (John 21:1-8)
All the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are beautiful witnesses for Jesus Christ. What makes John’s Gospel so compelling is that he clearly tells us his purpose in writing “But these (signs and tokens) are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31). I see John’s thesis statement as an invitation for us to read again more closely, to look for the clues and evidence that John has shared in his Gospel. And most importantly, I see John inviting all of us to look for signs all around us that Jesus is the Christ.
So …
When you read John’s Gospel, what signs or tokens do you see that Jesus is the Christ?
And when you reflect on your life and the world around you, what are the signs or tokens you see that witness of Jesus?
----------------
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900077130/taylor-halverson-what-does-john-20-reveal-about-why-john-wrote-his-gospel.html
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain
 |
| A couple of bulls from the Jose Escolar ranch running in Pamplona, Spain, July 9th, 2019 |
Check out the guy in the upper left hand corner of the photo wearing a University of Utah t-shirt.
This isn't the first time I've seen photos or videos of someone with a University or Utah t-shirt in Pamplona, I imagine there is probably a good number of former missionaries that served in Spain that make the trek to Pamplona every year.
However, what I would like to know is if there have been missionaries that have ran with the bulls while on their mission.....
Now that would be a tale to tell.
Jeffrey R. Holland quote
Not everything in life is so black and white, but the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and its keystone role in our religion seem to be exactly that. Either Joseph Smith was the prophet he said he was, a prophet who, after seeing the Father and the Son, later beheld the angel Moroni, repeatedly heard counsel from Moroni’s lips, and eventually received at his hands a set of ancient gold plates that he then translated by the gift and power of God, or else he did not. And if he did not, he would not be entitled to the reputation of New England folk hero or well-meaning young man or writer of remarkable fiction. No, nor would he be entitled to be considered a great teacher, a quintessential American religious leader, or the creator of great devotional literature. If he had lied about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, he would certainly be none of these. . . . If Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon as a work of ancient origin, then I would move heaven and earth to meet the “real” nineteenth-century author. After one hundred and fifty years, no one can come up with a credible alternative candidate, but if the book were false, surely there must be someone willing to step forward — if no one else, at least the descendants of the “real” author — claiming credit for such a remarkable document and all that has transpired in its wake. After all, a writer that can move millions can make millions. Shouldn’t someone have come forth then or now to cashier the whole phenomenon?
“Exceedingly white and strange”
(by Dan Peterson sic et non blog0
Oliver B. Huntington (1823-1907), who was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1836, doesn’t always strike me as a completely reliable source. I know of other accounts, however, that parallel the Oliver Huntington reminiscences below, which are included in Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, Personal Glimpses of the Prophet Joseph Smith (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2009):
I conversed with one old lady, 88 years old, who had lived with David Whitmer when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon in an upper room of the house. She was only a girl and saw them coming down from the translating room several times when they looked so exceedingly white and strange that she inquired of Mrs. Whitmer the cause of their unusual appearance. But Mrs. Whitmer was unwilling to tell the hired girl the true cause, as it was a sacred holy event connected with a holy sacred work which was opposed and persecuted by nearly everyone who heard of it.
The girl felt so strangely as seeing so strange and unusual appearances, she finally told Mrs. Whitmer that she would not stay with her unless she knew the cause of the strange looks of those men. Sister Whitmer than told her what the men were doing in the room above, and that the power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it. At times angels were in the room in their glory which nearly consumed them.
This satisfied the girl and opened the way to embracing the gospel. She is the mother of Stephen Bunnel, and the Bunnel family of Provo. (121-122)
I know of at least one other source for this basic story — although, so far as I’m aware, neither it nor any other source mentions an almost unendurable “power of God . . . in the room” or the presence in the room of consuming “angels . . . in their glory.” Those details may be historically accurate, of course, but there’s also a good chance that they represent the ever-more-spectacular growth of an oral legend or even Oliver Huntington’s own conscious or unconscious embroidering of the tale.
However, I’ve accumulated a considerable number of independent personal reminiscences from a variety self-described eyewitnesses that describe the Prophet Joseph Smith’s face as “glowing” or “luminous” or “transparent” at or near times of revelation. Weird, yes. But that’s what they say.
And, if they’re accurate, that alone would serve to take Joseph’s revelation out of the realm of the quotidian and the mundane.
----------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/06/exceedingly-white-and-strange.html
Oliver B. Huntington (1823-1907), who was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1836, doesn’t always strike me as a completely reliable source. I know of other accounts, however, that parallel the Oliver Huntington reminiscences below, which are included in Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, Personal Glimpses of the Prophet Joseph Smith (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2009):
I conversed with one old lady, 88 years old, who had lived with David Whitmer when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon in an upper room of the house. She was only a girl and saw them coming down from the translating room several times when they looked so exceedingly white and strange that she inquired of Mrs. Whitmer the cause of their unusual appearance. But Mrs. Whitmer was unwilling to tell the hired girl the true cause, as it was a sacred holy event connected with a holy sacred work which was opposed and persecuted by nearly everyone who heard of it.
The girl felt so strangely as seeing so strange and unusual appearances, she finally told Mrs. Whitmer that she would not stay with her unless she knew the cause of the strange looks of those men. Sister Whitmer than told her what the men were doing in the room above, and that the power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it. At times angels were in the room in their glory which nearly consumed them.
I know of at least one other source for this basic story — although, so far as I’m aware, neither it nor any other source mentions an almost unendurable “power of God . . . in the room” or the presence in the room of consuming “angels . . . in their glory.” Those details may be historically accurate, of course, but there’s also a good chance that they represent the ever-more-spectacular growth of an oral legend or even Oliver Huntington’s own conscious or unconscious embroidering of the tale.
However, I’ve accumulated a considerable number of independent personal reminiscences from a variety self-described eyewitnesses that describe the Prophet Joseph Smith’s face as “glowing” or “luminous” or “transparent” at or near times of revelation. Weird, yes. But that’s what they say.
And, if they’re accurate, that alone would serve to take Joseph’s revelation out of the realm of the quotidian and the mundane.
----------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/06/exceedingly-white-and-strange.html
On the Freedom of Religion
(by Dan Peterson sic et non blog)
In the vigorous debates that followed the writing of the proposed Constitution of the United States of America, it rapidly became apparent that, unless there were clear written limitations on the power of the federal government, the document might not be ratified. This is why the so-called “Bill of Rights” — made up of the first ten amendments to the Constitution — was added to the document.
Here is the full text of the very first of the ten amendments that form the Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Please note that the very first topic mentioned in the very first amendment is religious liberty. That, I suspect, was no chance or coincidental matter.
------------------
(other links about religious freedom as well)
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/on-the-freedom-of-religion.html
In the vigorous debates that followed the writing of the proposed Constitution of the United States of America, it rapidly became apparent that, unless there were clear written limitations on the power of the federal government, the document might not be ratified. This is why the so-called “Bill of Rights” — made up of the first ten amendments to the Constitution — was added to the document.
Here is the full text of the very first of the ten amendments that form the Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Please note that the very first topic mentioned in the very first amendment is religious liberty. That, I suspect, was no chance or coincidental matter.
------------------
(other links about religious freedom as well)
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/on-the-freedom-of-religion.html
Communications from the Dead?
(by Dan Peterson sic et non blog)
Other accounts speak of knowledge being conveyed that only the dead person could have known. One of the Guggenheims’ informants, for instance, relates a story in which her deceased husband told her the location of some badly needed cash.[1] The ancient Roman statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (d. 43 B.C.) recounts an anecdote about a murder that was solved when the victim appeared during the dream of a friend and supplied the details of the crime.[2] A very interesting subcategory of such narratives involves a deceased friend or family member warning of danger or of an unrecognized health threat.[3] A friend at the university where I teach tells, for example, of her two-years-dead mother (whom I also knew) coming to her in a dream—the only time she has ever dreamed of her mother—and telling her “You have cancer.” Although my friend had recently been tested and found to be fine, new tests confirmed the diagnosis, and early detection saved her life.[4] A remarkable instance of much the same thing was related to Osis and Haraldsson. According to the account given to them, a seven-year-old boy had been hospitalized in critical condition with a mastoid infection. Unfortunately, he was rebellious. He refused to take the necessary medications, and resisted the nurses at every turn. Suddenly, though, he had an experience, as he believed, with his deceased uncle, who had worked as a physician on that very hospital floor and to whom he had been close.
The boy insisted that Uncle Charlie came, sat beside him, and told him to take his medicine. He also told the boy that he would get well. The boy was very sure that Uncle Charlie had sat in the chair and told him these things. After this experience, the patient was cooperative. He was not excited, and he took the deceased doctor’s “visit” as a matter of course. The next morning, the boy was much better—a dramatic change had occurred in his condition.[5]
The phenomenon of “after-death communications” is surprisingly widespread, even among unbelievers and skeptics.[6]
According to a survey conducted by the prominent priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley under the auspices of the National Opinion Research Center, 42% of American adults claim to have been in contact, in some way or another, with someone who has died. The figures are even higher in certain subcategories of the population. Studies suggest that somewhere between 50% and 74.4% of widows claim to have had some such experience.[7] A lower but still significant figure has been found in surveys of the general European population, many of whom claim to have been fully awake during their encounter, unaffected by drugs, and, sometimes, not alone in their perception of the presence of a deceased person.[8] Such results cannot simply be waved aside.
Still, despite their commonness, and despite the fact that many stories of after-death communication involve multiple witnesses, they remain anecdotal.[9]
------------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/communications-from-the-dead.html
Other accounts speak of knowledge being conveyed that only the dead person could have known. One of the Guggenheims’ informants, for instance, relates a story in which her deceased husband told her the location of some badly needed cash.[1] The ancient Roman statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (d. 43 B.C.) recounts an anecdote about a murder that was solved when the victim appeared during the dream of a friend and supplied the details of the crime.[2] A very interesting subcategory of such narratives involves a deceased friend or family member warning of danger or of an unrecognized health threat.[3] A friend at the university where I teach tells, for example, of her two-years-dead mother (whom I also knew) coming to her in a dream—the only time she has ever dreamed of her mother—and telling her “You have cancer.” Although my friend had recently been tested and found to be fine, new tests confirmed the diagnosis, and early detection saved her life.[4] A remarkable instance of much the same thing was related to Osis and Haraldsson. According to the account given to them, a seven-year-old boy had been hospitalized in critical condition with a mastoid infection. Unfortunately, he was rebellious. He refused to take the necessary medications, and resisted the nurses at every turn. Suddenly, though, he had an experience, as he believed, with his deceased uncle, who had worked as a physician on that very hospital floor and to whom he had been close.
The phenomenon of “after-death communications” is surprisingly widespread, even among unbelievers and skeptics.[6]
According to a survey conducted by the prominent priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley under the auspices of the National Opinion Research Center, 42% of American adults claim to have been in contact, in some way or another, with someone who has died. The figures are even higher in certain subcategories of the population. Studies suggest that somewhere between 50% and 74.4% of widows claim to have had some such experience.[7] A lower but still significant figure has been found in surveys of the general European population, many of whom claim to have been fully awake during their encounter, unaffected by drugs, and, sometimes, not alone in their perception of the presence of a deceased person.[8] Such results cannot simply be waved aside.
------------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/communications-from-the-dead.html
David O. McKay quote
From a letter written by President David O. McKay to BYU’s president at the time, Ernest L. Wilkinson:
It is a part of our “Mormon” theology that the Constitution of the United States was divinely inspired; that our Republic came into existence through wise men raised up for that very purpose. We believe it is the duty of the members of the Church to see that this Republic is not subverted either by any sudden or constant erosion of those principles which gave this Nation its birth.
In these days when there is a special trend among certain groups, including members of faculties of universities, to challenge the principles upon which our country has been founded and the philosophy of our Founding Fathers, I hope that Brigham Young University will stand as a bulwark in support of the principles of government as vouchsafed to us by our Constitutional Fathers.
----------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/later-this-month-in-las-vegas.html
It is a part of our “Mormon” theology that the Constitution of the United States was divinely inspired; that our Republic came into existence through wise men raised up for that very purpose. We believe it is the duty of the members of the Church to see that this Republic is not subverted either by any sudden or constant erosion of those principles which gave this Nation its birth.
In these days when there is a special trend among certain groups, including members of faculties of universities, to challenge the principles upon which our country has been founded and the philosophy of our Founding Fathers, I hope that Brigham Young University will stand as a bulwark in support of the principles of government as vouchsafed to us by our Constitutional Fathers.
----------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/later-this-month-in-las-vegas.html
What made the first apostles such fearless preachers?
(by Dan Peterson sic et non blog)
Later this morning, I’ll be teaching a Gospel Doctrine lesson on Acts 1-5. In that context, a column that I published in the Deseret News back on 17 November 2011 is directly relevant:
Virtually all historians, of all religious opinions, agree that Jesus was crucified. The New Testament says that he died just prior to Passover.
One of his inner circle of 12 apostles betrayed him, nine fled at his arrest, and another — Peter — pretended not to know him. The last, John, seems to have watched events unfold from a safe distance (Luke 23:49; John 19:25-27). Thereafter, as prominent followers of a convicted and executed “criminal,” they went into hiding.
Only a few weeks later, though, the 11 surviving apostles were transformed. They even appointed a willing replacement for Judas.
What happened?
According to Acts 1:2-9, the risen Jesus trained his apostles for 40 days during a series of post-resurrection appearances and then ascended into heaven. Less than two weeks later, they began their first public preaching in connection with the feast of Pentecost, seven weeks after Passover and Easter Sunday (Acts 2).
The content of their first preaching is significant. Boldly speaking for the other apostles, Peter flatly identified the residents of Jerusalem as the killers of Jesus, testifying that God had raised Jesus from the dead and identifying himself and his colleagues as witnesses to these claims (Acts 2:23-24, 32). At this point, if Peter’s assertion were false, critics could easily have exhumed Jesus’ body and ended the nonsense. But, in fact, Luke tells us that mass conversions followed the apostles’ testimony (2:41, 47).
A few days later, Peter and John were in the courtyard of the temple, again openly accusing the people of Jerusalem of having murdered Jesus (3:13-15), testifying that God had raised Jesus from the dead (3:15, 26), and identifying themselves as “witnesses” to these facts (3:15).
The chief priests and Sadducees were understandably threatened by these public challenges, and, so, the two apostles were arrested and brought before Annas, Caiaphas and other members of the city’s elite (4:1-7) — the very men who, less than two months before, had engineered the execution of Jesus.
Without hesitation, Peter testified of “Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead” (4:10).
Uncertain how to respond to this fearless defiance, the chief priests decided to “threaten” Peter and John, and to order them to speak no further about Jesus (4:17-18) — to which the two apostles replied that they would not obey the order (4:19-20). Baffled as to what to do next, Annas and Caiaphas and the others simply threatened them again and let them go (4:21).
But the little Christian movement continued its public preaching to the extent that, exasperated and “filled with indignation,” the high priest and the Sadducees had the apostles arrested and jailed. However, they were miraculously delivered from prison, and immediately proceeded to the temple to preach still more (5:17-25).
So they were arrested yet again and hauled once more before the high priest and his council, where they were reminded that they had been ordered not to teach about Jesus (5:26-28).
And, yet again, the apostles were defiant and unintimidated. “We ought to obey God rather than men,” explained Peter (5:29). You killed Jesus, he said, but God raised him from the dead “and we are his witnesses of these things” (see 5:30-32).
At this point, according to Acts, the council considered killing them. But a prominent rabbi named Gamaliel stood up and strongly advised against that. So the council had them beaten yet again, and ordered them, yet again, to be quiet about Jesus (see 5:33-40).
“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (5:41-42).
Some will argue that this account is fiction, inspiring but wholly mythical. But its author, the evangelist Luke, seems to have been a well-educated and careful historian who based his narrative upon eyewitness interviews (Luke 1:1-4). And the New Testament doesn’t shrink from casting early church leaders in a negative light when appropriate; it feels no apparent need to glorify them by falsifying history. Furthermore, given the remarkable and well-documented growth of earliest Christianity, something very like what Luke reports must necessarily have happened.
So what transformed the fearful, cowering apostles of Passover weekend into fearless preachers of Christ’s resurrection less than two months later? There is a very obvious possible answer. Everything hinges on it.
---------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/what-made-the-first-apostles-such-fearless-preachers.html
Later this morning, I’ll be teaching a Gospel Doctrine lesson on Acts 1-5. In that context, a column that I published in the Deseret News back on 17 November 2011 is directly relevant:
Virtually all historians, of all religious opinions, agree that Jesus was crucified. The New Testament says that he died just prior to Passover.
One of his inner circle of 12 apostles betrayed him, nine fled at his arrest, and another — Peter — pretended not to know him. The last, John, seems to have watched events unfold from a safe distance (Luke 23:49; John 19:25-27). Thereafter, as prominent followers of a convicted and executed “criminal,” they went into hiding.
Only a few weeks later, though, the 11 surviving apostles were transformed. They even appointed a willing replacement for Judas.
What happened?
According to Acts 1:2-9, the risen Jesus trained his apostles for 40 days during a series of post-resurrection appearances and then ascended into heaven. Less than two weeks later, they began their first public preaching in connection with the feast of Pentecost, seven weeks after Passover and Easter Sunday (Acts 2).
A few days later, Peter and John were in the courtyard of the temple, again openly accusing the people of Jerusalem of having murdered Jesus (3:13-15), testifying that God had raised Jesus from the dead (3:15, 26), and identifying themselves as “witnesses” to these facts (3:15).
The chief priests and Sadducees were understandably threatened by these public challenges, and, so, the two apostles were arrested and brought before Annas, Caiaphas and other members of the city’s elite (4:1-7) — the very men who, less than two months before, had engineered the execution of Jesus.
Without hesitation, Peter testified of “Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead” (4:10).
Uncertain how to respond to this fearless defiance, the chief priests decided to “threaten” Peter and John, and to order them to speak no further about Jesus (4:17-18) — to which the two apostles replied that they would not obey the order (4:19-20). Baffled as to what to do next, Annas and Caiaphas and the others simply threatened them again and let them go (4:21).
But the little Christian movement continued its public preaching to the extent that, exasperated and “filled with indignation,” the high priest and the Sadducees had the apostles arrested and jailed. However, they were miraculously delivered from prison, and immediately proceeded to the temple to preach still more (5:17-25).
So they were arrested yet again and hauled once more before the high priest and his council, where they were reminded that they had been ordered not to teach about Jesus (5:26-28).
At this point, according to Acts, the council considered killing them. But a prominent rabbi named Gamaliel stood up and strongly advised against that. So the council had them beaten yet again, and ordered them, yet again, to be quiet about Jesus (see 5:33-40).
“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (5:41-42).
Some will argue that this account is fiction, inspiring but wholly mythical. But its author, the evangelist Luke, seems to have been a well-educated and careful historian who based his narrative upon eyewitness interviews (Luke 1:1-4). And the New Testament doesn’t shrink from casting early church leaders in a negative light when appropriate; it feels no apparent need to glorify them by falsifying history. Furthermore, given the remarkable and well-documented growth of earliest Christianity, something very like what Luke reports must necessarily have happened.
---------------
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2019/07/what-made-the-first-apostles-such-fearless-preachers.html
Sunday, July 7, 2019
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