“Who Holds the Keys?”

July 12, 2024 By Dan Peterson

A thoroughly vicious and rage-fueled new article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Who Holds the Keys?” written by Daniel C. Peterson Abstract: While, for understandable reasons, Protestant Christendom tends to downplay the question, the more ancient Christian churches have historically placed considerable weight on what is often termed “apostolic succession.” The Catholic church, for instance, strongly affirms the “primacy of Peter” and the status of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, as... Read more

A lying liar who lies!

July 11, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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This will seem to some to be a political post and, thus, a violation of my contention that I no longer publish my political opinions. But it’s not. Please note that I endorse no presidential candidate here, and that I take no stance whatever on the question of whether Mr. Donald J. Trump is a threat to the Constitution of the United States and to our democratic republic or whether, instead, he is God’s personally-anointed choice to lead America... Read more

“In My Time of Dying”

July 10, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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At least some of you will be familiar with the name of Sebastian Junger (born January 17, 1962), who is an American journalist, author, and filmmaker. (The documentary film Restrepo, based on his writing, received the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.) He reported from the war in Afghanistan for roughly a decade and has written for various “highbrow” magazines. He has also written several books, the most famous of which is almost certainly The... Read more

“The Virtue of the Word of God”

July 9, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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These new items just went up on the never-changing website of the Interpreter Foundation: Hugh Nibley Observed: “Family Reminisces at the Funeral of Hugh W. Nibley”: Zina Nibley Petersen, Rebecca Nibley, Alex Nibley, Michael Draper Nibley, Thomas Hugh Nibley, Christina Nibley Mincek, and Paul Sloan Nibley” Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Hugh Nibley Observed, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Shirley S. Ricks, and Stephen T. Whitlock. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/hugh-nibley-observed/.... Read more

Curious Last Words

July 8, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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Royal Skousen came to our house this morning for a pleasant visit and some business. Please be aware of the following and, if you’ll be in the area at the appropriate time, please mark the date and come! Royal describes this as his “swan song.” The Interpreter Foundation and BYU Studies Invite You to a Celebration The Completion of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project 1988-2024 Saturday, August 10, 2024 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. with two presentations open... Read more

An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar

July 7, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. Even if you’re not, you’ve almost certainly heard his Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D (1901) — especially the part that comes in at about the two-minute mark in this recording. There were several Pomp and Circumstance marches, and the Enigma Variations, and a host of other compositions. And yet, although he certainly ranks among the greatest of English composers,... Read more

Perhaps it saved me

July 6, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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Well, we checked off most of the items on our list during this visit to Newport Beach: We had a meal at the restaurant (The Farmhouse) at Roger’s Gardens, and another one at the Beachcomber at Crystal Cove. I had a date milkshake at the Shake Shack just off of the Pacific Coast Highway near Crystal Cove (overlooking the Beachcomber), just as I first began to do with my parents back as early as I can remember, when we... Read more

“Are There Ten Commandments for Latter-day Zion?”

July 5, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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These items went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation. They represent, by my calculation, the 624th consecutive week in which the Foundation, which has existed for slightly more than 625 weeks, has published at least one article in its online journal: “Are There Ten Commandments for Latter-day Zion?” written by Dennis Newton Abstract: New faith traditions often modify existing religious tenets to accommodate the particulars of their membership’s needs. A specific example is how different faith communities... Read more

A Potpourri of Thoughts on the Fourth of July

July 4, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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New materials are constantly appearing on the otherwise completely dead and rapidly dying website of the very nearly comatose Interpreter Foundation. Here are two recently posted items: Hugh Nibley Observed: “Editing Hugh Nibley: The Man and His Legacy,” written by Shirley S. Ricks “My personal experience of working with Hugh Nibley’s books and manuscripts began in the late 1980s when there was a big push to get several books out in time for the upcoming year when the Book... Read more

On unkind feelings in an election year

July 3, 2024 By Dan Peterson

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I’m slowly and carefully reading through the talks that were given in April 2024 at the most recent general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This passage, from the remarks that were delivered at that conference by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (“Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ”), stood out to me against the background of the current strikingly toxic and hyper-partisan atmosphere of American political discourse: The house of the... Read more