Making our history one step at a time
I added American Universities and the Birth of Modern Mormonism after listening to an interview with the author, Thomas Simpson, at the Maxwell Institute Podcast. It got me excited, because I had recently read another book with "Modern Mormonism" in the name, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince. Simpson's... Continue Reading →
Rating: 4/5 Goodreads Summary Here the great Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc analyzes 5 of the greatest heresies of all time: Arianism, Mohammedanism (Islam), Albigensianism, Protestantism, and "the Modern Attack," showing that the world would be vastly different today if Arianism or Albigensianism had survived--and how it is different because Protestantism survived. He predicts the re-emergence... Continue Reading →
This is my next attempt at engaging in the world of German literature. I have read several novels in German, including Franz Kafka's famed Der Prozess (The Trial), and lesser known ones such as Michael Kohlhaas both of which I read for classes towards my German minor. I have continued to seek out additional books... Continue Reading →
Do ethics have a place of discussion in our universities and workplaces? I brought this question up during a panel session on careers in science at the annual NanoDDS conference this year. We had panelists across a variety of disciplines, including a venture capitalist, a professor, and a patent lawyer. I posed the question, first... Continue Reading →
I am shamelessly proud of my Church and the great strides they have made in the publishing of Saints: The Standard of Truth. This is fantastic history and beautiful prose. I have always been an avid reader, my early encounters with Church history weren't positive: I remember reading excerpts from Our Heritage in Sunday School... Continue Reading →
The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Russell M. Nelson visited church members in Seattle, Washington this past Saturday in the Mariners Safeco Field stadium. I was excited to attend with my in-laws, and felt a little bad I was going at the expense of my wife, who was staying at... Continue Reading →
Last week, I wrote about the Sunday School lesson I taught to the youth on the importance of commandments. This week, my co-teacher continued the discussion. The lesson was technically titled "How can I help others understand my standards." I was thinking how I would teach such a lesson, and I would have centered it... Continue Reading →
Rating: 4/5 Goodreads blurb Controversies in politics arise from many sources, but the conflicts that endure for generations or centuries show a remarkably consistent pattern. In this classic work, Thomas Sowell analyzes this pattern. He describes the two competing visions that shape our debates about the nature of reason, justice, equality, and power: the "constrained"... Continue Reading →
I teach the 16-18 year-old Sunday School class in my ward/congregation, and September begins a discussion on the commandments. I gave a lot of thought on what to share this week, and I decided to do a compare/contrast setup with common secular views of commandments with the religious rationale for commandments. Perhaps I was waning... Continue Reading →
