We’re doomed!

Last updated on: September 5, 2018 at 9:52 am by Dan Peterson

We’re doomed! 2018-09-05T09:52:54-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The main office of the Interpreter Foundation after its recent makeover and seismic retrofit. My suite, as chairman of the board, is in the upper right hand corner, on the top floor.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy gave an important and very welcome speech to the 2018 FairMormon conference. Here’s an article about his remarks from the official news site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“Elder Pearson Says Independent Voices Are Needed to Sustain Faith: Mormon leader calls on members to engage on social media”

If you would like to actually listen to Elder Pearson’s speech, here it is:

https://www.facebook.com/fairmormon/videos/2107767335901306/

And be sure to listen to the question-and-answer portion, where he specifically mentions not only FairMormon but Book of Mormon Central and the Interpreter Foundation.

***

Unfortunately — and for the very first time in the two decades that it’s been convening — I missed a substantial portion of the 2018 FairMormon conference. I missed all of the Wednesday sessions, for instance. Not, mind you, because they were devoted to discussing Mormon women and, thus, offensive to my blackly misogynistic heart, but, rather, because I was engaged that day in filming an interview in Fairfax, Virginia, for the film on the Witnesses that the Interpreter Foundation has undertaken and then in flying home with the film crew from Reagan National Airport.

And I missed several sessions on Thursday, as well, because I had various appointments that summoned me elsewhere. I’ve been traveling so much that I really needed to take care of them while briefly alighting in Utah. I even missed too much on Friday.

I did, however, catch some interesting presentations. I think, for example, that Wade Miller’s work on evidence for the presence of horses in historic Pre-Columbian America is potentially extremely significant.

I was pleased to be able to participate in the bestowal on my friend Louis Midgley of an award for a lifetime of contributions to the defense of the faith. It’s richly deserved. (And he was caught completely by surprise, which made it especially fun.)

***

I’ve been getting a kick out of the earnest discussions among a handful of pseudonymous critics on a small, extraordinarily nasty, absurdly uninformed, and mostly atheist ex-Mormon message board that — for reasons that a particularly insightful shrink might be able to discern — I enjoy watching.

They’re pretending to lament what they claim are the Interpreter Foundation’s recent financial difficulties — difficulties that I hadn’t noticed, but which they attribute to my ineptitude and to my appalling financial mismanagement (which would, I suppose, account for my failure to notice them!), as well as to my embarrassing inability to generate funding and to plunging public interest in what we’re doing — and they’re predicting the Foundation’s imminent demise. Apparently, I’m busily searching right now for a scapegoat on whom to blame the debacle.

This inescapably reminds me of the confident prophecy issued more than five and a half years ago by another pseudonymous critic on that same message board:

“By Jan. 1, 2014 Interpreter will be dead. . . . Either totally dead or down to token ‘blog’ style postings.” (Bond James Bond, 25 January 2013)

His prediction appears to have been mistaken. But I think that sharing these predictions might be an amusing way to greet the guests at our seventh birthday party, which will be held almost precisely a year from now.

Incidentally, feel free to make a donation, even a small one, to the Interpreter Foundation. We’re not even remotely desperate or in crisis, but we do function on the basis of volunteer labor and financial donations, and we’re trying to increase both so that we can expand what we do.

***

This is an interesting article that you might enjoy:

“How Mormonism can save America”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 6, 2018

The benefits of eating crickets, and other cutting-edge science

Next Post

August 6, 2018 "Death of a Nation"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Twelve spies were sent to explore Canaan, and all gave a positive report.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE