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A blog entry for Friday the Thirteenth

A blog entry for Friday the Thirteenth

Last updated on: June 13, 2025 at 7:34 pm by Dan Peterson

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A blog entry for Friday the Thirteenth 2025-06-13T19:34:01-06:00 Dan Peterson

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The main entrance to BYU-Hawaii, in Laie, where Professor Bowen teaches (BYU-Hawaii website)

These two new articles went up online today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship:

Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms, Chapter 7, “Records, Writing, and Language,” written by Matthew Roper

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present chapter 7 from a book entitled Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms. It is presented in serialized form in this volume of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.]

““Get Thou Up into the Temple”: Receiving Revelation and Becoming Holy in the House of the Lord,” written by Matthew L. Bowen

Abstract: Psalms 15:1–5, 24:2–3, and 48:1 [MT 2], as temple hymns of the Jerusalem Temple, are consistent with other texts such as Isaiah 2:2–3 and Genesis 22:14, which envision the holy temple as the “mountain of the Lord” into which one must ritually ascend. The examples of Moses, Nephi, Jacob, and others who ascended into this “mountain” demonstrate that this ascent facilitates the reception of divine revelation necessary in our mortal journey to become holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This sacred ascent is necessary for our eventual, individual, and collective “perfection” in Christ, and it is one that he himself consistently made. Recently, President Russell M. Nelson and other Church leaders have emphasized the wealth of spiritual blessings that result from increased, meaningful service in the temple. If we, as Latter-day Saints, will more frequently and diligently ascend and worship in the temple, we will receive the personal revelation, instruction, and divine correction that we need to help us more fully come unto Christ. He will also console us there, endow us with the strength to endure, and make us more holy.

A public domain political map of Iran, from the Nations Online Project. Curiously, our flight path was essentially north-south between Dubai (shown roughly bottom center) and Mashhad, though it diverged between Mashhad and Uzbekistan (which is partially shown in the upper righthand corner of this map).

Just a few weeks ago, on flydubai, I traveled twice over the entirety of the Islamic Republic of Iran, from south to north and then again from north to south. From Dubai to Samarkand and, thereafter, from Tashkent back to Dubai. I thought doing so worthy of note. I had never done it before. But that route is on hold right now, for understandable reasons. Furthermore, while I was in Samarkand I was informally invited to participate in an academic conference on comparative Muslim and Christian ethics to be held in Qom this fall. I was inclined to go, if at all possible. At this point, however, I doubt that I will. Dang.

Is this an early (1563) artist’s conception (by Pieter Brueghel the Elder) of the Cody Wyoming Temple and its immediate surroundings? Here’s a gentle hint: No. It’s not.

“High Court Hands LDS Church Win On Controversial 101-Foot Cody Temple: The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling Friday, denying a Cody group the chance to challenge the approval of a Latter-day Saints temple. The decision ends two years of controversy over the 101-foot-tall temple in a residential neighborhood.”

Construction of the massive 9950-square-foot temple in Cody, Wyoming, is well along, and the most recent news suggests that the final legal challenge to its completion has at last been exhausted. I can, I suppose, perhaps understand just a little bit why people in the residential area immediately adjacent to the future temple — a pretty diffuse and uncrowded residential area, it seems — might feel uncomfortable at its construction, although I expect that it will prove a better neighbor than they expect and that it will actually be an asset to the neighborhood. But I never had any patience for claims that it would block views of the mountains, obscure the night sky, and tower imperialistically over the city of Cody. I mean, really. Come on. Just look at the photographs that accompany the article to which I’ve linked above, or at the photographs that are provided here.

Mobs aren’t just fun. They also furnish excellent venues for reasoned political discussion and prudent civic decisions. (Public domain Bundesarchiv image from Wikimedia Commons)

Here’s an essential “how-to” guide for the weekend, whether you’re in Los Angeles or Washington DC or anywhere else: “10 Ways To Prepare For A Fun, Successful Riot.”

If rioting isn’t quite your thing, though, there are other activities that you can undertake to entertain yourself. Here’s one. You may or may not have noticed it, but my wife and I are avid theater-goers: “From ‘Footloose’ to Shakespeare to Disney, here are the shows coming to Utah theaters this summer: When it comes to Utah’s live theater scene this summer, there’s something for everyone”

The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple (LDS.org)

Finally, I share a sextet of horrors that I’ve retrieved from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™:

“Latter-day Saints Around the World: June 2025: Wheelchair donation contributes to the Church’s goal of 100 humanitarian projects in South America; Philippine Saints organize free community health services in Davao”:

Newsroom features stories from its dozens of websites worldwide to show what members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are doing to serve their communities. Today, we feature news from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Honduras and the Philippines.

“More Together: How the Church and a Nonprofit Are Building Hope in Detroit: Friendship and faith spark through charitable collaboration”

“7 Recent Humanitarian Efforts in Brazil, From Helping Flood Victims to Neonatal CPR Classes: Donations include hygiene kits and mattresses after flooding in Ceará, wheelchairs in São Paulo and a mobile mammography unit”

“BYU system has added 100,000 students since 2000: Enrollment growth at every school has almost doubled the size of the Church Educational System of the Church of Jesus Christ in 20 years”

“General Officers See God’s ‘Abundant Love’ During Brazil Ministry: Sister Yee and Sister Spannaus traveled north and south in Brazil, sharing messages of hope, bringing humanitarian support and witnessing the Lord’s hand at work”

And this last tale of woe, which was found at least in the vicinity of the Hitchens File, demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that Utah (aka “Utard,” the headquarters and home base of the deluded and depraved “Morgbots”) continues to be Hell on Earth: “Friendship, colorful paints and giving to others: Why Utah’s seniors are so happy: Caring.com recently ranked Utah as the happiest state for seniors and a local ceramics class showed why this is true.” Please also see the “Senior Happiness Index.”

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