Resources and a Review

Last updated on: October 3, 2025 at 5:42 pm by Dan Peterson

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Resources and a Review 2025-10-03T17:42:22-06:00 Dan Peterson

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The Arch, Land’s End, at Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)

A new review essay went up earlier today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Some Good Questions, but Large Inferences from Tidbits,” written by David M. Belnap

Review of R. Kent Crookston, Book of Mormon Ecology: What the Text Reveals about the Land and Lives of the Record Keepers (Provo, UT: Village Lane, 2020). 267 pages. $12.95 (paperback).

Abstract: As is well known, the Book of Mormon is a brief spiritual account from many centuries of Lehite and Jaredite peoples. Some of its authors mentioned that the book contains very little (not even 1%) of what happened, especially of non-spiritual matters. Nevertheless, from the tidbits of information found in the book, many have deduced or speculated on aspects of Nephite, Lamanite, and Jaredite life, including where the events took place. In Book of Mormon Ecology, R. Kent Crookston analyzes agricultural, ecological, and physical information in the Book of Mormon and proposes that its peoples lived in a Mediterranean climate, not in Mesoamerica. Seeds from Jerusalem growing well in America, seasons of grain and fruit, and east winds have good connections to Mediterranean climates. His analysis raises pertinent questions about Mesoamerican models. However, many conclusions have a weak basis or do not consider other evidence strongly correlated to a Mesoamerican setting, including ecological factors. For other details, reasonable explanations also fit a Mesoamerican model. A definitive post-oceanic locale of Book of Mormon peoples remains elusive and controversial because of meager non-spiritual information in the book, multiple plausible interpretations of non-spiritual words, and insufficient archaeological data throughout the Americas.

The most recent First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: President Russell M. Nelson, center; first counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks, left; second counselor, President Henry B. Eyring, right.

I’ve read Sheri Dew, Insights from a Prophet’s Life: Russell M. Nelson, and Spencer J. Condie, Russell M. Nelson: Father, Surgeon, Apostle. I enjoyed both books, and I came away deeply impressed with President Nelson. But, I confess, I also came away feeling dwarfed and inadequate. What a disciplined and accomplished and self-consistent life he led! After his career achievements in surgical practice and medical research, he added a second career that took him to the pinnacle of ecclesiastical leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And he was a father of ten, including nine daughters. I was sometimes left wondering, worm that I am, why I even bother to get out of bed in the morning.

He could play Chopin on the piano, and regularly played the piano for meetings of the Quorum of the Twelve. He occasionally gave portions of his talks in Spanish, and he learned enough Chinese to be able to issue directions during open-heart surgery in China. He is said to have had a photographic memory, and he was well-known for his ability to remember people’s names. (I can bear witness to this from personal experience.). An exceptional man.

I love a phrase that has become associated with him: the covenant path. I’ve always liked the idea (so prominently featured in works such as John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress) of life as a journey. But I also associate the image of “the covenant path” with a favorite quotation from Elder Boyd K. Packer:

“Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into [God’s] presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality”. Boyd K. Packer April 1987 “Covenants” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1987/04/covenants?lang=eng

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dressed in white temple clothing, posed for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy on Monday, March 11, 2019. Front center are President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. Also included are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and Elder Ulisses Soares. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News. (I hope that they won’t mind my use of this astonishing photograph, with acknowledgement. If there is an objection, I can be reached at [email protected].)

As the current senior apostle, Dallin H. Oaks is the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the presumptive next president of the Church. Here is a list of resources for learning more about him that was kindly provided to me (and probably to others) by a friend:

There will be a fair amount of media focus on President Oaks, and I expect that much of it will be critical or, at best, skeptical of him. Perhaps even cynical. In fact, I anticipate that much attention will be focused on his supposed antagonism toward homosexuals, and that distorted accounts of aversion therapy for homosexuality at Brigham Young University during his 1971-1980 tenure as the University’s president will feature heavily in media coverage. Accordingly, yet again, I share three items that will help to accurately understand and explain the issue:

“Aversion Therapy at BYU” (a relatively short but quite useful article from FAIR)
“Aversion Therapy for Homosexuality in Scientific Historical Context” (a much longer and rather comprehensive treatment, also from FAIR)
“Gay Conversion Therapy and BYU” (a very useful compilation of materials, with a timeline, from Mormonr)

Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

As the world seems to be falling apart, we can often feel hopeless because we feel powerless. But we are not entirely powerless; there are positive things that we can do. This list of fundraisers for victims of the Grand Blanc atrocity was passed on to me, and I share it, hopefully, with you:

Victims in Michigan: Craig Hayden – 78 – Jumped up trying to help what he thought was a car accident outside the building. Died trying to help another victim in the attack. https://www.gofundme.com/f/taewq-help-for-widow-of-church-shooting-victim
More info about Craig and his family. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/09/30/daughters-of-grand-blanc-church-shooting-victim-say-they-forgive-killer/86443308007/

John Bond – 77 – Father and grandfather. Died in the attack. https://www.gofundme.com/f/john-bond

Pat Howard – 77 – Father and grandfather. Died in the attack. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-howards-after-tragic-loss

Thelma Armstrong – Mother and grandmother. Died in the attack. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-family-ofthelma-armstrong-victim-grand-blanc-mi

Pierre Dery – One of the first out of the building to help what he thought was a car crash. Sustained a gunshot would to the abdomen and is recovering. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-pierre-dery

Greg Mikat – Ran towards the attack. Sustained life-threatening gunshot wounds and is currently in the ICU. https://www.gofundme.com/f/greg-mikats-family-victim-of-the-grand-blanc-church-attack

Benjamin Phelps – Member of the Bishopric shot while attempting to shield others. Currently in the hospital. https://www.gofundme.com/f/aayc3-support-for-the-phelps-family

Jeff (60) & Marei Kubiak – Got up when hearing the crash to try and help. Injured in the gunfire. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jeff-mareis-healing-journey-after-church-shooting

Jared Hicken & S Bridger Frampton – Both Emergency Medicine Physicians who sprang into action to try and help, one shot and the other with smoke inhalation searching for children in the back of the building. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-two-brave-doctors-recover-and-rebuild

Brandi & Piper Hicken – Wife and daughter of Jared Hicken (above). Piper is 5 years old and was shot in the back and Brandi sustained shrapnel injuries. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-brandi-hickens-family-recover-and-heal

And finally, I am proud to belong to a church community that tries to put into practice Jesus’s teaching to “Love your enemies”. Members of my church have setup and donated to a fundraiser for the family of the shooter. https://www.givesendgo.com/helptheSanfordfamily

In his last public written words before he passed away last Saturday, the President of Our Church Russell M. Nelson wrote an OpEd for Time Magazine 3 weeks ago which spoke about building bridges with our adversaries. I’ll share one quote from that article.

“Love your neighbor and treat them with compassion and respect. A century of experience has taught me this with certainty: anger never persuades, hostility never heals, and contention never leads to lasting solutions. Too much of today’s public discourse, especially online, fosters enmity instead of empathy.

“Imagine how different our world could be if more of us were peacemakers—building bridges of understanding rather than walls of prejudice—especially with those who may see the world differently than we do. I have seen bitter divisions soften when neighbors chose to listen to one another with respect rather than suspicion. Even small acts—like reaching out across lines of faith, culture, or politics—can open doors to healing. There is power in affording others the human dignity that all of God’s children deserve.” https://time.com/7315003/russell-nelson-dignity-respect/

I am proud to see members of my community put those teachings into practice. And I look forward to listening to the leaders of my church this weekend to find further healing, peace and ways that I can better myself. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/feature/general-conference?lang=eng