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A Good Friday

A Good Friday

Last updated on: August 7, 2026 at 8:30 pm by Dan Peterson

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A Good Friday 2026-08-07T20:30:25-06:00 Dan Peterson

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Preparing to film the experience of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
(A 2019 still photograph by James Jordan taken on the set of the Interpreter Foundation’s 2021 theatrical film Witnesses.)

It being Friday, yet another new article went up today on the Interpreter Foundation’s website: It is “God’s First Recorded Speech in the Book of Mormon: A Covenant that Unifies Nephi’s Record and Defines a Nephite Worldview,” written by Steven L. Olsen, which appears at Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 69 (2026) : 373-400:

Abstract: A variety of literary conventions that are characteristic of the Hebrew Bible also appear in the initial books of the Book of Mormon. This study features one of these conventions, which may be called the “general principle of firsts.” According to this convention, the first actions and first speeches of a character in a biblical story reveal his or her character and role in the narrative. God’s first recorded speech in the Book of Mormon is a covenant that unifies Nephi’s record and defines a Nephite worldview. This thesis is demonstrated through a detailed examination of the literary craftsmanship of the covenant text and its relation to dominant themes of Nephi’s small-plates record, the parallel structuring of 1 and 2 Nephi, and the covenant-foundations of a comprehensive Nephite worldview.

A public domain image from the European Southern Observatory

This was a very good FAIR conference. Here are some notes on the presentations that I heard:

Meagan Kohler: “Why God is Getting in the Way of Your Happiness”

Meagan Kohler, who writes for the Deseret News, has spoken at least once before at the Fair Conference. I like her perspective. In this morning’s presentation, she addressed the distinction that often exists between our conception of happiness and God’s. She made a very useful (and potentially very fruitful) distinction between what she terms transactional faith and transformative faith.

Walker Wright: “Nourishing the Roots: How Temple Recommend Questions Can Reground Faith”

This presentation, by an exceptionally interesting Latter-day Saint thinker, draws on a new book that he’s written. His argument was very similar to the arguments that I’ve been making (mostly, but not entirely, in as-yet unpublished manuscripts) so, naturally, I really, really liked it. Here is the blurb that appears on Amazon for his book:

Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter-day Testimony invites readers to move beyond superficial spiritual struggles and cultivate a faith rooted in the deep realities of the gospel. While many Latter-day Saints wrestle with the “branches” of their faith—such as historical complexities or modern cultural tensions—Walker A. Wright argues that the way forward lies in re-tending the “roots” of reality itself.

Drawing on insights from philosophy, science, and the foundational claims of the Restoration, Wright guides readers through eight essential inquiries, beginning with the question of why there is something rather than nothing and exploring the mathematical language of the cosmos. He further examines the hard problem of consciousness, the evidence found in widespread supernatural experiences, and the historical reality of the Resurrection of Jesus. The journey continues as Wright assesses the witnesses and authenticity of the Book of Mormon, explores how the complexity of that sacred text points to divine origins, and concludes by discussing how personal revelation serves as a meaningful way of knowing truth.

I really need to get back to working on my manuscripts. But when?

Wendy Ulrich: “When Loved Ones Leave: Maintaining Faith and Relationships”

Wendy Ulrich’s has been a wise, caring, faithful voice for many years now, and I think that her remarks will be helpful to more than a few out there whose hearts are broken by the departure of family members from faith and fellowship. She told a story about my friend Joseph Grenny, who was sorrowing over the fact that members of his family were not all making the choices that he was hoping for. So he began searching the scriptures to discover what mistakes he had made, and what the secret of perfect families was. But he soon realized that no such perfect families are depicted in the scriptures. And she mentioned a former client who was struggling with the fact that a beloved son had chosen to distance himself from the Church and the teachings of his parents. “It’s time to stop mourning the son you’ve lost,” the Spirit told him, “and to start rejoicing in the son that you have.”

One of the several bright large signs that I saw a while back at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. This is, just to be clear, not an official production of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Matt Roper: “Accidental Evidence for the Book of Mormon”

Matt gave a very good presentation on elements of the Book of Mormon that were once viewed as liabilities but that have, over the years, become areas of evidentiary strength. Back in 2025, we devoted an entire issue of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship (Volume 65) to Matt’s remarkable work in this area.

Paul Fields: “Authorship Attribute Analysis of D&C 132”

Dr. Fields reported on the research — still ongoing, as I understand it — that resulted in an extraordinarily important article back in 2025: Paul Fields, Steven T. Densley Jr., Matthew Roper, and Larry Bassist, “Historical and Stylometric Evidence for the Authorship of Doctrine and Covenants 132,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 67 (2025) : 1-70.

Michael R. Ash: “Shaken Faith Syndrome”

In his remarks this morning, Mike Ash revisited the line of thought that he first laid out in his justly well-known book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt.

Matt Grow: ““A Record Shall Be Kept”: The Mission of the Church History Department”

Matt Grow and his people in the Church History Department up in Salt Lake City have been of major help to our ongoing Becoming Brigham project. I’m deeply grateful to them. Matt gave a very interesting presentation on the work of the History Department to collect materials (e.g., documents, but also objects and art)) and to preserve them, but also on current Department initiatives.

A statue of the Angel Moroni by Torleif Knaphus stands atop the Hill Cumorah, just south of Palmyra, New York, commemorating the revelation and recovery of the Book of Mormon. (Wikimedia Commons public domain photo).

Jennifer Roach Lees: “Doctrinal Differences and “Heretical” Teachings”

A former Evangelical herself — she earned a master’s degree in divinity while still a Protestant — Jennifer Lees offered a very helpful (and very frank) discussion of some of the sources of the recurrent misunderstandings between Latter-day Saints and Evangelical Protestants. I liked her presentation quite a bit, and I recommend it as a useful tutorial for any Latter-day Saint who ever has or has had a conversation on religious topics with people outside the Church.

Kendall Buchmiller: “What is (and is not) Doctrine”

This is obviously a very important question for Latter-day Saints and for those who wish to interact with us (or to attack us). It’s essentially the same question that was addressed yesterday (but in a quite different way) by Casey Griffiths. I think that both presentations were useful. They were also quite enjoyable.

Jeffrey Thayne: “By What Measure? Why the Same Doctrine Looks Different to Different Saints”

Professor Thayne distinguished three governing principles, which, depending upon which of them is emphasized, can lead to quite different views even among faithful Latter-day Saints but certainly among people of varying commitments to Church teaching: an ethic of autonomy, an ethic of community, and an ethic of divinity. Very useful and well worth hearing (or reading) again and reflecting upon. Actually quite profound.

“The Angel Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith in His Room” (Tom Lovell, LDS Media Library)

Brant Gardner: “Can I Trust the Book of Mormon? My Half-Century Quest to Answer that Question”

This was a very enjoyable autobiographical account of how Brant began as a boy with a rather naïve understanding of the Book of Mormon, its geography, the peopling of the Americas, and such issues. Later, he studied anthropology and the ethnohistory of Mesoamerica and Pre-Columbian Mesomerican religion and, for a while, almost put the Book of Mormon on the shelf (as it were). But then he came back to the Book of Mormon, reading it slowly and very carefully (roughly a chapter per week). And, he reports, he found that the Book of Mormon stands up very well to scrutiny.

Neal Rappleye: “A Beginner’s Guide to Book of Mormon Apologetics”

Neal gave a rapid-fire overview of the general lay of the land in Book of Mormon apologetics. We have a very strong case to make, he says, that Joseph Smith was not the book’s author. And there is much to argue that it’s authentically ancient. I concur, and I suggest listening to Neal’s presentation when it goes up online.

The London England Temple is actually located quite a distance to the south of the city of London. Once again, alas, we almost certainly won’t see it during this visit to the United Kingdom. (LDS Media Library image)

James Perry: “Historical and Contemporary Patterns: European Latter-day Saints, 1837–Present”

Speaking via video recording from northeastern England, James Perry, who serves as Church History Area Manager for Europe North and holds a doctorate from Lancaster University. cautioned about deriving overly ambitious conclusions from ambiguous data. Unfortunately, for various reasons I missed substantial portions of his presentation, so I’m looking forward to a second chance at it.

A sunset over Turkey Lake, near Orlando, Florida. This image seems eerily appropriate to the final speaker at the 2026 FAIR Conference. (Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

Daniel C. Peterson: “Why Apologetics? The Case for Defending the Faith”

The less said about this presenter and his remarks, the better. Especially about the cheap little theatrical trick with which he opened his performance. What a maroon!

Moreover, he should have thanked DeLayna Beck and Jared Riddick for their remarkable last[minute help with his PowerPoint slides. In fact, he meant to do so today at the end of his angry, rage-fueled tirade, but he forgot. What a maroon!

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