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Musings on (mostly) gospel and (some) non-gospel related topics.

Prophetic counsel, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul

Prophetic counsel, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul

We feel that this chart is a great way of applying the prophets’ urging to “study the issues and candidates carefully” and to “ask … is the proposal, the policy, or the idea … right as measured by the counsel of the living oracles of God?” We’re sure others will come to varying conclusions, but as for us, we really do think for several reasons that Ron Paul is the best candidate for president because he most closely follows the repeated and united counsel of modern-day prophets as well as the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

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Correction about Mormons in the book ‘Sacred Places’

Correction about Mormons in the book ‘Sacred Places’

I picked up a book about holy sites around the world while perusing a bookstore. I found myself doing what some others probably do, too—turning to the index and looking up my own church to see what it says. It only mentioned the LDS Church in one passage, and I found a great opportunity to share with the author how what Mormons believe is very different from what was written in the book.

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The book of Abraham facsimiles in high resolution

The book of Abraham facsimiles in high resolution

A few years ago I tried to track down a high-resolution version of the facsimiles from the book of Abraham. It turns out they were impossible to find. The Church website has them, but they are only 400 pixels wide. Here are high-resolution images of the three facsimiles from the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price.

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Do-It-Yourself Book of Mormon

Do-It-Yourself Book of Mormon

Here’s what I learned when I created my own customized the layout of the Book of Mormon from the files on my Do-It-Yourself Scripture page. I created my own personalized edition of the scriptures that is annotated in a way that made sense to me. Since I am sometimes asked this question, let me clarify: I am not talking about writing your own scriptures, or altering the wording of the current scriptures in order to satisfy your preferences. I am talking about choosing fonts and page size, inserting headings where a new section seems to begin, etc.

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Do-It-Yourself Pearl of Great Price

Do-It-Yourself Pearl of Great Price

Here’s what I learned when I created my own customized the layout of the Pearl of Great Price from the files on my Do-It-Yourself Scripture page. I created my own personalized edition of the scriptures that is annotated in a way that made sense to me. Since I am sometimes asked this question, let me clarify: I am not talking about writing your own scriptures, or altering the wording of the current scriptures in order to satisfy your preferences. I am talking about choosing fonts and page size, inserting headings where a new section seems to begin, etc.

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Do-It-Yourself Doctrine and Covenants

Do-It-Yourself Doctrine and Covenants

Here are some insights I gained when I created my own customized the layout of the Doctrine and Covenants from the files on my Do-It-Yourself Scripture page. I created my own personalized edition of the scriptures that is annotated in a way that made sense to me. Since I am sometimes asked this question, let me clarify: I am not talking about writing your own scriptures, or altering the wording of the current scriptures in order to satisfy your preferences. I am talking about choosing fonts and page size, inserting headings where a new section seems to begin, etc.

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Interview: Joe Spencer answers questions about Isaiah in the Book of Mormon

Interview: Joe Spencer answers questions about Isaiah in the Book of Mormon

In a previous post, I summarized an article by Joseph Spencer entitled “Prolegomena to Any Future Study of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.” Recently, I had the chance to email back and forth with Joe and ask him some questions I still had after reading his article, and he gave me permission to post our exchange as an interview.

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Joseph Spencer on Isaiah, baptism, and the Godhead in the Book of Mormon

Joseph Spencer on Isaiah, baptism, and the Godhead in the Book of Mormon

I recently read an article that pointed out some interesting patterns. In 1 and 2 Nephi, Isaiah and several themes related to his teachings are used extensively. Then, suddenly, Isaiah goes completely unused in Enos through Helaman (and the first part of 3 Nephi). Then, Isaiah is reintroduced “with a vengeance” in 3 Nephi by the Savior, almost as soon as He appears to the Nephites. Joe Spencer drew some interesting conclusions as to why that might be.

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Interfaith Dialogue: Azusa Pacific

Interfaith Dialogue: Azusa Pacific

We had an interfaith dialogue today with a group of about nine evangelical students and their professor, Dr. Dennis Okholm, from Azusa Pacific University, in the Los Angeles area of southern California. I invited some LDS friends so we could have about even numbers. That way everyone gets more of a chance to talk to someone else. We broke up into groups of 3-6 people and got to discuss beliefs. We had so much fun that we went on talking for over 3 hours.

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