Category: Social Issues
The Height of Absurdity? Revisiting the Impact of Altitude, Oxygen, and Serotonin on Suicide Rates
Though I disagreed with some of the arguments made in the film Believer, as discussed in my previous post, it did help me to better appreciate how serious our problem…
Imagine Fewer Dragons (and More Data): Initial Reactions to the Film Believer with Dan Reynolds and John Dehlin
While returning to the US for Christmas, I looked at the selection of movies on my United Airlines flight and noted that one of their many films dealt with a…
The Town of Palmyra vs. the City of Helam: A Subtle but Meaningful Contrast in Communities and Culture
A couple days before Christmas when it was Joseph Smith’s birthday, I reflected briefly upon his life in rather small towns in New York and elsewhere prior to publication of…
Too Complex! Don’t Confuse Me with that Military-Industrial Thing
I am surprised how many Americans who care deeply about politics and current events don’t seem to have considered the forces that act on and influence government. During a recent…
The Creation
Here is a talk I gave at District Conference for the Shanghai International District, March 19, 2017, sharing a few views on the Creation, why we should study and ponder…
To Rule with Blood and Horror: Shouldn’t We Be Paying More Attention?
This morning I awoke with a chilling dream. I was a technical advisor helping in the deployment of a bomb. I was on the airplane carrying the first bomb as…
Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom of Religious Belief: The Differences Matter
Extremist feet (size 13) in even more extreme shoes. Photo taken at the Holland display in Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2015. Three years ago, Wesley J. Smith writing…
Ezra Taft Benson and Teachings of the Presidents for 2015: Some Things You Won’t Be Learning This Year
I’m glad to see that the LDS manual for Teachings of the Presidents in 2015 will cover Ezra Taft Benson, the man who was President of the Church from 1985…
Weighing Mormonism: Thoughts for Mormon Doubters (and Readers of the New York Times)
The New York Times and Shaken Faith in Sweden The arguments that weigh against Mormonism and the LDS story of a divine Restoration came to the front page of the…
Eternal Souls in Frail Mortal Shells: The Complexity of Gender
One of the great liberating and ennobling teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God is the Father of our spirits (Heb. 12:9,10), and we are His children…
