Category: Society
Superbowl Culture Shock
Since leaving for China over 8 years ago, I occasionally experience some culture shock when I come back to the United States. A couple hours ago I felt so fortunate…
Updates on the Wuhan Coronavirus
Concerns about the Wuhan Coronavirus may need to be adjusted upwards in light of the latest data. Many thanks to The Lancet for providing clinical data on this virus, for…
Preliminary Thoughts on the Accusation that the Church Violated Tax Law
In response to the news stories about a whistleblower’s complaint to the IRS regarding the Church’s failure to properly pay taxes on investment returns in a fund managed by Ensign…
Review of Dr. David Charles Gore’s The Voice of the People: A Valuable Approach to Dealing with Political Divides
David Charles Gore, The Voice of the People: Political Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute, 2019). 227 pages. As one interested but perpetually disappointed…
How to Make a Chinese Woman Cry (Please Try This!)
Last night my wife and I had the pleasure of speaking with a large group of students from a US university who were touring China to learn about business and…
Pro-Choice for Education
I am dismayed that some people who pride themselves on being pro-choice stand for choice when it comes to the decision of a parent to terminate a young human’s life,…
If Utah Were an Island
What if Utah were an island? OK, I know what you’re thinking, but I mean the kind of island that is near sea level, surrounding by lovely beaches and not…
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…
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…
Christmas Coincidences, or the Blessings of Bureaucracy
If we were more skilled in listening to inspiration from the Lord and more diligent in seeking it, the Lord might not need to use so many blunt techniques to…
