Dan Peterson

I’m impressed with the rapidity of the dictation of the Book of Mormon, and with the complexity of it. But that’s only part of an argument that Joseph Smith wasn’t the book’s author, which is only part of the overall cumulative argument for its authenticity and divinity.

There are two message boards that I look at fairly often. (I like to know what’s agitating the people there.) On one of them, there’s invariably a thread every Sunday wherein people list all the wonderful things that they’re doing that day instead of attending church.

My wife and I attended a session at the Manhattan New York Temple late this morning. It’s a remarkable place, a small gem, astoundingly quiet and serene despite its being surrounded by the noisy and insistent bustle of New York City.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the tenth archbishop of the diocese of New York, was a great friend of the late Elder L. Tom Perry of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. They agreed, I’m told, to abandon titles and to call one another simply “Tim” and “Tom”.

We are doing the best that we can, within the significant constraints imposed upon us by the sacredness of the temple and, of course, by our own covenants concerning that sacredness, to deepen understanding of temple concepts and practices and to enhance appreciation for them.

I join my voice with that of John Taylor and millions of others; I’m not backing away from Joseph Smith, the Prophet who opened this last dispensation. Not even close.

For a brief instant, the sea floor of the harbor was even exposed to view. Tsunamis passed through portions of the city repeatedly, then also repeatedly receded, pulling rubble and people with them back into the water. The entire residential district known as Richmond was obliterated.

I do hope that the real J. Dawson is aware of the attention that he’s receiving, and that he appreciates it.

When he died quite suddenly a little more than ten years ago, my brother was still a very vivid personality and, I thought, entirely vigorous and healthy. And, accordingly, that is how he is fixed in my mind and my memory still today.

Last night, I spoke on a fairly long Zoom call with a friend who is a former mission president. He and his wife leave within a few days for a service mission in Kurdistan (specifically, in Sulaymāniyyah [السليمانية], northern Iraq, not too far from the border of Iran).

"There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health."

Like most Latter-day Saints, I pay close attention to statements from modern-day apostles and prophets of the Church. There seemed to me to be a strong historical sentiment of Church leaders against total warfare in general, especially the use of nuclear weapons.