"To Rabbi Hier's remark that "It is sacrilegious for the Mormon faith to desecrate [Simon Wiesenthal's] memory by suggesting that Jews on their own are not worthy enough to receive G-ds’ eternal blessing,"

"I would respond that we Latter-day Saints do, quite unapologetically, insist that Jews "are not worthy enough to receive G-d's eternal blessing" "on their own."

We who write such things engage in apologetics because we believe that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the two of them appeared to Joseph Smith in a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820, that the Book of Mormon is the record of ancient inhabitants of the Americas, and that the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored.

And, what is more, we believe that defending these and related claims against attack, misunderstanding, and distortion--very often from writers who offer a great deal more in the way of evidence and reasoned analysis (it would be difficult to offer less) than anything Alvin, Beaver, Caleb, Doogie, and Eeyore have provided thus far--is a worthwhile thing to do, and something that we're obligated to do.

Mormonism is really a break off Islam They dont think Jesus is the god , they cover up their women and give them no rights, They hate all other religons and you must convert to their religion or go to hell. They get violent tempers when you question their beliefs. They want to take over the earth. The two groups have too much in common.

Such sweeping statements, of course, do not go without response. "I have said this very thing for years," commented the longest and most substantive reply. "Not quite like you've stated it but similar."

• The church doesn't cover up details about polygamy
• The best treatments of church history have been written by true believers
• The details of Joseph Smith's plural marriages are "murky at best."

So the principle that came to me on this was that if you are looking at a religious tradition that has a large number of adherents...then there must be something in it that appeals to different people.

The UVSC student ward over which I preside consists, essentially, of a single apartment complex that has four buildings.

One of the buildings was seriously damaged by fire today, during church. One apartment unit in it was completely gutted, another severely damaged, and many others are smoke- and/or water-damaged. Nobody will be allowed to stay in it over night, and I'm guessing that it will be quite a while before anybody is allowed (or will want) to move back in to most of it.

It was interesting to see the Church's organization move into action. We have housing taken care of for everybody, as well as food and bedding. My elders quorum president lived up to my expectations for him, and did a marvelous job, as did the Relief Society president. My second counselor, whom I deputed to monitor things at the apartment while I finished up some counseling matters that didn't go away even despite the fire, was also superb.

Of course, some of our people lost virtually everything they had, including clothing, so the challenge will not be over in a day or two.

Some of my ward members were interviewed by KSL News. My understanding is that they will be on at 10 PM.

During the meeting that we held immediately after our three-hour block to hand out instructions, assess needs and resources, wait for the authorities to grant access to the area, etc., I couldn't resist having the congregation sing "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning." They got a kick out of it, and sang with gusto.

I'm grateful for the expressions of concern and helpfulness.

Fortunately, although almost precisely a fourth of my ward were refugees as of last night, things seem to be more or less under control.

I was pleased that at least one of the evening news reports mentioned that, thanks to "the LDS singles ward" to which most of the people in the apartment complex belong, they were well taken care of with food, bedding, and shelter. This is true, and, again, the members of the ward, led by my counselor, the elders quorum president, and the president of the Relief Society, handled the situation quickly and extremely well.

A burning candle -- prohibited by the rules of the apartment complex -- was inadevertently tipped over. While the person who tipped it over (not, incidentally, a member of my ward; a few in the complex go to other wards, and a fair number of inactives and non-Mormons live in the complex) was in another room and unaware, flames engulfed the room in which the candle had been tipped over.

1. That he seemed to want to blame the fire on non-Mormons and "inactives, and
2. He seemed to want to use the whole event as a PR opportunity for the Church.

“The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote:

“Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.)

“Although the Prophet would polish his skills over the years, Emma acknowledged that Joseph possessed only rudimentary literacy at the time he translated the gold plates”

“It [America] was to be the repository of sacred writing on plates of gold from which the Book of Mormon would one day come,”

“In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian Era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country.”

"These movements often meet a real psychological need for people who want purpose and meaning and structure. And many people have said that cults represent the unpaid bills of the mainstream religions, that these people did not find the religion in which they were raised or the religion that is predominant in society satisfying to them. It didn't give them the sense of purpose or structure that they needed. We are in a society now that's awash in what many people see as relativism. They don't know if they have a purpose and what that purpose would be," says Peterson. "And a cult offers very decisive answers so that they know their place in the universe and their place in society."

Peterson . . . says potential cult members include people from all age groups, and educational and economic backgrounds.

Peterson said the Book of Mormon was revealed to Smith through a seer stone. Smith never went through the golden pages of the ancient record, but instead put the seer stone in a hat, then buried his head in the hat to shut out ambient light. The stone lit up a line of text, about 30 words at a time, which Smith then dictated to his scribe. Once the text was transcribed correctly, the line disappeared and a new line came into focus, Peterson said, quoting eye witnesses who were 19th Century farmers associated with Smith.

"To have created it any other way (The Book of Mormon) would have required scholarly instincts and experience the young, uneducated farm boy did not have, Peterson said."

"The Brigham Young University professor of Islamic studies and Arabic also sought to dispel some of the myths surrounding the Prophet's translation of the scripture.

Peterson said the Book of Mormon was revealed to Smith through a seer stone. Smith never went through the golden pages of the ancient record, but instead put the seer stone in a hat, then buried his head in the hat to shut out ambient light."

"A common belief among LDS members is that Smith put up a blanket or sheet between him and the scribe, primarily Oliver Cowdery, so the scribe couldn't see Smith working with the plates. But Peterson said the only sheets that were put up were to screen the work from folks passing by the windows, more often at the Peter Whitmore home where much of the translation took place."

"I have always made one prayer to God, which is very short. Here it is: God, render our enemies ridiculous! God has granted it to me."

For a long time, many Latter-day Saint academics and intellectuals have sought to bring Mormon studies into the academic mainstream, and recently their efforts have begun to bear some fruit. A number of schools in the United States and even beyond now include courses on Mormonism in their curriculum. Some-including Utah State University and California's Claremont Graduate University-have established endowed professorships in Mormon studies.

The unique Mormon interest in ancient temples has recently reached international audiences with William Hamblin and David Seely's Solomon's Temple: Myth and History3 and John Lundquist's The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future4-both of which, significantly, are dedicated to the memory of Hugh Nibley, the father of temple studies among Latter-day Saints.

Among other things, such developments undoubtedly reflect considerable confidence on the part of their Latter-day Saint participants that both Mormons and Mormonism are capable of holding their own in the academic "big leagues," of moving beyond the comfort zone of the so-called Mormon corridor along the Wasatch Front and even of making a contribution to the relevant broader fields.

But there is another way of looking at the unfolding situation.

"Apologists," one anonymous critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opined on an Internet message board in mid-March 2009, "opt to hold their conferences in high-LDS-density places like Claremont or New England, where their ideas won't possibly face any significant challenges."

Now, I confess that, when I read that sentence, I laughed aloud. And then I laughed again. And then I included it as a signature on my e-mails.

We've actually approached the notion of holding this thing in California with some trepidation and concern, counting on the rather large Mormon population in southern California and the fairly substantial population of Mormon grad students at Claremont to provide an audience. If we venture anywhere else out of Utah in the relatively near term, it's likely to be to the American Northeast, where there are respectable groups of LDS students at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown, Princeton, and etc.

The notion that Mormons would choose Harvard and Yale and Princeton and Claremont because, as compared to other places (including the Mormon corridor itself!), those schools are complacently uncritical and Mormon-friendly is, simply, too ridiculous to require refutation.

(Its author was certainly daring, though, to have advanced his claim anonymously, on an obscure message board whose posters are overwhelmingly hostile to Mormonism and utterly enraptured by virtually anything that denigrates the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

And no matter how obviously true a proposition may be, there will still be somebody, somewhere, who will reject it. "It's impossible to make anything foolproof," goes the anonymous saying, "because fools are so ingenious."

The fact is that humans can and will believe and disbelieve anything at all. And this is by no means limited only to religious people.

There is undeniable ingenuity in this sort of thing, as there always is in sophistry.

Quite honestly, I don't know whether these things matter much in the long run -- surely, intelligent readers/customers will know what to make of such situations -- but there has been a deliberate effort, spearheaded over at the so-called "Recovery Board," to flood the relatively new entry for the Kindle text of the Book of Mormon with hostile, negative, and dismissive comments:

Some believers may want to go there and provide "alternative voices."

Dan Peterson, you are busted again for reading exmormon.org

By far the most impactful criticism against the BoM in the reviews was the one that quoted Mark Twain. Of course, one would be well-advised to take the words of a curmudgeon humorist at face value when dealing with matters of religious faith. Why nobody quoted George Carlin on the subject of religion is a great mystery.

Most of these "one star" comments are entertaining, but some show at least some modicum of thoughtful analysis. The old "it contradicts archeology" argument.

Too bad they don't come here to discuss their views.

The fact is that Professor Gee went on to earn a doctorate from Yale in Egyptology after successfully petitioning for the removal of Professor Ritner, his appointed advisor, from his doctoral committee. (Aug 2 2006, 10:45 AM)- http://www.mormonapologetics.org/inde...

Perhaps you're unaware that Professor Gee (successfully) petitioned his department at Yale to have Professor Ritner replaced as chairman of his doctoral committee. Such requests are not commonly made. And they are not commonly granted. Do you think they're best buddies? (Jun 10 2006, 04:56 PM) http://www.mormonapologetics.org/inde...

Professor Ritner was once Professor Gee's dissertation chairman at Yale University, until he was removed from that position and replaced by another professor. There is a personal history here (of which I was aware as it played out, since Professor Gee had been a student of mine before he went off to graduate school at Berkeley and then Yale. (Mar 22 2006, 08:43 PM) - http://www.mormonapologetics.org/inde...

As I've said, various substantive responses are in the works. Whether the personal side of this will ever come out is unknown to me. I wish it would, but I don't think that's my decision to make. (Sep 29 2004, 01:26 PM) http://www.mormonapologetics.org/inde...

Peterson provided an email from John Gee which included the following:

"I also will not comment on his removal from my dissertation committee other than to note that it was the department's decision to do so. There is much more to the story than what Professor Ritner has chosen to tell." (Mar 23 2006, 07:47 PM) http://www.mormonapologetics.org/inde...

Dear Mr. Graham,

Thank you for the kind and informative note. My response to Gee's relevant academic output will be contained in the book edited by Brent. Gee has been increasingly visible, but not increasingly respected, at meetings. I do not know Mr. Peterson, nor how he would have any knowledge of my involvement with Gee's dissertation (except through misrepresentations by Gee himself), but I am the one who rejected further participation in Gee's work, and I signaled many errors in his work as a reason. If Mr. Peterson continues to make false allegations, I may have to consider a slander or libel lawsuit. In any case, whoever he is, he is neither competent nor legally authorized to discuss the private matter. I have retained my dated correspondence and may put it on-line if such misrepresentations continue.

Sincerely, Robert Ritner

Daniel Peterson, a politically conservative Mormon who has studied Islam for 30 years at Brigham Young University and in the Middle East, says he is so fed up with "demagoguery" from the mosque's opponents that he is tempted to endorse the mosque.

And yet he, and several Utah faith leaders, separate the issue of religious freedom from another value held highly in a pluralistic society: respect.

"Of course they have a right to do it," says Peterson, professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at BYU.

But if the mosque's proponents refuse to heed the torrent of criticism that it's insensitive to build a mosque near where Muslim extremists killed thousands, Peterson adds, it could hurt the cause of moderate Muslims.

"I would come forward if I were the imam, and say, 'We've listened, we do not want to make enemies. We want to be good neighbors. We respect the feelings and the pain, so we're going to seek another site.'"

"To Rabbi Hier's remark that "It is sacrilegious for the Mormon faith to desecrate [Simon Wiesenthal's] memory by suggesting that Jews on their own are not worthy enough to receive G-ds' eternal blessing,"

"I would respond that we Latter-day Saints do, quite unapologetically, insist that Jews "are not worthy enough to receive G-d's eternal blessing" "on their own."

"The world," a poster on another message board has just announced, "is comprised of two classes of people: intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence."