Author: Jim F.

  • 12 Questions for Terryl Givens

    Jim F.

    Professor Terryl Givens–who has another book out within the last month, The Latter-day Saint Experience in America (Greenwood Press)–has been kind enough to answer twelve questions for us.

  • Sunday School Lesson 6

    Jim F.

    Lesson 6: D&C 6, 8, 9, and 11 You will find study questions for D&C 6, 8, and 9 in the materials for lesson 5.

  • Sunday School Lesson 5

    Jim F.

    Lesson 5: D&C 6, D&C 8, D&C 9, Joseph Smith History 1:8–17 Those who are preparing lessons to teach should notice that the scriptural material for this lesson and for lesson 6 are almost identical.

  • Getting older

    Jim F.

    I mentioned earlier that I thought to post about what getting older has gotten me and then thought better of doing so. Now, with some editing, here is the post I resisted.

  • Sunday School Lesson 4

    Jim F.

    Lesson 4: Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65; Doctrine and Covenants 3; 5; 10; 17; 20:5–15; and 84:54–62

  • Blogging

    Jim F.

    I just finished a blog several pages long. It began a couple of weeks ago when a Belgian friend, Rudi, called to wish me a happy new year and to talk about making arrangements for his visit to BYU in April.

  • Invitation: 12 Questions for Terryl Givens

    Jim F.

    Many of you have probably at least heard of Terryl Givens’s book, By the Hand of Mormon.

  • III: 12 Questions for Travis Anderson

    Jim F.

    This is the last installment of Travis Anderson’s answers to our 12 questions.

  • II: 12 Questions for Travis Anderson

    Jim F.

    The second four questions and answers from Professor Anderson:

  • Sunday School Lesson 3

    Jim F.

    Lesson 3: Joseph Smith History 1:1-26

  • Sunday School Lesson 2

    Jim F.

    I am gradually making headway. I hope to finish lesson 3 Sunday and send it out early next week. My apologies for not being further ahead. Lesson 2: Verses from Doctrine and Covenants 18, 19, 58, 76, 88, and 93 – “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World”

  • I: 12 Questions for Travis Anderson

    Jim F.

    Russell Fox’s post on International Cinema at BYU and the responses to it inspired us to ask Travis Anderson, IC’s director, to do 12 Questions for us. Here is the first installment, answers to four questiosn.

  • Sunday School Lesson 1

    Jim F.

    Lesson 1: Doctrine and Covenants 1

  • Petitionary Prayer

    Jim F.

    If we remember that the Father already knows our needs and desires, then the idea of prayer is strange.

  • Worthy?

    Jim F.

    We often speak of being worthy. We pray that we may be worthy. We urge each other to be worthy. Sometimes we recognize that we are not worthy. But what do we mean by “worthy”?

  • Sunday School Lesson 48

    Jim F.

    Lesson 48: Mormon 7-8, 10

  • Sunday School Lesson 47

    Jim F.

    Lesson 47: Moroni 1-6

  • 12 Questions for Travis Anderson

    Jim F.

    Everyone was excited to talk about International Cinema at BYU.

  • Plainness and Ornament

    Jim F.

    With many other Christian traditions, we share the admonition to plainness in speech and other aspects of life: “Let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hand” (D&C 42:40)

  • Sunday School Lesson 46

    Jim F.

    Lesson 46: Ether 7-15 These notes will concentrate on Ether 12.

  • Sunday School Lesson 45

    Jim F.

    Lesson 45: Ether 1-6 Chapter 1 Though things are complicated by the fact that Mosiah (which one?) withheld the Book of Ether from his people (Ether 4:1), it is plausible to think of the book as being like a Book of Mormon for the people of the Book of Mormon.

  • Interpreting Scripture

    Jim F.

    Joe Spencer, Blake Ostler, Larry, and Ivan Wolfe have started talking about the interpretation of scripture on the thread on pride.

  • Pride

    Jim F.

    In Book X of Confessions (chapter 39), Augustine writes about various ways of being proud.

  • Sunday School Lesson 44

    Jim F.

    Lesson 44: Mormon 7-9

  • Sunday School Lesson 43

    Jim F.

    Lesson 43: Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9 Since I’m putting these together between conferences all over North America, the last lesson and this are not as complete as I would like. My apologies.

  • Sunday School Lesson 42

    Jim F.

    Lesson 42: 3 Nephi 27-30 and 4 Nephi Chapter 27 Verse 6: What does it mean to take Christ’s name upon us? (What sermon in the book of Mormon has the most to say about that?) When we are told to endure to the end, what are we to endure?

  • Sunday School Lesson 41

    Jim F.

    Lesson 41: 3 Nephi 22-26 I’ll be out of town for each of the next three weekends, but I will try to keep up on the study materials for Gospel Doctrine class.

  • Two Questions from Jim F (1)

    Jim F.

    A year ago I met a French philosopher, Michel Juffé, at a conference on Levinas and psychology at Seattle University. In August of this year, I took part in a conference on loss that he sponsored at Cerisy-la-Salle, in Normandy.

  • Two Questions from Jim F. (2)

    Jim F.

    Second question (go here for the first): This question is more philosophical.

  • Welcome Wilfried Decoo

    Jim F.

    Professor Decoo, a Belgian convert to the Church in 1964 (hah! I beat him by two years), is a professor of French in the French and Italian Department of BYU, where he has been since 1999. However, he continues also to work in Belgium, during Spring and Summer terms, at the University of Antwerp, where…