- jader3rd on The Heavenly Lawsuit: Dan McClellan on the Original Meaning of Psalm 82: “I thought that all of the Psalms were written during the time of David and Solomon. Is that not the case? This year, I noticed that for Abraham the land the Canaan was setup to be YHWH’s land. But then when Moses was being visited on Mt. Sinai, YHWH said that he was God over all lands. A fact that was very mind expanding for Moses. I think it’s an interesting point that needs more attention when studying Genesis and Exodus.” Jun 27, 12:13
- on The Heavenly Lawsuit: Dan McClellan on the Original Meaning of Psalm 82: “I don’t know; Dr. McClellan wouldn’t see it as some sort of hit for Latter-day Saint claims, but I always thought that the idea that El is the “Heavenly Father” and chief God to YHWH fits into our narrative. Not perfectly of course, but it’s one of those things where our framework comports with higher criticism better than traditional Christianity’s.” Jun 26, 20:20
- on The Heavenly Lawsuit: Dan McClellan on the Original Meaning of Psalm 82: “Dan’s awesome, and his thoughts on the heavenly council (and a bunch of other biblical issues) are truly fascinating. That said, there’s a reason that, by his own admission, his bishop and stake president don’t let him anywhere near an adult Sunday School class. Pretty much none of what he writes and lectures about fits into the Church’s Gospel narrative. The idea of an ancient Canaanite council headed by El with Yahweh (Jehovah) simply being one of several of El’s godly offspring really doesn’t fit with the Church’s teachings on premortal life and the arrangement of the Godhead (just to name one example). The Bible contains a lot of hints that the narrative of Israelites who are devoted (if not always) faithful to Yahweh is vastly oversimplified if not downright wrong. Regardless definitely listen to Dan’s Data Over Dogma podcast.” Jun 26, 18:17
- on “Offer Your Whole Souls” (Gold from the Plates: Greatest Hits Sermons from the Book of Mormon): “Interesting insights, lots to think about. I’m looking forward to more” Jun 26, 11:13
- on Mormon Writing and History Awards: 2026: “FWIW, I believe the award to James Goldberg (in your “Other” category) is an AML award that is sponsored by the Smith-Petit Foundation — IMO it belongs with the other AML awards. And, as I understand it, there was also an award to Angela Hallstrom for Lifetime Achivement (see https://www.associationmormonletters.org/2026/06/angela-hallstrom-2026-aml-lifetime-achievement-award/)” Jun 25, 20:39
- on Seeing Transparently in Church: Participation and Meaning in Church (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About) Yesterday, 6/21?: “RLD: of course that’s possible. But then, we probably should NOT assume that the worldly perspective is right. IMO, its often wrong.” Jun 25, 20:34
- on The Chinese Communist Party, The Dalai Lama, The Church, and Live-and-Let-Live: “The Dalai Lama is cool for conservatives as well.” Jun 24, 22:40
- on The Chinese Communist Party, The Dalai Lama, The Church, and Live-and-Let-Live: “Another reason for his popularity in certain circles is his association with mindfulness meditation, including the scientific study of it. I don’t know how much of a role he played in, say, making monks available to be research subjects, but he has come to visit the local research center that works on it. I imagine one reason he’s considering not reincarnating is that the CCP will presumably identify a new Dalai Lama who will claim leadership of the movement while being under the CCP’s thumb. Meanwhile, the exile community will identify someone else, and there will be a schism. I can see why he might think no Dalai Lama is preferable to that. I used to be optimistic that it was just a matter of time before the Church was able to operate normally in China. After all, China was on course to become a normal member of the international community, just like Russia! Maybe that was always naive, but certainly under Xi Jinping China is going in the opposite direction…just like Russia…and other countries. (Maybe this paragraph could have stopped at “I used to be optimistic.”)” Jun 24, 13:22
- on Seeing Transparently in Church: Participation and Meaning in Church (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About) Yesterday, 6/21?: “I’m dubious we can ever achieve a transparent eye, but we can be aware of how our situation affects our perspective and push back against those biases, or make a conscious effort to see things from someone else’s point of view. Sometimes how we frame things makes a big difference, as our Sunday School teacher pointed out… In his challenge, Goliath describes the Israelites as “the servants of Saul” but David describes them as “the armies of the living God.” David’s framing invites him to draw upon the Lord’s power for help. It’s only in that framing that it makes sense to send a young man armed with courage and faith against a veteran warrior. That got me thinking about how I can reframe the struggles I’m dealing with from an eternal perspective, giving the Lord a part to play. But I should be aware that could lead to me being prompted to do things that don’t make sense from a worldly perspective.” Jun 24, 09:31
- on The Chinese Communist Party, The Dalai Lama, The Church, and Live-and-Let-Live: “A writer a decade or more back described the Dalia Lama meeting with a gathering of Tibetans in the West. The writer said that in that setting their leader acts like one in authority and sterner than he is with Westerners. Latter-day Saints will remember when Gordon Hickley would be affable and witty on TV with Mike Wallace or Larry King and in General Priesthood Meeting would admonish men to straighten up and do their duty.” Jun 24, 07:32
