- Chad Nielsen on Mormon Studies Books in 2026: “That’s so exciting, Grant! I’ll add it to the list.” Oct 1, 06:59
- on Cutting Edge Latter-day Saint Research, September 2026: “Thanks Chad! I included all the research articles–so not including memoirs, poetry, etc. For example, there was a Greg Prince piece labelled a “research article,” but it was more of a personal memoir, so I didn’t include it, but let me know any I might have admittedly missed.” Oct 1, 06:43
- on Cutting Edge Latter-day Saint Research, September 2026: “There’s more than one article in the Dialogue issue. Other books that came out this month (and I recognize some of these don’t fit the filter): * The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson Volume 3 (Signature Books) * Fawn McKay Brodie: A Biographer’s Life, 2nd ed., Newell G. Bringhurst (Greg Kofford Books) * An Infinite Heaven, by Terryl L. Givens (Faith Matters) * Creature: The Life and Loves of May Swenson, by Stephen Carter (Signature Books) Two that snuck in last month at the very end: * Mormonisms in Asia: Stories of Global Faith and Local Lives, ed. Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye and Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp (University of Illinois) * Educating for Eternity: The History of Latter-day Saint Primary and Secondary Schools, by E. Vance Randall, Scott C. Esplin, and Casey Paul Griffiths (BYU RSC)” Oct 1, 06:39
- on Mormon Studies Books in 2026: “Chad, I have a new book coming out in December–an introduction to the Book of Mormon that will be part of Oxford University Press’s series “Guides to Sacred Texts.” It will follow the basic format of their previous guides to scriptures such as the Rigveda, Classical Upanishads, the Analects, the Daode Jing, Buddhist Tantras, the New Testament, the Apocrypha, and so forth. My contribution to the series will cover many of the topics from the general essays in my Annotated Book of Mormon, but in a little more depth, and I tackle some new topics as well. In my opinion, the Book of Mormon deserves a place in the library of world scriptures, and I’m delighted that OUP commissioned this volume. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-book-of-mormon-9780197511398?lang=en&cc=us&utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1dennhb1v83jy&fbclid=IwY2xjawUrHdBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMVpVWTBmZ0VzelhJeUMyWkRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEefzU_XzyBYKScrMpFFilox1zPKpJB0qK2RoXqbR1bQAXfhobP8ujbyGaQqek_aem_8MSppPyoWyJaKN9aJvV6-g” Oct 1, 05:08
- on Are Handbells Appropriate for Sacrament Meeting?: “Ji, yes. Thanksgiving and Easter are the most common other times, but they happen throughout the year.” Sep 30, 22:28
- on Are Handbells Appropriate for Sacrament Meeting?: “Yes, my Salt Lake Valley ward has handbell numbers in Sacrament Meeting about 5 times a year.” Sep 30, 18:35
- on Are Handbells Appropriate for Sacrament Meeting?: “I wonder, were any of those sacrament performances you mentioned outside of the Christmas season?” Sep 30, 18:11
- on Joseph Smith as a 19th Century L. Ron Hubbard: “Stephen, respectfully, trying to compare the actions of a woman living in the first half of the 19th century for whom divorce was not a realistic social option to those of women living a century later who had access to divorce courts that would treat them more or less fairly simply isn’t a fair comparison.” Sep 30, 07:27
- on Judging in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/20: “TexasAbuelo, bishops should internalize the notion that others also can have the gift of discernment at the same time as them and not try to use it as a trump card in virtually every situation. Otherwise, they often come off as the biggest narcissists in the world, especially if they get something wrong and clearly are not discerning properly. I think this sort of pride leads one to judge if judgment was done “unrighteously” or “unthinkingly.”” Sep 30, 06:11
- on Judging in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/20: “KL’s comment about the Bishop using tithing declarations: “ Fifteen seconds of tithing and ten to fifteen minutes of getting to know you….. that’s exactly what Bishops should be doing. I hear too many people saying that they don’t know or trust their Bishop — and that seems like a tragedy…” was sad but enlightening. Years ago (70’s and early 80’s) we as bishops used not only tithing settlement but a wide array of circumstances and situations to get to know our ward members personally… some were more formal like tithing settlement and annual temple recommend interviews… most were simply us responding to the promptings we felt as “shepherds of the flock…”.and cresting circumstances … to fulfill a responsibility which in the last several years has been de emphasized, diffused and perhaps even over delegated. I was called in my 20’s as bishop of a neighboring ward of about 500+ in disarray…. no one was particularly surprised when I’d managed to personally see and visit and talk and in many cases bless virtually every adult and most youth within the first 6 months or so. Of great help was the gift of discernment explicitly bestowed on bishops in those days at the time of their ordination. We didn’t look to see who we could pawn people and their problems off to initially — we absorbed the first burdens and built trust then look for help” Sep 30, 03:56
