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Featured Author
Daniel C. Peterson
MEET AUTHOR Daniel C. Peterson
Daniel C. Peterson is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University, and editor-in-chief of BYU’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative.
Author's Published Articles
A Story I Heard In My Teens That Has Stayed With Me Ever Since
Slightly more than four years ago, I posted two back-to-back…
Hugh Nibley’s Unique Mind and Pivotal Influence
Hugh Nibley was a pivotal influence on my early life…
Jaffa and the Lord’s Love for All of his Children
According to Acts 10, the apostle Peter received a revelation…
Evidence of the Afterlife
“By scientifically studying the more than 1,300 cases shared with…
Sacrifice, Morality, and the Halifax Explosion
It was, some say, the largest human-caused explosion prior to…
On Evaluating Possibly Jarring Information
Suppose that, one day, you hear a shockingly negative report…
Queen Elizabeth II and the Mysterium Tremendum
I’ve been following the coverage of the passing of Queen…
Why We Can’t Simply Dismiss the Book of Mormon Witnesses
For anybody who is actually interested in the truth, the…
VIDEO: “Is Eyewitness Testimony Reliable?”
Eyewitness testimony is used around the world in courts of…
Contemplating Our Place in the Vastness of the Universe
I hope that, by now, you’ve had the opportunity to…
Pioneers: Taking a Trusting Step into the Unknown
Saints who were faithful to the vision of Joseph Smith…
Does Merneptah Stele Contain the First Extra-biblical Mention of Israel?
The name of Merneptah (or Merenptah) doesn’t appear in the…
What the Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela Taught Us About Devotion
Important lessons were learned from the devotion of the pilgrims…
A Stray Memory of an Almost Regretted Victory
My unexpected victory was followed by an unexpected sight. I’ve…
Near-death Experiences and “Fundamaterialists”
Jens Amberts contends that “is beyond astronomically likely and hence…
Getting Closer to the Original Text of the Book of Mormon
Quite naturally, most readers of the Book of Mormon probably…
“A marvelous manifestation, and admonition from a higher source”
Orson F. Whitney had apparently been a rather indifferent and…
“Undaunted”: See the Docudrama that Tells the Rest of the Story Behind the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon
I expect that at least some of you have seen…
What the Ruins of Ancient Capernaum Can Teach Us About Peter
How did such a man as Simon bar Jonah, from…
Consciousness Seemingly Beyond Life
Here, I share again some excerpts from Pim van Lommel, Consciousness…
“Under the Banner of Heaven”: Let the Upcoming Mini-Series Inspire Conversation, Not Conflict
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…
An Ancient Witness of the Savior We Don’t Often Hear About
At this Easter season, our faith is sustained not by…
To Those Who Say Religion is for People with Weak Minds
By just about any measure, Western society has grown much…
On the Divine Name in Exodus 6:2-3
Now, I don’t always know, in any given instance, whether…
Divine Emotions: A Contradiction to Aristotle’s Best Thinking on God
Aristotle's prestige in the ancient and medieval periods was so…
Character Witnesses, regarding Joseph Smith
In an 1850 debate with several Christian ministers, John Taylor…
Brief Notes on “Terminal Lucidity” and Consciousness in Brain-Death
Even when old age and disease begin to steal a…
There is More to Know About Isaac
“Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The three names roll off our…
The Surprising Latter-day Saint Connections in Hawaii
Latter-day Saints first arrived in Hawaii on 12 December 1850—just…
Why Latter-day Saints Cannot Disregard the Old Testament
Isn’t the Hebrew Bible sometimes difficult to understand? Isn’t it…
A Nobel Laureate’s Late Return to Faith
Richard Smalley came from a religious background, but he evidently…
A Lesson from Two Great Leaders on Beginning Again When It Feels Like You’ve Failed
These are two figures from history who are considered truly…
Christmas and a Condescending God
What can explain the appeal of Christmas to people well…
Some verses for Christmas from the Qur‘an
I thought that, at this Christmas season, some of you…
Infant Baptism and the Plague
Lacking revelation and prophetic leadership amid a lethal, worldwide pandemic—and…
A Striking Near-Death Experience of a Very Rare Kind
Marriner W. Merrill — who served as both the first…
Giving Thanks and Giving Thought
Most if not all religions are saturated with exhortations to…
Ways of Remembering the Dead
Unfortunately, for many centuries our society fostered a dark image…
Two studies of Latter-day Saints, LGBTQ Youth, and Suicide
There are relatively few genuinely new arguments against the Restoration…
A Historical Case for the Literal Resurrection of Jesus
Many of us can name a handful of books that…
Brief Ruminations on a BYU Education
A friend of mine, doing his postgraduate study at Oxford…
When the Lord Remembers Your Name: The Oliver Granger Prophecy
Among the many things that Moroni said to Joseph Smith…
Elder Holland: What They Heard is Not What He Said
What Elder Holland had to say to the University as…
The Parable of the King and the Maiden
A parable from the Philosophical Fragments of Søren Kierkegaard sheds…
Could a Loving God Allow Such Suffering?
Those who confront their own suffering or that of a…
Watch “Witnesses” on the Big Screen During BYU Education Week
Many people live in areas where “Witnesses” wasn’t shown, or…
Making a Life Out of Near-Death Experiences
Widespread interest in what are nowadays typically called “near-death experiences”…
Oliver Cowdery’s Testimony of the Book of Mormon
Some critics, realizing that the Book of Mormon was beyond…
When Family Stories Unexpectedly Come to Life
A passing thought to find the site of a tragic…
Preaching the Gospel Where We Cannot Go
In these latter days, we are sending missionaries to more…
Do We Have Non-Biblical Evidence that Jesus Existed?
An aggressive atheist showed up on my blog and claimed…
Why Do We Care If There Were Witnesses?
Our dramatic film “Witnesses”—the first of our films, which is…
See the Movie that Enemies of the Church Don’t Want You to See
Witnesses film is being “review bombed” over on the “Rotten…
Is America on “a one-way trip to secularism”? Is Europe?
I found this article, by Musa al-Gharbi, Paul F. Lazarsfeld…
Non-Attachment and the Doctrine of Sealing for All Eternity
There is certainly truth and value in non-attachment, at least…
The Sacred History of the Church in Hawaii
Latter-day Saints who visit Hawaii today are aware, of course,…
Martin Harris: Skeptic or Gullible Dupe?
Martin Harris' alleged experience with Jesus visiting him in the…
What Will Convince You to Start Trusting God?
One of the addresses that struck me most powerfully during…
“But what do the witnesses’ testimonies prove?”
The usual response of critics to the witnesses of the…
“You heard that hundreds of years ago, in the pre-existence!”
When she first heard of the “Mormons,” the very first…
Bring the New “Witnesses” Film to Your City
"Witnesses", a new feature film about the witnesses of the…
The Making of “Witnesses”: The Fulfillment of a Persistent Dream
In my judgment, the accounts of the witnesses to the…
The Value of what Joseph Smith’s Disapproving Father-in-Law Said About Him
Mistrustful of Joseph and skeptical of Joseph’s claims about the…
“The Most that Evidence Can Do”
Latter-day Saints are often criticized for their conviction that faith…
Has Orson Hyde’s Prayer Been Fulfilled? The Jewish Gathering to Palestine
I'd like to treat the question of whether Orson Hyde’s…
Running through the forest with the Book of Mormon plates
Later estimates of the weight of the gold plates of…
Does the Existence of the Universe Point to a Creator?
The cosmological theory of the “Big Bang,” overwhelmingly dominant in…
The reliability of eyewitness testimony and the Book of Mormon
The problem of the unreliability of eyewitness testimony is a…
Abraham Lincoln on civil discord and fierce political disagreement
I firmly believe that there are things that are far…
The Extraordinary Witness of the Whitmer Family
John C. Whitmer was exceptionally well placed to know two…
“A more beautiful message cannot be conceived.”
"Every man and woman of integrity, scholar and non-scholar alike,…
“If they are not true, then there is no truth”
David Whitmer said, “I have been visited by thousands of…
Four Nineteenth-Century Latter-day Saint Comments on Science and Religion
"The pressing need of the age is a system of…
“I became aware of the most powerful, radiant, brilliant white light.”
Many who have experienced near-death experiences share a similar memory…
Attacking Other Faiths
I’ve occasionally been asked, when I’m at academic conferences, what…
Was Sidney Rigdon in on the creation of the Book of Mormon?
Near the end of Sidney Rigdon's life, as his health…
Can the major features of Jesus’ life be found in ancient non-biblical sources? (Part 2)
When we include both biblical and nonbiblical sources, “what we…
Can the major features of Jesus’ life be found in ancient non-biblical sources?
Such sources as the writings of Josephus (ca. AD 37-100),…
Prophets, as it were, without honor in their own country
“Christianity has eleven credible witnesses to its fundamental claim, the…
In support of “Heart of Africa”
I was heartbroken at what happened to the Latter-day Saint…
A note on Joseph Smith, death, and out-of-body experiences
And here, cited in “The Near-Death Experience,” is a lesser-known…
“I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel”
Careful to make sure he was tipsy first, several old…
The Book of Mormon Cautions Us Against Racism
The Book of Mormon cautions us powerfully against racism and…
One point clearly made by the resurrection of Jesus
"If the Christian claim that Jesus rose from the dead…
Has the volcano responsible for the destruction in 3 Nephi been located?
Are there any candidates for the actual volcano that caused…
Try to imagine a totally different morality
In his classic 1952 book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis…
Are there Ancient References to Jesus Outside of the Bible?
As the great Yale historian Jaroslav Pelikan remarked, “If Christ…
“Another Temple in Judah!” and another victory for the Book of Mormon
One of the criticisms often leveled against the Book of…
A Blind Woman’s Experience Seeing for the First Time During a Near Death Experience
"I’ve never seen anything, no light, no shadows, no nothing.…
Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?
Back in 2015, a controversy erupted at Wheaton College in…
“Scientists are slowly waking up to an inconvenient truth.”
Paul Davies does not appear to be a Christian or…
The Temple as an Answer to One of the Terrible Creations of the 20th Century
A veteran of World War Two, my father had served…
“Catholics and Mormons forged ties in 1800s”
The relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day…
Regarding Global Muslim Attitudes
Many people in the West quite confidently discuss Muslim attitudes…
On Mental Health and the Latter-day Saints
The great Harvard philosopher and psychologist William James (1842-1910) took…
Does the Name “Alma” Challenge the Historicity of the Book of Mormon?
One of the favorite arguments deployed against the claims of…
Boastful? Arrogant? No, he wasn’t.
Some critics like to use this quotation attributed to Joseph…
What made the first apostles such fearless preachers?
One of Christ's inner circle of 12 apostles betrayed him,…
Charles Dickens, on “the pick and flower of England”
In June 1863, the passenger ship Amazon set sail from…
How the Geography of the Holy Land Has Affected its Destiny
Many of the messages of the prophets deal with Israel’s…
The Cynical Nurse Who Learned to Believe in Near Death Experiences
While working as a nurse in a British hospital for…
On the Unexpected Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith, the founder and first president of The Church…
An Insight into the Purpose of Temples in Ancient Times and Today
Two passages from a biography of the apostle Paul lend…
The Church Established the Bible, Not Vice Versa
The earliest Christians didn’t believe in the New Testament. They…
What, if Anything, Does the Testimony of the Witnesses to the Book of Mormon Prove?
Let’s assume, for the sake of discussion, that the declarations…
Elder Holland Gives Apostolic Charge to be Disciple Scholars
In April 2006, Dallin H. Oaks, in unpublished remarks at…
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”: How Christ Transforms Darkness into Light
Mere words are wholly inadequate in the face of great…
Are mind and intelligence woven into the fabric of our universe?
I published a Deseret News column back in 2015 entitled “The Mystery of…
“The First Person We Meet in Heaven is Ourselves”
Here is the account of a near-death experience of Captain…
Colors That Don’t Exist on Earth: Insights into the Way the Skies in Heaven Look
Here are four passages taken from near-death experiences reporting a…
Are we ashamed of Joseph Smith?
Back in April 2015, the following figures, drawn from previous…
Two near-death experiences from early Latter-day Saint history
In 1838, Phoebe Woodruff, the wife of Mormon apostle Wilford…
Two Simple Moments that Perfectly Capture the Kindness of Joseph Smith
We talk often about the events of Joseph Smith's life…
The Testimony of Martin Harris
In a notarized statement dated 29 October 1921, George Godfrey,…
Astonishing Accounts of the Life After This One
Near-death experiences interest me for a wide variety of reasons.…
Another Supplemental Testimony to Those of the Official Witnesses
“According to Benjamin Stokely, Lyman Johnson testified that an angel…
The Dawn of Greater Religious Liberty in Saudi Arabia?
It seems that Muhammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince,…
How Scientists See God in the Heavens
Often we see science and religion as being at odds…
Do Latter-day Saints believe that men and women can become gods?
This doctrine is generally referred to as deification, and the…
The Grieving Pioneer Husband Who Was Given a Vision of the Spirit World
Jedediah M. Grant, a counselor to Brigham Young in the…
Darwin: “All sentient beings have been formed so as to enjoy…happiness.”
Something said in the temple that I heard again on…
Farewell, Justice Kennedy. Hello, Justice Lee?
The departure of Justice Anthony Kennedy from the Supreme Court…
Childrens’ Reminiscences of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Get to know the prophet Joseph a little better by…
When You’re Facing Doubts: Faith, Trust, and Prior Knowledge
Suppose that, one day, you hear a shockingly negative report…
Winston Churchill, Brigham Young, and Dithering
A new film on Winston Churchill portrays him as having…
The Greatest Test of Your Life
During my mission in Switzerland, we showed the German version…
If Not By Faith, How Shall We Live?
Faith or non-faith. We cannot escape the decision. Not to…
What Difference Does Faith Really Make in the Life of a Believer?
Many years ago, I received an angry note from a…
The “Marvelous Manifestation” That Inspired One of Your Favorite Hymns
What transformative event could lead a casual, almost indifferent Latter-day…
Was Joseph Smith Sincere?
Hear firsthand accounts of the prophet of the restoration from…
Contributions of the Book of Mormon that You May Not Have Thought About
With regard to matters of ancient history, and particularly with…
Questioning this Study: “Utah Ranked 50th in Gender Equality”
Such headline-grabbing studies as this should never be taken simply…
The Problem of Beauty
Watching a beautiful sunset or looking out over majestic mountains,…
The Existence of Evil as Evidence for God
For many unbelievers — both those who regret their inability…
When Not to Decide is Also a Decision
Sometimes, we face unavoidable decisions without the hard data to…
Is Religion Good for your Health?
“The advantageous effect of religious belief and spirituality on mental…
On Living Stipends for the General Authorities
Excuse us if we are underwhelmed at the big news…
Are there Semitic and Egyptian influences in Amerindian languages?
Since I’m not an expert historical/comparative Semitic linguist and know…
A Little-known Account of the Book of Mormon Witnesses
William E. McLellin was chosen as one of the Twelve…
What a Billion Muslims Really Think
Many people in the West quite confidently discuss Muslim attitudes…
“Editor in Chief of the World’s Best-Known Medical Journal: Half of All the Literature is False”
If bias and dishonesty can mar sciences that rely upon…
Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens famously declared that "religion poisons everything." Should he…
It Actually Takes a Village: On Community and Openness
Too much pretense harms us and prevents the Church from…
Mormonism: A Shallow Faith for Superficial People?
Defending Mormonism when it is declared to have "no intellectual…
The Dawning of a Brighter Day
Reflections on the 35th anniversary of the revelation that granted…
Personal Reflections: The 2012 Race is Over
Does this election mean that political conservatism cannot win a…
Thoughts on the Second Presidential Debate
President Barack Obama decided to attend, and, on balance, although…
Reflections on “The Innocence of Muslims”
There is not even the slightest warrant for representing early…
Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture
The scholars who first brought you the FARMS articles on…
God, Science, and Intelligent Design
Several scientists, among them a Utah university professor, see evidences…
God’s Universe – A Sensible Explanation
It only makes sense that the reason the earth is…
Reasonable Defense of Christianity
A fascinating book marshals little known facts and a clear…
Personal Reflections on Two Apostles
In their personal lives, Elder Haight and Elder Maxwell, had…
Journey of Faith Deserves a View
A landmark DVD and its companion book that detail Lehi's…
Sources of Tension between the West and the Islamic World
There will always be some stress between the historically Christian…
Philo of Alexandria, Influencer of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
A rough contemporary of Jesus, Philo of Alexandria has had…
Ashoka, “Beloved of the Gods,” and Religion’s Power for Good
Militant atheists have recently been making the case that "religion…
Reasonable Defense of Christianity
A fascinating book marshals little known facts and a clear…
God’s Universe – A Sensible Explanation
It only makes sense that the reason the earth is…
Journey of Faith Deserves a View
A landmark DVD and its companion book that detail Lehi's…
The Testament of “Amazing Grace”
The beloved hymn "Amazing Grace," recently featured in a feature…
God, Science, and Intelligent Design
Several scientists, among them a Utah university professor, see evidences…
New Book Provides Information on an Enigma
Latter-day Saints have long been fascinated with Oliver Cowdery, who…
Mani: Gnostic Prophet of Dualism
Although the religion founded by Mani-known as Manicheism-is dead, its…
