Monthly Archives: May 2008
Humanists and Love Unfeigned
Jeffrey Thayne The phrase unconditional love is familiar to us and is in common use in today’s society. It is certainly a scriptural mandate to consistently love others. As the prophet Mormon taught, “charity is the pure love of Christ, … Continue reading
Epistemology: How We Know Things
Nathan Richardson Philosophy can be divided into several branches that address different issues, such as metaphysics (“What is real?”) or axiology (“What is good?”). One of those branches is epistemology. According to Gerald Lund, “Epistemology is the study of how … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Missiles and Revelation
Jeffrey Thayne My friend Nathan brought to my attention a pedagogically useful example that illustrates an idea I have tried to convey in the past. Consider for a moment that we are testing a missile, and have predicted the precise … Continue reading
Filed under Gospel, Philosophy
Where’s My Diploma?
Jeffrey Thayne We habitually consider the university to be an institution of higher learning, that is, a place where students go to learn. Let’s imagine for a moment a university at which the quality of instruction surpasses every other school. … Continue reading
Filed under Education, Philosophy
Covenants and Contracts
Jeffrey Thayne I recently read an article by Ed Gantt and Stan Knapp entitled “Marriage: Of Contracts, Commitments, and Covenants.” As a missionary, I frequently taught investigators the meaning of the word covenant. Because the word is so infrequently used … Continue reading
Filed under Gospel, Law, Philosophy
Marriage and Meals
Nathan Richardson In a previous post, “The Essence of Marriage,” I responded to a review of a book on marriage.1 The author of the book summarizes a variety of marriage systems throughout history, showing how the concept of marriage has … Continue reading
Law and Moral Agency
Jeffrey Thayne I read through entries from an internet discussion group a few weeks ago and found the post of an individual who argued that the Honor Code at Brigham Young University is wrong because it “restricts our agency.” I … Continue reading
The Essence of Marriage
Nathan Richardson The continuing public debate over the definition of marriage has led many people to ask questions about marriage that they may have never thoroughly considered before. Many informative and thought-provoking pieces have been written on these questions, and … Continue reading
“Knee-Bending Rules”
Jeffrey Thayne “Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a … Continue reading
Filed under Gospel
Metaphors of the Atonement
Jeffrey Thayne As Latter-day Saints, we know that every sin, every heartache, and all suffering can be redeemed through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We also know that the Savior is the only way to find redemption from and … Continue reading
Odd Realities and Moral Imperatives
Jeffrey Thayne “Besides being complicated, reality, in my experience, is usually odd. It is not neat, not obvious, not what you expect. For instance, when you have grasped that the earth and the other planets all go round the sun, … Continue reading
Filed under Gospel
Jeff Thayne
Nathan000000
