Old Testament Adult Religion Classes Starting in Utah in September

Starting September 22 and 23, I will be teaching FOUR Adult Religion Classes this fall.

Of course, the topic will be Old Testament.

Three (Springville, Ensign, South Jordan) will be continuing classes covering from where we left off last April :Abraham onward and one, in Salem, will be a new daytime class starting at Genesis 1.  

You may notice that the Wednesday evening and Thursday class are no longer being offered. 



There are TWO reasons for this: 

1.  As many of you know, I scheduled classes in Salt Lake in order to drive up and spend time with my aged aunt, Shirley.  I stayed overnight with her from Wednesday to Thursday: I would shop for her and we'd enjoy some meals together.  Sadly, Shirley died last week, so there is no longer a reason (or PLACE) to stay overnight in Salt Lake.

2.  I have received a new Church calling which will entail a LOT of meetings, many in the evenings.  I will be serving as the Stake Relief Society President of the Provo Utah Married Student Third Stake.  A new adventure begins. . . . 

In the meantime, here is the fall schedule:

Finding Christ in the Old Testament.

1.  Salem : Tuesday mornings, 10:00-11:30 AM (NEW CLASS, NEW LOCATION, NEW TIME), beginning Tuesday, September 22 and ending Dec 15.
Salem Utah Stake Center 
500 East Salem Canal Road, Salem UT, 84653.
THIS CLASS WILL BE BEGINNING AT THE BEGINNING IN GENESIS 1.  
ALL ARE INVITED.

2.  Springville : Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 PM (NEW TIME), beginning Tuesday, September 22 and ending Dec 15.

1965 East Canyon Road, Springville UT 84663. 

Register thru BYU Cont. Education

3.  Salt Lake Ensign : Wednesday morning, 10:00-11:30 AM (NEW TIME), beginning Wednesday, September 23rd and ending Dec 16.
Ensign Stake Center - A St and E 3rd Ave, Salt Lake City, UT, 84103

Register at the door.

4.  South Jordan :   Wednesday early afternoon (NEW  DAY and TIME) 12:30-2:00 PM, beginning Wednesday, September 23rd and ending Dec 16.

2450 W 10400 S. (South Jordan Parkway) South Jordan, Utah 84095

Register thru BYU Cont. Education

Classes will NOT be held Oct 13 or Oct 14 nor during the week of Thanksgiving.

BYU Corinthians Conference this coming Friday, July 31

Having visited Corinth last year, I am looking forward to this upcoming conference

"We want to remind you of the conference on Friday, July 31, from 9 to 4, at BYU’s Hinckley Center: “Love Never Fails: The Latter-day Saint Affinity towards 1 Corinthians.”

"Everyone who attends the conference may register for a free copy of our next e-book, Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes. The e-book will be available a few days after the conference. Videos of the conference will be available in a couple of months.

"The schedule for the day is:

9:00             John W. Welch, “Visiting the Ruins of Corinth Today”

9:35            Kevin L. Barney, “The Joseph Smith Translation of 1 Corinthians: Towards an Eclectic Approach” 

10:40          Craig L. Blomberg, “A Celestial Commentary on 1 Corinthians”                          

11:30          Avram R. Shannon, “The Term ‘Apostle’: Issues in Using Jewish Sources in New Testament Studies”

1:00            Julie M. Smith, “Portraits of Jesus: Christology in the Gospel of Mark and 1 Corinthians”

1:45            Brock Mason for David L. Paulsen, “Theological Underpinnings of Baptism for the Dead”

2:40            T. Benjamin Spackman, “Christian Accommodation at Corinth”

3:00          Michael D. Rhodes, “Behind the Scenes of this New Commentary”

3:30            Richard D. Draper, “Latter-day Saint Affinities towards 1 Corinthians”

4:00            Conclude"

Basement Mikveh - from the time of Jesus

Israeli couple finds 2000 year old mikveh under floor during renovation of their house! Read more HERE.

Thank you, Pres. Packer

I should have written this post while he was still alive, but I would like to thank President Packer for the "new" LDS edition of the scriptures.  They were published just as I was called to be an early morning Seminary teacher in Livonia, Michigan and together those two events changed my life forever.

Most Mormons have no idea how incredibly useful the footnotes, indexes, bible dictionary and topical guide are compared with what OTHER editions of the bible have to offer.  Even when I was studying at College of Jewish Studies in Cleveland, students wondered how on earth I could find obscure stories, words and references so quickly.  Then I would show them my bible and they were amazed.

Thanks, Pres Packer - and all the rest of the committee!

Blog to recomment : Forn Spǫll Fira

John Gee has been writing some great stuff this week (June 23, 24, 25, 2015) over on his blog, Forn Spǫll Fira.

Stuff like evidence for sophisticated Hebrew literacy in the 11th and 10th C. BC and on the recent silliness over Book of Mormon Archeology.

Go on over and enjoy yourself!

Books to Recommend

I saw two books worth reading at Seagull Book this week: both were on sale 50% off.

Sacred Walls, by Gerald Hansen; photos by Val Brinkerhoff, is a lovely visual entry into the symbolism of latter-day temples.  Only S14.00

Women of the New Testament by Camille Fronk Olson.  The text is worth reading, so don't just spend all your time enjoying the great artwork!  Only $20.00 !

Temple on Mount Zion Conference Videos

Videos of presentations from this conference are available HERE