Weblog, by Carl

A blogger who uses the pseudonym RoastedTomatoes posted some thoughts under the heading Critical Biblical Scholarship and the Definition of Scripture: President Gordon B. Hinckley. Roasted found it noteworthy that President Hinckley would read a secular work that challenges the origins of Biblical texts, and then talk about it in a church-wide general conference.

I searched and found a couple of conference addresses with similar content:

"All of our sacred records have come to us at high cost. When we consider the fiery furnace of conquest and persecution through which the Bible has passed, the great wonder is not whether it is complete or translated correctly, but a miracle that it has survived at all! (Bishop J. Richard Clarke, "My Soul Delighteth in the Scriptures," 1982 Annual General Conference)

"We are grateful that this sacred record of God's dealings with the people of ancient Israel and of His mortal ministry has been preserved and passed to us to enlighten our minds and strengthen our spirits. The fragmentary nature of the biblical record and the errors in it, resulting from multiple transcriptions, translations, and interpretations, do not diminish our belief in it as the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Christians in Belief and Action," 1996 Annual General Conference)

I don't think I ever supposed that the Bible came to us as some kind of "immaculate publication." Questions regarding the sacred writings' origins, or apparent irregularities in their collection and dissemination, haven't diminished their contribution to my faith and testimony. Furthermore, my study of Latter-day scriptures has only increased my belief in the Bible. I'm convinced that most of the historical custodians, copiers, and translators of the books of the Bible did a remarkably competent and faithful job. I also find that Latter-day scriptures reinforce the Bible's authenticity and repair its flaws and omissions, whether introduced accidentally, or purposefully by corrupt custodians, which I believe were few.

I don't court my wife enough, so it was good to make Friday night a date night again.

We saw Saints and Soldiers, and we both enjoyed it, even though my wife said it is definitely a "boy movie." It flows like a good war tragedy, and the actors, directing, and screenplay are top notch. One of my favorite scenes I call the "it's funny" scene, because that's the punchline at the end of the scene. It features a dialogue between two soldiers; one believes in God, the other disbelieves. Each recounts the horrible war experiences that reinforce his stance toward God. It affected me powerfully, and I told my wife afterward that the same dialogue would have come across as smarmy under less competent acting or direction.

It's a great time to be a fan of the Denver Pioneers Hockey program. They defeated the North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4-1 on Saturday, April 9, 2005, in Columbus Ohio to win the Frozen Four tournament and the NCAA Division 1 title.

I had a great time taking four of my children to see the game on the big projector television in the Driscoll Center Ballroom on the DU campus. Each got a free thunder stick (inflatable hockey-stick shaped balloon). We watched some of the first period in the Ballroom, then we went to eat at a great greasy spoon called Mustard's Last Stand, where we watched the second period on a small TV with scrolling closed captions. After dinner we returned to the ballroom for the third period and loud cheering.

This was their second National Championship in two years. Last year they defeated Maine 1-0 in the title game in Boston Massachusetts. I took one of my children to see that game on the "jumbotron" screen at Magness Arena, the campus ice rink. Unfortunately, the arena was already booked for another engagement this year. I liked watching the game in the ballroom better than the ice arena anyway.

I'm new to blogging, and I finally found a blog tool I'm willing to spend time with. I'm a command-line junkie, and so far NanoBlogger seems very pleasant to use.