Month: July 2024

The Words of Righteousness to All Men by James C. Brewster

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

The full title of this book written by James C. Brewster is “The Words of Righteousness to All Men, Written from One of the Books of Esaras, [Esdras] Which Was Written by the Five Ready Writers, In Forty Days, Which Was Spoken of by Esaras, in His Second Book, Fourteenth Chapter of the Apocrypha, Being one of the Books Which Was Lost, and Has Now Come Forth, by the Gift of God, In the Last Days”.

At the age of 10, Brewster claimed to have been visited by the same Angel Moroni who had visited Joseph Smith. He was disfellowshipped from the mainstream Mormon church a year later. In the Preface, he claims to have begun writing this book in 1838 when he would have been about 12. This book was published in 1842 when he was about 16, which is quite impressive (although Joseph Smith wasn’t impressed). When Smith died two years later, Brewster began to accumulate followers and cofounded the Church of Christ (known as the Brewsterites) four years after that.

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Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • Renewables will overtake coal as world’s biggest power source next year. The Progress Playbook.
  • Once thought to be extinct, sixty Siamese crocodiles have successfully hatched in the wild. Fauna & Flora.
  • Drones are helping plant 100 million mangrove trees in the UAE by 2030. New Scientist.
  • Renewables meet 82% of Portugal’s electricity needs in first half of 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • Air pollution deaths in children under 5 down 53% since 2000. SDG.

For more good news, check out Fix the News, The Progress Playbook, and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • Just 13% of workers in the U.S. are now earning less than $15 an hour; two years ago, that number was 31.9%. Axios.
  • The proportion of the world’s adults with a net worth of less than $10,000 has plunged this century, from 75% in 2000 to less than 40% in 2023. Axios.
  • Baltimore reports 36% decline in homicides for 2024. Hoodline.
  • In 2023, Latin America and the Caribbean fell to the lowest poverty rate in the last two decades. World Bank.
  • Over 200 million schoolchildren gained access to improved water, sanitation, or hygiene services between 2015 and 2023. Unicef.
  • Since 2006, Rwanda’s overall life expectancy has risen from 56 to 70. Think Global Health.
  • Morocco’s multidimensional poverty rate decreases from 40% to 5.7% in last 20 years. Hespress.
  • Colombia deforestation fell to 23-year low in 2023. Reuters.
  • In the United States, wind power has generated more electricity than coal for the second month in a row. Sherwood.
  • Power producers in the United Kingdom cut the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation by 16% over the first five months of 2024. Reuters.
  • Used electric cars are not just cheap—they are cheaper than similar gas cars. The Atlantic.
  • In 1991, 48 countries had abolished the death penalty. Today 112 countries have abolished it. Amnesty International.

For more good news, check out Fix the News, The Progress Playbook, and The Progress Network.

The Gospel of Afranius by Kirill Yeskov

~ D. J. Moore ~ 1 Comment

This book is a response to Josh McDowell’s Proofs of the Resurrection which I haven’t read. Apparently, McDowell starts by assuming the gospels are historically reliable, then argues that every non-supernatural explanation for the resurrection of Jesus doesn’t work, therefor the resurrection must have occurred by process of elimination.

The gospels are obviously not historically reliable, but for the sake of argument, Yeskov assumes they are. He points out McDowell doesn’t account for a good-faith misbelief of an honest and sane person. As a result, there’s a whole category of non-supernatural explanations McDowell leaves out including optical illusions, hallucinations, and biases.

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Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • Indonesia has lifted 3 million people out of poverty in a decade. Antara.
  • The homicide rate in Boston has fallen 78 percent in just one year. The New York Times.
  • From overfished to sustainable harvests: Pacific bluefin tuna rebound to new highs. NOAA Fisheries.
  • Germany achieves 58% renewable energy share in first half of 2024. DPA International.
  • Three-quarters of the European Union’s electricity has been generated by CO2 emissions-free sources so far this year. Reuters.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • According to multiple sources, homicide rates in the US are lower now than almost any time in the last 60 years. Noahpinion.
  • In just one year, Colorado is using a billion fewer plastic bags. 9News.
  • How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution. The Guardian.
  • Teen girls invent AI device to reduce wildlife collisions. CBS News.
  • Biden pardons thousands of LGBTQ+ service members convicted for sexual orientation. CBS News.
  • Epileptic teen receives first ever seizure-controlling brain implant. engadget.
  • Chad eliminates human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) as a public health problem. WHO.
  • Current best-practice policies could prevent approximately 66% of the total deaths originally estimated to be caused by trans-fatty acids intake annually — equivalent to almost 183,000 lives saved each year. WHO.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born in Ohio in 1822 a couple months after his father died of typhus. Two of his siblings died before he was born and when he was two, his brother drowned while ice skating. As a result, his mother became very protective of her two remaining children.

Rud (as he was called) was 7 before she allowed him to play with other children and 9 before she let him play sports. He was very close with his older sister Fanny who was a tomboy and superb rifle shot. They loved hunting, fishing, rowing, sailing, swimming, skating, riding, and reading. They would share irreverent jokes and puns their pious mother didn’t approve of. (Throughout his life, he never officially joined a church, although he attended services regularly.) George Washington was his hero and he would memorize patriotic speeches of famous Americans.

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The Glass Looker: Collected Tales of Joseph Smith by Mark Elwood

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

I read Volume 2 first since Volume 1 was out of print at the time. Now that Volume 1 is back in print, it’s certainly worth the wait. Once again, the artwork and attention to detail are amazing. The artist traveled to see these places in person. He paid attention to small details like how pregnant Lucy would have been at a given time and portrays Joseph Smith being barefoot while divining since this is mentioned in an account. He refrains from having lumberjacks shout “Timber!” since the word wasn’t in use yet. The notes in the back of the book point out easter eggs hidden throughout referencing future events, stories from the time, and even the names of the ships depicted. A lot of work went into this. Elwood is as much a historian as he is an artist.