Ian has some thoughtful observations here for his first substack. Worth a perusal for sure.

Thread of amazing sculptures you (probably) didn't know existed 🧵 1. Statue of King Arthur, England

This is the quality of debate America deserves.

I know many who struggle with perfectionism. Around the Church I hear many who struggle with this issue: “I am just not good enough.” “I fall so far short.” “I will never measure up.” I hear this from teenagers. I hear it from missionaries. I hear it from new converts. I hear it

Never underestimate the average American’s capacity for kindness. We have inherited a country where people really care about each other. And like each other. Let’s pass that on.

People assume that if the mainstream view is wrong then those on the fringes must be right, and vice versa. But truth is not zero-sum; it’s possible to disagree with an idiot and still be an idiot.

😢

Oh something bad happened in nature that affects people that I care about? Obviously my enemies made it happen using mysterious, unexplainable methods. This is just hunter-gatherer belief in black magic at this point.

**HURRICAN RELEIF EFFORTS UPDATE** Got an update/briefing about the state of the area. (tl;dr basically an infrastructure problem in an extremely rural area, not a humanitarian problem at this point. Strong effort via local requests coordinated by FEMA. Lots of public works and

I’m grateful to belong to a church that does its best to be a safe place for people of all political stripes. I wish we had more institutions like this.

Once again:

PJ Kirby KC Elon Musk

Of note, I suspect that the Church’s consistent messaging surrounding HOW to be a good parent and spouse plays into this. When there is a clear path to likely success, people feel empowered to achieve.

They say that where Harvard University goes, others follow. For the first time in a while, supporters of free expression on American campuses should hope that’s true. My first piece for UnHerd: unherd.com/newsroom/harva…

Daphne Harvard University UnHerd Geoffrey Miller Word counts are what they are. Here's a statement from FIRE that gets more specific. Harvard is far from innocent with respect to upholding its stated principles on campus. Few have spoken out on this fact more than FIRE. But two wrongs don't make a right. x.com/TheFIREorg/sta…

When reporters cover Harry Potter, imagine them only interviewing Draco Malfoy. That’s often how the media portrays The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Faithful members are rarely interviewed. One exception is Peter Santenello. Here’s what he did differently:

Reposting for visibility. Proud to be a part of my church and who we are as a people.

Name a better activity for both adults and kids in the heat. I’ll wait.

If you believe free speech is for you but not your political opponents, you're illiberal. If no contrary evidence could change your beliefs, you're a fundamentalist. If you believe the state should punish those with contrary views, you're a totalitarian. If you believe

Governor Spencer Cox: “Words are not violence. Violence is violence.” “At some point we need to find an off-ramp or things are going to get much, much worse.” “These are choices that we can make.”