Last week was finals, which means I am done with another
semester of school. Despite the fact that I was more dedicated to school this
semester than have been in semesters past, I nonetheless managed to stay pretty
active on here. In fact, it was the most active I have been for the months of January
to April than any previous year of blogging. I hope to keep that up, but this
summer marks a transition that will probably impact how often I can blog, and I
actually have a lot of exciting opportunities this summer. So, now seemed like
a good time to feature an update.
Blog Changes
As I am sure many already noticed, I changed the template of
the blog this last month. I had been using the previous template for about two
years and decided it was time for a change. The new look, however, is just the
forerunner for some bigger changes I have planned. Namely, a probable name
change. I’ve settled on a new name that I like, but there are a few things I’ve
got to get straightened out before I make the change. I am intending to buy a
new domain name to go with it, but don’t worry, you should still be able to
reach the blog using the regular URL. Just don’t mistakenly think you reached
the wrong place if one day you come here and the name is different. (Part of
why I didn’t make the name change and template change at the same time was
because I didn’t want to throw people off too much.) When the name change is
made, I’ll have a blog post announcing it and giving more details about why I decided
to change and what this means for the direction and purpose of this blog moving
forward.
Research Assistant
Normally, the summertime means more time for blogging, but
that might not be the case this time around. I’ve talked with a Mormon
historian and have agreed to help him with some research over the summer (or,
more correctly, he has graciously agreed to let me help him with some research
this summer). We will be talking Monday to work out the details, but I plan on
making that my number one priority during the summer. This will be a good opportunity
to learn from a historian with a lot of research experience, so it will
probably cut into my blogging time. And before you ask: NO, on this blog I will
NOT be sharing anything about the research I am doing for him. What gets shared
and when will be entirely up to him to determine.
In addition to that, there is also a research project
involving another experienced Mormon researcher that I hope to help out with, though
my work with the afore mentioned historian will be top priority. So, again,
this will be a busy summer full of research, and how much time will be afforded
for blogging is yet to be determined.
Latin Studies
This last semester I took an introductory course in Latin.
(Part of my history major is two years of foreign language study.) It was a lot
of fun and I did surprisingly well for my first time seriously trying to learn
another language. I decided to continue with it, but they were not offering the
second first year course in the fall. So, I got permission to jump into the
second year course (third overall course in Latin). But, this means that there
is a semester’s worth of Latin learning that I don’t have, but will need come
September. Thus, over the summer I am going to be studying Latin on my own
trying to cover the material. One other classmate is doing the same thing, so
we will probably study together on occasion. This will be priority number two,
and will also adversely affect my blogging time.
Published by a Third
Party
I have mentioned Interpreter a time or two here (not nearly
as often as I ought to). Well, back in March, they published a book review I
wrote called “Trusting Joseph.” It is a review of Exploring the First Vision, edited by Samuel Alonzo Dodge and
Stephen C. Harper. If you haven’t already read it, check it out! I have some
additional papers I hope to get published at some point, but they need some
additional work still. Hopefully this summer, if I have time, I can make some
progress on them. I also will continue to help out at Interpreter as an
editorial consultant.
Anytime for Blogging?
Well, I don’t know at this point. In addition to the things mentioned
above, I have some additional projects that have been ongoing over the last
year or so, just whenever I have time. I do have some pre-prepared blog posts
that will keep things going here for a little while. I hope that the blogging
pace doesn’t drop-off, but it will not likely increase either. At the very
least, I hope to keep a once a month posting pace, but we will see.
In any event, I would just like to thank whatever readers
are out there for taking the time to read my mindless drivel. As you can see, I
am busy this summer, but the work I am doing should provide me with some great
experience and make me a better commentator on the things of Mormon scholarship
and apologetics. In other words, it should help improve the content of this
blog (and trust me, I know I need a lot of improvement). Despite how busy I am,
I hope to continue to provide interesting and useful content on Mormon
scholarship and apologetics here in this little web pace of mine.
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