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Blog Update: January 2014

Beātus Novus Annus! (Happy New Year!)

Well, 2013 was a pretty big year for me, in terms of my participation, in various ways, in the wider world of Mormon scholarship and apologetics. In addition to changing the name and look of the blog, I posted more content here in 2013 than any other preceding year. It also seems that people are beginning to catch wind of this little corner of the Internet. Traffic is still quite meager, to be sure, but made huge increases in 2013. In fact, I had more hits in 2013 than the entire previous three years combine. 2013 also marked my first published paper, a book review for Interpreter. I was also co-recipient of the 2013 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award for a project I co-developed with my friend, S. Hales Swift.

With the passing of the year, and school starting up again tomorrow, I felt it was time to give a brief update. Despite the increased visibility, I may not post here as often in 2014 as did in 2013. The wider world keeps calling me, and I have already had two blog posts go up on the Interpreter Blog in 2014. I also have a couple of items lined up for the Interpreter journal, that should be published soon. 2014 will also see me launch a new project that Interpreter has agreed to house as a part of their resources for students and teachers. More details on this project will be forthcoming. I also have material on Book of Mormon geography that I am fleshing out which may get posted/presented through an organization dedicated to studies on Book of Mormon archaeology/geography (again, more details will be forthcoming). I’ve also been asked, once again, to provide some research assistance for a very bright fellow working on a book relative to the Book of Mormon.

Outside of scholarly/apologetic pursuits, I’ll be starting the “Teaching Seminary” class at the Orem Institute this semester. Getting a job teaching seminary is a highly competitive process, so I’ll need to make that a main priority, along with my other classes this semester.

Amidst all of that, though, this blog will not be abandoned. I still hope to keep at least a monthly posting pace. Perhaps I’ll mange more, as I do already have several pre-planned posts that will require little time to get ready for posting. For those who just can’t get enough of this kind of stuff, though, my ever productive friend Stephen Smoot’s new blog should be able to fill in any void left in your life from whatever decrease in production is seen on my blog here (and what he has to say is bound to be more interesting than my mindless drivel anyway).

 In any event, I hope to build on the strong year of 2013 and continue to provide the best material I can on Latter-day Saint scholarship, apologetics, and commentary.


Thanks to all those who bother to read my nonsense! 
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