Category Archives: Radio Commentaries

LDS Church leader Bruce R. McConkie died in 1985. If my memory serves me correctly, we were told at the time that Elder McConkie knew when he would die. He got dressed in a suit, laid on his bed, gathered his family around him, said goodbyes, and then he passed. For most of us, that’s the perfect way to go, isn’t it? It is dignified, considerate of loved ones and a testimony to a life well lived.

Not all of us have such a connection to heaven. But, I dare say, all of us would like to die in that sort of circumstance – with dignity and love. read more

Not that her political coffin needed a final nail in my opinion, Hillary Clinton had that nail hammered home by FBI Director James Comey’s report and testimony before Congress regarding Clinton’s email scandal. And it is a scandal – scandal not as titillating as her husband’s extramarital affairs but scandalous in the sense that Hillary Clinton’s actions bring disrepute to public service and, along with the other nails in her political coffin, once again demonstrate her lack of character and her wanton disregard for the rule of law. read more

Perhaps like me, you were a bit puzzled to hear news of a group of conservative religious leaders meeting with Donald Trump a week or so ago. They were concerned about his stance on issues such as abortion and transgender rights. The group of religious leaders was comprised largely, if not entirely, of evangelicals – people such as Mike Huckabee, Franklin Graham, James Robison, Ralph Reed and Tony Perkins.

After the meeting one of Trump’s earliest evangelical supporters, Jerry Falwell Jr., along with new Trump convert Ralph Reed were on Fox News excited about their candidate. No official endorsements were handed out after the meeting but, clearly, many attendees left there with typical obligatory optimism. They want to like Trump…they need to like Trump…because they so thoroughly despise Hillary Clinton. read more

It is time for a revolution in education in Utah. Yes, I know. Every few years a bunch of do-gooders comes along determined to fix everything that is wrong with education. When I talk about a revolution in education, I’m not talking about fleeting movements or technical fixes. I’m talking about fundamental changes to how we view education built upon truths we’ve already learned. The kind of revolution in education I’m talking about is like the American Revolution, not the Russian or French revolutions. I’m not talking about destroying all that we’ve built that is good. I’m talking about building upon the good as we reconsider some realities that seemingly have slipped our minds. read more

Discussing today’s topic is a no-win situation – like when your wife asks you if her new dress makes her look fat. The term “white privilege” is fraught with rhetorical disaster. I’m foolish for even raising the issue, and more foolish still for a variety of substantive reasons in raising the issue.

Frankly, I don’t know the meaning of white privilege but feel compelled to raise the issue because, evidently, I’m guilty of it. So, let’s begin with the politically correct meaning of white privilege. read more

If there is one redeeming aspect of his character – if any at all – people seem to like that Donald Trump says what’s on his mind. People who like Trump often say that they like how he speaks. People like candor. I, too, often “think out loud,” just say what’s on my mind in the moment. But, unlike Trump, my candor can get me in trouble. Trump, it seems, is made of Teflon for many voters.

But this commentary is not about Donald Trump. It’s about thought and speech and its context in a free society. read more

Utah is a beautiful state – much more so than I give credit. But I’m not an outdoors guy so even when I drive the state I’m not really looking at my surroundings in awe. Most of the time I think to myself, why would anyone want to live out here? I also prefer the greenery of the east coast and deep south – oh, and beaches. So when I drive through Price and across I-70 all I see is lunar landscape. It also makes me wonder why water projects aren’t a higher priority for Utah. Nevertheless, despite my quest for objectivity, my geographic prejudices and preferences most assuredly influence my views on environmental and public lands policies. read more

The mad dash to get behind candidate Trump and save the Republican Party from extinction is perhaps the most obvious sign of widespread cynicism and political decline in American history. How badly do we hate our nation if Donald Trump is considered its standard bearer? As House Speaker Paul Ryan recently uttered, “You have to have standards to be a standard bearer.”

Psychology Today magazine describes cynicism as “part of a defensive posture we take to protect ourselves. It’s typically triggered when we feel hurt by or angry at something, and instead of dealing with those emotions directly, we allow them to fester and skew our outlook. When we grow cynical toward one thing in our lives, we may slowly start to turn on everything.” The rise of Trump is a sure sign many Americans have turned on everything. read more

Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Observing campaign finance policy today, he could just as easily say, “Current campaign finance law is the worst form of electioneering, except for all the others.”

The Salt Lake Tribune recently ran stories about a fundraiser that Governor Gary Herbert hosted for his reelection campaign. As reported by an unnamed lobbyist, present at the fundraiser, Governor Herbert and his election team were eager, implicitly unethical, to raise money. Doubling down on the story, the Tribune oh-so-surprisingly got a hold of audio from the meeting seemingly confirming concerns. read more

LDS Living magazine had an interesting article about overzealous Mormons who basically compete to be more righteous than the other. This phenomenon elevates Mormon culture ahead of actual commandments.

We see it all of the time. Everyone knows someone who is hypersensitive and overzealous about some feature of the Gospel – like food storage or church service or cola drinks. You can see these dysfunctions most clearly in settings where Mormons are clustered and dominate a population. For instance, take a look inside the LDS Church office building. The first thing that stands out is that everybody looks the same – male employees look and dress the same, as do the women. Those familiar styles aren’t the result of commandments; they’re culture. read more