Today we observe Independence Day in the United States. We are thankful for our many freedoms, especially the freedom of religion. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Start your week off right with the RSC’s “Come, Follow Me” featured reading, “The Joseph Smith Translation: A Primary Source for the Doctrine and Covenants," by Robert J. Matthews. Read it here: https://rsc.byu.edu/sperry-symposium-classics-doctrine-covenants/joseph-smith-translation-0 Artwork: “Gift and Power of God,” by Anthony Sweat

If you haven’t visited our YouTube channel before, now is a great time to check it out! We have hundreds of videos designed to enrich your gospel learning and provide powerful insights through faith-filled gospel scholarship. https://www.youtube.com/user/BYURelEd/featured

Brad W. Farnsworth, who retired in May, was an instructor in the Department of Ancient Scripture. Born in Monterey, California, Brad was raised in a military family and lived in various states, graduating from Provo High School. He served as a vice president at both BYU-Hawaii and BYU in Provo before joining Religious Education full time on July 1, 2009. He specialized in teaching the Book of Mormon.

Call for papers! For the 2022 Church History Symposium, scholars of all backgrounds are invited to submit proposals specifically addressing the theme of “Latter-day Saints and Religious Liberty: Historical and Global Perspectives.” Call for papers: https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/conference/call/2022_Church_History_Symposium_Call.pdf Symposium information: https://rsc.byu.edu/conferences/church-history The Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University together with the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announce the 2022 Church History Symposium to be held on March 10–11, 2022. The symposium will convene at Brigham Young University on March 10 and at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City on March 11. Keynote speakers include Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sarah Barringer Gordon, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Constitutional Law and History. Throughout the history of the symposium, presenters have included notable General Authorities of the Church, historians, scholars, educators, and authors. This symposium was established to explore annually a topic of special interest in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Historians and scholars meet to share the fruits of their research with each other and a general audience of interested Latter-day Saints and friends. Selected papers from previous symposia have been printed in books copublished by the Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book.

Today we spotlight BYU Religious Education prifessor Michael Goodman. Born and reared in Southern California, he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just before his eighteenth birthday. Goodman served two missions to Bangkok, Thailand; one a year after joining the Church, and the other from 1997 to 2000 as a mission president. Go to https://religion.byu.edu/directory/mike-goodman to check out the rest of his bio and to see which classes he will teach next semester!

Y Religion podcasts are amazing! This week’s episode is especially good. Check it out by going to https://rsc.byu.edu/media/y-religion to play it directly from the web. It’s also available on Spotify, Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher!

Do you want more in-depth information about the early Restoration? Watch our book trailer for “Raising the Standard of Truth: Exploring the History and Teachings of the Early Restoration,” edited by Scott C. Esplin. In this trailer, Esplin describes the purpose and outline of the book, with topics including doctrinal teachings about consecration, Zion, the kingdoms of glory, and work for the dead. Link in our bio! Photo: @baileestonesphotography

Did you know that all Y Religion episodes can be played directly from the Web? Better yet, they're also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Pandora! Subscribe on any platform to receive up-to-date notifications on episode releases! https://rsc.byu.edu/media/y-religion

Save the date! The Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University together with the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announce the 2022 Church History Symposium to be held on March 10–11, 2022. The symposium will convene at Brigham Young University on March 10 and at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City on March 11. Keynote speakers include Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sarah Barringer Gordon, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Constitutional Law and History. We invite scholars of all backgrounds to submit proposals specifically addressing the theme of “Latter-day Saints and Religious Liberty: Historical and Global Perspectives.” Proposals should consist of a brief abstract (no more than 500 words) and a current CV. Proposals may be sent to churchhistorysymposium2022@gmail.com. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2021. Notification of acceptance will be given by October 15, 2021

BYU Religious Education’s Steve Harper, who spoke at the university devotional a few weeks ago, encourages us to embrace complexity and ask questions to aid in our journey to pure truth. Visit https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/steven-c-harper/how-i-became-a-seeker/ to listen, watch, and read this devotional!

A recent review in @byustudies offers high praise for Covenants and Communities: Jews and Latter-day Saints in Dialogue. Reviewer Bradley J. Kramer writes, “This is the ultimate goal of interfaith dialogue—for participants to truly see each other and come together in a close, informed, mutually respectful, and mutually beneficial relationship—and I think this book represents a significant step forward in reaching that goal, especially for Latter-day Saints and Jews.” He continues, “In the end, my only major criticism of this book is that it is too short. Even after reading nearly 400 pages, I wanted more. . . . Jews and Latter-days Saints have so much to discuss and so much to learn from each other. My only consolation is that this book is volume one of a series of volumes that promises to go on and on, and I, for one, am eager to read them all.” Read the full review: https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/understanding-covenants-and-communities-jews-and-latter-day-saints-in-dialogue/ “Covenants and Communities”: https://rsc.byu.edu/book/understanding-covenants-communities