DCP Announces his Retirement from BYU

[_Physics Guy]

Does the Book of Mormon really say, "The laborer is worthy of his hire"? It's in the New Testament in several places but the only statement about laborers that the Topical Guide on churchofjesuschrist.org finds in the Book of Mormon has rather the opposite sense.

But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.

That's just a triviality. I agree that Peterson has likely done whatever BYU wanted him to do during his career and is entitled to honorable retirement even if he never became an academic star. Few people do—and I'm cynical about academic stars. I think the demand for high-profile productivity may be postponing next decade's discoveries in order to get tomorrow's advances by late tonight.

And I don't see anything wrong with these guys finding gainful employment. Cruise lines are businesses, not charities. If they're hiring academics I guess it must be because the academics are giving value for money. If they give bad lectures the fault is in the badness of the lecture, not the fact that they're getting paid for it.

[_moksha]

If I had to guess, I would say it was a combination of his chronic plagiarism, his low marks for teaching, and his constant criticism of BYU administration.

So being of retirement age had nothing to do with this decision?

[_Lemmie]

Cruise lines are businesses, not charities.

Yes they are. Which is exactly what makes this troubling:

The Interpreter Foundation and Cruise Lady are pleased to present this ULTIMATE EGYPT tour!

—-Cruise Lady

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

[quote=moksha post_id=1236569 time=1598538816 user_id=49]
[quote="Everybody Wang Chung" post_id=1236547 time=1598504882 user_id=12561]
If I had to guess, I would say it was a combination of his chronic plagiarism, his low marks for teaching, and his constant criticism of BYU administration.[/quote]
So being of retirement age had nothing to do with this decision?
[/quote]

When do 'tenured' professors typically retire? From a CNN article, "... nearly 75% said they planned to retire after age 65."

Personally, I think Dowsin' Dan prefers to crap talk on the Internet and have his ego stroked by a few of the commenters on his vanity blog rather than have the onerous obligation of teaching a class or two and being supervised. Now he's free to blog, take cruises, have a side hustle or two, and be the Mormon Internet-GA he kind of is. And just think... He didn't have to write those two books he said he was going to produce in agreement with his bosses at BYU! Lol, he really got over on BYU. He cruised, both literally and figuratively, for about 6 years on the Church's dime. Sweet Lord, do you know how many people would kill for that kind of lifestyle? I don't think I've seen anyone parlay plagiarizing other people's work so successfully since Joseph Smith did it! Simply amazing.

- Doc

[_moksha]

Deseret Mutual Master Retirement Plan

BENEFIT CALCULATION
For the Standard Retirement Benefit at age 65, the retirement benefit is calculated by using the following formula:

1. Take your final average salary.
2. Multiply your final average salary by .75%*
3. Multiply that product by the number of years of benefit credit you have earned. 33 years maximum.
4. Divide the result by 12 to get your monthly Master Retirement Plan Benefit.
5. Add in years of apologetics for extra credit to cover writing and travel costs.

[_Lemmie]

I don't think I've seen anyone parlay plagiarizing other people's work so successfully since Joseph Smith did it! Simply amazing.

- Doc

The apologetics necessary to excuse Smith seem to have filtered down, and that just boggles the mind. The resident Mormon gymnast here once excused Smith’s and other Mormon plagiarisms by saying, not quite tongue-in-cheek, “no point in re-inventing the wheel, right?” Really? Given the issue it has become that’s some pretty morbid humor, even if the troll claims later he was “just joking.”

Although I will say that lately, Peterson’s documentation has been quite good. Quotation marks, footnotes, page numbers, full titles, the works. Even his paraphrasing is more careful, and usually gives credit to the original author. The damage is done, however, not to mention that there are still many of his plagiarisms left online. At some point he really needs to clean those up, or at the very least, warn any future publishers what they’ll find in his “manuscript notes.”

[_I have a question]

Will BYU notice a difference?

[_Kishkumen]

Does the Book of Mormon really say, "The laborer is worthy of his hire"? It's in the New Testament in several places but the only statement about laborers that the Topical Guide on churchofjesuschrist.org finds in the Book of Mormon has rather the opposite sense.

Yeah, I think it is a little less clear cut there than you might think. I mean, who is to say they "seek not the welfare of Zion"? If "the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion," then those who have charity should not "suffer the laborer in Zion to perish." It sounds to me like the issue is what the goal of one's labor is. If the primary goal is money, then they who labor for money "shall perish."

I know a lot of people make a big deal about GAs and money, but I don't see that they are enriching themselves with the primary goal being to make money and become famous. Even more so in the case of lowly BYU professors and low-level Mopologists. These guys aren't making a killing off of the widow's mite. They should be able to support themselves, and surely an austere life is not required. They are not ascetics.

In any case, I know you agree on the general idea, and I do appreciate you pointing out that my paraphrase draws from the New Testament, not the Book of Mormon.

[_msnobody]

Does the Book of Mormon really say, "The laborer is worthy of his hire"? It's in the New Testament in several places but the only statement about laborers that the Topical Guide on churchofjesuschrist.org finds in the Book of Mormon has rather the opposite sense.

Yeah, I think it is a little less clear cut there than you might think. I mean, who is to say they "seek not the welfare of Zion"? If "the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion," then those who have charity should not "suffer the laborer in Zion to perish." It sounds to me like the issue is what the goal of one's labor is. If the primary goal is money, then they who labor for money "shall perish."

I know a lot of people make a big deal about GAs and money, but I don't see that they are enriching themselves with the primary goal being to make money and become famous. Even more so in the case of lowly BYU professors and low-level Mopologists. These guys aren't making a killing off of the widow's mite. They should be able to support themselves, and surely an austere life is not required. They are not ascetics.

In any case, I know you agree on the general idea, and I do appreciate you pointing out that my paraphrase draws from the New Testament, not the Book of Mormon.

Aren't the GA's fairly financially comfortable from their secular careers prior to service in the church?

[_Stem]

Good luck, Dr Peterson. Congrats and all of that. I wish you well in your retirement.