MIPodcast #175: Divine Law (Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants) Featuring Justin Collings

Today, I'm joined by Dr. Justin Collings to discuss his new book, Divine Law, just out from the Maxwell Institute as part of its Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants series. This volume is one of seven and will be featuring interviews with each of the authors over the next few months.

Justin Collings is the academic vice president of Brigham Young University and a distinguished scholar in his own right. He graduated from BYU and earned a law degree and a PhD in history from Yale, and clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In addition to his administrative duties, he remains a professor of law at BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he authored two books on constitutional law and history from Oxford University Press. Justin and his wife Lia live in Orem, Utah. And as you'll hear in our conversation, are the proud parents of eight children.

As Justin admits, the topic of divine law may not strike you as immediately compelling. It might even spark some deep-seated fear or dread. But I think you'll find that he brings this book to life with careful thinking, real life examples, and most of all, a bedrock conviction grounded in the revelations that God is loving, merciful, and full of grace. Divine law and divine love in this way of looking at things are one and the same. Justin was a good sport to field some tough questions about punishment versus consequences and a threat versus a warning.

But if you're expecting dry legalese, you'll be glad to find that Justin is a lively and lyrical writer and his book is studded with poetry. In fact, our discussion of poetry's relationship to scripture and its role in a spiritual life is one of my favorite parts of the interview. I think you'll enjoy it too.

Purchase at the links below.
Amazon Deseret Book