Spell check is being blamed for an error that led officials at Brigham Young University to recall all copies of a recent issue of the student newspaper. The error? A caption described a group of Mormon church leaders as "apostates" instead of "apostles."

No one seemed to know if the error was simply an accident or deliberate. Creative people are always tempted to joke around, and more than one publication has been embarrassed by jokes that slipped through all the filters and into the public eye.

And it's not beyond the realm of possibility that it was a prank. My inlaws used to rent an apartment to Mormon missionaries, and in getting to know them, I discovered some were gently irreverent toward their church's leadership.

Furthermore, it's entirely plausible that spell check passed over an innocent error. (I always try to keep in mind that when I spell "duck" the "f" key is right next to the "d.")

At any event, I hope it was just a goof - if it was deliberate, the poor soul who did it is in for a lot of heck.