diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/discussion_router.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/discussion_router.js
index 81905c3ff4..c490d575b9 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/discussion_router.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/discussion_router.js
@@ -93,20 +93,17 @@
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.allThreads = function() {
                 this.nav.updateSidebar();
-                return this.nav.goHome();
+                this.nav.goHome();
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.setActiveThread = function() {
                 if (this.thread) {
-                    return this.nav.setActiveThread(this.thread.get("id"));
-                } else {
-                    return this.nav.goHome();
+                    this.nav.setActiveThread(this.thread.get("id"));
                 }
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.showThread = function(forum_name, thread_id) {
-                var self;
-                self = this;
+                var self = this;
                 this.thread = this.discussion.get(thread_id);
 
                 if (this.thread) {
@@ -124,11 +121,13 @@
                     self.renderThreadView();
                 }).fail(function(xhr) {
                     // otherwise display error message and navigate to all threads view
-                    var errorMessage = (xhr.status === 404) ?
-                        gettext("The thread you selected has been deleted. Please select another thread.") :
-                        gettext("We had some trouble loading more responses. Please try again.");
-
-                    DiscussionUtil.discussionAlert(gettext("Sorry"), errorMessage);
+                    var errorMsg;
+                    if (xhr.status === 404) {
+                        errorMsg = gettext("The thread you selected has been deleted. Please select another thread.");
+                    } else {
+                        errorMsg = gettext("We had some trouble loading more responses. Please try again.");
+                    }
+                    DiscussionUtil.discussionAlert(gettext("Sorry"), errorMsg);
                     this.allThreads();
                 });
             };
@@ -162,23 +161,23 @@
                 this.main.on("thread:responses:rendered", function() {
                     return self.nav.updateSidebar();
                 });
-                return this.thread.on("thread:thread_type_updated", this.showMain);
+                this.thread.on("thread:thread_type_updated", this.showMain);
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.navigateToThread = function(thread_id) {
                 var thread, targetThreadRoute;
                 thread = this.discussion.get(thread_id);
                 targetThreadRoute = getSingleThreadRoute(thread.get("commentable_id"), thread_id);
-                this.navigate(targetThreadRoute, { trigger: true});
+                this.navigate(targetThreadRoute, {trigger: true});
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.navigateToAllThreads = function() {
-                this.navigate(allThreadsRoute, { trigger: true });
+                this.navigate(allThreadsRoute, {trigger: true});
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.showNewPost = function() {
                 var self = this;
-                return $('.forum-content').fadeOut({
+                $('.forum-content').fadeOut({
                     duration: 200,
                     complete: function() {
                         return self.newPost.fadeIn(200).focus();
@@ -187,7 +186,7 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionRouter.prototype.hideNewPost = function() {
-                return this.newPost.fadeOut({
+                this.newPost.fadeOut({
                     duration: 200,
                     complete: function() {
                         return $('.forum-content').fadeIn(200).find('.thread-wrapper').focus();
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/utils.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/utils.js
index a0b1345ccb..e4f7b1cb8a 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/utils.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/utils.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* globals $$course_id, Content, Markdown, URI */
+/* globals $$course_id, Content, Markdown, MathJax, URI */
 (function() {
     'use strict';
     this.DiscussionUtil = (function() {
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
         DiscussionUtil.generateDiscussionLink = function(cls, txt, handler) {
             return $("<a>")
                 .addClass("discussion-link").attr("href", "#")
-                .addClass(cls).html(txt).click(function() {return handler(this);});
+                .addClass(cls).text(txt).click(function() {return handler(this);});
         };
 
         DiscussionUtil.urlFor = function(name, param, param1, param2) {
@@ -134,15 +134,17 @@
         };
 
         DiscussionUtil.showLoadingIndicator = function(element, takeFocus) {
-            this.$_loading = $(
-                "<div class='loading-animation' tabindex='0'><span class='sr'>" +
-                gettext("Loading content") +
-                "</span></div>"
+            var animElem = edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<div class='loading-animation' tabindex='0'><span class='sr'>"),
+                gettext("Loading content"),
+                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</span></div>")
             );
-            element.after(this.$_loading);
+            var $animElem = $(animElem.toString());
+            element.after($animElem);
+            this.$_loading = $animElem;
             if (takeFocus) {
                 this.makeFocusTrap(this.$_loading);
-                return this.$_loading.focus();
+                this.$_loading.focus();
             }
         };
 
@@ -151,40 +153,33 @@
         };
 
         DiscussionUtil.discussionAlert = function(header, body) {
-            var alertDiv, alertTrigger;
+            var $alertDiv, $alertTrigger;
+            // Prevents "text" is undefined in underscore.js in tests - looks like some tests use
+            // discussions somehow, but never append discussion fixtures or reset them; this causes
+            // entire test suite (lms, cms, common) to fail due to unhandled JS exception
+            var popupTemplate = $("#alert-popup").html() || "";
             if ($("#discussion-alert").length === 0) {
-                alertDiv = $(
-                    "<div class='modal' role='alertdialog' id='discussion-alert' " +
-                    "aria-describedby='discussion-alert-message'/>"
-                ).css("display", "none");
-                alertDiv.html(
-                    "<div class='inner-wrapper discussion-alert-wrapper'>" +
-                    "   <button class='close-modal dismiss' title='" + gettext("Close") + "'>" +
-                    "       <span class='icon fa fa-times' aria-hidden='true'></span>" +
-                    "   </button>" +
-                    "   <header><h2/><hr/></header>" +
-                    "   <p id='discussion-alert-message'/><hr/>" +
-                    "   <button class='dismiss'>" + gettext("OK") + "</button>" +
-                    "</div>"
+                $alertDiv = $(
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.template(popupTemplate)({}).toString()
                 );
-                this.makeFocusTrap(alertDiv.find("button"));
-                alertTrigger = $("<a href='#discussion-alert' id='discussion-alert-trigger'/>").css("display", "none");
-                alertTrigger.leanModal({
+                this.makeFocusTrap($alertDiv.find("button"));
+                $alertTrigger = $("<a href='#discussion-alert' id='discussion-alert-trigger'/>").css("display", "none");
+                $alertTrigger.leanModal({
                     closeButton: "#discussion-alert .dismiss",
                     overlay: 1,
                     top: 200
                 });
-                $("body").append(alertDiv).append(alertTrigger);
+                $("body").append($alertDiv).append($alertTrigger);
             }
-            $("#discussion-alert header h2").html(header);
-            $("#discussion-alert p").html(body);
+            $("#discussion-alert header h2").text(header);
+            $("#discussion-alert p").text(body);
             $("#discussion-alert-trigger").click();
-            return $("#discussion-alert button").focus();
+            $("#discussion-alert button").focus();
         };
 
         DiscussionUtil.safeAjax = function(params) {
             var $elem, deferred, request,
-                self = this, deferred;
+                self = this;
             $elem = params.$elem;
             if ($elem && $elem.prop("disabled")) {
                 deferred = $.Deferred();
@@ -212,7 +207,7 @@
                 if (params.loadingCallback) {
                     params.loadingCallback.apply(params.$loading);
                 } else {
-                    self.showLoadingIndicator($(params.$loading), params.takeFocus);
+                    self.showLoadingIndicator(params.$loading, params.takeFocus);
                 }
             }
 
@@ -266,9 +261,12 @@
 
         DiscussionUtil.formErrorHandler = function(errorsField) {
             return function(xhr, textStatus, error) {
-                var makeErrorElem, response, _i, _len, _ref, _results;
+                var makeErrorElem, response, _i, _len, _ref, _results, $errorItem;
                 makeErrorElem = function(message) {
-                    return $("<li>").addClass("post-error").html(message);
+                    return edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(
+                        $("<li>").addClass("post-error"),
+                        message
+                    );
                 };
                 errorsField.empty().show();
                 if (xhr.status === 400) {
@@ -278,14 +276,16 @@
                         _results = [];
                         for (_i = 0, _len = _ref.length; _i < _len; _i++) {
                             error = _ref[_i];
-                            _results.push(errorsField.append(makeErrorElem(error)));
+                            $errorItem = makeErrorElem(error);
+                            _results.push(errorsField.append($errorItem));
                         }
                         return _results;
                     }
                 } else {
-                    return errorsField.append(makeErrorElem(
-                        gettext("We had some trouble processing your request. Please try again."))
+                    $errorItem = makeErrorElem(
+                        gettext("We had some trouble processing your request. Please try again.")
                     );
+                    return errorsField.append($errorItem);
                 }
             };
         };
@@ -294,11 +294,11 @@
             return errorsField.empty();
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor = function(text) {
+        DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor = function(htmlSnippet) {
             var RE_DISPLAYMATH, RE_INLINEMATH;
             RE_INLINEMATH = /^\$([^\$]*)\$/g;
             RE_DISPLAYMATH = /^\$\$([^\$]*)\$\$/g;
-            return this.processEachMathAndCode(text, function(s, type) {
+            return this.processEachMathAndCode(htmlSnippet, function(s, type) {
                 if (type === 'display') {
                     return s.replace(RE_DISPLAYMATH, function($0, $1) {
                         return "\\[" + $1 + "\\]";
@@ -356,84 +356,104 @@
             return this.getWmdEditor($content, $local, cls_identifier).refreshPreview();
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.processEachMathAndCode = function(text, processor) {
-            var $div, ESCAPED_BACKSLASH, ESCAPED_DOLLAR, RE_DISPLAYMATH, RE_INLINEMATH, cnt, codeArchive, processedText;
-            codeArchive = [];
-            RE_DISPLAYMATH = /^([^\$]*?)\$\$([^\$]*?)\$\$(.*)$/m;
-            RE_INLINEMATH = /^([^\$]*?)\$([^\$]+?)\$(.*)$/m;
-            ESCAPED_DOLLAR = '@@ESCAPED_D@@';
+        var RE_DISPLAYMATH = /^([^\$]*?)\$\$([^\$]*?)\$\$(.*)$/m,
+            RE_INLINEMATH = /^([^\$]*?)\$([^\$]+?)\$(.*)$/m,
+            ESCAPED_DOLLAR = '@@ESCAPED_D@@',
             ESCAPED_BACKSLASH = '@@ESCAPED_B@@';
-            processedText = "";
-            $div = $("<div>").html(text);
+
+        /**
+         * Formats math and code chunks
+         * @param htmlSnippet - post contents in form of safe (escaped and/or stripped) HTML
+         * @param processor - callback to post-process math and code chunks. Should return HtmlUtils.HTML or "subclass"
+         * @returns {*}
+         */
+        DiscussionUtil.processEachMathAndCode = function(htmlSnippet, processor) {
+            var $div, codeArchive, processedHtmlString, htmlString;
+            codeArchive = {};
+            processedHtmlString = "";
+            $div = edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml($("<div>"), edx.HtmlUtils.ensureHtml(htmlSnippet));
             $div.find("code").each(function(index, code) {
-                codeArchive.push($(code).html());
-                return $(code).html(codeArchive.length - 1);
+                codeArchive[index] = $(code).html();
+                return $(code).text(index);
             });
-            text = $div.html();
-            text = text.replace(/\\\$/g, ESCAPED_DOLLAR);
+            htmlString = $div.html();
+            htmlString = htmlString.replace(/\\\$/g, ESCAPED_DOLLAR);
             // suppressing Don't make functions within a loop.
             /* jshint -W083 */
             while (true) {
-                if (RE_INLINEMATH.test(text)) {
-                    text = text.replace(RE_INLINEMATH, function($0, $1, $2, $3) {
-                        processedText += $1 + processor("$" + $2 + "$", 'inline');
+                if (RE_INLINEMATH.test(htmlString)) {
+                    htmlString = htmlString.replace(RE_INLINEMATH, function($0, $1, $2, $3) {
+                        processedHtmlString += $1 + processor("$" + $2 + "$", 'inline');
                         return $3;
                     });
-                } else if (RE_DISPLAYMATH.test(text)) {
-                    text = text.replace(RE_DISPLAYMATH, function($0, $1, $2, $3) {
+                } else if (RE_DISPLAYMATH.test(htmlString)) {
+                    htmlString = htmlString.replace(RE_DISPLAYMATH, function($0, $1, $2, $3) {
                         /*
                          bug fix, ordering is off
                          */
-                        processedText = processor("$$" + $2 + "$$", 'display') + processedText;
-                        processedText = $1 + processedText;
+                        processedHtmlString = processor("$$" + $2 + "$$", 'display') + processedHtmlString;
+                        processedHtmlString = $1 + processedHtmlString;
                         return $3;
                     });
                 } else {
-                    processedText += text;
+                    processedHtmlString += htmlString;
                     break;
                 }
             }
             /* jshint +W083 */
-            text = processedText;
-            text = text.replace(new RegExp(ESCAPED_DOLLAR, 'g'), '\\$');
-            text = text.replace(/\\\\\\\\/g, ESCAPED_BACKSLASH);
-            text = text.replace(/\\begin\{([a-z]*\*?)\}([\s\S]*?)\\end\{\1\}/img, function($0, $1, $2) {
+            htmlString = processedHtmlString;
+            htmlString = htmlString.replace(new RegExp(ESCAPED_DOLLAR, 'g'), '\\$');
+            htmlString = htmlString.replace(/\\\\\\\\/g, ESCAPED_BACKSLASH);
+            htmlString = htmlString.replace(/\\begin\{([a-z]*\*?)\}([\s\S]*?)\\end\{\1\}/img, function($0, $1, $2) {
                 return processor(("\\begin{" + $1 + "}") + $2 + ("\\end{" + $1 + "}"));
             });
-            text = text.replace(new RegExp(ESCAPED_BACKSLASH, 'g'), '\\\\\\\\');
-            $div = $("<div>").html(text);
-            cnt = 0;
+            htmlString = htmlString.replace(new RegExp(ESCAPED_BACKSLASH, 'g'), '\\\\\\\\');
+            $div = edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml($("<div>"), edx.HtmlUtils.HTML(htmlString));
             $div.find("code").each(function(index, code) {
-                $(code).html(processor(codeArchive[cnt], 'code'));
-                return cnt += 1;
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(
+                    $(code),
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.HTML(processor(codeArchive[index], 'code'))
+                );
             });
-            text = $div.html();
-            return text;
+            return edx.HtmlUtils.HTML($div.html());
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.unescapeHighlightTag = function(text) {
-            return text.replace(
-                /\&lt\;highlight\&gt\;/g,
-                "<span class='search-highlight'>").replace(/\&lt\;\/highlight\&gt\;/g, "</span>"
+        DiscussionUtil.unescapeHighlightTag = function(htmlSnippet) {
+            return edx.HtmlUtils.HTML(
+                htmlSnippet.toString().replace(
+                    /\&lt\;highlight\&gt\;/g,
+                    "<span class='search-highlight'>").replace(/\&lt\;\/highlight\&gt\;/g, "</span>"
+                )
             );
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.stripHighlight = function(text) {
-            return text.replace(
-                /\&(amp\;)?lt\;highlight\&(amp\;)?gt\;/g, "").replace(/\&(amp\;)?lt\;\/highlight\&(amp\;)?gt\;/g, ""
-            );
+        DiscussionUtil.stripHighlight = function(htmlString) {
+            return htmlString
+                    .replace(/\&(amp\;)?lt\;highlight\&(amp\;)?gt\;/g, "")
+                    .replace(/\&(amp\;)?lt\;\/highlight\&(amp\;)?gt\;/g, "");
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.stripLatexHighlight = function(text) {
-            return this.processEachMathAndCode(text, this.stripHighlight);
+        DiscussionUtil.stripLatexHighlight = function(htmlSnippet) {
+            return this.processEachMathAndCode(htmlSnippet, this.stripHighlight);
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight = function(text) {
+        /**
+         * Processes markdown into formatted text and handles highlighting.
+         * @param unsafeText - raw markdown text, with all HTML entitites being *unescaped*.
+         * @returns HtmlSnippet
+         */
+        DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight = function(unsafeText) {
             var converter;
-            text = text.replace(/^\&gt\;/gm, ">");
+            unsafeText = unsafeText.replace(/^\&gt\;/gm, ">");
             converter = Markdown.getMathCompatibleConverter();
-            text = this.unescapeHighlightTag(this.stripLatexHighlight(converter.makeHtml(text)));
-            return text.replace(/^>/gm, "&gt;");
+            /*
+            * converter.makeHtml and HTML escaping:
+            * - converter.makeHtml is not HtmlSnippet aware, so we must pass unescaped raw text
+            * - converter.makeHtml strips html tags in post body and escapes in code blocks by design.
+            *    HTML tags are not supported.  Only markdown is supported.
+            */
+            var htmlSnippet = edx.HtmlUtils.HTML(converter.makeHtml(unsafeText));
+            return this.unescapeHighlightTag(this.stripLatexHighlight(htmlSnippet));
         };
 
         DiscussionUtil.abbreviateString = function(text, minLength) {
@@ -447,19 +467,48 @@
             }
         };
 
-        DiscussionUtil.abbreviateHTML = function(html, minLength) {
+        DiscussionUtil.convertMath = function(element) {
+            edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(
+                element,
+                this.postMathJaxProcessor(this.markdownWithHighlight(element.text()))
+            );
+
+            this.typesetMathJax(element);
+        };
+
+        DiscussionUtil.typesetMathJax = function(element) {
+            if (typeof MathJax !== "undefined" && MathJax !== null) {
+                MathJax.Hub.Queue(["Typeset", MathJax.Hub, element[0]]);
+            }
+        };
+
+        DiscussionUtil.abbreviateHTML = function(htmlSnippet, maxLength) {
             var $result, imagesToReplace, truncated_text;
-            truncated_text = jQuery.truncate(html, {
-                length: minLength,
+            truncated_text = edx.HtmlUtils.HTML(jQuery.truncate(htmlSnippet.toString(), {
+                length: maxLength,
                 noBreaks: true,
                 ellipsis: gettext('…')
-            });
-            $result = $("<div>" + truncated_text + "</div>");
+            }));
+            $result = $(edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<div>"),
+                truncated_text,
+                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</div>")
+            ).toString());
             imagesToReplace = $result.find("img:not(:first)");
             if (imagesToReplace.length > 0) {
-                $result.append("<p><em>Some images in this post have been omitted</em></p>");
+                edx.HtmlUtils.append(
+                    $result,
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
+                        edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<p><em>{text}</em></p>"),
+                        {text: gettext("Some images in this post have been omitted")}
+                    )
+                );
             }
-            imagesToReplace.replaceWith("<em>image omitted</em>");
+            // See TNL-4983 for an explanation of why the linter requires ensureHtml()
+            var afterMessage = edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
+                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<em>{text}</em>"), {text: gettext("image omitted")}
+            );
+            imagesToReplace.after(edx.HtmlUtils.ensureHtml(afterMessage).toString()).remove();
             return $result.html();
         };
 
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_content_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_content_view.js
index 76e9d8517f..f3900e6308 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_content_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_content_view.js
@@ -271,20 +271,22 @@
                         return $button.toggleClass("is-checked", endorsed);
                     },
                     votes: function(votes) {
-                        var button, numVotes, selector, votesHtml, votesCountMsg;
+                        var button, numVotes, selector, votesText, votesCountMsg;
                         selector = ".action-vote";
                         this.updateButtonState(selector, window.user.voted(this.model));
                         button = this.$el.find(selector);
                         numVotes = votes.up_count;
                         votesCountMsg = ngettext(
-                            "there is currently %(numVotes)s vote", "there are currently %(numVotes)s votes", numVotes
+                            "there is currently {numVotes} vote", "there are currently {numVotes} votes", numVotes
                         );
-                        button.find(".js-sr-vote-count").html(interpolate(votesCountMsg, {numVotes: numVotes }, true));
-                        votesHtml = interpolate(ngettext("%(numVotes)s Vote", "%(numVotes)s Votes", numVotes), {
-                            numVotes: numVotes
-                        }, true);
-                        button.find(".vote-count").html(votesHtml);
-                        return this.$el.find('.display-vote .vote-count').html(votesHtml);
+                        button.find(".js-sr-vote-count").empty().text(
+                            edx.StringUtils.interpolate(votesCountMsg, {numVotes: numVotes })
+                        );
+                        votesText = edx.StringUtils.interpolate(
+                            ngettext("{numVotes} Vote", "{numVotes} Votes", numVotes),
+                            { numVotes: numVotes });
+                        button.find(".vote-count").empty().text(votesText);
+                        this.$el.find('.display-vote .vote-count').empty().text(votesText);
                     },
                     pinned: function(pinned) {
                         this.updateButtonState(".action-pin", pinned);
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_edit_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_edit_view.js
index 30ca60e92d..8b4d6d9569 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_edit_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_edit_view.js
@@ -25,13 +25,14 @@
             },
 
             render: function() {
-                var threadTypeTemplate,
-                    formId = _.uniqueId("form-");
-                this.template = _.template($('#thread-edit-template').html());
-                this.$el.html(this.template(this.model.toJSON())).appendTo(this.container);
-                this.submitBtn = this.$('.post-update');
-                threadTypeTemplate = _.template($("#thread-type-template").html());
-                this.addField(threadTypeTemplate({form_id: formId}));
+                var formId = _.uniqueId("form-"),
+                    threadTypeTemplate = edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#thread-type-template").html()),
+                    $threadTypeSelector = $(threadTypeTemplate({form_id: formId}).toString()),
+                    mainTemplate = edx.HtmlUtils.template($('#thread-edit-template').html());
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(this.$el, mainTemplate(this.model.toJSON()));
+                this.container.append(this.$el);
+                this.$submitBtn = this.$('.post-update');
+                this.addField($threadTypeSelector);
                 this.$("#" + formId + "-post-type-" + this.threadType).attr('checked', true);
                 // Only allow the topic field for course threads, as standalone threads
                 // cannot be moved.
@@ -46,8 +47,8 @@
                 return this;
             },
 
-            addField: function(fieldView) {
-                this.$('.forum-edit-post-form-wrapper').append(fieldView);
+            addField: function($fieldView) {
+                this.$('.forum-edit-post-form-wrapper').append($fieldView);
                 return this;
             },
 
@@ -69,8 +70,8 @@
                 }
 
                 return DiscussionUtil.safeAjax({
-                    $elem: this.submitBtn,
-                    $loading: this.submitBtn,
+                    $elem: this.$submitBtn,
+                    $loading: this.$submitBtn,
                     url: DiscussionUtil.urlFor('update_thread', this.model.id),
                     type: 'POST',
                     dataType: 'json',
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_list_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_list_view.js
index 69b794d4b4..58061d1520 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_list_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_list_view.js
@@ -134,12 +134,12 @@
                 });
                 this.searchAlertCollection.on("add", function(searchAlert) {
                     var content;
-                    content = _.template($("#search-alert-template").html())({
-                        'message': searchAlert.attributes.message,
+                    content = edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#search-alert-template").html())({
+                        'messageHtml': searchAlert.attributes.message,
                         'cid': searchAlert.cid,
                         'css_class': searchAlert.attributes.css_class
                     });
-                    self.$(".search-alerts").append(content);
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.append(self.$(".search-alerts"), content);
                     return self.$("#search-alert-" + searchAlert.cid + " a.dismiss")
                         .bind("click", searchAlert, function(event) {
                             return self.removeSearchAlert(event.data.cid);
@@ -179,13 +179,13 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.reloadDisplayedCollection = function(thread) {
-                var active, content, current_el, thread_id;
+                var active, $content, current_el, thread_id;
                 this.clearSearchAlerts();
                 thread_id = thread.get('id');
-                content = this.renderThread(thread);
+                $content = this.renderThread(thread);
                 current_el = this.$(".forum-nav-thread[data-id=" + thread_id + "]");
                 active = current_el.has(".forum-nav-thread-link.is-active").length !== 0;
-                current_el.replaceWith(content);
+                current_el.replaceWith($content);
                 this.showMetadataAccordingToSort();
                 if (active) {
                     return this.setActiveThread(thread_id);
@@ -246,12 +246,14 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.render = function() {
-                var self = this;
+                var self = this,
+                    $elem = this.template({
+                        isCohorted: this.courseSettings.get("is_cohorted"),
+                        isPrivilegedUser: DiscussionUtil.isPrivilegedUser()
+                    });
                 this.timer = 0;
-                this.$el.html(this.template({
-                    isCohorted: this.courseSettings.get("is_cohorted"),
-                    isPrivilegedUser: DiscussionUtil.isPrivilegedUser()
-                }));
+                this.$el.empty();
+                this.$el.append($elem);
                 this.$(".forum-nav-sort-control option").removeProp("selected");
                 this.$(".forum-nav-sort-control option[value=" + this.collection.sort_preference + "]")
                     .prop("selected", true);
@@ -268,20 +270,17 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.renderThreads = function() {
-                var content, rendered, thread, _i, _len, _ref;
-                this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list").html("");
-                rendered = $("<div></div>");
-                _ref = this.displayedCollection.models;
-                for (_i = 0, _len = _ref.length; _i < _len; _i++) {
-                    thread = _ref[_i];
-                    content = this.renderThread(thread);
-                    rendered.append(content);
+                var $content, thread, i, len;
+                this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list").empty();
+                for (i = 0, len = this.displayedCollection.models.length; i < len; i++) {
+                    thread = this.displayedCollection.models[i];
+                    $content = this.renderThread(thread);
+                    this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list").append($content);
                 }
-                this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list").html(rendered.html());
                 this.showMetadataAccordingToSort();
                 this.renderMorePages();
                 this.updateSidebar();
-                return this.trigger("threads:rendered");
+                this.trigger("threads:rendered");
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.showMetadataAccordingToSort = function() {
@@ -301,19 +300,15 @@
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.renderMorePages = function() {
                 if (this.displayedCollection.hasMorePages()) {
-                    return this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list")
-                        .append(
-                            "<li class='forum-nav-load-more'>" +
-                            "   <a href='#' class='forum-nav-load-more-link'>" + gettext("Load more") + "</a>" +
-                            "</li>"
-                        );
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.append(
+                        this.$(".forum-nav-thread-list"),
+                        edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#nav-load-more-link").html())({})
+                    );
                 }
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.getLoadingContent = function(srText) {
-                return '<div class="forum-nav-loading" tabindex="0">' +
-                    '   <span class="icon fa fa-spinner fa-spin"/><span class="sr" role="alert">' + srText + '</span>' +
-                    '</div>';
+                return edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#nav-loading-template").html())({srText: srText});
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.loadMorePages = function(event) {
@@ -323,7 +318,8 @@
                     event.preventDefault();
                 }
                 loadMoreElem = this.$(".forum-nav-load-more");
-                loadMoreElem.html(this.getLoadingContent(gettext("Loading more threads")));
+                loadMoreElem.empty();
+                edx.HtmlUtils.append(loadMoreElem, this.getLoadingContent(gettext("Loading more threads")));
                 loadingElem = loadMoreElem.find(".forum-nav-loading");
                 DiscussionUtil.makeFocusTrap(loadingElem);
                 loadingElem.focus();
@@ -384,8 +380,8 @@
                 if (unreadCount > 0) {
                     content.find('.forum-nav-thread-comments-count').attr(
                         "data-tooltip",
-                        interpolate(
-                            ngettext('%(unread_count)s new comment', '%(unread_count)s new comments', unreadCount),
+                        edx.StringUtils.interpolate(
+                            ngettext('{unread_count} new comment', '{unread_count} new comments', unreadCount),
                             {unread_count: unreadCount},
                             true
                         )
@@ -407,18 +403,25 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.setActiveThread = function(thread_id) {
+                var $srElem;
                 this.$(".forum-nav-thread-link").find(".sr").remove();
                 this.$(".forum-nav-thread[data-id!='" + thread_id + "'] .forum-nav-thread-link")
                     .removeClass("is-active");
+                $srElem = edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.HTML('<span class="sr">'),
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.ensureHtml(gettext("Current conversation")),
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.HTML('</span>')
+                ).toString();
                 this.$(".forum-nav-thread[data-id='" + thread_id + "'] .forum-nav-thread-link")
                     .addClass("is-active").find(".forum-nav-thread-wrapper-1")
-                    .prepend('<span class="sr">' + gettext("Current conversation") + '</span>');
+                    .prepend($srElem);
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.goHome = function() {
-                var url;
+                var url, $tpl_content;
                 this.template = _.template($("#discussion-home-template").html());
-                $(".forum-content").html(this.template);
+                $tpl_content = $(this.template());
+                $(".forum-content").empty().append($tpl_content);
                 $(".forum-nav-thread-list a").removeClass("is-active").find(".sr").remove();
                 $("input.email-setting").bind("click", this.updateEmailNotifications);
                 url = DiscussionUtil.urlFor("notifications_status", window.user.get("id"));
@@ -505,19 +508,19 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.getNameWidth = function(name) {
-                var test, width;
-                test = $("<div>");
-                test.css({
+                var $test, width;
+                $test = $("<div>");
+                $test.css({
                     "font-size": this.$(".forum-nav-browse-current").css('font-size'),
                     opacity: 0,
                     position: 'absolute',
                     left: -1000,
                     top: -1000
                 });
-                $("body").append(test);
-                test.html(name);
-                width = test.width();
-                test.remove();
+                $("body").append($test);
+                $test.text(name);
+                width = $test.width();
+                $test.remove();
                 return width;
             };
 
@@ -653,8 +656,7 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.searchFor = function(text) {
-                var url,
-                    self = this;
+                var url, self = this;
                 this.clearSearchAlerts();
                 this.clearFilters();
                 this.mode = 'search';
@@ -677,12 +679,16 @@
                     dataType: 'json',
                     $loading: $,
                     loadingCallback: function() {
-                        return self.$(".forum-nav-thread-list")
-                            .html(
-                                "<li class='forum-nav-load-more'>" +
-                                self.getLoadingContent(gettext("Loading thread list")) +
-                                "</li>"
-                            );
+                        var element = self.$(".forum-nav-thread-list");
+                        element.empty();
+                        edx.HtmlUtils.append(
+                            element,
+                            edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<li class='forum-nav-load-more'>"),
+                                    self.getLoadingContent(gettext("Loading thread list")),
+                                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</li>")
+                            )
+                        );
                     },
                     loadedCallback: function() {
                         return self.$(".forum-nav-thread-list .forum-nav-load-more").remove();
@@ -697,17 +703,22 @@
                             if (!_.isNull(response.corrected_text)) {
                                 noResponseMsg = _.escape(
                                     gettext(
-                                        'No results found for %(original_query)s. ' +
-                                        'Showing results for %(suggested_query)s.'
+                                        'No results found for {original_query}. ' +
+                                        'Showing results for {suggested_query}.'
                                     )
                                 );
-                                message = interpolate(
+                                message = edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
                                     noResponseMsg,
                                     {
-                                        "original_query": "<em>" + _.escape(text) + "</em>",
-                                        "suggested_query": "<em>" + response.corrected_text + "</em>"
-                                    },
-                                    true
+                                        "original_query": edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                                            edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<em>"), text, edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</em>")
+                                        ),
+                                        "suggested_query": edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                                            edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<em>"),
+                                            response.corrected_text ,
+                                            edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</em>")
+                                        )
+                                    }
                                 );
                                 self.addSearchAlert(message);
                             } else if (response.discussion_data.length === 0) {
@@ -733,14 +744,20 @@
                     dataType: 'json',
                     error: function() {},
                     success: function(response) {
-                        var message;
+                        var message, username;
                         if (response.users.length > 0) {
-                            message = interpolate(_.escape(gettext('Show posts by %(username)s.')), {
-                                "username": _.template('<a class="link-jump" href="<%= url %>"><%- username %></a>')({
-                                    url: DiscussionUtil.urlFor("user_profile", response.users[0].id),
-                                    username: response.users[0].username
-                                })
-                            }, true);
+                            username = edx.HtmlUtils.joinHtml(
+                                edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
+                                    edx.HtmlUtils.HTML('<a class="link-jump" href="{url}">'),
+                                    {url: DiscussionUtil.urlFor("user_profile", response.users[0].id)}
+                                ),
+                                response.users[0].username,
+                                edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("</a>")
+                            );
+
+                            message = edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
+                                gettext('Show posts by {username}.'), {"username": username}
+                            );
                             return self.addSearchAlert(message, 'search-by-user');
                         }
                     }
@@ -764,15 +781,15 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadListView.prototype.updateEmailNotifications = function() {
-                var checkbox, checked, urlName;
-                checkbox = $('input.email-setting');
-                checked = checkbox.prop('checked');
+                var $checkbox, checked, urlName;
+                $checkbox = $('input.email-setting');
+                checked = $checkbox.prop('checked');
                 urlName = (checked) ? "enable_notifications" : "disable_notifications";
                 DiscussionUtil.safeAjax({
                     url: DiscussionUtil.urlFor(urlName),
                     type: "POST",
                     error: function() {
-                        checkbox.prop('checked', !checked);
+                        $checkbox.prop('checked', !checked);
                     }
                 });
             };
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_profile_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_profile_view.js
index 31abb9a7c8..96b84381bb 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_profile_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_profile_view.js
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
             }
 
             DiscussionThreadProfileView.prototype.render = function() {
-                var element, params;
+                var params;
                 this.convertMath();
                 this.abbreviateBody();
                 params = $.extend(this.model.toJSON(), {
@@ -42,26 +42,24 @@
                         }
                     });
                 }
-                this.$el.html(_.template($("#profile-thread-template").html())(params));
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(
+                    this.$el,
+                    edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#profile-thread-template").html())(params)
+                );
                 this.$("span.timeago").timeago();
-                element = this.$(".post-body");
-                if (typeof MathJax !== "undefined" && MathJax !== null) {
-                    MathJax.Hub.Queue(["Typeset", MathJax.Hub, element[0]]);
-                }
+                DiscussionUtil.typesetMathJax(this.$(".post-body"));
                 return this;
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadProfileView.prototype.convertMath = function() {
-                return this.model.set(
-                    'markdownBody',
-                    DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor(DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight(this.model.get('body')))
-                );
+                var htmlSnippet = DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight(this.model.get('body'));
+                this.model.set('markdownBody',  htmlSnippet);
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadProfileView.prototype.abbreviateBody = function() {
                 var abbreviated;
                 abbreviated = DiscussionUtil.abbreviateHTML(this.model.get('markdownBody'), 140);
-                return this.model.set('abbreviatedBody', abbreviated);
+                this.model.set('abbreviatedBody', abbreviated);
             };
 
             return DiscussionThreadProfileView;
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_show_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_show_view.js
index a5fc0fc12d..6e13898b69 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_show_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_show_view.js
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@
 
             DiscussionThreadShowView.prototype.renderTemplate = function() {
                 var context;
-                this.template = _.template($("#thread-show-template").html());
                 context = $.extend({
                     mode: this.mode,
                     flagged: this.model.isFlagged(),
@@ -46,27 +45,25 @@
                     cid: this.model.cid,
                     readOnly: $('.discussion-module').data('read-only')
                 }, this.model.attributes);
-                return this.template(context);
+                return edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#thread-show-template").html())(context);
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadShowView.prototype.render = function() {
-                this.$el.html(this.renderTemplate());
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(
+                    this.$el,
+                    this.renderTemplate()
+                );
                 this.delegateEvents();
                 this.renderAttrs();
                 this.$("span.timeago").timeago();
                 this.convertMath();
-                this.highlight(this.$(".post-body"));
-                this.highlight(this.$("h1,h3"));
+                this.$(".post-body");
+                this.$("h1,h3");
                 return this;
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadShowView.prototype.convertMath = function() {
-                var element;
-                element = this.$(".post-body");
-                element.html(DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor(DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight(element.text())));
-                if (typeof MathJax !== "undefined" && MathJax !== null) {
-                    return MathJax.Hub.Queue(["Typeset", MathJax.Hub, element[0]]);
-                }
+                DiscussionUtil.convertMath(this.$(".post-body"));
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadShowView.prototype.edit = function(event) {
@@ -77,12 +74,6 @@
                 return this.trigger("thread:_delete", event);
             };
 
-            DiscussionThreadShowView.prototype.highlight = function(el) {
-                if (el.html()) {
-                    return el.html(el.html().replace(/&lt;mark&gt;/g, "<mark>").replace(/&lt;\/mark&gt;/g, "</mark>"));
-                }
-            };
-
             return DiscussionThreadShowView;
 
         })(DiscussionContentShowView);
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_view.js
index d3b255f8be..8a859e77cb 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/discussion_thread_view.js
@@ -134,7 +134,9 @@
 
             DiscussionThreadView.prototype.render = function() {
                 var self = this;
-                this.$el.html(this.renderTemplate());
+                var $element = $(this.renderTemplate());
+                this.$el.empty();
+                this.$el.append($element);
                 this.delegateEvents();
                 this.renderShowView();
                 this.renderAttrs();
@@ -216,7 +218,7 @@
                 }
             };
 
-            DiscussionThreadView.prototype.loadResponses = function(responseLimit, elem, firstLoad) {
+            DiscussionThreadView.prototype.loadResponses = function(responseLimit, $elem, firstLoad) {
                 var takeFocus,
                     self = this;
                 takeFocus = this.mode === "tab" ? false : true;
@@ -228,8 +230,8 @@
                         resp_skip: this.responses.size(),
                         resp_limit: responseLimit ? responseLimit : void 0
                     },
-                    $elem: elem,
-                    $loading: elem,
+                    $elem: $elem,
+                    $loading: $elem,
                     takeFocus: takeFocus,
                     complete: function() {
                         self.responsesRequest = null;
@@ -280,20 +282,20 @@
             };
 
             DiscussionThreadView.prototype.renderResponseCountAndPagination = function(responseTotal) {
-                var buttonText, loadMoreButton, responseCountFormat, responseLimit, responsePagination,
+                var buttonText, $loadMoreButton, responseCountFormat, responseLimit, responsePagination,
                     responsesRemaining, showingResponsesText, self = this;
                 if (this.isQuestion() && this.markedAnswers.length !== 0) {
                     responseCountFormat = ngettext(
-                        "%(numResponses)s other response", "%(numResponses)s other responses", responseTotal
+                        "{numResponses} other response", "{numResponses} other responses", responseTotal
                     );
                 } else {
                     responseCountFormat = ngettext(
-                        "%(numResponses)s response", "%(numResponses)s responses", responseTotal
+                        "{numResponses} response", "{numResponses} responses", responseTotal
                     );
                 }
-                this.$el.find(".response-count").html(interpolate(responseCountFormat, {
-                    numResponses: responseTotal
-                }, true));
+                this.$el.find(".response-count").text(
+                    edx.StringUtils.interpolate(responseCountFormat, {numResponses: responseTotal}, true)
+                );
                 responsePagination = this.$el.find(".response-pagination");
                 responsePagination.empty();
                 if (responseTotal > 0) {
@@ -302,9 +304,9 @@
                         showingResponsesText = gettext("Showing all responses");
                     }
                     else {
-                        showingResponsesText = interpolate(
+                        showingResponsesText = edx.StringUtils.interpolate(
                             ngettext(
-                                "Showing first response", "Showing first %(numResponses)s responses",
+                                "Showing first response", "Showing first {numResponses} responses",
                                 this.responses.size()
                             ),
                             { numResponses: this.responses.size() },
@@ -313,22 +315,22 @@
                     }
 
                     responsePagination.append($("<span>")
-                        .addClass("response-display-count").html(_.escape(showingResponsesText)));
+                        .addClass("response-display-count").text(showingResponsesText));
                     if (responsesRemaining > 0) {
                         if (responsesRemaining < SUBSEQUENT_RESPONSE_PAGE_SIZE) {
                             responseLimit = null;
                             buttonText = gettext("Load all responses");
                         } else {
                             responseLimit = SUBSEQUENT_RESPONSE_PAGE_SIZE;
-                            buttonText = interpolate(gettext("Load next %(numResponses)s responses"), {
+                            buttonText = edx.StringUtils.interpolate(gettext("Load next {numResponses} responses"), {
                                 numResponses: responseLimit
                             }, true);
                         }
-                        loadMoreButton = $("<button>").addClass("load-response-button").html(_.escape(buttonText));
-                        loadMoreButton.click(function() {
-                            return self.loadResponses(responseLimit, loadMoreButton);
+                        $loadMoreButton = $("<button>").addClass("load-response-button").text(buttonText);
+                        $loadMoreButton.click(function() {
+                            return self.loadResponses(responseLimit, $loadMoreButton);
                         });
-                        return responsePagination.append(loadMoreButton);
+                        return responsePagination.append($loadMoreButton);
                     }
                 }
             };
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/response_comment_show_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/response_comment_show_view.js
index 06e40c9ac0..731d9e9766 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/response_comment_show_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/response_comment_show_view.js
@@ -37,12 +37,14 @@
             ResponseCommentShowView.prototype.tagName = "li";
 
             ResponseCommentShowView.prototype.render = function() {
-                this.template = _.template($("#response-comment-show-template").html());
-                this.$el.html(this.template(_.extend({
+                var template = edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#response-comment-show-template").html());
+                var context = _.extend({
                     cid: this.model.cid,
                     author_display: this.getAuthorDisplay(),
                     readOnly: $('.discussion-module').data('read-only')
-                }, this.model.attributes)));
+                }, this.model.attributes);
+
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(this.$el, template(context));
                 this.delegateEvents();
                 this.renderAttrs();
                 this.$el.find(".timeago").timeago();
@@ -52,22 +54,25 @@
             };
 
             ResponseCommentShowView.prototype.addReplyLink = function() {
-                var html, name, p, _ref;
+                var html, name;
                 if (this.model.hasOwnProperty('parent')) {
-                    name = (_ref = this.model.parent.get('username')) !== null ? _ref : gettext("anonymous");
-                    html = "<a href='#comment_" + this.model.parent.id + "'>@" + name + "</a>:  ";
-                    p = this.$('.response-body p:first');
-                    return p.prepend(html);
+                    name = this.model.parent.get('username') || gettext("anonymous");
+                    html = edx.HtmlUtils.interpolateHtml(
+                        edx.HtmlUtils.HTML("<a href='#comment_{parent_id}'>@{name}</a>:  "),
+                        {
+                            parent_id: this.model.parent.id,
+                            name: name
+                        }
+                    );
+                    return edx.HtmlUtils.prepend(
+                        this.$('.response-body p:first'),
+                        html
+                    );
                 }
             };
 
             ResponseCommentShowView.prototype.convertMath = function() {
-                var body;
-                body = this.$el.find(".response-body");
-                body.html(DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor(DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight(body.text())));
-                if (typeof MathJax !== "undefined" && MathJax !== null) {
-                    return MathJax.Hub.Queue(["Typeset", MathJax.Hub, body[0]]);
-                }
+                DiscussionUtil.convertMath(this.$el.find(".response-body"));
             };
 
             ResponseCommentShowView.prototype._delete = function(event) {
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/thread_response_show_view.js b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/thread_response_show_view.js
index bdb1bab017..4ab9914442 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/thread_response_show_view.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/discussion/views/thread_response_show_view.js
@@ -33,19 +33,18 @@
             };
 
             ThreadResponseShowView.prototype.renderTemplate = function() {
-                var context;
-                this.template = _.template($("#thread-response-show-template").html());
-                context = _.extend({
-                    cid: this.model.cid,
-                    author_display: this.getAuthorDisplay(),
-                    endorser_display: this.getEndorserDisplay(),
-                    readOnly: $('.discussion-module').data('read-only')
-                }, this.model.attributes);
-                return this.template(context);
+                var template = edx.HtmlUtils.template($("#thread-response-show-template").html()),
+                    context = _.extend({
+                        cid: this.model.cid,
+                        author_display: this.getAuthorDisplay(),
+                        endorser_display: this.getEndorserDisplay(),
+                        readOnly: $('.discussion-module').data('read-only')
+                    }, this.model.attributes);
+                return template(context);
             };
 
             ThreadResponseShowView.prototype.render = function() {
-                this.$el.html(this.renderTemplate());
+                edx.HtmlUtils.setHtml(this.$el, this.renderTemplate());
                 this.delegateEvents();
                 this.renderAttrs();
                 this.$el.find(".posted-details .timeago").timeago();
@@ -54,12 +53,7 @@
             };
 
             ThreadResponseShowView.prototype.convertMath = function() {
-                var element;
-                element = this.$(".response-body");
-                element.html(DiscussionUtil.postMathJaxProcessor(DiscussionUtil.markdownWithHighlight(element.text())));
-                if (typeof MathJax !== "undefined" && MathJax !== null) {
-                    return MathJax.Hub.Queue(["Typeset", MathJax.Hub, element[0]]);
-                }
+                DiscussionUtil.convertMath(this.$(".response-body"));
             };
 
             ThreadResponseShowView.prototype.edit = function(event) {
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.js b/common/static/common/js/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.js
index 6aa0eaac32..23bc0999c6 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/spec/discussion/view/discussion_thread_list_view_spec.js
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@
                 }).get()).toEqual(expectedMessages);
             };
 
-            getAlertMessagesAndClasses = function () {
+            getAlertMessagesAndClasses = function() {
                 return $(".search-alert").map(function() {
                     return {
                         text: $('.message', this).html(),
diff --git a/common/static/common/js/spec_helpers/discussion_spec_helper.js b/common/static/common/js/spec_helpers/discussion_spec_helper.js
index e8018c6f87..abfe54bdee 100644
--- a/common/static/common/js/spec_helpers/discussion_spec_helper.js
+++ b/common/static/common/js/spec_helpers/discussion_spec_helper.js
@@ -72,12 +72,12 @@
                 'thread-response-edit', 'response-comment-show', 'response-comment-edit', 'thread-list-item',
                 'discussion-home', 'search-alert', 'new-post', 'thread-type', 'new-post-menu-entry',
                 'new-post-menu-category', 'topic', 'post-user-display', 'inline-discussion', 'pagination',
-                'user-profile', 'profile-thread'
+                'user-profile', 'profile-thread',  'customwmd-prompt', 'nav-loading'
             ];
             templateNamesNoTrailingTemplate = [
                 'forum-action-endorse', 'forum-action-answer', 'forum-action-follow', 'forum-action-vote',
-                'forum-action-report', 'forum-action-pin', 'forum-action-close', 'forum-action-edit',
-                'forum-action-delete', 'forum-actions'
+                'forum-action-report',  'forum-action-pin', 'forum-action-close', 'forum-action-edit',
+                'forum-action-delete', 'forum-actions', 'alert-popup', 'nav-load-more-link'
             ];
             for (_i = 0, _len = templateNames.length; _i < _len; _i++) {
                 templateName = templateNames[_i];
diff --git a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/alert-popup.underscore b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/alert-popup.underscore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f00bdc53a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/alert-popup.underscore
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<div class='modal' role='alertdialog' id='discussion-alert' aria-describedby='discussion-alert-message'>
+    <div class='inner-wrapper discussion-alert-wrapper'>
+        <button class='close-modal dismiss' title='<%- gettext("Close") %>''>
+            <span class='icon fa fa-times' aria-hidden='true'></span>
+        </button>
+        <header>
+            <h2/></h2>
+            <hr/>
+        </header>
+        <p id='discussion-alert-message'></p>
+        <hr/>
+        <button class='dismiss'><%- gettext("OK") %></button>
+    </div>
+</div>
diff --git a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-load-more-link.underscore b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-load-more-link.underscore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1cbc15e465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-load-more-link.underscore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<li class='forum-nav-load-more'>
+    <a href='#' class='forum-nav-load-more-link'>
+        <%- gettext("Load more") %>
+    </a>
+</li>
diff --git a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-loading.underscore b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-loading.underscore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..32922e67b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/nav-loading.underscore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<div class="forum-nav-loading" tabindex="0">
+    <span class="icon fa fa-spinner fa-spin"/>
+    <span class="sr" role="alert"><%- srText %></span>
+</div>
diff --git a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/search-alert.underscore b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/search-alert.underscore
index 1ba3ee2ab5..f06169bd74 100644
--- a/common/static/common/templates/discussion/search-alert.underscore
+++ b/common/static/common/templates/discussion/search-alert.underscore
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-<div class="search-alert <%= css_class %>" id="search-alert-<%- cid %>">
+<div class="search-alert <%- css_class %>" id="search-alert-<%- cid %>">
     <div class="search-alert-content">
-      <p class="message"><%= message %></p>
+      <p class="message"><%= HtmlUtils.ensureHtml(messageHtml) %></p>
     </div>
 
     <div class="search-alert-controls">
diff --git a/common/static/karma_common.conf.js b/common/static/karma_common.conf.js
index 3783d1f015..0af98d5049 100644
--- a/common/static/karma_common.conf.js
+++ b/common/static/karma_common.conf.js
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ var options = {
         {pattern: 'common/js/vendor/backbone.js', included: true},
 
         {pattern: 'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/global-loader.js', included: true},
+        {pattern: 'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/string-utils.js', included: true},
+        {pattern: 'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/html-utils.js', included: true},
 
         {pattern: 'js/vendor/jasmine-imagediff.js', included: true},
         {pattern: 'common/js/spec_helpers/jasmine-extensions.js', included: true},
diff --git a/lms/templates/discussion/_underscore_templates.html b/lms/templates/discussion/_underscore_templates.html
index 20100c78e4..e3e440c5d3 100644
--- a/lms/templates/discussion/_underscore_templates.html
+++ b/lms/templates/discussion/_underscore_templates.html
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
+<%page expression_filter="h"/>
 <%namespace name='static' file='../static_content.html'/>
-<%! import json %>
+<%! from openedx.core.djangolib.js_utils import js_escaped_string %>
 
 <script type="text/javascript">
-window.PLATFORM_NAME = ${json.dumps(settings.PLATFORM_NAME)};
-window.ENABLE_DISCUSSION_HOME_PANEL = ${json.dumps(settings.FEATURES.get('ENABLE_DISCUSSION_HOME_PANEL', False))};
+  window.PLATFORM_NAME = "${settings.PLATFORM_NAME | n, js_escaped_string}";
+  % if settings.FEATURES.get('ENABLE_DISCUSSION_HOME_PANEL', False):
+    window.ENABLE_DISCUSSION_HOME_PANEL = true;
+  % else:
+    window.ENABLE_DISCUSSION_HOME_PANEL = false;
+  % endif
 </script>
 
 <%
@@ -11,7 +16,14 @@ template_names = [
     'thread', 'thread-show', 'thread-edit', 'thread-response', 'thread-response-show', 'thread-response-edit',
     'response-comment-show', 'response-comment-edit', 'thread-list-item', 'discussion-home', 'search-alert',
     'new-post', 'thread-type', 'new-post-menu-entry', 'new-post-menu-category', 'topic', 'post-user-display',
-    'inline-discussion', 'pagination', 'user-profile', 'profile-thread', 'customwmd-prompt'
+    'inline-discussion', 'pagination', 'user-profile', 'profile-thread', 'customwmd-prompt', 'nav-loading'
+]
+
+## same, but without trailing "-template" in script ID - these templates does not contain any free variables
+template_names_no_suffix = [
+  'forum-action-endorse', 'forum-action-answer', 'forum-action-follow', 'forum-action-vote', 'forum-action-report',
+  'forum-action-pin', 'forum-action-close', 'forum-action-edit', 'forum-action-delete', 'forum-actions',
+  'alert-popup', 'nav-load-more-link'
 ]
 %>
 
@@ -21,8 +33,8 @@ template_names = [
 </script>
 % endfor
 
-## same, but without trailing "-template" in script ID
-% for template_name in ['forum-action-endorse', 'forum-action-answer', 'forum-action-follow', 'forum-action-vote', 'forum-action-report', 'forum-action-pin', 'forum-action-close', 'forum-action-edit', 'forum-action-delete', 'forum-actions']:
+
+% for template_name in template_names_no_suffix:
 <script aria-hidden="true" type="text/template" id="${template_name}">
     <%static:include path="common/templates/discussion/${template_name}.underscore" />
 </script>
diff --git a/lms/templates/discussion/user_profile.html b/lms/templates/discussion/user_profile.html
index 8fa19f1d7b..5fc18182a1 100644
--- a/lms/templates/discussion/user_profile.html
+++ b/lms/templates/discussion/user_profile.html
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 <%inherit file="../main.html" />
+<%page expression_filter="h"/>
 <%namespace name='static' file='../static_content.html'/>
 <%!
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
@@ -6,7 +7,7 @@ from django.template.defaultfilters import escapejs
 %>
 
 <%block name="bodyclass">discussion</%block>
-<%block name="pagetitle">${_("Discussion - {course_number}").format(course_number=course.display_number_with_default) | h}</%block>
+<%block name="pagetitle">${_("Discussion - {course_number}").format(course_number=course.display_number_with_default)}</%block>
 
 <%block name="headextra">
 <%static:css group='style-course-vendor'/>
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ from django.template.defaultfilters import escapejs
 
       </nav>
     </section>
-    <section class="course-content container discussion-user-threads" data-course-id="${course.id | h}" data-course-name="${course.display_name_with_default_escaped | h}" data-threads="${threads | h}" data-user-info="${user_info | h}" data-page="${page | h}" data-num-pages="${num_pages | h}"/>
+    <section class="course-content container discussion-user-threads" data-course-id="${course.id}" data-course-name="${course.display_name_with_default}" data-threads="${threads}" data-user-info="${user_info}" data-page="${page}" data-num-pages="${num_pages}"/>
   </div>
 </section>