Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
[Book Review Of] American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch, By Luigi Giussani, Denis Kaiser
[Book Review Of] American Protestant Theology: A Historical Sketch, By Luigi Giussani, Denis Kaiser
Faculty Publications
Many scholars in the field of American religious and theological history may never have heard the name of Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) because he spent most of his life in his home country Italy, his proficiency in English was limited to reading literacy, and the majority of his writings were not concerned with American religious history anyway. Giussani was a Catholic priest, theologian, high school teacher, professor, and founder of the international movement Comunione e Liberazione. He was closely acquainted with Pope John Paul II and the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. His influence on Italian and European religious life and culture …
The Circumference Of The Apostleship, Richard Bennett
The Circumference Of The Apostleship, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
In Robert Bolt's classic drama A Man for All Seasons, the ever-principled and incomparable Thomas More, England's stout defender of the Holy Catholic faith, responded with unflinching conviction when pressed by the Duke of Norfolk about the reasonability and historicity of the Roman Catholic claim to priesthood legitimacy. "The Apostolic Succession of the Pope is--Why, it's a theory yes; you can't see it; can't touch it; it's a theory. But what matters to me is not whether it's true or not but that I believe it to be true, or rather not that I believe it, but that I believe …
Making Friends In Missouri: Telling The Steamboat Saluda Story And Its Aftermath, Fred E. Woods
Making Friends In Missouri: Telling The Steamboat Saluda Story And Its Aftermath, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
The infamous "Extermination Order" issued October 27, 1838, by Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs caused thousands of Latter-day Saints to flee the state and seek refuge in Illinois. Throughout the harsh winter of 1838-39, many Latter-day Saint families traveled to Missouri's eastern border (some 150 miles) in carts and wagons and on foot. While most crossed the Mississippi River by ferry at Quincy, some voyaged by riverboats from Richmond, Missouri, to the Quincy region in Illinois.
We Know No North, No South, No East, No West: Mormon Interpretations Of The Civil War, 1861-1865, Richard Bennett
We Know No North, No South, No East, No West: Mormon Interpretations Of The Civil War, 1861-1865, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
While peace reigns in Utah, civil war, with all its horrors, prevails among those who earnestly desired to see the soil of these valleys crimsoned with the blood of the Saints, and, if we are mistaken in the signs of the times, before the conflict between the North and South shall have ended, all they unitedly desired to see meted out to the Mormons, will be poured out without measure upon those who have initiated the war of extermination, and are now carrying it on with all the energy they severally possess. So read the lead editorial in the Salt …
Charles Good's Act Of Kindness And The Handcart Children, Fred E. Woods, William G. Hartley
Charles Good's Act Of Kindness And The Handcart Children, Fred E. Woods, William G. Hartley
Faculty Publications
On a hot July afternoon in 1856, businessman Charles Good paid an unannounced visit to a crowded campground west of Fort Des Moines. There he found nearly 500 tired travelers--Mormon emigrants who had pulled their handcarts earlier that day through the small business district of Fort Dex Moines where Good lived. This was the fourth handcart company to pull through the city in two months. Good's visit would be noted in the company's official journal, but subsequent histories have overlooked his charitable gesture--a simple act of kindness--while at the camp.
Iowa City Bound: Mormon Migration By Sail And Rail, 1856-1857, Fred E. Woods
Iowa City Bound: Mormon Migration By Sail And Rail, 1856-1857, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
In the spring of 1855, an article in the Mormons' British periodical, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, instructed church members to leave "Babylon" just as ancient Israel had left Egypt under Moses' leadership. For European converts, the Atlantic was their Red Sea and Brigham Young their American Moses. During his nearly 30 years (1847-1877) as president and prophet of the Latter-day Saints (LDS), Young directed the organized migration of more than 70,000 people to Utah, most of them from Europe. He approved yearly migration plans, appointed officers to manage the various companies, and arranged for church agents to assist at …
A Mormon And Still A Jew: The Life Of Alexander Neibaur, Fred E. Woods
A Mormon And Still A Jew: The Life Of Alexander Neibaur, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
Alexander Neibaur was a man of many talents. An educated man and gifted poet, he was fluent in seven languages. One account describes Neibaur as "a small, thin man, with a round ruddy face, with sharp eyes." He was also unusual inasmuch as he was Utah's first dentist and matchmaker, and the first known male Jewish convert to Mormonism; and he left the only known contemporary diary account of Joseph Smith's first vision experience. Neibaur was also a good family man, honest and loyal, and a kind friend and trusted neighbor, not only to fellow Church members but also to …
Of Printers, Prophets, And Politicians: William Lyon Mackenzie, Mormonism, And Early Printing In Upper Canada, Richard Bennett, Daniel H. Olsen
Of Printers, Prophets, And Politicians: William Lyon Mackenzie, Mormonism, And Early Printing In Upper Canada, Richard Bennett, Daniel H. Olsen
Faculty Publications
Well-known in both Canadian and Latter-day Saint history is the arrival of Charles Ora Card and his faithful band of followers in southern Alberta in 1887. Less explored is the much earlier venture into Upper Canada (Ontario) of such prominent Mormon leaders as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, and scores of others during the 1830s in their concerted attempts to promulgate their new faith on Canadian soil. Their success in converting hundreds of people, many of whom were British- and American-born Methodists or members of other nonconformist faiths, prompted Mormon leaders to send missionaries …
Pronounced Clean, Comfortable, And Good Looking: The Passage Of Mormon Immigrants Through The Port Of Philadelphia, Fred E. Woods
Pronounced Clean, Comfortable, And Good Looking: The Passage Of Mormon Immigrants Through The Port Of Philadelphia, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
We were pronounced clean, comfortable, and good looking. So wrote LDS voyage leader Matthias Cowley after arriving in Philadelphia with a company of foreign Saints in the mid-nineteenth century. At this time, Latter-day Saint European immigrants, obeying the call to come to Zion, were gathering to America by the thousands on the way to their Mormon Mecca in Salt Lake City. They were obeying the call to come to Zion. In 1852, the First Presidency issued the following counsel: "When a people, or individuals, hear the Gospel, obey its first principles, are baptized for the remission of sins, and receive …
The Palawai Pioneers On The Island Of Lanai: The First Hawaiian Latter-Day Saint Gathering Place (1854-1864), Fred E. Woods
The Palawai Pioneers On The Island Of Lanai: The First Hawaiian Latter-Day Saint Gathering Place (1854-1864), Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
A decade after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, the message of the Restoration continued to breathe new spiritual life into thousands who were part of scattered Israel, and the Hawaiians were no exception. The call to gather had go forth: "Gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Send forth my elders of my church unto the nations, which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea" (D&C 133:7-8). After the Saints had been exiled from Nauvoo in 1846 and had migrated …
That Every Man Might Speak In The Name Of God The Lord: A Study Of Official Declaration 2, Richard Bennett
That Every Man Might Speak In The Name Of God The Lord: A Study Of Official Declaration 2, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
Official Declaration 2, tucked away quietly at the very tail end of the Doctrine and Covenants, is in many ways a fitting conclusion to the preface of the Doctrine and Covenants recorded 147 years before. In section 1 the Lord reveals much about the Restoration and about the divine pulley of the First Vision in particular. The term pulley emphasizes the two-way nature of the First Vision, for although Joseph prayed to know heaven's will, God "called upon" his servant to initiate the Restoration. Although much has been said about the boy prophet's request, surely God's intent counts for just …
Scripture Note: Doctrine And Covenants 125, Fred E. Woods
Scripture Note: Doctrine And Covenants 125, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
On 19 January 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to Joseph Smith regarding the building of the Nauvoo Temple and issued a call for the faithful Saints to gather to assist in the building of this sacred edifice (see D&C 124: 25-55). With the emphasis on the gathering to Nauvoo and the building of the temple, the Iowa Saints on the eastern banks of the Mississippi were wondering if they should move across the river to Nauvoo. Therefore, in March 1841, the Prophet Joseph Smith posed the question, "What is the will of the Lord concerning the saints in the …
The Cemetery Record Of William D. Huntington, Nauvoo Sexton, Fred E. Woods
The Cemetery Record Of William D. Huntington, Nauvoo Sexton, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
When John Butler first visited Commerce (later known as Nauvoo) he recalled, "I asked Brother Joseph what kind of a place it was. He said it was a low, marshy, wet, damp and nasty place, but that if we went to work and improved it, it would become more healthy and the Lord would bless it for our sakes." The Prophet Joseph Smith also stated, "the name of our city (Nauvoo) is of Hebrew origin, and signifies a beautiful situation, or place, carrying with it, also, the idea of rest; and is truly descriptive of the most delightful situation... This …
And I Saw The Hosts Of The Dead, Both Small And Great: Joseph F. Smith, World War I, And His Visions Of The Dead, Richard Bennett
And I Saw The Hosts Of The Dead, Both Small And Great: Joseph F. Smith, World War I, And His Visions Of The Dead, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great (D&C 138:11).
Norfolk And The Mormon Folk: Latter-Day Saint Immigration Through Old Dominion (1887-90), Fred E. Woods
Norfolk And The Mormon Folk: Latter-Day Saint Immigration Through Old Dominion (1887-90), Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
On 11 September 1887, the front page of the Norfolk Virginian had a bold headline, "Four Hundred Mormons," along with the following information: "The Old Dominion steamer Richmond, which arrived from New York yesterday, had on board four-hundred and twenty Mormon immigrants from the British Isles who had arrived in New York on Thursday on the steamship Wisconsin. The immigrants are all new converts to the Mormon religion and will swell the number of adherents to the Brigham Young faith in the territory considerably. The party is composed of men, women and children, and when the special train with nine …
Gathering To Nauvoo: Mormon Immigration 1840-46, Fred E. Woods
Gathering To Nauvoo: Mormon Immigration 1840-46, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
The gathering of the Mormon pioneers to Utah (commencing in 1847) has received extensive attention; however, the earlier LDS immigration to Nauvoo has not been adequately treated. This paper is the inspiring story of the British Saints who traveled to Nauvoo between June 1840 and February 1846. The international call to gather was received by the Prophet Joseph Smith during the second presentation of the Restored Church, less than six months after its organization in 1830.
More Precious Than Gold: The Journey To And Through Zion In 1849-50, Fred E. Woods
More Precious Than Gold: The Journey To And Through Zion In 1849-50, Fred E. Woods
Faculty Publications
The California gold rush, the first international gold rush in history, turned the world upside down, reaching its zenith in the years 1849-50. As a result of the rush during these two climactic years, the population swelled our nation's Pacific coast, entitling California to receive statehood in the fall of 1850. During these catalytic years, Latter-day Saints were journeying to the American West for a different kind of treasure. They gathered from afar to their Mormon mecca nestled in the Salt Lake Valley to fulfill their dreams of establishing Zion. Yet the California gold rush had a significant impact on …
Some Reflections At Winter Quarters, Richard E. Bennett
Some Reflections At Winter Quarters, Richard E. Bennett
Faculty Publications
On this Memorial Day weekend, it is altogether fitting and appropriate that we gather today at this sacred place to remember the lives of our progenitors everywhere. From Gettysburg to Hiroshima, from Arlington to Flanders Field, and from the city cemetery to the family plot, we honor our dead ancestors and friends long since stilled. Whether they died on the battle fields of war or perished in the labor of giving birth, we honor them. Whether on the trail to a new life in Oregon or a new chance in Ukraine, they all were the lifeline to our present bright …
Eastward To Eden: The Nauvoo Rescue Missions, Richard E. Bennett
Eastward To Eden: The Nauvoo Rescue Missions, Richard E. Bennett
Faculty Publications
I have felt sensibly there was a good deal of suffering among the saints in Nauvoo, as there has been amongst us, but the Lord God who has fed us all the day long, has his care still over us and when the saints are chastened enough, it will cease. I have ever believed the Lord would suffer a general massacre of this people by a mob. If ten thousand men were to come against us, and no other way was open for our deliverance, the earth would swallow them up (Journal History, 27 Sept. 1846). These were the words …