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The Prophets Have Spoken, But What Did They Say?: Examining The Differences Between George D. Watt's Original Shorthand Notes And The Sermons Published In The Journal Of Discourses, Gerrit Dirkmaat, Lajean Purcell Carruth

BYU Studies Quarterly

On a summer day in August of 1867, Brigham Young delivered a powerful sermon to the residents of Tooele, Utah. He urged the assembled Saints to more faithfully live the principles of the Word of Wisdom and cease their attempts to parse out the words of the revelation, seeking a loophole. Young responded directly to such thinking, telling the congregation:

Many try to excuse themselves because tea and coffee are not mentioned, arguing that it refers to hot drinks only. What did we drink hot when that Word of Wisdom was given? Tea and coffee. It definitely refers to that …

“Strange Ramblings”: The Ideal And Practice Of Sermons In Early Mormonism, Davis Bitton

BYU Studies Quarterly

People who attended meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during its first seventy years heard many sermons preached (fig. 1). But the sermons often seemed different from those heard in Protestant and Catholic congregations. For the Saints, this was further evidence that Mormonism was not tied to a professional clergy but, like primitive Christianity, allowed wide participation by parishioners. Outsiders, however, were often less than favorably impressed with Mormon sermons. According to one observer, most Mormon speakers he heard were guilty of "strange ramblings." Before examining in detail the peculiarities of preaching among the Latter-day Saints, …