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“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, …