Other Religion Commons^™

The Little, Narrow, Prison Of Language: The Rhetoric Of Revelation, Richard Bushman

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

I want to raise an old question about Joseph Smith’s revelations, one that came up early in Church history when plans were first being made to publish the compilation of revelations called the Book of Commandments.1 The question is about the language of the revelations. Joseph noted in his history that at the November 1831 conference in Kirtland where publication was approved “some conversation was had concerning revelations and language.” This was the occasion when William E. McLellin, apparently the leading critic of the language, was challenged to make a revelation himself, and failed. Joseph said the Elders at the …

The Colonization Of The Mormon Mind, Richard Bushman

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The title of my talk doesn't shed much light on my topic. This past week, when I told people about the talk, the title mystified them. What can be meant by the colonization of the Mormon mind? The phrase is both inscrutable and ominous. Has the Mormon mind been colonized? Are we under the control of an imperial power without knowing about it?

Because of the obscurity of the title, I want to explain what the talk is about. It has two parts, an autobiographical section and a historical section, which are interrelated. I am going to talk about myself …