Mormon Studies Commons^™

The Lot Smith Cavalry Company: Utah Goes To War, Joseph R. Stuart, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

In this chapter from "Civil War Saints" (2012, published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center and the Deseret Book Company), Joseph R. Stuart and Kenneth L. Alford take a close look at the cavalry unit that was called to military service on April 28, 1862, at President Lincoln’s request. Their ninety-day period of service was the only unit-level active duty military contribution Utah Territory made during the Civil War. An earlier version of this paper, written by a student for the Library Research Grant Program, can be found here.

Civil War Saints: Research Update, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This article, which appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of the "Religious Education Review," discusses additional discoveries regarding Latter-day Saint military service during the American Civil War (since the book "Civil War Saints" was published in 2012).

"The Brave Men, Living And Dead, Who Struggled Here": Utah Veterans And The Gettysburg Reunion Of 1913, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Ken Nelson

Faculty Publications

Gettysburg was the defining battle of the American Civil War as Union and CSA soldiers clashed in Pennsylvania. This Utah Historical Quarterly article from Summer 2013 explains how Union and Confederate veterans of the Civil War, who were living in Utah, traveled to and participated in the 1913 50th Anniversary Reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg (which took place July 1-3, 1863). The article also includes lists of the Utah veterans who attended and additionally notes which veterans participated in the battle of Gettysburg.

Using "The Joseph Smith Papers" In The Classroom, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This article discusses how several discoveries made by the research team at the Joseph Smith Papers (josephsmithpapers.org) can be shared in LDS teaching situations, such as seminary, institute, family home evening, and sunday school. Specific examples are shared from D&C 1, 4, 20, 21, 23, 29, 30, 39, 40, 41, 74, 94, 97, 104 and 107. Summary tables also compare section heading information from the 1981 D&C, the 2013 D&C, and the various early Church revelatory books.

Game Theory, The Prisoner's Dilemma, And The Book Of Mormon, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies

Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, law, politics, sociology, and Bible studies, but this article is the first serious attempt to apply it to the Book of Mormon narrative. One particularly important model in game theory is known as the Prisoner's Dilemma, which emphasizes the possibility and benefits of cooperation in the face of conflict. The Book of Mormon account is an almost constant narrative based on conflict, first within the family of Lehi and then between two warring factions that arise from a split in that original Book of Mormon family. These conflicts …

Believing Adoption, Samuel M. Brown

BYU Studies

Adoption theology is concerned with salvation and entry into the family of God. Early Latter-day Saint (Mormon) adoption theology taught by Joseph Smith came to include priesthood, baptism for the dead, temple rites, and more. The author concludes that this doctrine informs important questions, including: Are spirits born? What is the nature of salvation? What is the shape of the heaven family (the interlocking network of familial connections that will exist in the afterlife)? Adoption theology offers an alternative to the popular doctrine of spirit birth, one that is consistent with what Joseph Smith taught about the nature of God …

The Symbolism Of The Beehive In Latter-Day Saint Tradition, Val Brinkerhoff

BYU Studies

This photo essay presents Brinkerhoff's inspiring photos of beehives in significant Mormon places. For early Mormons, the beehive symbolized the kingdom of God and was used as an architectural feature, in publications and discourse, on gravestones, on money, and more. Beehives used on temple doors and entryways symbolize entering the kingdom of God. The beehive on financial items symbolizes the Saints' consecration of their worldly goods. The beehive was chosen in 1848 as a symbol for the State of Deseret, using Ether 2:3. Later, when the State of Deseret became Utah, the beehive came to symbolize industry, cooperation, and economic …

Historical Context Of The Doctrine And Covenants And Other Modern Scriptures, Volume 1, Kurt Elieson, J. B. Haws

BYU Studies

Kurt Elieson's Historical Context of the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Scriptures is a nice self-published surprise. Elieson, a Texas attorney, saw a hole in the corpus of Doctrine and Covenants commentaries and study guides, and he aimed to fill it. He has succeeded on several fronts.

...Elieson has woven together in one helpful book an up-to-date and remarkably thorough collection of diary accounts and documentary evidence to give depth and context to the story of the receipt (and, importantly, the early circulation) of Joseph Smith's revelations. Because of that, Elieson's book should earn a place on many desks …

Integrating Byu's Education In Zion Gallery Into Campus Life, Heather M. Seferovich

BYU Studies

After years of preparation, the Education in Zion Gallery at Brigham Young University opened in 2008. The gallery highlights the long tradition of education in the LDS faith, tells of the sacrifices that went into Brigham Young Academy and later Brigham Young University, and inspires students to seek an education of the whole soul—intellectually, spiritually, and physically—through integrating the permanent exhibition into course curricula, hosting programs and activities, developing rotating exhibitions, and forming partnerships with various campus entities.

Late States Of Being, Dixie L. Partridge

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Which Is The Wisest Course?: The Transformation In Mormon Temple Consciousness, 1870–1898, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

From the 1870s to 1890, the first Latter-day Saint temples in Utah were completed and temple work was fully underway, and at the same time the Church was being legally compelled to abandon polygamy. In 1890, Wilford Woodruff faced disenfranchisement of the Church and the loss of the temples. He was prepared to defend polygamy, but upon revelation from God changed his course and issued the manifesto ending plural marriage. Richard E. Bennett argues that a growing temple consciousness among Church leaders was a more significant cause of the manifesto than political ends, including the Saints' desire for statehood. The …

A Tribute To High School English, Dan Belnap

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Self-Interest, Ethical Egoism, And The Restored Gospel, Darin C. Gates

BYU Studies

The gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Latter-day Saint Church may be seen as advocating a legitimate focus on our own interest. Thus some people have argued that the gospel is the same as ethical egoism, which is that people ought to act only in their long-term interest. This article examines the relationship between the gospel and ethical egoism and concludes that they are not equal, for two reasons: the gospel and ethical egoism accept different normative grounds for right actions, and they contain incompatible accounts of motivation. In distinguishing the gospel from ethical egoism, the author concludes …

My Vocation As A Scholar: An Idea Of The University, John R. Rosenberg

BYU Studies

This lecture was given on March 21, 2013, as part of the Brigham Young University Faculty Center's "My Journey as a Scholar of Faith" series. John R. Rosenberg, dean of the College of Humanities at BYU, uses architectural features of the Joseph F. Smith Building (JFSB), home of his college, to illustrate certain aspects of scholarship and faith. The arches surrounding the courtyard represent a beautiful, efficient management of tension and compression and remind us that a university is a collection of individuals, admired at times for their individual graces, but relied upon to sustain a common project. "The glory …

The New Mormon Ecumenicism: Thoughts On Mormonism At The Crossroads Of Philosophy And Theology: Essays In Honor Of David L. Paulsen, Stephen H. Webb

BYU Studies

There is no doubt that a "Mormon Moment" swept through the publishing industry in the wake of Mitt Romney's presidential ambitions. If a lasting and productive time of reflection on Mormonism's relationship to traditional and creedal Christianity comes from this moment, David Paulsen will deserve much of the credit. I have to admit my biases about his writings up front. While working on a book about a heretical option in ancient Christology that I call "heavenly flesh metaphysics," I came across several of his essays defending the notion of a corporeal God. I had been inching my way in that …

Tiki And Temple: The Mormon Mission In New Zealand, 1854–1958, A. Keith Thompson, Marjorie Newton

BYU Studies

Writing Church history is an art form that has developed significantly in the last twenty years. Historical facts recited without reference to the spirit of revelation that guides the work of God in the last days can be spiritually sterile. However, a fearful focus on how certain materials might affect the faith of readers can damage the color and texture of any historiographical account. Often, the personal failings of the players in LDS religious history serve to underscore the Lord's hand in his work--as readers infer that it could not have worked out as it did but for divine influence. …

Pansy's History: The Autobiography Of Margaret E. P. Gordon, 1866–1966, Maggie Gallup Kopp, Claudia L. Bushman

BYU Studies

Margaret Gordon's memoir, composed over several decades, is notable for the author's clear voice and independent spirit, as well as her detailed accounts of frontier life, financial and family hardships, church service, and transcontinental travel. This book will provide new sources of study for historians of frontier life in northern Utah and Alberta and especially of the experience of Mormon women in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bushman has annotated her grandmother's manuscript and provides family correspondence and excerpts from Gordon's diaries to supplement the main narrative, enriching it as a potential source for scholarly inquiry and expanding a …

Mphs Flyer

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

Mphs Program Byu-Hawaii

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.