Reflections On Sin, Sinfulness, And Homecoming On The Day Of The Atonement,
2023
Brigham Young University
Reflections On Sin, Sinfulness, And Homecoming On The Day Of The Atonement, John S. Tanner
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Two years ago I was privileged to spend Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Israel. I flew to Israel via New York seated by an orthodox Jew. He was making an annual pilgrimage to his spiritual home for this most sacred High Holy Day, which began at sundown the day we arrived. I spent the flight and much of the next day thinking about how atonement and homecoming were connected for me, as well as about sin and sinfulness. As a Latter-day Saint, I believe that Christ’s Atonement makes possible our spiritual homecoming by cleansing us from sin through …
How Reconversion Narratives Can Help Us Teach Our Students,
2023
Brigham Young University
How Reconversion Narratives Can Help Us Teach Our Students, Eric D'Evegnée, Sarah D'Evegnée
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
As two English professors, we regard stories as our daily bread. Our love of the complexity of stories and storytellers led us to explore the pattern in the book Faith Is Not Blind[1] and apply it to the everyday lives of people who used it. This pattern of finding “simplicity beyond complexity”[2] takes a metacognitive approach to understanding the development and the nurturing of lifelong faith. In our work at faithisnotblind.org, we’ve interviewed over one hundred people about how their faith has been challenged and how they have responded in ways that preserved their faith. The stories are diverse, thoughtful, …
“How Beautiful Are The Feet” The Use Of Footnotes In General Conference Reports,
2023
Brigham Young University
“How Beautiful Are The Feet” The Use Of Footnotes In General Conference Reports, Scott L. Howell, Jesse Vincent, Lauryn Wilde
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
The usage of footnotes[1] in general conference addresses has surged since 1990, and this trend appears to have started with Elder Russell M. Nelson, then a newly called Apostle. At the time of this writing, he has amassed 1,966 footnotes over ninety-one conference addresses, more than double the footnotes of any other speaker. In recent conferences, all the Apostles (and nearly all other speakers) have used footnotes. We submit that footnotes (particularly the footnotes given by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve) merit increasing attention by religious educators and all who read these reports. Consider an excerpt from …
Commonalities In The Savior's Postmortal Visits To The Spirit World, The Holy Land, And The New World,
2023
Brigham Young University
Commonalities In The Savior's Postmortal Visits To The Spirit World, The Holy Land, And The New World, Garrett Mcguire
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Repetition is a vehicle through which the Holy Ghost can enlighten our minds, influence our hearts, and enlarge our understanding." - Elder David A. Bednar. Christ in the Land Bountiful, Simon Dewey. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.“Repetition is a vehicle through which the Holy Ghost can enlighten our minds, influence our hearts, and enlarge our understanding,” explained Elder David A. Bednar.[1] Jesus Christ demonstrated significant repetitions in his teaching and other actions throughout his ministry in the Holy Land. Consider the repetitious themes in his parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son (Luke 15); the similar actions …
Review: Virginia Kerns. Sally In Three Worlds: An Indian Captive In The House Of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City: University Of Utah Press, 2021.,
2023
Brigham Young University
Review: Virginia Kerns. Sally In Three Worlds: An Indian Captive In The House Of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City: University Of Utah Press, 2021., Erika M. Bsumek
Mormon Studies Review
In Sally in Three Worlds, anthropologist Virginia Kerns has written a detailed and engaging account of the life of a young Pahvant Ute woman who was kidnapped by Indigenous captors (possibly the Ute leader Wakara and his brother) and sold to Latter-day Saint settlers when she was in her late teens. Sally, as the Latter-day Saint community came to call the captive, then lived most of her life as a domestic laborer, working for members of Brigham Young’s extended family. She eventually became the cook at the Lion House for Young and his large plural family. In total, she …
End Matter,
2023
Brigham Young University
No Poor Among Them: Poverty And Mormonism’S Trek Toward Secularism,
2023
Brigham Young University
No Poor Among Them: Poverty And Mormonism’S Trek Toward Secularism, Cristina Rosetti
Mormon Studies Review
Shortly after Warren Jeffs’s arrest and subsequent prosecution, American media bombarded audiences with countless stories of Fundamentalist crime. Screens and papers carried stories about trafficking, violence, and, of course, polygamy. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) became a spectacle of impropriety and abuse. As this happened, people became familiar with accounts of nonviolent crime within the community. Food stamp fraud emerged as a concerning offense associated with the religion, and the mugshot of Lyle Jeffs, brother to prophet Warren, appeared alongside headlines that carefully outlined his involvement in criminal deception. Of the fraud and subsequent arrest, …
After Anger,
2023
Brigham Young University
After Anger, Daniel Teichert
BYU Studies
Where are the angels? In the kitchen’s brittle light hard words are fallen and the angels have retreated, but not far.
The Dance,
2023
Brigham Young University
The Dance, Michelle Forstrom
BYU Studies
Growing up, I was the singer and my sister was the dancer. I would practice my art songs, arias, and Broadway ballads, and Danielle would drill away at her ballroom dance routines with her partner. While I would memorize lyrics, get into character, and be cast in local musicals, Danielle would compete in Dancesport at the Brigham Young University Marriott Center. She would cheer me on at my plays, and I would be at all her dance competitions with water bottles and a towel. I would spray on her tans, sew on her rhinestones, and glue on her fake eyelashes. …
Let’S Talk About Series,
2023
Brigham Young University
Let’S Talk About Series, Matthew B. Christensen
BYU Studies
A couple of years ago, Deseret Book began publishing the Let’s Talk About series, books designed to help readers learn about interesting—and potentially difficult—topics. The books are relatively short, ranging from 130 to 168 pages. Each book measures 4¼ × 7 inches, making them the perfect size to fit into a pocket or purse. The tone of each book is conversational and engaging. The authors are as varied as the subjects, recognized authorities in their respective fields and believing Latter-day Saints. The series began in 2021, and nine volumes have been published as of summer 2023.
Recorded In Heaven,
2023
Brigham Young University
Recorded In Heaven, Scott Hales
BYU Studies
Len and Mary Hope were African American Latter-day Saints who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alabama (Len in 1919, Mary in 1925) and later raised their children in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Hopes’ story was recently featured in Saints, Volume 3: Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, introducing the couple’s experiences as Black Latter-day Saints in the early twentieth century to Church members around the world.
Salad Days,
2023
Brigham Young University
Salad Days, Alixa Brobbey
BYU Studies
There used to be smoke standing on every corner and hovering just behind each shoulder, sitting politely at round tables ordering food from teenaged waiters.
Joseph Smtih And The Mormons By Noah Van Sciver,
2023
Brigham Young University
Joseph Smtih And The Mormons By Noah Van Sciver, Scott Hales
BYU Studies
Readers have been anticipating Noah Van Sciver’s graphic novel Joseph Smith and the Mormons since 2011, when the cartoonist first published a story about Joseph Smith and Latter-day Saint origins in his indie comics anthology Blammo. In the story, Van Sciver offset a rather straightforward account of the First Vision and translation of the Book of Mormon with his signature visual style, an arresting combination of the primitive and the grotesque. The result was an artistically intriguing retelling of early Church history, and readers wanted more. When Van Sciver subsequently published graphic novels about Abraham Lincoln (The Hypo: …
Every Needful Thing: Essays On The Life Of The Mind And The Heart, Edited By Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye And Kate Holbrook,
2023
Brigham Young University
Every Needful Thing: Essays On The Life Of The Mind And The Heart, Edited By Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye And Kate Holbrook, Susan Elizabeth Howe
BYU Studies
This important collection of essays is the result of the inspiration and insight of two generous and faithful scholars, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye and Kate Holbrook. Melissa has an appointment as a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and is a historian for the Church History Department. Kate, who passed away in 2022, was also a historian, who worked on such important books as The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History and At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women. Together, Melissa and Kate have sought out essays “on …
Front Matter,
2023
Brigham Young University
A Prophet’S Journey: The Journals Of Spencer W. Kimball,
2023
Brigham Young University
A Prophet’S Journey: The Journals Of Spencer W. Kimball, Jeffery L. Anderson, Brandon J. Metcalf
BYU Studies
The Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released the journals of President Spencer W. Kimball online. President Kimball is well known for his advocacy of keeping personal journals and histories. He passionately preached about their worth and importance. “We renew our appeal for the keeping of individual histories and accounts of sacred experiences in our lives—answered prayers, inspiration from the Lord, administrations in our behalf, a record of the special times and events of our lives,” he taught. “Stories of inspiration from our own lives . . . are powerful teaching tools. I …
The Place—Or The Tribe—Called Nahom? Nhm As Both A Tribal And Geographic Name In Modern And Ancient Yemen,
2023
Brigham Young University
The Place—Or The Tribe—Called Nahom? Nhm As Both A Tribal And Geographic Name In Modern And Ancient Yemen, Neal Rappleye
BYU Studies
For decades, Latter-day Saint scholars have argued that “the place . . . called Nahom” in the Book of Mormon (1 Ne. 16:34) is the Nihm region in Yemen, located northeast of Sanaʿa, west of Maʾrib, and south of the Wadi Jawf. The location fits well both with the directions provided for getting to and from Nahom in the Book of Mormon (1 Ne. 16:13–14, 33; 17:1) and with inscriptions dated to Lehi’s time referring to a person called a nhmyn, translated as “Nihmite,” confirming that the name goes back to the right time period. Publications by Princeton, Oxford, …
“Show Them Unto No Man”: Part 2. The Book Of Moses And The Early Jewish Christian Esoteric Tradition,
2023
Brigham Young University
“Show Them Unto No Man”: Part 2. The Book Of Moses And The Early Jewish Christian Esoteric Tradition, Barry R. Bickmore
BYU Studies
There can be no question but that the Restoration was in many ways strange for its time and place, and this can make life difficult for anyone attempting to track the history of Latter-day Saint religious beliefs. Its very strangeness makes it difficult for historians who do not believe Joseph Smith’s teachings were divinely inspired to pinpoint plausible, mundane sources of inspiration.
A Register Analysis Of Public Prayers,
2023
Brigham Young University
A Register Analysis Of Public Prayers, Lindsey Newton, Brett Hashimoto
BYU Studies
Prayer, as defined by scholars Corwin and Brown, is “a form of ritual language . . . [that] affords humans the possibility to communicate with non-human others.” As a linguistic register (that is, a variety of language defined by an area of use, such as academic research articles, text messages, sermons, or blog posts), it denotes communication with an unseen being, primarily in a religious context. However, “despite the importance of religion and ritual in anthropology, prayer, a key component of religious practices and institutions, has received very little empirical attention.” This is partially because the complexity of religion as …
“The Gospel Of Intelligence And Culture”: Literature And Literary Instruction In The Twentieth-Century Mia Curriculum,
2023
Brigham Young University
“The Gospel Of Intelligence And Culture”: Literature And Literary Instruction In The Twentieth-Century Mia Curriculum, Michael Austin, Rachel Meibos Helps
BYU Studies
In his journal for April 29, 1888, Bishop Orson F. Whitney recorded a curious meeting that he had with an Apostle. “Had a long conversation in the morning with Apostle Moses Thatcher,” wrote Whitney. “He gave me a blessing and set me apart to deliver a lecture on Sunday, June 3rd next, at the Mutual Improvement Conference in the Tabernacle. My subject is Home Literature. I consented to deliver it, though very busy and overworked, at the request of the Authorities.” This remarkable assignment— he was called and set apart to give a speech in the way men at the …
