Digital Commons Network^™

The Journey Of A People: The Era Of Restoration, 1820 To 1844; The Journey Of A People: The Era Of Reorganization, 1844 To 1946, Alonzo L. Gaskill

BYU Studies

Mark A. Scherer. The Journey of a People: The Era of Restoration, 1820 to 1844.

Independence, Mo.: Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2013.

Mark A. Scherer. The Journey of a People: The Era of Reorganization, 1844 to 1946.

Independence, Mo.: Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2013.

Mormon Women In Memoir, Angela Hallstrom, Jacqueline S. Thursby, Rosalyn Collings Eves, Amy A. Easton-Flake, Amy Isaksen Cartwright

BYU Studies

Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy, by Stephanie Nielson (New York: Hyperion, 2012)

My Story, by Elizabeth Smart with Christopher Stewart (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013)

Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor, by Jana Riess (Brewster, Mass: Paraclete Press, 2011)

The Place of Knowing: A Spiritual Autobiography, by Emma Lou Warner Thayne (Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2011)

The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith, by Joanna Brooks (New York: Free Press/Simon and Schuster, 2012)

Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, …

Making The Unfamiliar Familiar: Mormon Studies For Non-Mormon Students, Jill Peterfeso

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

"Taking A Different View Of The Translation": The Illumination Of Alternate Meanings In The Translation Of Bible Passages By Joseph Smith And Meister Eckhart, Tod R. Harris

BYU Studies

The opening act of Goethe’s epochal drama Faust is well known—the eponymous main character laments the effort he has spent seeking to uncover universal truth through science, philosophy, and even occult methods and their apparent failure. Less well known is a follow-up scene where Faust, declaring his “longing for revelation,” turns to another source for the transcendent knowledge he seeks, which, he declares, “nowhere . . . brighter burns than in the New Testament.” He also makes it clear that simply reading the book will not provide him the satisfaction he seeks, but instead he will exercise that most mystical …

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Affinities And Infinities: Joseph Smith And John Milton, Rosalynde Welch

BYU Studies

This article is a lightly revised version of a talk prepared for a 2011 symposium organized in honor of Richard Bushman. Titled “Mormonism in Cultural Context: A Symposium in Honor of Richard Lyman Bushman on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday,” the conference was jointly sponsored by the Church History Department, Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, and the Religious Studies Center. Presenters were invited to examine Joseph Smith and the Restoration in relation to large cultural currents and to significant intellectual movements, with the aim of exploring Mormonism in its most expansive religious context.

The Kirtland Safety Society And The Fraud Of Grandison Newell: A Legal Examination, Jeffrey N. Walker

BYU Studies

The Kirtland Safety Society has long been the source of research and debate within the historical community. Most commentators agree that the Safety Society was an imprudent venture. Some have even argued that its failure marked an almost fatal blow to Joseph Smith’s leadership. Charges of personal gain and illegality are sometimes included in their critique. In addition to the good work done by many scholars, there is more to be said about the legal history of the Kirtland Safety Society. This article seeks to provide a more thorough analysis of the legal establishment of the Society and the challenges …

Diary Of Two Mad Black Mormons: Finding The Lord's Lessons In Everyday Life, Sydney Hughes

BYU Studies

Diary of Two Mad Black Mormons: Finding the Lord’s Lessons in Everyday Life, by Zandra Vranes and Tamu Smith (Salt Lake City: Ensign Peak, 2014).

Conversations With Mormon Historians, Allyson Jones

BYU Studies

Conversations with Mormon Historians, edited by Alexander L. Baugh and Reid L. Neilson (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015).

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Called To Teach: The Legacy Of Karl G. Maeser, Heather M. Seferovich

BYU Studies

Powerful and inspiring teachers can profoundly impact their students, both in this life and in the eternities. Many of us are fortunate to look back fondly on one or two influential teachers who played a critical role in shaping our personalities or careers. Anyone who is a teacher, whether in a formal or informal classroom, or anyone who has had an inspiring teacher will enjoy the educational biography of Karl G. Maeser, written by another teacher, A. LeGrand “Buddy” Richards, a professor of educational leadership in the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University.

Nels Anderson's World War I Diary, Kenneth L. Alford

BYU Studies

With the centennial of World War I beginning in 2014, Nels Anderson’s World War I Diary, edited by Allan Kent Powell, is a timely and engaging firsthand account of America’s involvement in “the war to end all wars.” This account sees the war through the eyes of a Latter-day Saint private fighting with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe.

Plain And Precious Things, Lexi Devenport

BYU Studies

Plain and Precious Things, by D. John Butler (N.p.: D. John Butler, 2012).

Mormon Studies Review Volume 2, Mormon Studies Review

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Joseph B. Keeler, Print Culture, And The Modernization Of Mormonism, 1885-1918, David J. Whittaker

BYU Studies

The years flanking the start of the twentieth century represented a time of transition for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seventy years old in 1900, the Church and the larger Mormon society in which it resided still displayed much of their traditional character. Although some members congregated in urban densities that edged out along the Wasatch Front from Salt Lake City (Utah’s capital and the Church’s headquarters), most still lived in small, relatively self-contained agricultural communities in the Great Basin’s interior. Wherever they lived, however, they expected charismatic leaders to continue organizing the Church, directing devotional life, …

Mormons And Midrash: On The Composition Of Expansive Interpretation In Genesis Rabbah And The Book Of Moses, Avram R. Shannon

BYU Studies

One of the intriguing things about religious texts is how long of a life and how long of an afterlife they have. Once a text becomes a part of a “canon,” once it becomes in a way fixed, it becomes open to further discussion and elaboration. Different groups and religious traditions create different genres of interpretation to work with and understand their scriptures according to the needs of their traditions. One form of interpretation involves reopening the Bible and expanding on the narrative of the already canonized text, such as is found in the rabbinic genre of midrash and in …

Santa Biblia: The Latter-Day Saint Bible In Spanish, Joshua M. Sears

BYU Studies

After the release of the first Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible in 1979 and a new edition of the Triple Combination containing the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price in 1981, Elder Boyd K. Packer declared:

With the passing of years, these scriptures will produce successive generations of faithful Christians who know the Lord Jesus Christ and are disposed to obey His will. . . . The revelations will be opened to them as to no other in the history of the world. . . . They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that …

For Zion: A Mormon Theology Of Hope, Lauren Mccombs

BYU Studies

For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope, by Joseph M. Spencer (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2014)

Nauvoo & Hancock County, Illinois: A Guide To Family History And Historical Sources, Gerrit Van Dyk

BYU Studies

Nauvoo & Hancock County, Illinois: A Guide to Family History and Historical Sources, by Kip Sperry. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, 2014.

Jeremy Grimshaw, Draw A Straight Line And Follow It: The Music And Mysticism Of La Monte Young, Reviewed By Peter Mcmurray

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Sexual Encounters And Manhood Acts: Evangelicals, Latter-Day Saints, And Religious Masculinities, Kelsy Burke, Amy Moff Hudec

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The experiences of men in traditional religions are complex, at times inconsistent, and not necessarily the direct result of religious teachings. This article draws from two qualitative case studies to examine the ways in which evangelical and Latter-Day Saint men understand masculinity and their spiritual beliefs in the context of sexual activity. The authors present two masculine practices—acceptance of sexual rejection and sexual indifference— that allow religious men in this study to simultaneously challenge and uphold the system of hegemonic masculinity that their traditions promote. These findings point to the moments when creative, interpretative work helps religious men to reconcile …

Utah’S Role In Protecting The Mormon Trail During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This chapter (from the 2015 book “Far Away in the West: Reflections on the Mormon Pioneer Trail” published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center) sets the stage for Utah Territory’s role protecting the Mormon Trail during the Civil War by outlining the Utah War (1857-1858). This essay begins by comparing and contracting Washington, DC’s wartime interest in the trail with that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah Territory. The essay then outlines the changing parties who were responsible for the trail between 1861 and 1865 – the U.S. Army (spring-summer 1861), no one …

Mormonism In Europe: A Bibliographic Essay, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

“Mormonism in Europe: A Bibliographic Essay,” surveys studies useful to serious students and researchers interested in Mormonism in Europe. It focuses on scholarly books, articles, theses, and dissertations published prior to 2010 about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Europe. Out of necessity it is selective. Works of a more popular nature are included only when they contain information valuable to researchers not found in other publications. The studies listed herein are generally categorized by region and country and fall in a somewhat chronological order by topic within those geographic regions.

The Living Earth: A Nineteenth-Century Latter-Day Saint Perspective, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

By studying the worldview of Mormons living in the nineteenth century, we can better understand their interpretation of nature and their relationship to it. For Mormons of that era, the earth was alive and deeply affected by the attitudes and actions of the humans living upon it. Nineteenth-century Latter-day Saints spoke frequently of the earth, its nature, and its relationship to humanity. They referred to the earth in anthropomorphic terms. It was a living orb endowed with intelligence and feelings. The earth’s life paralleled that of the humans who lived on it. So entwined were the lives of the earth …

Getting Into The Meat Of The Word Of Wisdom, A. Jane Birch

Faculty Publications

Doctrine & Covenants Section 89 is known as the "health code" for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In verse 13 of this scripture, the Lord states, “it is pleasing unto me that they [flesh of beasts and fowls of the air] should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:13). Judging from the variety of interpretations this single verse has inspired, it would appear to be deeply enigmatic. Interestingly, most interpretations have been put forward with little supporting evidence. This article is the first comprehensive analysis of the …

In Defense Of Methodological Pluralism: Theology, Apologetics, And The Critical Study Of Mormonism, Brian D. Birch

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

The State Of Mormon Folklore Studies, Tom Mould, Eric A. Eliason

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Mormon Studies And Method: The Rigors Of The Academic Study Of Religion And The Maturity Of Mormon Studies, Stephen C. Taysom

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

We'll Find The Place: Situating Mormon Studies, Kristine Haglund

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Mormon Studies Review

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.