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Journal Of Mormon History Vol. 33, No. 3, 2007

Journal of Mormon History

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• --The Mormon Hierarchy and the MX Jacob W. Olmstead, 1

• --What E‘er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part: John Allan’s Albany Crescent Stone Matthew O. Richardson, 31

• --A Mormon Bigfoot: David Patten’s Cain and the Concept of Evil in LDS Folklore Matthew Bowman, 62

• --Howard and Martha Coray: Chroniclers of the Words and Life of the Prophet Joseph Smith Elizabeth Ann Anderson, 83

• --In Harmony? Perceptions of Mormonism in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania Stanley James Thayne, 114

• --“The Spirit of the Place”: The Clifford Family and the Joseph Smith Memorial Farm Susan L. Fales, 152

REVIEWS

--Todd M. Kerstetter. God’s …

"I Long To Breathe The Mountain Air Of Zion's Peaceful Home": Agnes O'Neal's Letter To Brigham Young From War-Torn Virginia, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

As the Civil War raged in America, thousands of Latter-day Saints hazarded the trip west through this war-torn land. For a variety of reasons, however, some Saints did not reach their desired haven in the Salt Lake Valley, which lay safely within the borders of Utah Territory. One was a Scottish sister named Agnes, who, at age thirty, embarked from her native town of Paisley. Accompanied by her husband, Hugh Campbell, and their three sons, Agnes crossed the Atlantic in the fall of 1845, bound for Zion.

The Torah As The Rhetoric Of Priesthood, James W. Watts

Religion - All Scholarship

In the Second Temple period, the Torah gained scriptural authority through its association with the priesthoods of the Jerusalem and Samaritan temples. The Torah, in tum, legitimized these priests' control over both the temples and, for much of the period, over the territory of Judah as well. An original function of the Pentateuch then was to legitimize the religious and, by extension, the political claims of priestly dynasties. This point has rarely been discussed and never been emphasized by biblical scholars, however, which makes the subject of the Torah's relationship to the Second Temple Aaronide priesthood as much about the …

Means Of Evangelistic Growth: The First 300 Years, J. D. Payne

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

The purpose of this study is to examine the various means, by which the gospel spread across the word throughout the first three hundred years of the Church’s existence. Though some biblical texts will be referenced, the primary focus of this study is upon the post-Apostolic, pre-Constantinian years. This study is descriptive in nature. Though contemporary secondary source literature will be consulted, I will draw predominantly from the historical documents written circa A.D. 100-300 and Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.

Korean Christian Understanding Of Bok And Spiritual Maturity From Missiological Perspective, Sung Il Lee

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Work As Sacrament: The Quaker Bridge From Sunday To Monday, Kent Walkemeyer

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Models Of Religious Authority, Darius Jankiewicz

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Charting The Future Of Brigham Young University: Franklin S. Harris And The Changing Landscape Of The Church's Educational Network, 1921-1926, J. Gordon Daines Iii

BYU Studies

Education is deeply embedded in the theology and religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Formal educational systems began to develop soon after the establishment of the Church in 1830. The first of these formal systems was the School of the Prophets, established in Kirtland, Ohio, in December 1832 to prepare selected members for missionary work. Nearly a decade later an attempt was made to establish a university in Nauvoo, Illinois. After the move to Utah, the Church continued its involvement in formal education with the establishment of “common schools, stake academies, and colleges and universities.” The …

Not For Tourists: Richard Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, David J. Whittaker

BYU Studies

Richard Bushman’s Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

The Rapture Of The Church: A Doctrine Of The Early Church Or A Recent Development Of The Dispensational Movement?, David K. Hebert

College of Theology and Ministry Faculty Research and Scholarship

This thesis investigated whether the doctrine of the premillennial, pretribulation Rapture of the Church, as a separate event from Jesus’ second coming, originated in the early Church or with the Dispensational Movement around 1830. Although the term “rapture” does not itself appear in Scripture, it comes from the Latin words, rapere and rapiemur and from the Greek word harpazo (which does appear in the New Testament). The New Testament text supports the concept of a Rapture of the Church, as well as being confirmed by the raptures of Enoch, Elijah and Jesus. There are related terms in the New Testament …

The Gospel Of Thomas And The Historical Jesus, Jennifer Labrenz '06

Honors Projects

The New Testament Gospels offer two different pictures of Jesus: there is Jesus of Nazareth, and then there is Jesus Christ. The distinction between these two figures is most clear in terms of time period, either before or after Easter. Most people, particularly members of the Christian tradition, are more familiar with the post-Easter Jesus Christ, the divine savior who was crucified and resurrected. But pre-Easter, Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure, a first-century Palestinian Jew. Christ is not Jesus' surname; it is a title given to him by those who believed him to be the christos, or Messiah.

Iowa City Bound: Mormon Migration By Sail And Rail, 1856-1857, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

In the spring of 1855, an article in the Mormons' British periodical, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, instructed church members to leave "Babylon" just as ancient Israel had left Egypt under Moses' leadership. For European converts, the Atlantic was their Red Sea and Brigham Young their American Moses. During his nearly 30 years (1847-1877) as president and prophet of the Latter-day Saints (LDS), Young directed the organized migration of more than 70,000 people to Utah, most of them from Europe. He approved yearly migration plans, appointed officers to manage the various companies, and arranged for church agents to assist at …

The Modal Gap: The Objective Problem Of Lessing's Ditch(Es) And Kierkegaard's Subjective Reply, Matthew A. Benton

SPU Works

This essay expands upon the suggestion that Lessing's infamous ‘ditch’ is actually three ditches: temporal, metaphysical, and existential gaps. It examines the complex problems these ditches raise, and then proposes that Kierkegaard's Fragments and Postscript exhibit a similar triadic organizational structure, which may signal a deliberate attempt to engage and respond to Lessing's three gaps. Viewing the Climacean project in this way offers an enhanced understanding of the intricacies of Lessing's rationalist approach to both religion and historical truth, and illuminates Climacus's subjective response to Lessing.

Review Of Asian And Pentecostal: The Charismatic Face Of Christianity By Allan Anderson And Edmond Tang, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

Journey Of Faith: From Jerusalem To The Promised Land, S. Kent Brown, Peter Johnson

Maxwell Institute Publications

The DVD documentary Journey of Faith (Maxwell Institute, 2006) continues in expanded form in this book, Journey of Faith: From Jerusalem to the Promised Land. The documentary was filmed in the Middle East at locations that scholars believe mark or approximate the route that took Lehi’s party across Arabia to reach the seaside location where they eventually embarked by ship to the New World. Like the DVD, the book will enrich one’s study of the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon.

Smart Mobs, Bad Crowds, Godly People And Dead Priests: Crowd Symbols In The Josianic Narrative And Some Mesopotamian Parallels, Steven W. Holloway

Libraries

No abstract provided.

Baptismal Practice And Trinitarian Belief In Joseph Bingham's Origines Ecclesiasticae: A Study In The Historical And Theological Contexts Of Patristic Scholarship At The Close Of The Era Of Orthodoxy, Yudha Thianto

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

Joseph Bingham belonged to a group of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Anglican scholar-clergymen that endeavored to provide their contemporaries with a comprehensive picture of the practice and worship of the early church. Bingham's historical study is unique, since he presents the ancient church in a non-chronological method, but through a systematic and thematic investigation of the rites and ceremonies, together with other dynamic aspects of Christian antiquity. This dissertation proposes to situate Bingham in the context of the late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century English church, its scholarship, and its theological controversies. This understanding of Bingham will, in turn, reveal …

Are Christians Mormon?: Reassessing Joseph Smith's Theology In His Bicentennial, David L. Paulsen

BYU Studies

Harold Bloom, the self-proclaimed “unbelieving Jew” and distinguished scholar, recently characterized Joseph Smith as “a religious genius,” stating that the religion Smith founded “is truly a biblical religion.” More recently, Carl Mosser has written concerning the doctrine of that religion: “Mormonism’s heresies are legion; they are also very interesting and often unique in the history of heresy.” Biblical or heretical? Of these two reactions, the charge of heresy has been far more common, especially among conservative Christian critics, who consistently draw a circle that leaves Joseph’s Mormonism out.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

A Christian Response To Islam: Is Islam A Peaceful Religion?, Steven E. Tsoukalas

The Asbury Journal

The following is a lecture delivered on 6 October 2005 as part of the Theta Phi Lecture Series at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky As a Christian response to Islam, it covers several topics in relatively brief fashion. In the evangelistic encounter, the goal of which is a holistic encounter, the Christian must keep in mind the social-religious dynamics ofMuslims and incorporate this knowledge into a missiologically healthy approach that is built on a sound epistemological foundation. In short, for both a Christian response to Islam and evangelism of Muslims, Christians must possess a solid epistemology as foundational to "a …

An Islander's View Of A Desert Kingdom: Jonathan Napela Recounts His 1869 Visit To Salt Lake City, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

Jonathan (Ionatana) Hawaii Napela (fig. 1) bridged cultures. As one of the first Hawaiian converts to Mormonism, he helped George Q. Cannon translate the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language in 1852–53, he instigated the first language training center for foreign missionaries in 1853, and he helped establish the first gathering place for the Hawaiian Saints in 1854. In 1869 Napela visited Salt Lake City. In an April 11, 1871, letter to Brigham Young, Napela recounted his visit as he reported it to the Hawaiian king, Kamehameha V. Written in Hawaiian, the letter is evidence of Napela’s ability to …

A Prologue To Genesis: Moses 1 In Light Of Jewish Traditions, E. Douglas Clark

BYU Studies

Referring to ancient and long-lost scripture that Joseph Smith restored, Wilford Woodruff declared it to be part of “the rich treasures that are revealed unto us in the last days.” One such treasure is Moses chapter 1, a scriptural jewel we have hardly begun to appreciate but whose luster has become more apparent in light of various ancient texts and traditions that have emerged since Joseph Smith’s day. So striking are the parallels as to recall Joseph’s own prophecy that “the world will prove Joseph Smith a true prophet by circumstantial evidence.”

The Prayer-Driven Church Plant, David A. Slagle

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Mormon And Still A Jew: The Life Of Alexander Neibaur, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

Alexander Neibaur was a man of many talents. An educated man and gifted poet, he was fluent in seven languages. One account describes Neibaur as "a small, thin man, with a round ruddy face, with sharp eyes." He was also unusual inasmuch as he was Utah's first dentist and matchmaker, and the first known male Jewish convert to Mormonism; and he left the only known contemporary diary account of Joseph Smith's first vision experience. Neibaur was also a good family man, honest and loyal, and a kind friend and trusted neighbor, not only to fellow Church members but also to …

A Biblical And Theological Analysis Of Tithing: Toward A Theology Of Giving In The New Covenant Era, David A. Croteau

Faculty Dissertations

Chapter 1 summarized some of the methodological and hermeneutical issues and discussed the problem and history of tithing in Christianity. Various arguments through the centuries have been proposed that provided reasons for the abrogation and the continuation of tithing. The "Christian view" on this issue has not been monolithic. Chapter 2 discussed tithing in the Old Testament and concluded that (1) the pre-Mosaic period contained no tithing system and no command to tithe, (2) in the Mosaic law the Israelites gave well-beyond ten percent and only products connected to the land were liable to tithing, and (3) the Historical and …

Joseph Smith And The Past, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

My thoughts on Joseph Smith’s interest in past worlds cluster into three sections. The first deals with the challenge of evaluating and assessing Joseph Smith’s recoveries of texts or views from past worlds or civilizations. The second develops a list of ways in which the past functioned in Joseph Smith’s process of continuing revelation. The third focuses on the dynamic link between the past and the present in Joseph Smith’s concept of priesthood authority and its restoration.

The Marian Library Newsletter: Issue No. 51, University Of Dayton. Marian Library

Marian Library Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Believing Scholars: Ten Catholic Intellectuals, James L. Heft S.M.

Religion

How do Catholic intellectuals draw on faith in their work? And how does their work as scholars influence their lives as people of faith?

For more than a generation, the University of Dayton has invited a prominent Catholic intellectual to present the annual Marianist Award Lecture on the general theme of the encounter of faith and profession. Over the years, the lectures have become central to the Catholic conversation about church, culture, and society.

In this book, ten leading figures explore the connections in their own lives between the private realms of faith and their public calling as teachers, scholars, …

The Dedication Of The Oliver Cowdery Monument In Richmond, Missouri, 1911, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies

As one of three witnesses, Oliver Cowdery testified that “an angel of God came down from heaven” to display an ancient record—a record known then and now as the Book of Mormon. Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer affirmed in written testimony that they saw “the engravings thereon,” and more surprisingly that the voice of God declared Joseph Smith’s translation of the record to be true. Even though all three men eventually disassociated themselves from Joseph Smith, later members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints felt to commemorate Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris for their role in the …

Historical Studies And Creational Development: Constructing A History Program In Light Of A Reformed Perspective, Paul Otto

Pro Rege

Dr. Otto presented this paper at Covenant College in the spring of 2002.