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A Welcome Introduction, Gregory L. Smith

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Brian C. Hales has established himself as an authority on Latter-day Saint plural marriage. Following his initial award-winning work on “fundamentalist” plural marriage,2 Hales produced an impressive and exhaustive three-volume history of Joseph Smith’s polygamy and its attendant theology.3 (Throughout the review, when referring to this longer work, I will denominate it JSP.)

References

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mythicism And The Making Of Mark, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Carrier’s approach allows him to say that every single thing he finds in the relevant sources is “exactly what we’d expect” if mythicism is true – “as symbolic myth, every oddity is explained, and indeed expected.” This is because “they made this up” is compatible with everything that any text says – especially if one excludes in advance the possibility of using traditional critical methods and criteria for determining that some details may reflect actual historical events.

Rapprochements Between Theology And The Social Sciences: A Round Table Discussion On Women And The Catholic Church, Agnes Brazal, Eleanor Dioniso, Kathleen Nadeau, Emma Porio, Mary Racelis

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This event was convened by Budhi in order to pursue more thoroughly and with greater depth some points of discussion that were raised in the Symposium on the Filipino Family: Catholic and Women’s Perspectives, which was organized by the Department of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), and held on September 13, 2014.

Prior to the round table discussion (RTD), the panelists were given an outline of questions, which were prepared by Dr. Patricia Lambino, Mr. Michael Liberatore, Ms. Rachel Sanchez, members of the Theology Faculty of the Loyola Schools, AdMU, and Dr. Jean Tan, editor of Budhi.

Four of …

A Review Of Critical Buddhism: Engaging With Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Meditation In Buddhism And Hinduism - Classical And Modern Dhyāna And Yoga, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

This course is an academic study of contemplative practices in two major Indian traditions: Buddhism and Hinduism. It focuses on texts dealing with bhavana (literally "cultivation" of the mind or heart), which is generally called "meditation" today. The course also surveys some of the modern developments of these practices inside and outside of India. Classical sources for meditative practices covered in the course include the Upaniṣads and early Buddhist sūtras, texts of the period of classical Yoga, and those of later Indian Tantrism. Using these texts, the course defines major categories of contemplative practices including meditation on syllables/sounds considered sacred …

Buddhism, Uncertainty And Modernity In A Hometown In Heart, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

A Hometown in Heart (Maeumui gohyang, 1949), written by Ham Sedeok (1915-1950) and directed by Yun Yonggyu (b.1913), is said to be the first Korean Buddhist film. It depicts Buddhism in a remote mountain region without even electricity. The main character of the film, an orphaned child monk, must decide what to do with his life. This paper argues that the central aspect of the Buddhism-related symbols represent Korean tradition and that the supporting characters represent socio-political forces in post-liberation Korean society just after liberation, pulling the young generation of Koreans in various directions. In particular, the film centers on …

Altrusim, Fact Or Fiction?: An Exploration Of Altruism And Egoism In The Context Of Religion And Service Learning, Sarah Pawlicki

A with Honors Projects

This research paper questions the existence of true altruism, by discussing social psychological, philosophical, and theological theories regarding altruism and egoism. The author then discusses her findings in the context of two service learning projects which involved volunteering at the Champaign County Humane Society and Salt and Light, A Christian ministry that provides job counseling, computer access, a thrift and food store. She concludes that, rather than questioning the existence of true altruism exists, the focus should be on doing good for others, regardless of motives.

African Americans Speak To Spectacle Lynchings, Mary Beth Mathews

Cultural and Philosophical Inquiry Articles

Donald Mathews’s “The Southern Rite of Human Sacrifice” both describes southern lynching as a lived interpretation of Christianity and claims a role for the religious study of lynching. Relying largely on historiography, Mathews contends that white southerners created this religion and ignored obvious parallels between lynched black men and the death of Jesus on the cross. But missing from this and other interpretations is a key voice: that of contemporary black evangelical pastors.

Monotheism, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

James McGrath's contribution to the forthcoming edition, Vocabulary for the Study of Religion.

Religious Discourse And Interdisciplinarity In Sport Studies, Zachary T. Smith

The Hilltop Review

Religious and theological explorations of leisure have remained few and far between, as religious studies perceive sport and game related studies as trivial, and as leisure theorists find social scientific methods more compelling. And yet, religious traditions and thinkers have been offering accounts and ethics of leisure activities for thousands of years, and anthropological evidence suggests the origination of sport and game play arose in the context of religious cult activity (Huizinga, 1949; Guttmann, 2007). Further, contemporary research has indicated that religion plays an important role in structuring the thought and behavior of religious persons towards their leisure (Waller, 2009) …

John Milton, Joseph Smith, And The Book Of Mormon, Robert A. Rees

BYU Studies

In my Introduction to Mormonism class at Graduate Theological Union in 2013, among other topics we discussed the Book of Mormon and its possible provenances. The assignments for the class included my article “Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the American Renaissance,” in which I compare Joseph Smith with his illustrious contemporaries Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman in terms of their respective literary imagination, talent, authorial maturity, education, cultural milieu, knowledge base, and intellectual sophistication. In that article, I attempted to demonstrate that each of these authors enjoyed a much greater …

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.

Intercultural Hermeneutics: A Word Of Introduction, Lalsangkima Pachuau

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Books Reviews & Books Recieved, Moe Moe Nyunt, Benson Goh, R. David Rightmire, Christoph Raedel, Joel Thomas Chopp, Taylor S. Brown, Isaiah Allen, Timothy J. Christian, Benjamin D. Espinoza, Jonathan E. Beck, Brian Shockey, Andrew D. Kinsey, Moe Moe Nyunt, Taylor Zimmerman

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Gerhard Hasel’S Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues In The Current Debate Revealed In Old Testament Scholarship Of The Last Four Decades, Richard M. Davidson

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

The Meaning And Message Of The Beatitudes In The Sermon On The Mount, Ranko Stefanovic

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

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.

Evolving Faith: Wanderings Of A Mormon Biologist, Steven L. Peck

Maxwell Institute Publications

Believers and scientists have long wrestled over the relationship between science and faith. Steven L. Peck, an acclaimed Latter-day Saint author and scientist, demonstrates in this new book that both science and faith are indispensable tools we can use to navigate God’s strange and beautiful creation. Evolving Faith is a collection of technical, personal, sometimes whimsical essays about Mormon theology, evolution, human consciousness, the environment, sacred spaces, and more.

With the mind of a scientist, the soul of a believer, and the heart of a wanderer, Peck provides welcome companionship for women and men engaged in the unceasing quest for …

Postponing Heaven: The Three Nephites, The Bodhisattva, And The Mahdi, Jad Hatem

Maxwell Institute Publications

Christianity, like other world religions, surprisingly acknowledges the existence of a plurality of human messiahs. In this comparative work, philosopher Jad Hatem examines Mormonism’s Three Nephites, Buddhism’s Bodhisattva, and Islam’s Mahdi—distinctive messianic figures who postpone Heaven, sacrificially prolonging their lives for the benefit of humankind.

Originally published in French, this translation includes two additional papers written by Jad Hatem dealing with aspects of Latter-day Saint belief and a new interview between Hatem and Latter-day Saint philosopher James E. Faulconer.

"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.