Digital Commons Network^™

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.

"The Spiritual Concept Of Form And Function As One": Structure, Doctrine, And The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Cheryl B. Preston

BYU Studies

Cheryl B. Preston describes how the structure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints interacts with its theological substance. Likening Church substance and structure to the design theories of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Preston observes that unity is realized when form and function work in harmony. Form does not follow function, but goes hand in hand; thriving in a faith community occurs when the doctrine (function) of the Church is in alliance with the administrative structures (form) of the Church.

By means of this paradigm, Preston approaches various questions arising from an exploration of Church form and function: …

All Ye Need To Know, John D. Lamb

BYU Studies

Chemistry and biochemistry professor John D. Lamb, recipient of the 2013 Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, delivered this forum address on May 20, 2014 at Brigham Young University. Taking his theme from Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Lamb discusses the value of learning and different ways of gaining knowledge. He contrasts opportunities for light and learning with forces that promote evil and ignorance. Quoting Hugh Nibley, Lamb warns against the dangers of "evading the responsibility of directing our minds to the highest possible object. . . . If the mind is denied functioning to capacity, it will …

"If There Be Faults": Reviewing Earl Wunderli's An Imperfect Book, Matthew Roper, Paul Fields, Larry Bassist

BYU Studies

Earl M. Wunderli rejects the Book of Mormon as a literal history of ancient America. He points to what he thinks are mistakes in the text, pointing to so-called anachronistic words such as steel and silk. Matthew Roper and his colleagues convincingly overturn Wunderli's assertions. The description of Laban's sword of "most precious steel" is now considered accurate since the discovery of a meter-long steel sword at the ancient site of Jericho dating to the time of King Josiah. Likewise, silk has recently been found in eastern Turkey dating to 750 BC.

Wunderli also presents textual evidence using statistics …

The Book Of Jonah: Foreshadowings Of Jesus As The Christ, David R. Scott

BYU Studies

The book of Jonah is a remarkable story perhaps best known for the stubbornness of a prophet, the great fish that swallows and then regurgitates Jonah, the conversion of the whole city of Nineveh, and the rapid growth and death of a gourd. But this small book has a much deeper, more powerful message that has been obscured through the ages: that the Messiah would live and die to make salvation available to all humankind.

In images from Jonah's storm-tossed sea experiences to those in his prophetic prayer of affliction while in the Lord's great fish (belly of hell), the …

Sidney Rigdon's Plea To The Saints: Transcription Of Thomas Bullock's Shorthand Notes From The August 8, 1844, Morning Meeting, Robin S. Jensen, Lajean P. Carruth

BYU Studies

At meetings held in Nauvoo, Illinois, on August 8, 1844, Sidney Rigdon and Brigham Young each asserted their claims to succeed Joseph Smith as leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thomas Bullock, the clerk for the Church Historian's Office, recorded notes of the morning meeting, including speeches by Rigdon and Young, in Taylor shorthand. Until recently, Bullock's notes have not been deciphered and transcribed. This article presents the transcription of this source and an introduction to establish the context of the meeting.

Bullock's notes are fragmentary but are the only known source to have been taken …

Izapa Sacred Space: Sculpture Calendar Codes, Allen J. Christenson, V. Garth Norman

BYU Studies

This book is the culmination of fifty years of research by one of the foremost scholars in the field of Pre-Classic Mesoamerican studies, particularly focusing on the important site of Izapa, located on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico near the border of Guatemala. Archaeologist V. Garth Norman began his work at Izapa in 1962 and continued to work at the site for two decades on behalf of the New World Archaeological Foundation, resulting in the publication of his Izapa Sculpture: Album in 1973, Izapa Sculpture: Text in 1976, and Astronomical Orientations of Izapa Sculptures in 1980, a pioneering contribution …

A Study In Seven: Hebrew Numerology In The Book Of Mormon, Corbin Volluz

BYU Studies

The subject of Hebrew numerology in the Book of Mormon has been identified as a promising field of study still open to fruitful exploration. Meaning is found in many ways, and one way is in the symbolism of numbers. Previous studies have discussed significant uses of the numbers ten, twenty-four, and fifty in the Book of Mormon, beginning with explanations of the symbolic importance of such numbers in ancient literatures, and then pointing out similar usages in the Nephite record. This article adds to those discussions by drawing attention to the number seven and things that occur seven times in …

Exploring Mormon Thought: Of God And Gods, James M. Mclauchlan, Blake T. Ostler

BYU Studies

Blake T. Ostler's monumental systematic work, Exploring Mormon Thought, continues to be a major event in the development of Mormon philosophical theology. Over the last fifteen years, work on Mormonism in the general field of religious studies has exploded. There are far too many works to give even a partial list here, but I will highlight a few of the notable authors. Terryl L. Givens publishes thoughtful and nuanced work in such books as When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence in Western Thought; Stephen H. Webb memorably discusses Mormon "materialism" from the perspective of a philosophical theologian outside Mormonism in …

Exploring The First Vision, Alonzo Dodge, James T. Summerhays, Steven C. Harper

BYU Studies

This book sets out to do exactly what the title says it does--explore the First Vision. For most readers, that exploration will take them places they have not yet seen. Writings by many well-known Church scholars are brought together to give a broader and deeper meaning to the genesis event of the Restoration. Contributors include scholars such as Steven C. Harper, John W. Welch, Milton V. Backman Jr., Richard Lloyd Anderson, and Larry C. Porter. Their qualifications, research, and insights are impressive, and they have strived, in an evenhanded and rigorous way, to achieve the "coupling [of] historical study with …

Armenian Apocrypha Relating To Abraham, Michael E. Stone, E. Douglas Clark

BYU Studies

Over a decade ago while attending an annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, I heard Professor Michael Stone mention he was working on a group of medieval Armenian texts containing traditions about the Patriarch Abraham. Having spent considerable time gathering every Abrahamic tradition I could find, I was excited at this news and asked when the work would be published. Professor Stone replied that it would not be soon. Since then, I have eagerly looked forward to this volume.

As one of Stone's many publications on Armenian apocrypha, and a sequel to two of those in particular ( …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Gender Distribution Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Worldwide, Ray M. Merrill, Arielle A. Sloan, J. Grant Merrill

BYU Studies

Analyzing disparities in LDS membership numbers between men and women, especially by age group and geographical location, produces a deeper understanding of Church growth, conversion, and member retention. While more females are on the records of the Church than men, the Church gender ratio is nearly even during the ages 15 to 24. Church records show a greater ratio of males to females in old age than the general world gender ratio. LDS gender ratios also vary widely by UN world region, which shows that cultural factors may impact the segments of the population that are most interested in participating …

The Temple According To 1 Enoch, George W.E. Nickelsburg

BYU Studies

During the Second Temple period (516 BCE to 70 CE), most Jews in Jerusalem worshipped at the Jerusalem temple. But a separate community at Qumran decried the lack of ritual purity in the activity at the Second Temple and saw their community as an ersatz for the temple. Literature at Qumran included 1 Enoch, a collection of five tractates composed in the Aramaic language between the fourth century BCE and the turn of the era and ascribed to the ancient patriarch Enoch, the head of the seventh generation after creation (Gen. 5:18–24). Some of the tractates are concerned about a …

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History, Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, Jeffrey R. Chadwick

BYU Studies

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History is an ambitious treatment by Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, an associate professor of history and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University. The subject is a departure from the focus of his book The Dao of Muhammad: A Cultural History of Muslims in Late China, but the story of the Ten Lost Tribes is intriguing, and the assembled tales of how people throughout the world and throughout history have related to the loss of the Israelite tribes make for a fascinating read. The reader should be aware that The Ten Lost Tribes …

The Lds Story Of Enoch As The Culminating Episode Of A Temple Text, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

BYU Studies

The story of Enoch might be understood as the culminating episode in a temple text cycle woven through the Book of Moses in the LDS Pearl of Great Price. A "temple text" is a sacred text that uses ceremony and commandments to allow a person to stand ritually in the presence of God. The Book of Moses reflects elements of temple architecture, furnishings, and ritual in the story of the Creation and the Fall. Like other scripture-based temple texts, the general structure of the second half of the Book of Moses follows a pattern exemplifying faithfulness and unfaithfulness to a …

Talking With Mormons: An Invitation To Evangelicals, David Dominguez, Richard J. Mouw

BYU Studies

As an Evangelical who has resided in Utah County since 1989 and as a law professor at BYU for the past twenty-four years, I read with great interest Richard J. Mouw's latest book, Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals. I was pleased that the author, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, helped me sort out my thoughts on countless conversations with LDS colleagues, students, and neighbors concerning differences in our religious traditions and, even more importantly, provided a structure for more fruitful dialogue. I encourage anyone who cares about building bridges between and among Evangelicals and Mormons to take time …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Design And Construction Of The Great Tabernacle Arches, Elwin C. Robison, W Randall Dixon

BYU Studies

Brigham Young desired to build a place where thousands of Saints could meet and a speaker could be heard. The Great Tabernacle in Salt Lake City was built using trussed arches. The genesis of this type of construction was the lattice truss, patented in 1820. The design was brought to Utah by Henry Grow. Brigham Young hired Grow to design and build a road bridge made of straight wooden lattice trusses over the Jordan River in 1860. Trusses could also be built as arches, and the Tabernacle was built as a long barrel vault with half-arch ends. This design allowed …

Joseph F. Smith And The Reshaping Of Church Education, Scott C. Esplin

BYU Studies

This article examines the educational background, philosophy, and legacy of Joseph F. Smith and his impact on Church education. It traces the role President Smith played in expanding the Church academies and later facilitating the formation of the current seminary system. It places these changes within the context of the dramatic growth in U.S. public education and the financial challenges faced by the Church and its academies, demonstrating how Smith was shaped by his time and the part he played during a transformative era in Church education.

The Textual Development Of D&C 130:22 And The Embodiment Of The Holy Ghost, Ronald E. Bartholomew

BYU Studies

The unique LDS doctrine of the embodiment of the Holy Ghost has a fascinating history. Ron Bartholomew looks at the text of Doctrine and Covenants 130:

"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us."

The text went through several stages of development before arriving at its current wording and punctuation. This article details, step by step, the various modifications that were made …

The Mormon People: The Making Of An American Faith, Matthew Bowman, Armand L. Mauss

BYU Studies

Matthew Bowman is an up-and-coming young scholar of the generation now rising with the relatively new field of Mormon studies. Having completed his doctorate in American religious history at Georgetown University in 2011, he has nevertheless already been very visible for some time at academic conferences and in periodical literature of both Mormon and American religious histories. He has appeared on various public media sites, electronic and otherwise, as a commentator about Mormons and Mormonism, including discussions of his new book.

This book provides eight solid chapters, a brief introduction, and an even briefer conclusion, followed by four appendices, a …

Latter-Day Saint Missionaries Encounter The London Missionary Society In The South Pacific, 1844–1852, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

In fall 1843, four Latter-day Saints were called as the first missionaries to the South Pacific. One, Knowlton Hanks, died on the voyage. In May 1844, Addison Pratt began proselytizing on the island of Tubuai, 350 miles south of Tahiti. Benjamin Grouard and Noah Rogers went on to Tahiti, but after a few months they were forced to leave by the French colonizers and went to other islands. Rogers returned to the US in 1845, but Pratt and Grouard remained. On these various islands they encountered missionaries of the London Missionary Society, who had already been preaching in the South …

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 …

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 …

Joseph Smith, Jesus, And Satanic Opposition: Atonement, Evil, And The Mormon Vision, Steven L. Olsen, Douglas J. Davies

BYU Studies

Douglas J. Davies is one of the most insightful and prolific scholars of Mormonism working today. He is a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham, UK. Two of his earlier studies--The Mormon Culture of Salvation (2000) and An Introduction to Mormonism (2003)--analyze foundational aspects of Mormonism from an engaging academic synthesis of history, religious studies, cultural studies, literary studies, theology, and philosophy. The breadth and depth of his scholarly background enable him to address new and crucial questions, yielding remarkable insights. For example, The Mormon Culture of Salvation proposes that the plan …

A Firm Foundation: Church Organization And Administration, R. Mark Melville, David J. Whittaker, Arnold K. Garr

BYU Studies

While A Firm Foundation as a whole will appeal mainly to Church scholars and those interested in organizational theory, each of its individual articles offers an important synthesis of information for those who are interested in a particular topic. For example, a musician researching the history of the hymnbook would be interested in Michael Hicks's article "How to Make (and Unmake) a Mormon Hymnbook," and a newly called Young Women president might be intrigued by Janet Peterson's article "Young Women of Zion: An Organizational History." The book is broad enough that there is something of interest for everyone, from a …

A Mormon Approach To Politics, Thomas B. Griffith

BYU Studies

This address was delivered November 13, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at the tenth anniversary of Brigham Young University’s Milton A. Barlow Center. Thomas B. Griffith is a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.