Digital Commons Network^™

The Book Of Mormon: A Biography, Paul C. Gutjahr, Tod R. Harris

BYU Studies

There is something of a paradox prevalent in academic religious studies: in order to consider a community and its traditions objectively, one should not be a member of that community; yet the only way to understand fully and appreciate and therefore faithfully report about the community is to be a member. Many times this contradiction leads to the unfortunate situation where "outsiders" do not report their findings objectively or accurately and thus disappoint those hoping for fair and informative treatment, and where the work of members attempting serious scholarly analysis of their own community is viewed with suspicion and distrust …

Shakers, Mormons, And Religious Worlds: Conflicting Visions, Contested Boundaries, Matthew J. Grow, Stephen C. Taysom

BYU Studies

In Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds, Stephen Taysom, an assistant professor of religious studies at Cleveland State University, has written an intriguing and theoretically rich monograph that compares Shaker and Mormon approaches to religious identity formation and boundary maintenance. Although Shakerism dwindled as a religious movement in the twentieth century, Shakers and Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century stood out as examples of successful new movements on the American religious scene. Taysom's comparison of Latter-day Saints and Shakers places him within a select group of scholars, most notably Mario DePillis, Lawrence Foster, and Spencer Fluhman, who have studied Shakers and …

Brigham Young, Pioneer Prophet, John G. Turner, Thomas G. Alexander

BYU Studies

John G. Turner, an assistant professor of religious studies at George Mason University, used a novelist's convention by beginning his scholarly biography of Brigham Young near the end of the story. The opening paragraphs take the reader to St. George in 1877 and the dedication of Utah's first temple with the author summarizing Young's sermon.

From the St. George Temple dedication, the author essays on the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The summary includes Joseph Smith's discovery of the gold plates, their translation, and the controversy generated by his ministry.

I recommend this book for …

The Tree Of Life: From Eden To Eternity, Liza Olsen, John W. Welch, Donald W. Parry

BYU Studies

One of humankind's most sacred and abiding symbols is the tree of life. From earliest recorded religious belief, that singular image encompassed the sense of our humanity, rooted deeply in this earthly life with branches stretching outward, heavenward, in hope of the divine. From the Garden of Eden to Lehi's dream, tree of life imagery is particularly evocative within Mormonism, and many contributors to this book are Latter-day Saints writing from scholarly and religious points of view. The tree likewise takes a central place in the development of various human belief systems. Scholars whose works appear in this collection explore …

No Weapon Shall Prosper: New Light On Sensitive Issues, R. Mark Melville, Robert L. Millet

BYU Studies

No Weapon Shall Prosper is a valuable resource for those who are curious about, or even troubled by, some of the less discussed or more controversial aspects of Mormonism. The Internet has allowed anti-Mormon arguments to gain greater ground, and this book respectfully but unapologetically responds to such arguments. In a concluding chapter at the end of the book, Millet notes that despite all of the evidence--or lack thereof--that might exist for a certain viewpoint, it is ultimately the words of the prophets and apostles, as confirmed to us by the Holy Ghost, that enable us to know spiritual truths.

When Pages Collide: Dissecting The Words Of Mormon, Jack M. Lyon, Kent R. Minson

BYU Studies

Careful readers of the Book of Mormon have probably found verses 12-18 of the Words of Mormon to be a bit of a puzzle. For stylistic and other reasons, they do not really fit with verses 1-11, so commentators have tried to explain their presence as a sort of "bridge" or "transition" that Mormon wrote to connect the record of the small plates with his abridgment from the large plates. This paper proposes a different explanation: Rather than being a bridge into the book of Mosiah, these verses were originally part of the book of Mosiah and should be included …

The Lds Church In Italy: The 1966 Rededication By Elder Ezra Taft Benson, James A. Toronto, Richard N. Holzapfel

BYU Studies

Since the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Italy has attracted the attention of Church leaders as a proselyting field. It is the practice of Church leaders to dedicate a land to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this article briefly describes the 1850 dedication of Italy by Apostle Lorenzo Snow, followed by a report of a second dedication in 1966 by another Apostle, Ezra Taft Benson. Elder Benson, as president of the European Mission, was warmly welcomed in Italy because of his prior work as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, when he …

Textual Similarities In The Words Of Abinadi And Alma's Counsel To Corianton, John Hilton Iii

BYU Studies

John Hilton examines textual similarities between two texts found in the Book of Mormon: the words of Abinadi in Mosiah 12–17 and the words of Alma the Younger in Alma 39–42. Hilton used both human-based and computer-based techniques to search for textual matches.

A History Of Nahom, Warren P. Aston

BYU Studies

Around 700 BC, a wealthy man in southern Arabia donated three limestone altars to a temple dedicated to Ilmaqah, the moon god. Inscribed on each altar was a text identifying him as the grandson of Naw'um of the Nihm tribe. The three altars were unearthed in 1988 by German archaeologists amid the ruins of the Bar'an temple near Marib, in modern Yemen. They provide the earliest known reference to the Nihm, who today, nearly three millennia later, retain the name and are one of Yemen's largest tribes.

A New Pneumatology: Comparing Joseph Smith's Doctrine Of The Spirit With His Contemporaries And The Bible, Lynne H. Wilson

BYU Studies

While Joseph Smith's teachings on the Holy Ghost appear to fall within the mainstream of the enthusiastic outbursts of the Second Great Awakening (circa 1800–1840), a closer look shows that his restored doctrines made an abrupt and radical departure from the pneumatology of his day. Many historians interpret Joseph's claim to revelation as a creative response to the cultural and religious stimulus of the "Burned-over District" in upstate New York. Focused research suggests that Joseph Smith's teachings on the Holy Ghost were not merely a product of his environment or a reaction to his culture. His biblical interpretations of the …

The Spirit And The Intellect: Lessons In Humility, Duane Boyce

BYU Studies

Some individuals have great confidence in their knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual things. Boyce does not share this confidence. "I have come to believe, after many a false start," he admits, "that if I am honest and thorough in my approach to the gospel, and if I am honest and thorough in my approach to intellectual disciplines, there resides in each the imperative for a profound sense of humility. I discover in both of them that what we don't know far outstrips what we do." He then goes on to illustrate the limits of human knowledge by presenting three …

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …

"Myself . . . I Consecrate To The God Of Heaven": Twenty Affidavits Of Consecration In Nauvoo, June–July 1842, Sherilyn Farnes, Mitchell K. Schaefer

BYU Studies

Early in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith taught the Saints that the Lord had revealed a law of consecration, in which members would consecrate all their time, talents, and possessions to the Church and its purposes. It has been commonly believed that the law of consecration was not practiced in Nauvoo, where the Church was headquartered from 1839 to 1846. But the recent discovery of twenty affidavits of consecration, handwritten in the summer of 1842 by Latter-day Saints determined to follow an apostolic invitation to consecrate themselves and property to the Church, …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

John Taylor's June 27, 1854, Account Of The Martyrdom, Lajean P. Carruth, Mark L. Staker

BYU Studies

On June 27, 1854, John Taylor, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave what appears to be his first public address sharing his eyewitness account of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Two scribes, George D. Watt and Thomas Bullock, recorded the meeting. George D. Watt's skill with Pitman shorthand enabled him to work quickly. He recorded these sermons virtually verbatim, only occasionally missing a few words as he strove to keep up with the speakers. Most of what Watt recorded survives in his 1854 papers in a bound notebook. Two-thirds of John Taylor's …

"Thy Mind, O Man, Must Stretch", John W. Welch

BYU Studies

John W. Welch, the recipient of the 2010-2011 Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, gave this speech on May 17, 2011, at Brigham Young University. He spoke about the BYU Mission Statement as a guide for infusing an intellectual life with perspective and purpose: students should learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, learn broadly to be able to communicate, learn deeply in one's chosen field, and serve in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Welch placed emphasis on hard work and keeping an open mind while searching for truth. Mormonism thrives, he said, because it welcomes the …

The King James Bible In America: Pilgrim, Prophet, President, Preacher, John S. Tanner

BYU Studies

John S. Tanner, BYU academic vice president (2004-2011), says the influence the King James Bible on American culture and history is like the air we breathe. This paper, given in 2011 at Oxford University, illustrates this influence by examining the central role the King James Bible played in the lives of a Pilgrim, John Winthrop; a prophet, Joseph Smith; a president, Abraham Lincoln; and a preacher, Martin Luther King Jr. Puritan leader John Winthrop's famous 1630 speech compared the Pilgrims bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony to ancient Israel, as both sought a covenant with God in a promised land. …

"Entered At Stationers' Hall": The British Copyright Registrations For The Book Of Mormon In 1841 And The Doctrine And Covenants In 1845, Edward L. Carter

BYU Studies

On April 16, 1840, eight members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met in Preston, England. One of the topics they discussed was the need to secure copyright protection for the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in England. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recognized the key to gaining copyright protection for Latter-day Saint scriptures in Great Britain would be registration at Stationers' Hall in London in accordance with the requirements of the Statute of Anne, Britain's copyright law since 1710. This article explains the legal process …

The Four Discourses Of Mormonism, Joseph M. Spencer

BYU Studies

Alain Badiou, an important French philosopher, used a theoretical model of discourses to analyze the epistles of Saint Paul. Joseph Spencer applies Badiou's reading of Paul to Mormonism to answer the question, "What does it mean to be Mormon?"

Badiou viewed Greek and Jewish thought as a closed circle—Hellenistic discourse as a totalizing universalism, and Jewish discourse as an exception to Greek universalism based on "the prophetic sign, the miracle, [and] election." Paul's apostolic discourse broke free from this closed circle, for he was concerned with faith, or fidelity, to a particular event, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Spencer identifies …

By What Authority? The Vital Questions Of Religious Authority In Christianity, Alonzo L. Gaskill, Robert L. Millet

BYU Studies

It appears that I have stumbled upon the answer to Juliet's timeless question, "What's in a name?" (Romeo and Juliet, act 2, scene 2). While a rose, by any other name, may have smelled as sweet to Juliet, the name of a book can make a significant difference for a reader.

By What Authority? is a compilation of papers delivered at a 2006 Brigham Young University conference on religious authority. The subtitle of the book (The Vital Questions of Religious Authority in Christianity) and the preface (authored by Robert L. Millet) imply that the text is …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"A Mother There": A Survey Of Historical Teachings About Mother In Heaven, David L. Paulsen, Martin Pulido

BYU Studies

Since the 1840s, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have taught that in addition to a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. This cherished doctrine has been an important, although relatively obscure, part of the Latter-day Saint understanding of the premortal origins and divine nature of humankind. The authors, a professor and a student of philosophy at Brigham Young University, present historical statements by Mormon leaders about Mother in Heaven. Contrary to criticism in some quarters, Church leaders have not relegated this deity to a confined role. Statements from the late 1840s …

Temple Elements In Ancient Religious Communities, Brent J. Schmidt

BYU Studies

The idea of Zion or utopia has fascinated the human race since ancient times. This topic has special meaning to Mormons, since latter-day scripture revealed to Joseph Smith is replete with references to building Zion. What, then, can Latter-day Saints learn from attempts by other groups? One thing we learn, writes Brent Schmidt, is that certain characteristics appeared in some successful ancient communities, characteristics that invoke the temple as known in the Bible and in Latter-day Saint use.

Temple teachings were known and widely dispersed throughout antiquity as a means of forming good communities within religious groups. Indeed, temple themes …

Days Never To Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, Rachel Ozanne, Alexander L. Baugh

BYU Studies

Days Never to Be Forgotten presents the fruits of the 2006 BYU Church History Symposium on the life and work of Oliver Cowdery in honor of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. Eleven scholars of Mormon history contributed essays about various aspects of Cowdery's life and involvement in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ultimately, the contributors have two goals: to honor Cowdery's memory and to inform believers who may not be aware of Cowdery's importance in the founding of the Church.

This book gives a good sense of Cowdery's extensive presence and activities in the earliest …

When The Saints Came Marching In: A History Of The Latter-Day Saints In St. Louis, Thomas L. Farmer, Fred E. Woods, Susan E. Black

BYU Studies

Most of our histories about Mormons in Missouri speak of dramatic events in the 1830s in the western region of the state. Congratulations to Fred Woods and Thomas Farmer for writing a history of the Latter-day Saints in St. Louis. Woods, a professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU, and Farmer, a lifetime St. Louis resident, wrote of the LDS presence in St. Louis beginning with early missionaries in 1831 and ending with the St. Louis Stake jubilee in 2008. This book is essential reading for scholars of Mormonism seeking to understand the experience of the Latter-day Saints in …

The Chicago Experiment: Finding The Voice And Charting The Course Of Religious Education In The Church, Casey P. Griffiths

BYU Studies

In many professions, Latter-day Saints often struggle to find harmony between their religion and their career. This has been especially true in academia, in most of its diverse disciplines. These challenges were particularly fierce when the Church began developing its own corps of professional religious educators to teach and lead in the newly founded seminary and institute programs of the early twentieth century. In the early 1930s, religious educators in the Church developed a close relationship with the School of Divinity at the University of Chicago. Eleven young Latter-day Saint scholars earned advanced degrees at the school at the Church's …

Halldor Laxness And The Latter-Day Saints: The Story Behind The Novel Paradisarheimt, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

On the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Halldor Laxness's Mormon-themed novel Paradisarheimt (Paradise Reclaimed), BYU professor Fred E. Woods tells the story of how the Nobel-prize winning author became interested in the topic of Mormon Icelandic immigration to Utah. Woods shares correspondence between Laxness and Latter-day Saints, thus portraying the friendships that developed as Laxness visited Utah for book research and continued to write to his friends for more information. Woods compares stories of real Icelandic Mormon immigrants with the fictional characters in Laxness's novel. At the time of the book's publication, some Mormon readers felt that …

I Roll The Burthen And Responsibility Of Leading This Church Off From My Shoulders On To Yours: The 1844/1845 Declaration Of The Quorum Of The Twelve Regarding Apostolic Succession, Alexander L. Baugh

BYU Studies

The document presented and discussed in this paper is one of the most important early Latter-day Saint manuscripts associated with both the final months of Joseph Smith's life and the postmartyrdom (or apostolic) interregnum period. Written in late 1844 or early 1845, the document appears to have been drafted for possible use as an official statement by the Twelve concerning Joseph Smith's "last charge" to them, given at a special meeting held in late March 1844, three months before his death. On this occasion, the Prophet conferred upon the Twelve the priesthood keys and authority necessary to lead the Church …

Full Issue, Byu Studies, Richard N. Holzapfel

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Schooled Heart: Moral Formation In American Higher Education, Ronald E. Bartholomew, Michael D. Beaty, Douglas V. Henry

BYU Studies

The Schooled Heart: Moral Formation in American Higher Education is a deeply provocative work. Editors Michael D. Beaty and Douglas V. Henry, both of Baylor University, put forth the objectives of the book in what I found to be an enlightening and engaging introduction. Tracing the history of the institutional position of moral formation once held in higher education, they argue that the traditional emphasis on building morality was displaced primarily by the epistemological shift that occurred during the 1930s. According to their view, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, liberal education at universities embraced revelation from God as …