Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Faith And Inquiry, Justin F. White

BYU Studies Quarterly

My wife's uncle recently, and somewhat smugly, said something to the effect, "It's too bad you're studying philosophy (or perhaps any subject) at BYU since you only get one perspective." For the most part, I've found this is simply not true. I've found professors and students not nearly as homogeneous as often portrayed. Though I agree with my wife's uncle that we should engage in dialogue with those of differing opinions, since there are, of course, disadvantages when only a single perspective is represented on a topic, I'd like to focus on one potential positive interpretation of the sameness he …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Poetry, The Other, And Byu: Tolerance And Diversity Within Our Campus Community, Natalie Quinn

BYU Studies Quarterly

If there is any homogeneity at BYU, it is a homogeneity that we believe extends well beyond the bounds of the university's campus to include and encompass the whole world. We believe that we are all children of God, that we have the same Heavenly Father and therefore have an obligation to treat one another with love and respect, or with charity, which is the Christian theological version of Levinas' philosophical concept of acknowledging the Other. As we charitably and respectfully acknowledge the Other, we can promote tolerance and diversity without our campus community. I learned as a junior in …

Individual And Institutional Academic Freedom, James D. Gordon Iii

BYU Studies Quarterly

Both individual and institutional academic freedom are essential for colleges and universities. Individual academic freedom involves the freedom of an individual faculty member to teach, to research, and to speak as a citizen. Institutional academic freedom is the freedom of the institution to pursue its mission and to be free from outside control. Both dimensions of academic freedom are important, and both need to be understood and respected.

Questions I Ask Myself, Cecil O. Samuelson

BYU Studies Quarterly

If you will tolerate a few moments of personal privilege as I begin my comments today, I will confess to you that for virtually all of my life I have lived with the notions that faith and learning, questions about life and help from heaven are all part of a consistent whole. My mother and father were people of great faith and religious devotion but were also not afraid to ask or pose questions about almost everything. My mother was an elementary school teacher in her early years and never deserted that role with her five children. My father was …

Acknowledging Differences While Avoiding Contention, Renata T. Forste

BYU Studies Quarterly

At the institutional level, BYU's statement on fostering an enriched environment notes that "it is the University's judgment that providing educational opportunities for a mix of students who share values based on the gospel of Jesus Christ and come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences is an important educational asset to BYU." Diversity is also valued at the college and department level. For example, one of the program objectives for the undergraduate sociology degree is instruction in the "diversity of social life, the origins of inequality, social conflict, and the relations of power in modern society." As sociology faculty, …

Beehive And Portico, John S. Tanner

BYU Studies Quarterly

BYU, alas, did not continue to build in the Neoclassical Revival style. Few now study and teach in the Maeser Building on the far end of campus. But in a deeper sense, we all live in its extended shadow. The tradition of the beehive and portico continues in our practices. This is evident every week in the way the campus transforms classrooms into chapels and back again. This transformation never fails to move me. I recall as a student blessing the sacrament in the same classroom in which I studied geology. There, where I learned about dinosaurs and the age …

The Vision That You Have . . . Augurs Well For The Development Of Still Better Things: The Role Of Accreditation In Securing The Future Of Brigham Young University, 1921–1928, J. Gordon Daines Iii

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 1921, Franklin S. Harris was appointed president of Brigham Young University, During his first visit to campus, Harris articulated his vision for the future of the young institution. He said, "The President of the Church Commission of Education, and all who have anything to do with Church schools are determined to make this 'the great Church University.'" President Harris had a different vision about what it meant to be "the great Church University" than did his predecessors. While they had focused on the importance of teacher education, Harris believed that the institution needed to equip students with the skills …

Covered Wagons And A Child's Eye, Clinton F. Larson

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Robert J. Matthews And The Rlds Church's Inspired Version Of The Bible, Thomas E. Sherry

BYU Studies Quarterly

Matthews' developing reputation as a scholar, along with his persistent interest in and efforts to gain access to the original New Translation manuscripts, occurred during a period in RLDS Church history that included evolving views relative to the publication, assessment, and use of the Inspired Version. Those developments, along with advances in archival preservation of the original manuscripts, resulted in the phone call with RLDS Church Historian Richard Howard, allowing Matthews to study the documents. Ironically, as the RLDS Church's interest in and commitment to Joseph Smith's revelations decreased, they rose to new prominence in the LDS Church.

Legal Insights Into The Organization Of The Church In 1830, David K. Stott

BYU Studies Quarterly

While much has been written about the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in upstate New York, questions remain regarding the events of April 6, 1830. This article examines the organizational events of the Church from a legal perspective. In the nineteenth century, individuals desiring to form a church had two legal alternatives: forming a religious corporation or organizing a religious society. Understanding the requirements of each and considering which legal entity the Church would have preferred provide new insights into the organizational events.

Mere Mormonism, Thomas B. Griffith

BYU Studies Quarterly

Devotees of C. S. Lewis will recognize that I have adapted the title of my remarks from Mere Christianity, his classic exposition of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. An hour lecture is not the forum to attempt for Latter-day Saint Christianity what Lewis achieved for traditional Christianity. In any event, I lack the skill to pull that off. What follows is something much more modest. I will speak from my own observation and try to identify what is at the heart of the Mormon experience in an attempt to provide an introduction to the faith. A disclaimer is …

Christ The Mariner, Clinton F. Larson

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Would That All God's Children Were Poets, Casualene Meyer

BYU Studies Quarterly

BYU Studies poetry editor Causalene Meyer discusses the qualities of high-quality poetry. She tells how poetry is selected for publication in the BYU Studies journal and as winners in the BYU Studies poetry contest. Winning poems are more than just images, advice, stories, or snapshots. Insightful and elegant poems combine a view with a vision; the best poetry serves readers with substance and purity. Meyer includes statements by three poetry judges, Professors Justin Blessinger, Sirje Kiin, and Jack Walters.

A Local Faith, Nathan B. Oman

BYU Studies Quarterly

On October 22, 1844, men and women across America were disappointed when the world did not come to an end. They were the followers of a lay Baptist preacher named William Miller. Beginning in 1833, Miller, a native of New York's Burned-over District, began producing elaborate biblical commentaries indicating that Christ's Second Coming was imminent. Working with these writings, his followers converged on October 22 as the day of the Savior's coming, much to their ultimate disappointment.

Clinton F. Larson: "I Miss His Booming Laugh", Neal E. Lambert

BYU Studies Quarterly

Certainly, the last word regarding Clinton Larson's poetry has not been written. We can be grateful that this collection will make possible a better understanding and a fuller appreciation of what this extraordinary person and pioneer has done. I think it appropriate to conclude with Richard Cracroft's own assessment of his friend. He said to be, as he regretfully handed this assignment off, "I love Clinton. He was a wonderful colleague, good-humored friend, remarkable poet; his contribution to Mormon letters is considerable, influential, and ongoing. I miss his booming laugh." So do we all.

The Temple Of Jerusalem: Past, Present, And Future, John M. Lundquist, Jared W. Ludlow

BYU Studies Quarterly

John M. Lundquist is the Susan and Douglas Dillon Chief Librarian of the Asian and Middle Eastern Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library within the New York Public Library. He has written many books and articles on diverse subjects for both general and Latter-day Saint audiences. The title of this book--The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future--captures well the scope of Lundquist's work. He addresses the role of the Jerusalem temple in ancient Israelite society, its role in the contemporary world, and the prophecies and apocalyptic notions about its future. The book mostly focuses on …

On Zion's Mount: Mormons, Indians, And The American Landscape, Jill T. Rudy, Jared Farmer

BYU Studies Quarterly

On Zion's Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape tells the tale of a beloved mountainous landmark and a disregarded lake. Jared Farmer's penetrating and sweeping gaze invites readers to view connections between land, landscape, and peoples that have remained, like Poe's purloined letter, hidden in plain sight. Farmer's story of "Timp" relates directly to the story of Indians native to the land and Mormon settlers who became "neonatives," in part by creating a significant landmark in Timpanogos and seeing imagined Indians while forgetting and displacing Utah Lake and real Indians. By illuminating these interwoven narratives with interdisciplinary research involving …

Twisted Thoughts And Elastic Molecules: Recent Developments In Neuroplasticity, James T. Summerhays

BYU Studies Quarterly

During the twentieth century, many in the emerging fields of brain science operated under the assumption of absolute biological mate- rialism—the idea that all reality in life can be reduced to our natural, physical dimension. For example, some neuroscientists sought to explain the deep mysteries of human consciousness not as any cosmic intercon- nection of spirit and matter but merely as a series of chemical reactions in the brain. Such assumptions in reductive materialism and pure determin- ism may sometimes be necessary within the realm of controlled scientific inquiry; but when adopted as a way of life, determinism has profound …

Sorting, In Evening Light, Dixie L. Partridge

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

In God's Image And Likeness: Ancient And Modern Perspectives On The Book Of Moses, Michael D. Olsen, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

BYU Studies Quarterly

Author Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, PhD in cognitive science and a senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), has written professionally on various topics in human and machine intelligence, has presented at meetings of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), and has published articles on Mormon themes appearing in 2009 and 2010. The central focus of this book is an exegesis of the "book of Moses, a revelatory expansion of the first chapters of Genesis" and "Joseph Smith's translation of the early narratives of Genesis."

At 1,102 pages, this tome is not for …

The Ezekiel Mural At Dura Europos: A Witness Of Ancient Jewish Mysteries?, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the most stunning archaeological finds of the last century was the accidental discovery in 1920 of the ruins of Dura Europos, "a frontier town of very mixed population and traditions" located on a cliff ninety meters above the Euphrates River in what is now Syria. This Helenistic city had been abandoned following a Sassanian siege in AD 256–57 and was eventually buried by the shifting sands. Among the structures uncovered by excavation was a small Jewish synagogue with elaborately painted walls, preserved only because the building had been filled with earth as a fortification during the siege.

On Music Angels: God Only Knows, David M. Kirkham

BYU Studies Quarterly

The trek from my office at the Air Force Academy history department to the faculty parking lot was long enough--about a ten-minute walk--sufficient time for some substantive thinking. One winter evening in about 1992, as I made the walk, my Comparative Revolutions course weighed on my mind. As I pondered how I might introduce the next day's discussion on causes of revolutions, I climbed into my 1987 red Dodge Colt more out of habit than deliberation. At the turn of the ignition key, the radio's boom broke my reverie and jarred me back to the reality of my immediate surroundings. …

The Frontier Guardian: Exploring The Latter-Day Saint Experience At The Missouri, 1849–1851, Susan E. Black

BYU Studies Quarterly

As the largest Mormon primary source from 1849 to 1851, the Frontier Guardian is crucial to understanding the Latter-day Saint experience at the Missouri River. Until now, historians have extracted only small sections of the paper, such as marriage announcements, obituaries, and advertisements, because of the Guardian's size. Although it is only four volumes, the newspaper contains eighty-one issues, each spanning four pages in length and divided into six columns. This translates into roughly four thousand single-spaced pages on 8.5" x 11" paper. Fortunately, the recent publication The Best of the Frontier Guardian along with its searchable dvd-rom of …

Religion, Politics, And Sugar: The Mormon Church, The Federal Government, And The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1907-1921, Matthew C. Godfrey, Barnard S. Silver

BYU Studies Quarterly

Matthew C. Godfrey. Religion, Politics, and Sugar: The Mormon Church, the Federal Government, and the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1907–1921. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2007.

The Tree House, Philip A. Snyder, Douglas Thayer

BYU Studies Quarterly

Douglas Thayer. The Tree House: A Novel. Provo, Utah: Zarahemla Books, 2009.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Five Books Of Moses: A Translation With Commentary, Roger G. Baker, Robert Alter

BYU Studies Quarterly

There are Bibles aplenty in our world, hundreds if Amazon.com is any guide. In late 2009, Amazon listed over one thousand books on its Bible hit list that have not even been released yet. Over one thousand new books of the roughly 450,000 listed Bible hits portend heavy reading this year for those who try to keep up with things biblical. A beneficial search in this swim through the Amazon of books is for new Bible translations, which now seem plentiful, although there were very few in the years after King James. An almost three-century gap separates the King James …

One Good Man, Christian Vuissa, Director, Christian Vuissa, Jim Dalrymple

BYU Studies Quarterly

I had high hopes but reserved expectations while driving to see Christian Vuissa's latest film One Good Man. Though LDS cinema seems to have cooled and matured somewhat in recent years, it is nonetheless a movement that has generally been hit-and-miss at best. One Good Man comes as a welcome transition to deeper, more complex filmmaking. The film is far from perfect--it includes its fair share of cultural cliches and clunky sentimentality--but it also marks an insightful and timely turn toward a more intimate, nuanced exploration of LDS themes and culture.

One Good Man portrays a few days in …

Proclamation To The People: Nineteenth-Century Mormonism And The Pacific Basin Frontier, Kimberly W. Reid, Reid L. Neilson, Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp

BYU Studies Quarterly

Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp (Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and author of Religion and Society in Frontier California) and Reid L. Neilson (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Brigham Young University and author and editor of several books, including Taking the Gospel to the Japanese) combine their expertise in this latest volume, Proclamation to the People: Nineteenth-Century Mormonism and the Pacific Basin Frontier. The Pacific Basin extends "from the west coast of the United States and South America, across the Pacific Islands from Hawaii to Tahiti, down to New Zealand and …