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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Joseph Smith, Gethsemane, And The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ, John Hilton Iii
Joseph Smith, Gethsemane, And The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ, John Hilton Iii
Faculty Publications
The Savior’s Atonement is central to the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”1 On another occasion, he revealed that those inheriting the celestial kingdom are “made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:69).
Joseph Smith's First Vision And A Culture Of Spiritual Manifestations, Trevan Hatch
Joseph Smith's First Vision And A Culture Of Spiritual Manifestations, Trevan Hatch
Faculty Publications
The purpose of this chapter is not to recount and analyze Joseph Smith's First Vision, as others have already attempted that several times. Rather, it is to juxtapose the First Vision with accounts of other visionaries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and to discuss the religious atmosphere in which these visionaries lived.
Joseph Smith And His Apostasy And Restoration Culture, Trevan Hatch
Joseph Smith And His Apostasy And Restoration Culture, Trevan Hatch
Faculty Publications
Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith Jr. in the spring of 1820 that he must not join any church because they were all wrong: "all their creeds are an abomination in my sight .... Their hearts are far from me [and] they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of Godliness but they deny the power thereo£" This commandment prohibiting Joseph from joining a church due to corruption will be discussed at length in this chapter.
Prophets Rendering Christlike Service: Looking To Peter As An Example, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.
Prophets Rendering Christlike Service: Looking To Peter As An Example, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.
Faculty Publications
This chapter (from the 2014 book “An Eye of Faith,” a festschrift for Dr. Richard O. Cowan, published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center) shares examples of prophetic service from Peter the Apostle to each of the prophets of the Restoration—from Joseph Smith, Jr. to Thomas S. Monson. Many of the stories included about modern prophets are not widely known.
Egyptian Papyri And The Book Of Abraham: Some Questions And Answers, Kerry M. Muhlestein
Egyptian Papyri And The Book Of Abraham: Some Questions And Answers, Kerry M. Muhlestein
Faculty Publications
In 1835 Joseph Smith began translating some ancient Egyptian papyri that he had obtained from an exhibitor passing through Kirtland, Ohio. He soon announced, “Much to our joy [we] found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham.” While we do not know how much the Prophet translated, we do know that some of his translation was published in serial form and eventually canonized as the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. For nearly one hundred years, it was thought that all these papyri had eventually made their way to the Wood Museum in Chicago, …
Joseph Smith And The First Principles Of The Gospel, 1820-29, Richard Bennett
Joseph Smith And The First Principles Of The Gospel, 1820-29, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
So much of a biographical nature has been written lately on the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith that one may well wonder if there is anything new or important left to say about him. Dan Vogel and Richard Bushman, in their dramatically counterpoint interpretations of the Prophet--the former contending he was a "pious fraud" and the latter asserting he was a legitimate American prophet--have forced us to reconsider the earlier arguments and interpretations of Donna and Marvin Hill, Fawn Brodie, John Henry Evans, and George Q. Cannon. Yet the contrasting contributions of these latest two scholars, and the fervent, …
One Continuous Flow: Revelations Surrounding The New Translation, Kerry M. Muhlestein
One Continuous Flow: Revelations Surrounding The New Translation, Kerry M. Muhlestein
Faculty Publications
We often underestimate both the complexity and continuity of Joseph Smith's revelatory life. His visions rolled, he said, "like an overflowing surge before [his] mind." Now that they have been compartmentalized into different sections, chapters, and books, we tend to compartmentalize them in our minds. Such a practice, however, limits our ability to see how powerful and continuous this "overflowing surge" really was.
The Case For Sidney Rigdon As Author Of The Lectures On Faith, Noel B. Reynolds
The Case For Sidney Rigdon As Author Of The Lectures On Faith, Noel B. Reynolds
Faculty Publications
Twentieth century attempts to include the "Lectures on Faith" in the writings of Joseph Smith, Jr., provoked this comprehensive survey of historical evidence and carefully designed authorship testing of the text. Every credible approach reaches the same conclusion. Sidney Rigdon wrote the Lectures on Faith, likely without help from Joseph Smith or any others. These Lectures are characterized by both teachings and language that Rigdon may have retained from his recent discipleship with Alexander Campbell. The published Lectures follow both the form and content of lectures given and then published by frontier phenomenon Charles Finney. The decision to insert these …
Prelude To The Pearl: Sweeping Events Leading To The Discovery Of The Joseph Smith Papyri, Kerry M. Muhlestein
Prelude To The Pearl: Sweeping Events Leading To The Discovery Of The Joseph Smith Papyri, Kerry M. Muhlestein
Faculty Publications
In a general presentation, Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that "throughout all the ages of history the hand of God has overruled the actions of mankind, that nothing is done except as the Lord may use it for the accomplishment of his mighty purposes. The things accomplished by humanity become in the end God's accomplishments, as he makes use of them in working out his infinite purposes. Even the great movements of nations and armies often serve to accomplish the workings of the Lord, such as when the empire of Assyria rose to …
Has The Lord Turned Bankrupt? The Attempted Sale Of The Nauvoo Temple, 1846-1850, Richard Bennett
Has The Lord Turned Bankrupt? The Attempted Sale Of The Nauvoo Temple, 1846-1850, Richard Bennett
Faculty Publications
If Joseph Smith had lived we should not have been here at this time. We should have been in some other country. We can't stay in this house but a little while. We have got to build another house. It will be a larger house than this, and a more glorious one. And we shall build a great many houses, we shall come back here and we shall go to Kirtland, and build houses all over the continent of North America. On 4 April 1999 Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, electrified millions …