Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Almost Christian: What The Faith Of Our Teenagers Is Telling The American Church, Cardell K. Jacobson, Linda C. Dean

BYU Studies

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were pleased about the results of a landmark study of the religiosity of the nation's youth, called the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Conducted from 2003 to 2005 by Christian Smith and others, the study was first reported in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, published by Oxford University Press in 2005. (To read the book review of Soul Searching, see BYU Studies 45, no. 2 [2006]: 167-172.)

The current book, Almost Christian, by Linda Creasy Dean, is a follow-up from the same study. …

Mormons As Citizens Of A Communist State: A Documentary History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In East Germany, 1945–1990, Raymond Kuehne, Norma S. Davis

BYU Studies

From 2002 to 2004, Kuehne served a second mission with his wife in the Freiberg Germany Temple. There he met Henry Burkhardt, who had served as a counselor in the North German Mission presidency for some thirty-eight years and was the first president of the Freiberg Temple. When Kuehne heard Burkhardt speak to the temple workers concerning the history behind the building of the temple, he wanted to read more on the subject. He was told that, although this temple was the only one built in a Communist country, very little had been published on the subject. Burkhardt gave Kuehne …

"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 …

"With God's Assistance I Will Someday Be An Artist": John B. Fairbanks's Account Of The Paris Art Mission, Rachel Cope

BYU Studies

In 1890, John B. Fairbanks and other Utah artists were sent as Latter-day Saint missionaries to study art in Paris. Their goal, which they fulfilled, was to improve their artistic skill in order to return and paint beautiful murals in the Salt Lake Temple. Fairbanks wrote weekly to his family during his two-year stint in Paris, providing a record of the experience. Six letters are included in this article. They tell of his reaction to news of President Wilford Woodruff's Manifesto ending polygamy, describe the program of study at the Academie Julian, and express hope for his own progress in …

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. …

Nauvoo Polygamy: " . . But We Called It Celestial Marriage", Thomas G. Alexander

BYU Studies

Although focusing on the introduction of plural marriage by Joseph Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy is also an analysis of the background of pre-Mormon polygamy, a consideration of the expansion of the institution, and the testimony of those who entered it. Significantly, it is the first attempt since Todd Compton's In Sacred Loneliness to provide a critical list and analysis of the women whom Joseph married. It is not, however, an attempt to provide a statistical analysis of plural marriage, and its consideration of the operation of plural family life is much shorter than we find in the works of Kathryn Daynes …

American Grace: How Religion Divides And Unites Us, James W. Phillips, Robert D. Putnam, David E. Campbell, Shaylyn R. Garrett

BYU Studies

American Grace is the next pivotal work within the social scientific study of religion that LDS readers should find interesting on many levels, including the extensive attention it gives to Mormonism. In this work, Robert Putnam (author of the national bestseller Bowling Alone) teams up with David Campbell (editor of A Matter of Faith: Religion in the 2004 Presidential Election) and field researcher Shayln Romney Garrett to examine the many facets of contemporary American religious pluralism. The authors use data from the nationally representative 2006 and 2007 waves of the Faith Matters survey, in addition to other surveys, …

Think Independently: How To Think In This World But Not Think With It, James T. Summerhays, Chauncey C. Riddle

BYU Studies

Chauncey C. Riddle, emeritus professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University, has placed an attractive capstone on his professional life with a slim and readable volume that will be of great interest to any Latter-day Saint with a strong philosophical bent. Even those without such a bent will find the book understandable and thought-provoking.

Riddle received his MA and PhD from Columbia University, and adds to his education four decades of experience as a philosophy professor. Each thought in Think Independently is carefully crafted; readers will likely have the sense that behind every sentence is a lifetime of examining, weighing, …

The Educational Philosophy Of Eliza R. Snow, Jolene Merica

BYU Studies

Although in her early life Eliza R. Snow (1804-1887) was a school teacher, she gained prominence in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not as a teacher but as a poet and as general president of the women's organization, the Relief Society. Consequently, her educational thinking and practice remain largely unexplored facets of her contributions to her nineteenth-century Mormon community. But Snow's ideas on education appear repeatedly in her poetry and in her speeches and other writings. The author explores Snow's educational ideas as they appear in four of her poems. "Genius Emancipated" portrays the fruitful effects of …

The Book Of Mormon: The Earliest Text, Robert L. Maxwell, Royal Skousen

BYU Studies

The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text begins with a twenty-two-page introduction by Grant Hardy about the nature and coming forth of the Book of Mormon, together with an inviting call for the further study of that book within LDS, American, and world contexts; and also with a seventeen-page editor's preface by Skousen, describing the nature of the Book of Mormon text and the goals and typographical conventions of this "Yale Edition." The bulk of the book (1-738) consists of a presentation of the complete text of the Book of Mormon itself, a stemma showing the genealogy of the various …

Last Rites And The Dynamics Of Mormon Liturgy, Jonathan A. Stapley

BYU Studies

Jonathan Stapley tells the history of changes in death and burial practices by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a significant departure from Protestant American culture, early Mormons could administer deathbed rituals of placing their hands on the dying, anointing them with oil, and dedicating them to God. In 1922, Church leaders instructed against that practice, but it continues as a folk tradition. Early Mormons washed a deceased family member's body and clothed it and wrapped it in a white shroud; later, bodies were dressed either in good clothing or temple ceremonial clothing by Relief …

"Securing" The Prophet's Copyright In The Book Of Mormon: Historical And Legal Context For The So-Called Canadian Copyright Revelation, Stephen K. Ehat

BYU Studies

The 2009 publication of the Manuscript Revelation Books as part of the Joseph Smith Papers makes available, for the first time, the text of a revelation received in 1829 or 1830 by the Prophet Joseph Smith on securing the copyright of the Book of Mormon in all the world and selling a copyright for its publication in the four then-existing provinces of Canada. This revelation, commonly referred to as the Canadian copyright revelation, designated four of Joseph's associates to travel to Kingston, Upper Canada, to sell a copyright of the Book of Mormon. A group did travel to Kingston, but …

"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 …

Biography, Lon R. Young

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"That They May Secure It And Hold It Forever": Bluff's Revival, 1885–1886, David S. Carpenter

BYU Studies

This article is an extract of David S. Carpenter's Jens Nielson: Bishop of Bluff (BYU Studies, 2011). Home to only a couple of hundred people in 2011, Bluff is located in southeast Utah. The experiences of the hardy pioneers in this hostile and forbidding region have become legendary among Latter-day Saints. This extract tells the story of Mormon settlers in Bluff in 1884: their struggles over joint ventures, water, cattle grazing, and whether to maintain the settlement at all.

Should I Keep Trying To Work It Out? Sacred And Secular Perspectives On The Crossroads Of Divorce, Tamara A. Fackrell, Alan J. Hawkins

BYU Studies

While the divorce rate for faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is much lower than the average in the United States, still many Latter-day Saints face difficult decisions regarding serious problems in their marriages at one time or another. This article aims to help couples who find themselves at a crossroads, pondering whether their marriages can be repaired or would best be ended. Alan J. Hawkins, a professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, and Tamara A. Fackrell, an attorney and PhD candidate in marriage, family, and human development at Brigham …

Hourglass, Dixie L. Partridge

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry, Karen L. Davidson, Susan E. Howe, Jill Mulvay Derr

BYU Studies

It is unfortunate but nevertheless true that most of today's educated readers do not understand, are indifferent to, or even dislike poetry. Given that fact, many readers might pass up Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry without so much as a glance at its contents. That would be a mistake. In preparing this comprehensive collection of Eliza R. Snow's poetry, editors Jill Mulvay Derr and Karen Lynn Davidson have rightly understood that Eliza's writings have great significance in their relationship to her personal life as well as the religious and historical events to which she was responding. Derr and Davidson …

A Search For Place: Eight Generations Of Henrys And The Settlement Of Utah's Uintah Basin, David S. Carpenter, F. Lamond Tullis

BYU Studies

LaMond Tullis, emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University and author of Mormons in Mexico and Lord and Peasant in Peru, among other works, tries in his latest book to put his ancestors in their rightful place. He tells the story of the Henrys, from the Scotch-Irish John Henry who settled in Rhode Island in the late 1600s down to the generation of his mother's family, who settled in the Uintah Basin. Migrating from New England through New York to the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains, these westering Henrys are placed by Tullis into larger contexts, their stories …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"With The Voice Together Shall They Sing", Laurence P. Hemming

BYU Studies

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that in their temples, as they make covenants with God and participate in worship, they are restoring ancient practices that were lost over the centuries.

Mormons have participated with people of other religions in the scholarly study of the meaning and effect of temples in history and in modern worship. This article by Laurence Hemming was first presented at Brigham Young University in September 2009 as part of the Vulgate seminar.

Laurence Hemming, a British Catholic scholar and theologian, looks back to the ancient Temple of Jerusalem to …

Diversity In Nineteenth-Century St. Louis, Robert D. Palmer, Rachel Cope

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

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 …

"And Gladly Wolde He Lerne And Gladly Teche", Marilyn Bushman-Carlton

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

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 …

Worlds Come And Pass Away: Evolution Of Stars And Planets In The Pearl Of Great Price?, Hollis R. Johnson

BYU Studies

In a revelation given to Joseph Smith and recorded in the book of Moses, we find the statement that "worlds" come into existence, live for a time, and pass away (or, at least, pass into a different state). How does this statement accord with the astronomical knowledge of Joseph Smith's day?

Emeritus professor of astronomy Hollis Johnson briefly recounts the history of astronomy, from ancient days, when the earth was deemed the center of creation, to the present, when astronomers are discovering earthlike planets orbiting distant stars. Johnson also reviews the life cycle of stars and how our knowledge of …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

How Country Music Can Improve Your Marriage, Greg Hansen

BYU Studies

This light-hearted personal essay describes one man's "quest to become the Perfect Husband, the Ultimate Man, the Guy My Wife Dreams Of." Greg Hansen, a professional musician, has discovered one secret weapon: country music. "Before becoming the Highly Improved Guy I am today, I would come home after a long day in the recording studio, ready to de-stress and download, my full ration of words completely used up for the day. My wife would want to talk, but I just wanted the remote. Now, because I have memorized so many country songs on the way home, I always have the …

"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 …

"The Testimony Of Men": William E. Mclellin And The Book Of Mormon Witnesses, Mitchell K. Schaefer

BYU Studies

William E. McLellin (1806-1883) was an early Mormon apostle who later left the church. In his later years he questioned the authority of founder Joseph Smith, but he always said he believed that the Book of Mormon was truly the word of God. In 1871 he wrote a notebook in which he recorded his contacts with men who had filled special roles as Book of Mormon witnesses in 1829. McLellin described his 1833 interview of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, his circa-1850 visit with Martin Harris, his 1869 visit with John Whitmer, and a report of an 1833 event involving …