Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Imperative Of Student Integration In Faculty Research Projects: A Pedagogical Case Study In Digital History, Roger L. Martinez-Davila, Fernando Feliu-Moggi, Sean Wybrant, Ian Torres, Spencer Miles

Quidditas

Traditional pedagogical models, at times, are inadequate for equipping students with real-world skills. A shift towards integrating students into faculty-led research is essential, as demonstrated by the Coronado Muster Roll project. In this project, students use virtual reality technologies to create immersive experiences that explore the complex relationships between Spanish and Indigenous communities during Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition. A specific assignment within the course tasks students with developing digital narratives. The muster roll itself is revealed to be more than just a list; it serves as a snapshot capturing the depth and complexities often lost in grand narratives. …

Moving Beyond The Historicity Question, Or A Manifesto For Future Book Of Mormon Research, Newell D. Wright

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide by four Brigham Young University religion professors reviews the field of Book of Mormon studies from the late nineteenth century to the current day. After the historical review of the field, the authors lay out a research agenda for the twenty-first century that, by and large, moves on from the Book of Mormon historicity question that so engaged twentieth-century scholars. T his review examines the authors’ claims and demonstrates that the scope of the book is not as broad as it could or should be. Absent perspectives, blind spots, incomplete twenty-first–century research …

Assyria And The “Great Church” Of Nephi’S Vision, Todd Uriona

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Book of Mormon begins at a pivotal point in Israelite history and in the history of the ancient Near East more broadly. With the fall of Assyria and the power vacuum that grew out of Assyria’s demise, questions of sovereignty were of paramount concern. It was at that time that Lehi led his family into the wilderness after witnessing the impending destruction of Jerusalem in vision. Nephi, “desir[ing] to know the things that his father had seen” (1 Nephi 11:1), describes his own vision, where he saw the coming of the “Son of God” (1 Nephi 11:7), the destruction …

Names And Titles Of Heavenly Father And Jesus Christ In The Book Of Mormon, Dru Brown

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

“Good morning, brothers and sisters. We welcome you to sacrament meeting. I am Bishop Evans and will conduct this meeting. We would like to recognize President Iverson from the stake presidency, who is presiding. We will open this meeting with hymn 100; Sister Clyde will conduct the music with Brother Langford on the organ.” An introduction of this kind is a familiar, nearly weekly ritual for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, someone new to the Church might be confused by the series of labels they just heard. What is a bishop? President of what …

Review: Don Argott, Dir. Keep Sweet. 44 Blue Productions, 2021., Stephanie Griswold

Mormon Studies Review

The recent documentary Keep Sweet, directed by Don Argott and produced by Glenn Meehan (not to be confused with the 2022 Netflix documentary Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey), recounts the producer’s experiences meeting members of the historically Fundamentalist Mormon community in Southern Utah known as Short Creek. The film is advertised as “rare access to current FLDS members” from “a producer embedded for over a decade.” The film follows the producer, Meehan, as he meets ex-members and followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and depicts their experiences with the changes in their …

Review: Spencer Mcbride. Joseph Smith For President: The Prophet, The Assassins, And The Fight For American Religious Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021., Sara Georgini

Mormon Studies Review

Why would anyone want to be president of the United States? Joseph Smith knew. Spencer McBride’s biography of a unique political moment unfolds in Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom. Harvesting an impressive cache of primary source material and dynamic new analysis, McBride uses Smith’s unlikely presidential run to investigate the political and religious systems of the day.

Review: James Simeone. The Saints And The State: The Mormon Troubles In Illinois. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2021., William P. Umphres

Mormon Studies Review

When Joseph Smith led his persecuted band of followers into western Illinois from Missouri in 1839, nothing overtly portended that within a few short years he and his brother would be assassinated by a mob and his oppressed followers would soon have to flee in the face of lawless violence against them. Instead, their new neighbors expressed along with the related Mormon theology on those topics, would have been illuminating at this point in the campaign story. Surely, it would have been a deciding factor for many potential voters. Overall, exploring Joseph Smith’s White House run tells us about a …

Review: John Corrigan. Religious Intolerance, America, And The World: A History Of Forgetting And Remembering. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2020., Andrea Radke-Moss

Mormon Studies Review

John Corrigan begins Religious Intolerance, America, and the World with the premise that the American past has been more characterized by religious intolerance and persecution than by tolerance and harmony, particularly of marginal groups. Even as Americans have “congratulated themselves” (2) on religious freedom as an exceptional ideal in the early republic, “religious violence came early and often as colonial New Englanders executed a series of devastating military campaigns against Native Americans” (3). Protestants later turned their persecutions to other undesirable religious minorities, including Catholics and Latter-day Saints.

Capitalism And Distributive Justice: Musings Of A Mormon Economist, Shinji Takagi

Mormon Studies Review

In this forum essay, I discuss capitalism and distributive justice from the standpoint of a neoclassical economist. I am motivated by the conflict between the purported virtues of a free-market system (and the income inequality such a system is known to generate) and the egalitarian principles espoused by Latter-day Saint scripture. This is a complex subject upon which no easy closure can be expected. Part of the difficulty comes from the fact that capitalism itself is an ill-defined concept. I use capitalism and free-market system almost interchangeably, consistent with the way they are generally understood in everyday discourse. It bears …

Front Matter

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

“I Dreamed Of An Alliance Between The Authority Of Dogma And Political Liberty”: Mormonism And Socialism In France In The Nineteenth Century, Christian Euvrard

Mormon Studies Review

Many historians and other scholars have noticed the social and political fervor observed in France between 1830 and 1870. This is also the period when Mormonism first arrived in the nation. Yet while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only achieved limited success in France, its doctrine and practices generated unusual interest, raising a number of important questions. What were the forces at work during this pivotal period? How can we reconcile the large cultural interest with the faith’s mediocre success? This essay offers several avenues of research.

Review: Carol Edison, Eric A. Eliason, And Lynne S. Mcneill, Eds. This Is The Plate: Utah Food Traditions. Salt Lake City: University Of Utah Press, 2020., Nora Rubel

Mormon Studies Review

Whimsically entitled This is the Plate—an homage to Brigham Young’s apocryphal words, “this is the place,” when he first saw the desert valley that would eventually become the state of Utah—this volume offers something for everyone. Editors Carol A. Edison, Eric A. Eliason, and Lynne S. McNeill have provided a well-integrated selection of essays, vignettes, and recipes (fifty-seven!) that showcase the historical, cultural, and religious foodways of Utah. McNeill’s introduction, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for Tomorrow You May Be in Utah,” sets the stage for an enjoyable romp through Utahn history, presenting the reader with a wide variety …

Review: Michael Harold Paulos And Konden Smith Hansen, Eds. The Reed Smoot Hearings: The Investigation Of A Mormon Senator And The Transformation Of An American Religion. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2021., Carter Charles

Mormon Studies Review

Before the clean-shaven and impeccably dressed David Oman McKay, it was Reed Owen Smoot who embodied Latter-day Saints as modern, mainstream, and American. The Reed Smoot Hearings remind us of this pivotal role that Smoot and others, like Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints president Joseph F. Smith, senators Fred E. Dubois and Albert J. Beveridge, and US president Theodore Roosevelt played in both Latter-day Saint and US religious history. The book is a welcome addition to works by Milton Merrill, Harvard Heath, and Kathleen Flake. Michael Harold Paulos and Konden Hansen Smith, editors as well as authors, are …

Reivew: Mark S. Diamond And Andrew C. Reed, Eds. Understanding Covenants And Communities: Jews And Latter-Day Saints In Dialogue. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, In Cooperation With The Central Conference Of American Rabbis, New York, 2020., Yaakov Ariel

Mormon Studies Review

Scholars, students, and religious leaders who take interest in interfaith dialogues, and especially in the interactions between Latter- day Saints and Jews, will welcome Understanding Covenants and Communities: Jews and Latter-day Saints in Dialogue. The compilation demonstrates both a continuation of and a breakthrough in the long history of the exchanges between the two communities of faith.

Trestles, Jared Swenson

Inscape

No abstract provided.

Winter 2023 Editor’S Note, Mikayla Johnson

Inscape

Dear Readers,

It took many sailors to man a pirate ship.

In the Golden Age of Pirates (approximately 1650–1726 AD), a pirate crew consisted principally of a captain, his first mate, and a quartermaster. The captain was the director of all affairs, his first mate the second in command. The quartermaster worked as liaison between captain and crew, enforcing discipline for those who broke the code, and, when necessary, officiating mutinous votes against the captain.

A New And Most Welcome Resource For Book Of Abraham Studies, Quinten Barney

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The new and special issue of BYU Studies containing “A Guide to the Book of Abraham” provides a welcome and easy-to-read approach to the historicity and issues surrounding the Book of Abraham in a way that will engage those beginning their studies in the Book of Abraham just as equally as those who have already become familiar with the subject.

Elias: Prophet Of The Restoration, Jan Francisco

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

he Prophet Elias is a puzzle, with a handful of pieces scattered through the standard works and the teachings of Joseph Smith. Rather than proving a point conclusively, this paper will put the pieces together to show a new picture of this important figure. The interpretation in this article weaves together the scriptures regarding Elias into a cohesive narrative, with the prophet Noah at the center. The pieces of the puzzle investigated here are Elias’s role as the angel Gabriel in the New Testament, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Kirtland Temple, in the Book of Revelation, and in D&C …

Joseph Smith At The Veil: Significant Ritual, Symbolism, And Temple Influence At Latter-Day Saint Beginnings, George L. Mitton

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The prophet Joseph Smith was paced through a life steeped in ritual and symbolism. Notable things Joseph did or experienced under angelic guidance may be seen as ritual procedures that may require careful consideration to discern their meaning, what they symbolize, their purpose, and their importance to the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Failure to recognize the function of ritual has resulted in much misunderstanding and criticism of Joseph. Many of his early actions and procedures were closely related to the ancient temple. They amount to an anticipation and witness of the temple and its …

Rethinking The Encounter Between Jacob And Sherem, Loren Spendlove

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Book of Mormon story of Jacob and Sherem has been evaluated and interpreted from many different viewpoints over the years. In his retelling of the story, Jacob crafted a cautionary tale of religious hubris and self-importance that can serve as an important lesson for members of the church today. In this paper I use various methodologies to examine the interaction between Jacob and Sherem — including comparative scriptural analysis, semantics, and Hebraic syntax and structural elements — in an attempt to increase our understanding of the relationship between Jacob and Sherem.

Process Interviews, Joe Anson

The Utah English Journal

In an attempt to have the students care more about how they could improve their writing, I decided to focus on the writing process as opposed to the final product. And because students start with varying shades of writing aptitude, I felt it important that all the writers in my classroom be given the chance to earn a high grade as we focused on improving writing, not writing perfectly.

Using Inquiry To Drive Revision, Mercedes Allen

The Utah English Journal

When an object needs motion, it needs something to cause movement, to drive it. A car needs gasoline. A kite needs wind. A runner needs nutrient rich food and plenty of water. Just like these things need a substance or force to keep them going, students need something to fuel them as they go through the writing process. While it would be much simpler for us to give students crackers or suckers to fix a student with writer's block, there is something else we can implement into our classrooms daily to give our students the power to continue to move …

Book Review: Ain't Burned All The Bright, Rachel Billings

The Utah English Journal

Ain't Burned All the Bright captures the anxieties, fears, and tensions of 2020 clearly and vividly even though it consists of only three long sentences. Jason Reynolds tells the story of a Black boy and his family during the Covid-19 quarantine and pandemic. Through the prose of Reynolds and illustrations of Jason Griffin, the reader learns what the pandemic was like from the point of view of a typical teenager.

An Incomplete Success, Elva Shule Escobedo

The Utah English Journal

Once, I wrote a letter to my US senator, a request from my older brother who had left the country voluntarily just a few months before. In the letter, I explained my brother's complicated situation with his legal status and pleaded for his case. This letter became the catalyst for a writing assignment in my classroom. Students wanted to write their own letters and pleas to government officials, too, explaining their different family members' situations in hopes that their letters would make a difference. And so, they set out to write. They wrote like I had never seen them write. …

Playing With Poetry, Jessica Ashurst

The Utah English Journal

In my experience, the average student claims that they hate poetry. But, what if we try to get them to experience poetry by trying it in various forms instead of just digging for meaning in obscure poetry? This poetry unit encourages them to play with words and author's craft choices. Each poem becomes part of the poetry portfolio they tum in at the end of the unit.

Asian American Identity And Museum Collections, Natasha Wang

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

In June of 2022, the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act was passed in Congress (Commision to Study 2022, 117-140):

As part of the report, the Commission will need to address: (A) The availability and cost of collections to be acquired and housed in the Museum (B) The impact of the Museum on existing Asian Pacific American history-related museums. (Hirono 2022)

Membership Report, Ernie Thurston

Swiss American Historical Society Review

To: Members of the Swiss American Historical Society From: Ernie Thurston, Membership Secretary Subject: Annual Membership Report

IN BRIEF: We have 194 current members, a 2% decrease from the 198 reported last year at this time. Several members made extra contributions this year totalling $865.00. And one member paid the $500.00 to be come a Life Member: Joseph H. Smith.

Annual Report Of The Swiss Chapter, Switzerland, Barbara Müller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society annual meeting was held at Basel, Switzerland, on September 7, 2022. It began at 11:30 AM with a motion by Barbara Müller, President of The Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society and Vice President of the Swiss Chapter of the Swiss American Historical Society, to approve the minutes from last year’s annual meeting. It was seconded and approved. The minutes from the meeting held on September 8, 2021, in Zurich, Switzerland include:

• Draft Minutes for the annual meeting on September 3, 2020, were approved.

• A gift and thank you …

End Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.