Religion Commons^™

The Weir Family, 1820–1920: Expanding The Traditions Of American Art, Marian Wardle, Herman Du Toit

BYU Studies Quarterly

Marian Wardle, curator of American art at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art and part-time faculty member at BYU in art history, has assembled a remarkable group of writers from across the country for an anthology that focuses on the lives and artistic production of three of America's most notable artists: Robert Walter Weir (1803-1889) and his sons John Ferguson Weir (1841-1926) and Julian Alden Weir (1852-1919). The BYU Museum of Art became the beneficiary of a collection of the Weirs' artworks when one of Julian Weir's daughters, Dorothy, passed away in 1947, leaving much of her family's extensive …

Matched; Crossed; Reached. The Matched Trilogy, William Morris, Ally Condie

BYU Studies Quarterly

Ally Condie, a Latter-day Saint and graduate of Brigham Young University, is best known as the author of the Matched trilogy. These three books contain all the ingredients for a successful YA (young adult fiction) series: a plucky heroine, a love triangle, a dystopian setting. And a success it is: each volume has spent numerous weeks on various best-seller lists, Disney has optioned the film rights to the trilogy, and numerous fan sites and social media groups are active online. If it were just those ingredients alone, the trilogy would not be worth noting amid the outpouring of YA novels …

Dark Mirrors: Azazel And Satanael In Early Jewish Demonology, Andrei A. Orlov, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Andrei A. Orlov, professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University, is a highly prolific author and world-renowned scholar who specializes in Christian origins, Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism, and Old Testament pseudepigrapha, including texts such as 2 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham. Among Orlov's many writings are the books The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (TSAJ, 107; Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), From Apocalypticism to Merkabah Mysticism (SJSJ, 114; Leiden: Brill, 2007), Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (OJC, 2; Piscataway: Gorgias, 2009), and Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (Flaviana; Moscow: Gesharim, 2011).

The present book under review, …

Premarital Sex In America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, And Think About Marrying; Sex And The Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, And Religion On America's College Campuses, Mark Regnerus, Jeremy Uecker, Donna Freitas, Brian J. Willoughby

BYU Studies Quarterly

MARK REGNERUS, JEREMY UECKER. Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying. New York City: Oxford University Press, 2011.

DONNA FREITAS. Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses. New York City: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Mark Regnerus (University of Texas) and Jeremy Uecker (Baylor University), both professors of sociology, have previously collaborated on a host of academic papers focused on the dating, marital, and sexual lives of young adults. Regnerus has previously published a book entitled Forbidden Fruit (Oxford University Press, 2007), which explores the sexual lives of …

Rube Goldberg Machines: Essays In Mormon Theology, Adam S. Miller, Thomas F. Rogers

BYU Studies Quarterly

Philosopher Adam S. Miller, who teaches at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, and presently serves as director of the prestigious Mormon Theology Seminar, has written a small book that deserves big attention.

In his thoughtful preface, historian Richard L. Bushman asserts that "Adam Miller is the most original and provocative Latter-day Saint theologian practicing today" and that, like other philosophers and theologians, his writings reflect his possible doubt that his subject "can be reduced to a rational orderly system." But, for me, there is immense continuity to the book's fourteen essays, each of which interfaces with the restored gospel in …

Banishing The Cross: The Emergence Of A Mormon Taboo, Michael G. Reed, Alonzo L. Gaskill

BYU Studies Quarterly

This first book by Michael G. Reed is a revamp of his 2009 master's thesis, "The Development of the LDS Church's Attitude toward the Cross" (California State University, Sacramento). In this current work, Reed beefs up his text with some additional sources and graphics, and he adds a chapter on the cross as a symbol in the Strangite and Community of Christ (RLDS) traditions.

The book's aim is to delineate the place of the cross as a symbol in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in the two aforementioned Restoration churches, though the book largely focuses on …

F.F. Bruce: A Life, By Tim Grass, Craighton T. Hippenhammer

Faculty Scholarship – Library Science

Frederick Fyvie Bruce (1910-1990) was one of the most influential evangelical biblical scholars of the last half of the Twentieth Century within the UK and the United States at a time when highly respected evangelical academics were rare and almost non-existent. Over his lifetime he wrote over two thousand articles and reviews plus four dozen books, mostly about the Bible, biblical commentary and interpretation, and classical language translation. His approach was nonsectarian and inclusive, from the standpoint of insightful biblical translation rather than systematized theology. This biography is a fully realized, in-depth treatment, covering both Bruce’s academic career and personal …

Monsters And Mormons: Thirty Tales Of Adventure And Terror, Scott R. Parkin, Wm Morris, Theric Jepson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Short story anthologies are oddly rare in Mormon literature. We publish plenty of single-author collections, but multi-author anthologies tend to be fewer and further between. As such, they tend to be viewed as manifestos of sorts, snapshots of the current state of the Mormon literary art--at least over the past two decades. From Eugene England's Bright Angels and Familiars through M. Shayne Bell's Washed by a Wave of Wind to Angela Hallstrom's Dispensation, we look to these anthologies as signposts of our collective literary maturity and use them as introductions to notable names that we might not hear of otherwise. …

The Mormon People: The Making Of An American Faith, Matthew Bowman, Armand L. Mauss

BYU Studies Quarterly

Matthew Bowman is an up-and-coming young scholar of the generation now rising with the relatively new field of Mormon studies. Having completed his doctorate in American religious history at Georgetown University in 2011, he has nevertheless already been very visible for some time at academic conferences and in periodical literature of both Mormon and American religious histories. He has appeared on various public media sites, electronic and otherwise, as a commentator about Mormons and Mormonism, including discussions of his new book.

This book provides eight solid chapters, a brief introduction, and an even briefer conclusion, followed by four appendices, a …

Home Waters: A Year Of Recompenses On The Provo River, Dennis R. Cutchins, George B. Handley

BYU Studies Quarterly

Herman Melville begins Moby Dick by noting the way humans seem almost magnetically attracted to water. "There is magic in it," he writes. "Take almost any path you please, and ten to one it carries you down in a dale, and leaves you there by a pool in the stream." George Handley would, no doubt, agree with this observation. His Home Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River is a gentle, slow, and deeply thoughtful book built on this special human relationship with water. Handley uses the Provo River as the locus for a series of contemplations on …

Gathering To La'ie, Riley M. Moffat, Jeffrey N. Walker, Fred E. Woods, Steven C. Walker

BYU Studies Quarterly

I stayed in La'ie last winter, a stone's throw from the temple, which is within easy walking distance of Brigham Young University-Hawaii, which is next door to the Polynesian Cultural Center--all the major landmarks of the town within an easy ten-minute circuit. It is surprising to see how compact a place has earned so expansive a reputation. This book surprised me in the same way. There's a lot going on in this history of the little town--Gathering to La'ie traces how the sleepy village wrought dramatic influence on Hawaii, managed the miracle of melding diverse factions into a united …

Talking With Mormons: An Invitation To Evangelicals, David Dominguez, Richard J. Mouw

BYU Studies Quarterly

As an Evangelical who has resided in Utah County since 1989 and as a law professor at BYU for the past twenty-four years, I read with great interest Richard J. Mouw's latest book, Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals. I was pleased that the author, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, helped me sort out my thoughts on countless conversations with LDS colleagues, students, and neighbors concerning differences in our religious traditions and, even more importantly, provided a structure for more fruitful dialogue. I encourage anyone who cares about building bridges between and among Evangelicals and Mormons to take time …

Henry Burkhardt And Lds Realpolitik In Communist East Germany, Raymond Kuehne, James H. Backman

BYU Studies Quarterly

The biography of Henry Burkhardt is an inspiring story tied to a group of Church members caught up in the politics of Germany after World War II. Like a young David asked to face a Goliath of repressive national power that caused a fledgling people to fear the political force around them, Burkhardt led faithful Latter-day Saints for four decades in a manner reminiscent of early pioneers like Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Wilford Woodruff. Like each of these early faithful servants, Burkhardt became a leader at a young age, when as a missionary he was called in 1952 …

Review Of "Christology And Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do?", Jon Nilson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article reviews the book, Christology and Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do?, edited by George Yancy.

Time Travel (Book Review), Joshua Matthews

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: Wittenberg, David. Time Travel: The Popular Philosophy of Narrative. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013. 306 pages. ISBN: 9780823249961.

Paper Memory: A Sixteenth-Century Townsman Writes His World (Book Review), John B. Roney

History Faculty Publications

Book review by John B. Roney.

Lundin, Matthew. Paper Memory: A Sixteenth-Century Townsman Writes His World. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Review Of "Thinking Christ: Christology And Contemporary Critics", Brent A. R. Hege

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

A review of Thinking Christ: Christology and Contemporary Critics by Jane Barter Moulaison.

Galileo's Muse: Renaissance Mathematics And The Arts (Book Review), Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reviewed Title: Galileo's Muse: Renaissance Mathematics and the Arts by Mark A. Peterson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011, 336 pages. ISBN 9780674059726.

Review Of "Thinking With The Church: Essays In Historical Theology", Brent A. R. Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

A review of "Thinking with the Church: Essays in Historical Theology" by B. A. Gerrish.

Review Of "An Introduction To Christian Theology", Brent A. R. Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

A review of "An Introduction to Christian Theology" by Richard J. Plantinga, Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg.

Review Of "What’S Wrong With Sin? Sin In Individual And Social Perspective From Schleiermacher To Theologies Of Liberation", Brent A. R. Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

A review of "What’s Wrong with Sin? Sin in Individual and Social Perspective from Schleiermacher to Theologies of Liberation" by Derek R. Nelson.

Review Of "The Church Event: Call And Challenge Of A Church Protestant", Brent A. R. Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

A review of "The Church Event: Call and Challenge of a Church Protestant" by Vitor Westhelle.

Review Of "Take My Hand: A Theological Memoir", Brent A. R. Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

A review of "Take My Hand: A Theological Memoir" by Andrew Taylor-Troutman.

Review Of Missionaries And Their Medicine, Chad M. Bauman

Chad M. Bauman

A review of Missionaries And Their Medicine: A Christian Modernity for Tribal India, by David Hardiman, Manchester University Press, 2008.

Review Of Piety And Responsibility: Patterns Of Unity In Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, And Vedanta Decika, Hugh Nicholson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article reviews the book Piety and Responsibility: Patterns of Unity in Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, and Vedanta Desika by John Sheveland.

Motherhood And Love: Beyond The Gendered Stereotypes Of Theology, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews the book Motherhood and Love: Beyond the Gendered Stereotypes of Theology, by Cristina Grenholm.

Joseph Smith, Jesus, And Satanic Opposition: Atonement, Evil, And The Mormon Vision, Steven L. Olsen, Douglas J. Davies

BYU Studies Quarterly

Douglas J. Davies is one of the most insightful and prolific scholars of Mormonism working today. He is a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham, UK. Two of his earlier studies--The Mormon Culture of Salvation (2000) and An Introduction to Mormonism (2003)--analyze foundational aspects of Mormonism from an engaging academic synthesis of history, religious studies, cultural studies, literary studies, theology, and philosophy. The breadth and depth of his scholarly background enable him to address new and crucial questions, yielding remarkable insights. For example, The Mormon Culture of Salvation proposes that the plan …

Exhibiting Mormonism: The Latter-Day Saints And The 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Marian Wardle, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies Quarterly

"There is a natural and overwhelming curiosity to know what manner of creature a real live flesh and blood Mormon is," wrote an 1893 reporter for the Chicago Daily Tribune, quoted by Reid Neilson in his study of the participation by the LDS Church at the 1893 Chicago fair (131). Neilson is a scholar of Mormon religious history and current managing director of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He convincingly argues that this participation with the larger world community helped Church leaders understand how they could improve the Church's public image. He …

Sacred Symbols: Finding Meaning In Rites, Rituals, And Ordinances, Alonzo L. Gaskill, Herman Du Toit

BYU Studies Quarterly

The power and viability of symbolism is often lost on the American psyche and also finds mixed reception by American LDS audiences. It is as if the essential pragmatism of the American spirit militates against the very appearance of ambiguity in all its forms. Symbolism and metaphor comprise the tools-in-trade of skillful meaning making and the explication of profound truths in both word and image. Alonzo Gaskill, a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, makes the observation that Latter-day Saints do not always like symbolism. He references Truman Madsen, who recalled: "I had a built-in hostility …

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

BYU Studies Quarterly

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 …