Mormon Studies Commons^™

The Death Of A Disco Dancer; A Sense Of Order And Other Stories; The Scholar Of Moab, Shelah M. Miner, David M. Clark, Jack Harrell, Steven L. Peck

BYU Studies

DAVID CLARK. The Death of a Disco Dancer. Provo, Utah: Zarahemla Books, 2011.

JACK HARRELL. A Sense of Order and Other Stories. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2010.

STEVEN L. PECK. The Scholar of Moab. Torrey, Utah: Torrey House Press, 2011.

As an enthusiastic reader of literary fiction and as someone who is fascinated by Mormon culture, I am always on the lookout for works of literary fiction that contain Mormon themes or Mormon characters. While there are always plenty of new romances on the shelves at Deseret Book, and Mormon authors frequently find commercial and critical success writing science …

Parallels And Convergences: Mormon Thought And Engineering Vision, A. Scott Howe, Douglas M. Chabries, Richard L. Bushman

BYU Studies

The essays contained in this text grew from an initial discussion between Richard L. Bushman and NASA engineer A. Scott Howe, a discussion that delved into the ways theology and engineering converge. That conversation led to a subsequent meeting, which was held at Claremont Graduate University in March 2009. There, LDS engineers from a variety of technical backgrounds representing such fields as computer programming, physics, and artificial intelligence presented their views relating to modern scripture and its harmony with science. Though at times the language contains some technical terms, the articles provide insight into general areas of faith that are …

Within These Prison Walls: Lorenzo Snow's Record Book, 1886–1897, Jill N. Crandell, Richard N. Holzapfel, Andrew H. Hedges

BYU Studies

Andrew H. Hedges, historian and editor for the Joseph Smith Papers Project, and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, present in this volume a window to the thoughts and feelings of Lorenzo Snow during a particularly challenging time in his life. This record book contains some of his writings while he was in prison, having been convicted of three counts of unlawful cohabitation. Although a prison diary written by a polygamist of this time period is not unusual, Snow's record book is particularly interesting because he was an Apostle of The Church of …

Provo City Library: Building Across A Century, Gregory M. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The public library in Provo City, Utah has undergone significant changes since the founding of the original 1906 building that was funded by Andrew Carnegie. The library has changed according to the needs of the community as it has adapted from its pioneer heritage to a modern service information organization. As it has adapted, however, the Provo Library has maintained its focus on community service with its physical facilities, collection development, community outreach and quality staffing.

Why Things Move: A New Look At Helaman 12:15, David A. Grandy

BYU Studies

A verse from the Book of Mormon says, "And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun" (Helaman 12:15). The verse has been commonly understood to mean that its author, Mormon, had a heliocentric view of the cosmos. David Grandy explores why that may not be the best way to read the passage and we need not place the words in the context of modern physics. Grandy explains that Mormon is …

World Trade And Biological Exchanges Before 1492, Eric N. Jellen, John L. Sorenson, Carl L. Johannessen

BYU Studies

This book by John L. Sorenson (emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University) and Carl L. Johannessen (emeritus professor of geography at the University of Oregon) presents a comprehensive, well-referenced, and intriguing overview of historical and archeological evidence for pre-Columbian exchange of plants, microfauna, and animals between the Old and New Worlds. Its style is more encyclopedic than narrative, resembling an expanded, annotated bibliography. I read with interest the sections dealing with the crops that I have researched genetically--Amaranthus and Chenopodium--as well as several other crops that I am very familiar with, such as cotton.

Textual Similarities In The Words Of Abinadi And Alma's Counsel To Corianton, John Hilton Iii

BYU Studies

John Hilton examines textual similarities between two texts found in the Book of Mormon: the words of Abinadi in Mosiah 12–17 and the words of Alma the Younger in Alma 39–42. Hilton used both human-based and computer-based techniques to search for textual matches.

Understanding Christian Baptism Through The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds

BYU Studies

Early Christianity saw a wide proliferation of theories and practices concerning baptism, and now many Christians, including Mormons, commonly understand it as a means to repent and wash away one's sins. But the Book of Mormon prophets taught that baptism is a covenant and a witnessing to God that one has already repented and commits to follow Jesus Christ, and that sins are remitted by the Holy Ghost.

Spirit, Mark D. Bennion

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering Provo's First Tabernacle With Ground-Penetrating Radar, John H. Mcbride, Emily Utt, R. William Keach Ii, Benjamin C. Pykles

BYU Studies

During the early morning hours of December 17, 2010, fire broke out in the Provo (Utah) Tabernacle, virtually gutting the historic building and leaving only the exterior walls standing in stable condition. On October 1, 2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that the ruined tabernacle will be restored as a temple, the Provo City Center Temple, giving a second life to the tabernacle. However, this building is not the first tabernacle on that square.

A History Of Nahom, Warren P. Aston

BYU Studies

Around 700 BC, a wealthy man in southern Arabia donated three limestone altars to a temple dedicated to Ilmaqah, the moon god. Inscribed on each altar was a text identifying him as the grandson of Naw'um of the Nihm tribe. The three altars were unearthed in 1988 by German archaeologists amid the ruins of the Bar'an temple near Marib, in modern Yemen. They provide the earliest known reference to the Nihm, who today, nearly three millennia later, retain the name and are one of Yemen's largest tribes.

Tempering: Of Tree Houses And Tragedies, Kylie N. Turley

BYU Studies

This personal essay recounts a mother's worst nightmare: her seven-year-old son's 22-foot fall from a tree house onto a railroad tie, resulting in multiple skull fractures and serious brain trauma. The essay, however, is more than a recitation of the ride in the ambulance, the short stay in the emergency room, and the helicopter trip from Provo to Salt Lake City. The author delves into her own feelings and gives a candid, even brutal, self-analysis of her response to the unfolding tragedy: "They say you can tell who a person really is in a crisis. If they are right, then …

The Right Place, Sally Stratford

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Surviving By Faith: German Latter-Day Saints And World War Ii, Lynn M. Hansen, Faith D. Hansen

BYU Studies

There were more than ten thousand Latter-day Saints in Germany before World War II. Lynn M. Hansen and Faith D. Hansen were sent in 2008 as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to gather oral histories of Mormons who had lived through World War II.

Rabbi, Where Dwellest Thou?, Mark D. Bennion

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Joseph Smith Papers. Manuscript Revelation Books, Facsimile Edition, Robin S. Jensen, James B. Allen, Robert J. Woodford, Steven C. Harper

BYU Studies

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our most precious founding documents are the handwritten manuscripts of the revelations that constitute the scriptures. However, like so many old manuscripts, those that are still extant are not available for public scrutiny, as constant handling could damage and perhaps even destroy them. The next best thing would be a near-perfect, full-size, full-color facsimile that could be examined at will by anyone. That is what the Church Historian's Press has provided with the publication of two manuscript revelation books dating from 1828 to 1834; these books were the basis for the …

Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul Of Mormonism And Parley P. Pratt And The Making Of Mormonism, Matthew J. Grow, Gregory K. Armstrong, Dennis J. Siler, Edward A. Geary, Terryl L. Givens

BYU Studies

Parley Parker Pratt (1807-1857) was among the most talented and influential figures in the formative period of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Apostle, missionary, theologian, poet, polemicist, pris!oner, explorer, polygamist, and finally, in the view of many, martyr. Pratt was born in central New York State to Jared Pratt--a weaver thrown out of employment in his trade by the Industrial Revolution--and his wife, Charity. Like the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was two years his senior, Parley P. Pratt grew up in a family on the margins of the rural economy. Jared Pratt moved from place to place …

Who Chose The Gospels? Probing The Great Gospel Conspiracy, Lincoln H. Blumell, C. E. Hill

BYU Studies

In Who Chose the Gospels? Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy, C. E. Hill, professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, challenges the seemingly pervasive view in scholarship that it was not until the fourth century, when Christian "orthodoxy" began to be firmly entrenched, that the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were selected by the church and raised to a status above all other competing Gospels. Hill argues that while this paradigm has become increasingly widespread in scholarship and is often propagated by the media or in popular culture (as in Dan Brown's The …

The Mormon Menace: Violence And Anti-Mormonism In The Postbellum South, Patrick Q. Mason, Heather M. Seferovich

BYU Studies

Relatively few stories in late nineteenth-century Mormon history are more riveting than those from missionaries serving in the American South. A handful of legendary Mormon personalities served there, such as J. Golden Kimball, B. H. Roberts, and John Morgan. There are countless inflammatory threats of violence, hundreds of instances of physical assault, and even a few murders. Although tragic on many levels, such violent elements are often the foundation of successful films, plays, and books.

Scribal Culture And The Making Of The Hebrew Bible, Karel Van Der Toorn, Robert L. Maxwell

BYU Studies

Karel van der Toorn, president of the University of Amsterdam and author of numerous books dealing with aspects of the Bible and ancient Israel, claims to have been writing an introduction to the Bible when he discovered that he was writing an altogether different book--an exploration of scribal culture in the Near East as a means to better understand the making of the Hebrew Bible. The developments he studies will be particularly interesting to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since he explores the generations surrounding the Babylonian exile, including the time of the migration of …

The Lonely Polygamist, Brady Udall, Angela Hallstrom

BYU Studies

Brady Udall's The Lonely Polygamist, published in 2010, arrived amid a wave of pop-culture interest in the polygamist lifestyle: HBO's Big Love was gearing up for its finale; TLC's reality show Sister Wives had just hit the airwaves; and real-life stories of Warren Jeffs, child brides, and FLDS compounds were common tabloid fare. Although Udall had been at work on his novel for many years before polygamy became a hot cultural topic, some skeptical readers--Mormon and non-Mormon alike--wondered if the novel's intentions were more sensational than literary. Once reviews began rolling in, however, it became clear that The Lonely Polygamist …

To The Peripheries Of Mormondom: The Apostolic Around-The-World Journey Of David O. Mckay, 1920–1921, Kaitlyn S. Hedge, Hugh J. Cannon, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies

An around-the-world journey made by an Apostle may not be something extraordinary today, but in 1920 it was monumental. Hugh J. Cannon's To the Peripheries of Mormondom details the historic trip of Elder David O. McKay--the first Apostle to make a journey of this magnitude and to visit most of the places he did. He and Hugh J. Cannon were called on a one-year fact-finding mission to visit the Church's non-North American congregations and to study the customs and needs of the people at each place. This mission was the beginning of a major push toward the globalization of the …

Mormons And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Civil War veterans, like most military veterans, enjoyed continued association following the war. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) veterans’ organization was established in 1866 and grew to be a large and politically powerful organization. This chapter by Kenneth L. Alford provides an overview of the GAR’s history in Utah with an emphasis on relations between Latter-day Saints and the GAR.

Maui

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii and is basically two volcanoes, Haleakala and Puu Kukui with a connecting central valley in between. In the early years of the LDS mission in Hawaii the greatest success in terms of baptisms seems to have been on Maui. In 1853 out of 17,574 people on Maui over 1000 were LDS.

An Interview With Barnard Stewart Silver

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

An Interview with Barnard Stewart Silver (Great-grand nephew of George Q. Cannon)

Born March 9, 1933, currently living in Holliday, Utah

Lived in Lahaina, Hawaii from 1963-1966 as a research engineer in conjunction for the Pioneer Sugar Mill.

Interviewer: Shannon Lee Kanekoa

Date of Recorded Telephone Interview – April 22, 2012

SLK: “Brother Silver, will you tell us about your adventure when you decided to follow your great, great Uncle George Q. Cannon’s footsteps, over 150 years ago, and climb up through the Olowalu canyon and over the West Maui Mountains down into Wailuku?” BSS: “Gladly. After studying the history …

Lorenzo Snow Drowned In Lahaina Harbor (From W.W. Cluff’S Journal)

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

On the 29th of March (1864) we sailed for Lahaina, on the schooner Nettie Merrill, Captain Fisher, for the island of Maui, a distance of about ninety miles from Honolulu. On the morning of the 31st of March, we came to anchor about one mile from the mouth of the little harbor of Lahaina.

Pools Of Living Water: No Longer A Thirsty Land?, Bruce C. Hafen

BYU Studies

St. George native Bruce Hafen tells how the settlers of this southern Utah town shaped and were shaped by the harsh terrain. His ancestors, who were among those Mormon pioneers who settled here, brought with them principles of faith, sacrifice, and hard work. It is crucial that today's people pass those principles to future generations through example and sharing family histories. Hafen compares the southern Utah desert landscape to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia, especially as both are changed by rare occasions of rain that create "pools of living water" (D&C 133:29). This talk was presented at the annual meeting …

Baptism In The Early Church: History, Theology, And Liturgy In The First Five Centuries, Everett Ferguson, Noel B. Reynolds

BYU Studies

A Restoration emphasis on baptism has distinguished the teaching and practice of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1829 to the present. In contrast to many Christian denominations, the Church does not condone infant baptism sprinkling, nor does it accept baptisms by other Christian groups that do not have the authority restored by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. A further critical distinction is their insistence that baptismal ordinances are necessary for salvation. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints are not completely alone in all their views; the Campbellite Churches of Christ also see themselves as a …

Lahaina

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaíi from 1820-1845. Government functions and the royal palace was at Mokuula, an island in a fish pond, now a park at the corner of Front Street and Shaw Street. From 1819 to after the U.S. Civil War Lahaina’s economy centered around the whaling industry. Whale ships would winter here and resupply and recuperate from whaling in the North Pacific. As whaling declined the Pioneer Sugar Mill was Lahaina’s economic engine from 1860 to 1999 along with a pineapple packing plant. Protestant missionaries from the ABCFM were invited to establish a mission …