Mormon Studies Commons^™

The Gnostic Context Of The Gospel Of Judas, Gaye Strathearn

BYU Studies

This article discusses the Gospel of Judas, an Early Christian text found in Egypt about 1978 and published in 2006 with much media attention. Discussions about the Gospel of Judas raise questions about Gnosticism. Gaye Strathearn explains that Gnosticism is a name scholars, beginning in the eighteenth century, apply to the teachings of groups outside mainstream Christianity. The Gospel of Judas and the Nag Hammadi texts reveal the Gnostics' unorthodox views, including Judas being a hero, the serpent in Eden being good, and an emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge. Some of their beliefs seem to parallel modern Latter-day Saint …

Are Christians Mormon?: Reassessing Joseph Smith's Theology In His Bicentennial, David L. Paulsen

BYU Studies

Harold Bloom, the self-proclaimed “unbelieving Jew” and distinguished scholar, recently characterized Joseph Smith as “a religious genius,” stating that the religion Smith founded “is truly a biblical religion.” More recently, Carl Mosser has written concerning the doctrine of that religion: “Mormonism’s heresies are legion; they are also very interesting and often unique in the history of heresy.” Biblical or heretical? Of these two reactions, the charge of heresy has been far more common, especially among conservative Christian critics, who consistently draw a circle that leaves Joseph’s Mormonism out.

Joseph Smith's Christology: After Two Hundred Years, Robert L. Millet

BYU Studies

During the last decade, a recurring question has been posed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Is the church “changing?” In addition, it is asked, Is there some effort on the part of church leadership to have the church and its teachings, particularly those concerning Jesus Christ, become more acceptable to and thus more accepted by other Christians? The natural Latter-day Saint inclination is to react sharply that the church’s doctrines concerning Jesus Christ are intact and even eternal, that the doctrines of Joseph Smith’s day and the doctrines of our own day are one …

Toward An Anthropology Of Apotheosis In Mozart's Magic Flute: A Demonstration Of The Artistic Universality And Vitality Of Certain "Peculiar" Latter-Day Saint Doctrines, Alan F. Keele

BYU Studies

It seems there are certain notions held by Latter-day Saints, deviating almost diametrically from those promulgated by orthodox Christianity, that have the power to evoke form certain conservative Christian quarters the most vituperative fulminations. One thinks immediately of the idea expounded by Joseph Smith at King Follett's funeral that humans have the potential to become gods through a process of perfection experienced by the gods themselves. The orthodox response to this notion in the form of the Godmakers films and other manifestations of righteous indignation has been extraordinary. The paradox, however, is this: Scratch the orthodox surface of Christianity, explore …

From Arcadia To Elysium In The Magic Flute And Weimar Classicism: The Plan Of Salvation And Eighteenth-Century Views Of Moral Progression, John B. Fowles

BYU Studies

The painful sighs are now past.

Elysium's joyful banquets

Drown the slightest moan—

Elysium's life is

Eternal rapture, eternal flight;

Through laughing meadows a brook pipes its tune.

..........

Here faithful couples embrace each other,

Kiss on the velvet green sward

As the soothing west wind caresses them;

Here love is crowned,

Safe from death's merciless blow

It celebrates an eternal wedding feast.

—Friedrich Schiller

The Fellowship Of Christ's Sufferings As Reflected In Lear And Life, Sally T. Taylor

BYU Studies

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.

—Philippians 3:10

The Great High Priest, Margaret Barker

BYU Studies

This article was presented as a public lecture at Brigham Young University on May 9, 2003. Footnotes have been added that refer to places in the writings of Margaret Barker where the topics of this lecture are discussed in greater depth and with extensive documentation. This lecture develops the themes of several of her prior works and presents the essence of her most recent book. The Great High Priest (London; T&T Clark, 2003). Further information about specific topics can be located by consulting the index of persons, places, and subjects or the index of biblical and ancient texts found at …

Hedonism, Suffering, And Redemption: The Challenge Of Christian Psychotherapy, Edwin E. Gantt

BYU Studies

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

—Matthew 26:38

Christianity: A Global History David Chidester; A World History Of Christianity Adrian Hastings, Ed.; The Next Christendom: The Coming Of Global Christianity Philip Jenkins, Richard D. Ouellette

BYU Studies

David Chidester. Christianity: A Global History. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000.

Adrian Hastings, ed. A World History of Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1999.

Philip Jenkins. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Corporeal Resurrection: The Pure Doctrine Restored Through The Prophet Joseph Smith, J. Peter Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

During Jesus' earthly ministry He taught the pure doctrine of corporeal resurrection to His disciples. Some of them became special witnesses to the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus after His death. Over time, men's philosophies perverted the true doctrine of the resurrection. Those teachings became the orthodoxy of the early Christian church and were handed down to modern Christianity. The pure doctrine of corporeal resurrection was weakened, and in some sects, was lost.

The Lord restored the gospel through Joseph Smith. Part of the Restoration qualified him as a special witness of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through him pure …

Mormonism And Islam Through The Eyes Of A “Universal Historian”, James K. Lyon

BYU Studies

In 1912 the internationally known German historian Eduard Meyer published a book that ranked as a curiosity among his writings to that point. In it this remarkably prolific scholar, who in the previous thirty years had published a monumental five-volume history of the ancient world and 274 other books, treatises, and articles, explored two topics that were so alien to the mainstream of his previous work that it baffled his learned peers. Those topics were Mormonism and Islam. Entitled Ursprung und Geschichte der Mormonen, mit Exkursen über die Anfänge des Islâms und des Christentums (The origin and history of the …

The Story Of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries Of Tradition And Reform Roger E. Olson, David L. Paulsen

BYU Studies

Roger E. Olson. The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999. 652 pp. Notes, index. $34.99.

The Rise Of Christianity: How The Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became The Dominant Religious Force In The Western World In A Few Centuries Rodney Stark, John W. Welch, Kathryn Worlton Pulham

BYU Studies

Rodney Stark. The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996; San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997. xiv; 215 pp. Illustrations, index, bibliography. $14.00.

The Church Of The Ancient Councils: The Disciplinary Work Of The First Four Ecumenical Councils Peter L'Huillier, Carl W. Griffin

BYU Studies

Peter L'Huillier. The Church of the Ancient Councils: The Disciplinary Work of the First Four Ecumenical Councils. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996. xii; 340 pp. Index. Paperback, $19.95.

Fire On Ice: The Conversion And Life Of Guðmundur Guðmundsson, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

In A.D. 1000, the Icelandic Parliament held their annual two-week summer session in Parliament's Field, a remote area of southwest Iceland where they had convened each year since A.D. 930. In this lush plain, where lava cliffs bear witness of fire meeting ice, Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the entire Icelandic nation. The year 2000 marks the millennial anniversary of this event. It is also a year of reflection for Latter-day Saints, as the first LDS chapel in Iceland will be dedicated in the summer of 2000.

Christus In Amerika? Mormonentum Als Christliche Religion In Vergleichender Kirchengeschichte Christian Gellinek, Richard Hacken

BYU Studies

Christian Gellinek. Christus in Americka? Mormonentum als christliche Religion in vergleichender Kirchengeschichte. Münster, Germany: agenda Verlag, 1999. 150 pp. Foreword, introduction, bibliography. Paperback, 24.80 DM ($10.00 from BYU Studies).

Dance And Doctrine: Shaker And Mormon Dancing As A Manifestation Of Doctrinal Views Of The Physical Body, Lindsy Stewart Cieslewicz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares the dancing of the Shakers (The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance) and the Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church) during the nineteenth century, as it was influenced by their doctrinal beliefs about the human body. Specifically, it examines how the role of the physical body in achieving mortal happiness and immortal salvation was viewed by each group and how these beliefs were reflected in their dancing. It describes the different forms of dancing performed by each religious group and how dance functioned as worship and recreation for the …

Rediscovering Ancient Christianity, C. Wilfred Griggs

BYU Studies

This Distinguished Faculty Lecture at BYU argues that diverse strands in early Christianity were excised by emerging orthodox leaders and that only a new paradigm based in revelation can recapture the original gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sizing Up The Divide: Reviews And Replies, Matthew R. Connelly, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

Craig L. Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson. How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997. 228 pp. Paperback, $11.99.

How Wide The Divide? A Mormon And An Evangelical In Conversation Craig L. Blomberg And Stephen E. Robinson, Eugene England

BYU Studies

Craig L. Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson. How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997. 228 pp. Paperback, $11.99.

Values Of Christian Families: Do They Come From Unrecognized Idols?, Brent D. Slife

BYU Studies

Family values among today's Christians show the popularity of modernist and postmodernist philosophies. Of the four more prevalent views, only one is truly compatible with Christianity.

Cross-Cultural Conversion Narratives: An American Missionary In Taichung, Taiwan, Amy Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was eight years old. You could say I was sort of born into it, as my father, mother, seven other siblings, and both sets of grandparents are all members as well. I grew up in a small, rural town in Southern Idaho where vegetation is almost as sparse as non-LDS families. As children we were never quite sure which denomination these families belonged to: that they were not Mormon was the only distinction we made. As I was growing up my parents saw to …

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths Karen Armstrong; Jerusalem: The Eternal City David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden And Andrew C. Skinner, Gordon A. Madsen

BYU Studies

Karen Armstrong. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. xxi; 471 pp. Index, illustrations, maps, bibliography. $17.50.

David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner. Jerusalem: The Eternal City. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996. xi; 493 pp. Index, illustrations, maps, appendices, bibliography. $24.95.

The "Prognostication" Of Asa Wild, Elden J. Watson

BYU Studies

Upstate New York newspapers in October 1823 carried a statement by a visionary soul who believed that God would soon open the way for a restoration of primitive Christianity.

Baptists At Our Barbecue Robert F. Smith, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies

Robert F. Smith. Baptists at Our Barbecue. Murray, Utah: Aspen Books, 1996. 262 pp. Paperback. $9.95.

Nature Among The Mormons: An Ecocritical Approach To Mormon Literature, Gail D. Ballard

Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, environmentalists have focused on Judeo-Christian tradition as the cause of Western culture's ecological crisis. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the charges against Judeo-Christian tradition and to show how the revealed doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provide possible solutions to environmental challenges. The resulting Latter-day Saint environmental paradigm will be superimposed on selected Mormon literature to determine how effectively the doctrines taught by Church authorities filtered into popular Mormon culture.

Despite the inspired teachings of Latter-day Saint prophets, Mormons remain unimpressive in their environmental practices. My research will show that while …

Three Views On Latter-Day Saints And Jews, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Jews And Their Future In Early Lds Doctrine, Grant Underwood

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

“Is Mormonism Christian?” Reflections On A Complicated Question, Jan Shipps

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Are Mormons Christians? By Stephen E. Robinson; Offenders For A Word By Daniel C. Peterson And Stephen D. Ricks, Paul Hedengren

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.