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BYU Studies

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From The Editor, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

Dear Readers

Affinities And Infinities: Joseph Smith And John Milton, Rosalynde Welch

BYU Studies

This article is a lightly revised version of a talk prepared for a 2011 symposium organized in honor of Richard Bushman. Titled “Mormonism in Cultural Context: A Symposium in Honor of Richard Lyman Bushman on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday,” the conference was jointly sponsored by the Church History Department, Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, and the Religious Studies Center. Presenters were invited to examine Joseph Smith and the Restoration in relation to large cultural currents and to significant intellectual movements, with the aim of exploring Mormonism in its most expansive religious context.

"Hard" Evidence Of Ancient American Horses, Daniel Johnson

BYU Studies

The suggestion of horses and chariots in pre-Columbian America has long been an easy target for critics of the Book of Mormon. Those who believe in this unique book of scripture have been hard-pressed to defend this aspect of the record and some may have wavered in their faith while trying to circumnavigate this stumbling block. Finding proof of horses in the New World has been a goal for many scholars of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have offered various theories as a means of explanation, yet hard evidence still remains elusive.

The Kirtland Safety Society And The Fraud Of Grandison Newell: A Legal Examination, Jeffrey N. Walker

BYU Studies

The Kirtland Safety Society has long been the source of research and debate within the historical community. Most commentators agree that the Safety Society was an imprudent venture. Some have even argued that its failure marked an almost fatal blow to Joseph Smith’s leadership. Charges of personal gain and illegality are sometimes included in their critique. In addition to the good work done by many scholars, there is more to be said about the legal history of the Kirtland Safety Society. This article seeks to provide a more thorough analysis of the legal establishment of the Society and the challenges …

Aliens, Susan Elizabeth Howe

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Brigham Young: Sovereign In America, Roger Terry

BYU Studies

David Vaughn Mason. Brigham Young: Sovereign in America.

Routledge Historical Americans Series. New York: Routledge, 2015.

All That Was Promised: The St. George Temple And The Unfolding Of The Restoration, Bruce C. Hafen

BYU Studies

Blaine M. Yorgason, Richard A. Schmutz, and Douglas D. Alder. All That Was Promised: The St. George Temple and the Unfolding of the Restoration.

Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013.

Saints Observed: Studies Of Mormon Village Life 1850-2005; Four Classic Mormon Village Studies, Todd L. Goodsell

BYU Studies

Howard M. Bahr. Saints Observed: Studies of Mormon Village Life, 1850-2005.

Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014.

Howard M. Bahr, ed. Four Classic Mormon Village Studies.

Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014.

Diary Of Two Mad Black Mormons: Finding The Lord's Lessons In Everyday Life, Sydney Hughes

BYU Studies

Diary of Two Mad Black Mormons: Finding the Lord’s Lessons in Everyday Life, by Zandra Vranes and Tamu Smith (Salt Lake City: Ensign Peak, 2014).

Conversations With Mormon Historians, Allyson Jones

BYU Studies

Conversations with Mormon Historians, edited by Alexander L. Baugh and Reid L. Neilson (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015).

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Necessity Of Political Parties And The Importance Of Compromise, David B. Magleby

BYU Studies

BYU Studies has a long history of publishing the annual lecture given by the recipient of the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, BYU’s highest faculty honor. It is with great pleasure that BYU Studies Quarterly publishes this year’s lecture by Dr. David B. Magleby, a professor of political science. His speech was delivered as a forum address on May 19, 2015, at Brigham Young University.

Desert Sonnet, Tayva Patch

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

American Crucifixion: The Murder Of Joseph Smith And The Fate Of The Mormon Church, Alexander L. Baugh

BYU Studies

Alex Beam. American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church.

New York: Public Affairs, 2014.

Textual And Comparative Explorations In 1 And 2 Enoch, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies

Textual and Comparative Explorations in 1 and 2 Enoch by Samuel Zinner (Orem, Utah: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014).

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Narrative Atonement Theology In The Gospel Of Mark, Julie M. Smith

BYU Studies

Since each of the four New Testament Gospels contains an account of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, it is perplexing that they receive so little attention in discussions of the Atonement: thinkers both ancient and modern are more likely to turn to Leviticus, Isaiah, or Paul’s letters than they are to the actual accounts of Jesus’s death. But the Gospels—particularly Mark’s Gospel as the oldest canonized account of the life and death of Jesus Christ—surely deserve attention when thinking about the concept of atonement. Yet at the level of discourse, Mark is almost silent on the meaning of …

Muslims Among Mormons: Perspectives On Muslim Students Attending Brigham Young University, Shon D. Hopkin, Ray L. Huntington

BYU Studies

Muslim parents in the Middle East who want their children to receive a Western college education may face a dilemma. While they may see benefits in Western education, they generally also want their children to maintain their adherence to Islam. These parents may worry that their children will be exposed to the antireligious sentiment prevalent in the West or that association with Christianity will negatively affect their commitment to Islam. Parents may also be concerned that their children will be exposed to alcohol, recreational drug use, and premarital sexual activities that are prevalent in Western culture. Muslim youth in the …

Viracocha: Christ Among The Ancient Peruvians?, Scott Hoyt

BYU Studies

There came from a southern direction a white man of great stature, who, by his aspect and presence, called forth great veneration and obedience. This man who thus appeared had great power, insomuch that he could change plains into mountains, and great hills into valleys, and make water flow out of stones. As soon as such power was beheld, the people called him the Maker of created things, the Prince of all things, Father of the Sun. For they say that he performed other wonders, giving life to men and animals, so that by his hand marvellous great benefits were …

Magnitude, Elizabeth Knight

BYU Studies

The Richter scale of magnitude, developed in 1935 by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg of the California Institute of Technology and used to measure the power contained in earthquakes, references only itself; if it were human, we might call it narcissistic. We might also call Mr. Richter narcissistic, since this jointly developed scale was known by only his name, and it was not until after Gutenberg’s death that Richter began to insist on sharing the credit.

Shaping The Earth, Erika Price

BYU Studies

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding.

But water will wear away rock,

which is rigid and cannot yield . . .

This is another paradox:

what is soft is strong.

—Lao Tzu

Leaving Egypt, Tyler Chadwick

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Reprise, Tyler Chadwick

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"The Season Of Eric" At Plan-B Theatre: A Milestone In Mormon Drama, Callie Oppedisano

BYU Studies

When I learned that Plan-B was considering an entire season devoted to my work, I think I was outwardly composed. I may have said something like “Well, that’s very flattering. Thank you.” Or something equally bland. Inside, though, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was playing.

—Eric Samuelsen

Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories, 1832-1844; Histories, Volume 2: Assigned Histories, 1831-1847, James B. Allen

BYU Studies

I am always delighted to pick up a new volume of the Joseph Smith Papers and find that it continues the same book quality that has characterized the series from the beginning. Every volume is elegantly designed and solidly bound, and the editorial work is outstanding. Most of all, every volume includes documents that are invaluable in understanding and writing about early Mormon history.

Called To Teach: The Legacy Of Karl G. Maeser, Heather M. Seferovich

BYU Studies

Powerful and inspiring teachers can profoundly impact their students, both in this life and in the eternities. Many of us are fortunate to look back fondly on one or two influential teachers who played a critical role in shaping our personalities or careers. Anyone who is a teacher, whether in a formal or informal classroom, or anyone who has had an inspiring teacher will enjoy the educational biography of Karl G. Maeser, written by another teacher, A. LeGrand “Buddy” Richards, a professor of educational leadership in the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University.

Nels Anderson's World War I Diary, Kenneth L. Alford

BYU Studies

With the centennial of World War I beginning in 2014, Nels Anderson’s World War I Diary, edited by Allan Kent Powell, is a timely and engaging firsthand account of America’s involvement in “the war to end all wars.” This account sees the war through the eyes of a Latter-day Saint private fighting with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe.

The Mormon Image In The American Mind: Fifty Years Of Public Perception, Sherry Pack Baker

BYU Studies

J. B. Haws received his PhD from the University of Utah and is an assistant professor in the Department of Church History at Brigham Young University. His research interests include twentieth-century history of Latter-day Saints and the general public perception of the group. This book (based on his 2010 PhD dissertation) is the winner of the 2014 Mormon History Association Best Book Award.

New Perspectives On 2 Enoch: No Longer Slavonic Only, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies

This book contains the proceedings of the Fifth Enoch Seminar, held in Naples, Italy, on June 14–18, 2009. The theme of the conference was “Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek: Mediatorial Figures in 2 Enoch and Second Temple Judaism,” covering topics of intrinsic interest for biblical scholars generally, as well as for Latter-day Saints. The book’s subtitle, No Longer Slavonic Only, refers to an important discovery announced at the seminar. The book of 2 Enoch is also commonly referred to as “Slavonic Enoch” because the text has been known only in its Slavonic translation; now Coptic fragments of the text have been …