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Full-Text Articles in Religious Education
First Vision Controversies, Ann Taves
First Vision Controversies, Ann Taves
BYU Studies
When I accepted this invitation to speak, I expected that I would focus on the methods that Steven Harper and I used to compare and discuss the different accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision. We were both quite pleased with the process because we found that careful juxtaposition of the accounts allowed us to agree on the historical data and present a case for our different interpretations. If you look at the published version of our conversation, however, you’ll see that when we attempted to date events that Smith mentioned in his 1838 history, Steve tended to argue for 1820 …
Not The First But The Second, Richard E. Bennett
Not The First But The Second, Richard E. Bennett
BYU Studies
Professor James B. Allen, distinguished scholar of Joseph Smith’s First Vision accounts, wrote the following in a 2012 article: “The writing of Mormon history has only begun. As in the case of other institutions and movements, there is still room in Mormonism for fresh historical scholarship. . . . What is needed, simply, is the sympathetic historian who can approach his tradition with scholarship as well as faith and who will make fresh appraisal of the development of the Mormon mind.”1 The purpose of this presentation is to provide such a “fresh appraisal” of Joseph Smith’s 1820 theophany, less perhaps …
Editor’S Introduction, Katherine Kitterman
Editor’S Introduction, Katherine Kitterman
BYU Studies
I study the history of women’s voting rights in Utah. For the past two years, I’ve been the historical director for Better Days 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to popularize Utah women’s history. The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of Utah women’s first votes, the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, all important parts of the long struggle for equal suffrage in the United States. So this anniversary year is a golden opportunity to learn about women in history who fought for equality, spoke …
A Treasure Trove Of Research Resources About Historical Latter-Day Saint Women, Connie Lamb
A Treasure Trove Of Research Resources About Historical Latter-Day Saint Women, Connie Lamb
BYU Studies
Even considering the fine books and articles on the history of Latter-day Saint women that have been written in the last fifty years, there are still innumerable questions about early Utah women to be explored. For example, how did the votes of women in territorial Utah from 1870 on affect local and territorial elections? Who were the first female politicians in Utah, and what did they accomplish? In what ways were Latter-day Saint women involved in the national suffrage movement in the United States? How did Kanab, Utah, come to have an entire slate of female city officials, and what …
Methodism As Context For Joseph Smith’S First Vision, John Wigger
Methodism As Context For Joseph Smith’S First Vision, John Wigger
BYU Studies
When I started looking at early American Methodism thirty years ago, the first thing that struck me was how full of vibrant supernaturalism it was. Early American Methodists lived in a world where visions, prophetic dreams, and supernatural impressions were everywhere. God spoke to them directly. They talked about these things openly, without embarrassment. Supernaturalism was a part of everyday life and central to their connection to one another.
“Experimental Proof Of The Ever Blessed Trinity”, Rachel Cope
“Experimental Proof Of The Ever Blessed Trinity”, Rachel Cope
BYU Studies
Due to his interest in the experiential elements of religion and his desire to gain a greater understanding of holiness or sanctification, John Wesley wrote letters to some of his followers in the late eighteenth century, asking if they had “experimental proof of the ever blessed Trinity.”1 Fascinated by accounts he had read of de Renty’s encounter with the distinct persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— Wesley wanted to know if others had experienced divine redemption in a similarly relational manner.2 Several individuals responded to his missive in the affirmative; they reported that they had received …
The Visions Of Zion, Peter J. Blodgett
The Visions Of Zion, Peter J. Blodgett
BYU Studies
When Henry Edwards Huntington retired in 1910 from a successful career in railroading and land development, he turned both his great fortune and his vast experience to the advancement of his fondest personal avocation, the collecting of rare books and manuscripts. Already well-known for his accomplishments as a collector, he now applied himself with great effort to this pursuit. By the time of his death in 1927, he had assembled one of the finest private holdings then in existence relating to Anglo-American history and literature. The research library established by Huntington on the foundation of that private collection has remained …
When Did Joseph Smith Know The Father And The Son Have “Tangible” Bodies?, John W. Welch
When Did Joseph Smith Know The Father And The Son Have “Tangible” Bodies?, John W. Welch
BYU Studies
Joseph Smith learned many things in the First Vision—it was a burst of knowledge that poured down upon him in the spring of 1820. Particularly, he was greeted by two divine beings, “whose brightness and glory defy all description.” The first of the two, “pointing to the other,” said, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (JS–H 1:17). Joseph then listened as Jesus spoke. That experience gave more authoritative answers to questions about the Godhead than anyone in the world had received since the vision of Stephen, who saw a heavenly vision of Jesus, “the Son of man standing on …
Even Psalm, Darlene Young
Even Psalm, Darlene Young
BYU Studies
Smog today, but I saw your wink in the pink light of the peaks above it, heard your chuckle in the plumes of trumpets and under-the-skin drums of the high school marching band practicing four blocks away.
Revelations And Translations, Volume 3: Printer’S Manuscript Of The Book Of Mormon The Joseph Smith Papers, James B. Allen
Revelations And Translations, Volume 3: Printer’S Manuscript Of The Book Of Mormon The Joseph Smith Papers, James B. Allen
BYU Studies
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revere the Book of Mormon as a sacred text that was translated “by the gift and power of God” (D&C 135:3) by Joseph Smith and first published in 1830. Since then it has seen numerous editions, has been translated into around one hundred languages, and is distributed around the world. The story of how the Book of Mormon originated and eventually spread is well known, but the details of its textual history are not widely known.
The Saints Abroad: Missionaries Who Answered Brigham Young’S 1852 Call To The Nations Of The World, Bruce A. Van Orden
The Saints Abroad: Missionaries Who Answered Brigham Young’S 1852 Call To The Nations Of The World, Bruce A. Van Orden
BYU Studies
In a specially called conference in August 1852, the First Presidency issued a summons to over one hundred elders, most of whom were husbands and fathers, to serve missions to “the four quarters of the globe” (286). The global reach and large number of these calls were startling at the time and reflected an impressive devotion on the part of the elders, their families, and their leaders.
First To Vote, Katherine Kitterman
First To Vote, Katherine Kitterman
BYU Studies
February 14, 1870, was election day in Salt Lake City. Citizens might have gathered with more than the usual excitement that day to cast their ballots because this was the first election in which Utah women citizens could vote. Seraph Young (later Ford), a twenty-three-year-old schoolteacher and grandniece of Brigham Young, was the first to exercise her new right and became the first woman in the United States to cast a ballot under a women’s equal suffrage law.1
Making The Acquaintance Of Eliza R. Snow, Cherry Bushman Silver
Making The Acquaintance Of Eliza R. Snow, Cherry Bushman Silver
BYU Studies
This is half of an interview conducted by Cherry B. Silver on August 8, 2019, in the BYU Studies offices. The other half will be published in a later issue. Many thanks to Laurel Barlow for transcribing the recording.
Emmeline Wells And The Suffrage Movement, Cherry B. Silver, Sheree M. Bench
Emmeline Wells And The Suffrage Movement, Cherry B. Silver, Sheree M. Bench
BYU Studies
In 1909, Susa Young Gates listed Emmeline B. Wells, along with Elmina S. Taylor and Eliza R. Snow, as one of the three greatest women The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had produced.1 Biographer Carol Cornwall Madsen attests to the spread and durability of Emmeline’s influence, reminding us that “she was the most widely known Mormon woman of her time, in and outside” the Church and Utah.2 She was bright, observant, and articulate, with a keen memory. She was an outspoken representative of her people, meeting with presidents and national suffrage leaders, and she left a voluminous record …
Why Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Why Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
BYU Studies
Although it is a bit disconcerting to admit it, I am most widely known today not for my books, but for a single sentence. You’ve probably seen it: Well-behaved women seldom make history. I don’t get royalties when somebody prints my words on mugs, T-shirts, bumper stickers, greeting cards, or any of the other paraphernalia sold in gift shops or on the internet, but I sometimes get thank-you notes or snapshots of fans carrying hand-lettered signs in marches. One of my favorite examples of the latter shows a bright pink poster in a crowd near Wellington Arch in London. …
Courtship, Claudia L. Bushman
Courtship, Claudia L. Bushman
BYU Studies
People ask from time to time how Richard and I met. I have told the story in various ways for different occasions. It all began in 1952, some sixty-eight years ago at this writing. I call the man I eventually married Dick in this account. He later, about 1992, became Richard.
My Life In Art, Richard Lyman Bushman
My Life In Art, Richard Lyman Bushman
BYU Studies
My father, Ted Bushman, was an artist. He worked his way through BYU in the 1920s painting signs and drawing cartoons. Before he graduated, he worked as a fashion artist in Los Angeles for a short time. After he married my mother, he made his living as a freelance artist for Salt Lake department stores, especially Auerbach’s. When work dried up during the Depression, he took a position at Meier & Frank in Portland, Oregon, as a fashion artist for the store’s multipage newspaper ads. Gradually, he migrated to the management side and eventually took a position with an ad …
Psalter For The Eternal Mother, Tyler Chadwick
Psalter For The Eternal Mother, Tyler Chadwick
BYU Studies
O, Lady of Luminous Things, Vessel of Radiance and Wisdom, Let-There-Be and Bearing Witness—
Learning To Touch, Marilyn Bushman-Carlton
Learning To Touch, Marilyn Bushman-Carlton
BYU Studies
I was relieved when my daughter arrived at the dying, when she got to work saturating a hospital sponge, pressing it inside her grandmother’s cheek, allowing her to drink. I marveled
Our Lady Of The Unicorn Blanket-Cape, Tyler Chadwick
Our Lady Of The Unicorn Blanket-Cape, Tyler Chadwick
BYU Studies
O, Mythical Daughter, Story-Seeker, Herald of Imagination and Reverie— May your frayed and faded mantle burden you with comfort and abundance— May it swaddle your dreams, nuzzling their shadows into pastures of promise and grace, boldness and prophecy—
Editor’S Introduction, Susan Elizabeth Howe
Editor’S Introduction, Susan Elizabeth Howe
BYU Studies
It is with pride and gratitude that we present this issue of BYU Studies Quarterly—pride in recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution giving women the right to vote and the 150th anniversary of the granting of that right to the women of Utah, and gratitude to the excellent historians, other writers, and artists who have contributed to the issue. McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding have written three books with the title Girls Who Choose God, and Kathleen Peterson, the artist whose work we feature on the cover, has illustrated those …
Dime Novel Mormons, Veronica Anderson
Dime Novel Mormons, Veronica Anderson
BYU Studies
In Dime Novel Mormons, editors Michael Austin and Ardis E. Parshall invite the readers to experience late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century portrayals of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. Beginning in the 1860s, dime novels gained popularity in the United States. These novels, full of thrilling storylines and heroic characters, often included negative stereotypes of various groups of people. Among them, “Mormons” were often depicted as murderous villains who kidnapped women for polygamist marriages and operated an underground society of Danites— dangerous vigilantes out to kill “gentiles” (x–xi).
The Grove, James Goldberg
The Grove, James Goldberg
BYU Studies
When the Smiths put money down on that plot of land, it was all trees. Maples and beech, wild cherry and ironwood; ash, oak, hickory, elm. The boys must’ve measured their hours by axe-stroke some days as they put their shoulders to the slow, sweaty work of clearing land. To make room for wheat, rye, and oats, for buckwheat and beans they brought down maybe six thousand trees— those towering majesties—some saplings before Columbus laid eyes on their world’s distant shore.
Sermon Notes Of Jesse Townsend, A Presbyterian Minister In Palmyra, New York, John G. Turner
Sermon Notes Of Jesse Townsend, A Presbyterian Minister In Palmyra, New York, John G. Turner
BYU Studies
After his youthful visionary encounter with God the Father and Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith Jr. recovered his strength and stumbled home. When Lucy Mack Smith, his mother, asked Joseph what the matter was, the boy reported that the church that attracted her and several of his siblings was false. He would not join it. “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true,” the budding prophet informed his mother.1
Rock Of Promise, K. D. Taylor
Rock Of Promise, K. D. Taylor
BYU Studies
When storms from thine opposer Entice our hearts to fear, O God, thou great disposer Of blessings, bid us hear
Working For A More Divine Model, Mcarthur Krishna, Bethany Brady Spalding
Working For A More Divine Model, Mcarthur Krishna, Bethany Brady Spalding
BYU Studies
When Bethany’s daughter Simone was almost three, she and Bethany were reading a popular LDS children’s book of scripture stories. At the end of it, Simone turned to her mom and demanded, “Where are the girls? I want to read about the girls!” Not unfamiliar with this question herself, Bethany was still surprised. She picked up the book, flipped through, and found the authors had not chosen to tell the story of even a single woman.
Hope In A Time Of Fracture, Anne Snyder
Hope In A Time Of Fracture, Anne Snyder
BYU Studies
In the spring of 2015, I encountered two worlds within twenty-four hours—worlds yoked by creed but divided by demographic and disposition. On a crisp Wednesday evening in May, I was invited to attend a cocktail reception at the New York Yacht Club for a celebration among Jews, Catholics, and Evangelicals honoring the legacy of a man named Dietrich von Hildebrand, a philosopher and anti-Nazi hero during World War II. The room was filled with intellectuals, politicos, bankers, and think-tankers, and they were largely male and all Caucasian. These were true believers, and yet they felt isolated in their faith amid …
An Apostolic Journey: Stephen L Richards And The Expansion Of Missionary Work In South America, Elisa Eastwood Pulido
An Apostolic Journey: Stephen L Richards And The Expansion Of Missionary Work In South America, Elisa Eastwood Pulido
BYU Studies
In their work An Apostolic Journey: Stephen L Richards and the Expansion of Missionary Work in South America, authors Richard E. Turley Jr. and Clinton D. Christensen have compiled a documentary history of the 1948 journey of Apostle Stephen L Richards and his wife, Irene Merrill Smith Richards, to South America. Turley is a former assistant Church historian and former managing director of the Department of Public Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Christensen has spent much of his career at the Church History Department collecting Latter-day Saint history from Latin America. An Apostolic …
Narrating Homicide Chiastically, John W. Welch
Narrating Homicide Chiastically, John W. Welch
BYU Studies
The truth be known, murder is an ugly, awful subject. Even when packaged in beautifully crafted literature, first-degree homicide is to be universally assailed as vile, horrible, and most terrible. Murder is disruptive to the very fabric of human life. It instills in the community anxieties, horror, fear, chaos, vengeance, and blood feuds. It throws the normal boundaries of human powers in the world into personal turmoil, into metaphysical uncertainty, and into cosmic imbalance.
Rethinking The Structure Of The “Farewell Discourse” (John 13–17) Through A Chiastic Lens, Wayne Brouwer
Rethinking The Structure Of The “Farewell Discourse” (John 13–17) Through A Chiastic Lens, Wayne Brouwer
BYU Studies
Briefly stated, my thesis is this: although it is very difficult to read the mind of the Evangelist, or the redactor who brought elements of previously written material into the shape of the gospel as we have it today, it appears that the repetitive and reflexive elements of the Johannine farewell discourse fit together into a large chiasm1 bounded by expressions of spiritual intimacy with God on either end (the foot washing episode of ch. 13 and the prayer of ch. 17) and channeled toward the challenge to “abide” in Jesus at the center (15:1–17). In outline, it could be …