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Articles 121 - 150 of 223
Full-Text Articles in Religious Education
What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?: The Views Of Joseph Smith And Soren Kierkegaard, David L. Paulsen
What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?: The Views Of Joseph Smith And Soren Kierkegaard, David L. Paulsen
BYU Studies
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and the American prophet Joseph Smith (1804-1844) both radically critiqued nineteenth-century Christian culture. Though Søren often directed critiques specifically toward the State Church of Denmark, his ultimate target was Christianity as a whole, or simply "Christendom." Joseph's critique singled out no specific church; he also focused on Christianity as a whole. Notwithstanding important differences, Paulsen finds Søren's and Joseph's critiques of nineteenth-century Christendom mutually reinforcing and illuminating. The comparison of Smith's and Kierkegaard's views includes the following ideas: (1) the New Testament church no longer existed, (2) Christian theology had become defiled, (3) the …
1842, Byu Studies
1805-1829, Byu Studies
1840, Byu Studies
1838, Byu Studies
1835, Byu Studies
1839, Byu Studies
1831, Byu Studies
1833, Byu Studies
1834, Byu Studies
1836, Byu Studies
1837, Byu Studies
1843, Byu Studies
1844-1845, Byu Studies
1830, Byu Studies
1841, Byu Studies
1832, Byu Studies
"O Lord, My God", Sheldon Lawrence
"O Lord, My God", Sheldon Lawrence
BYU Studies
Joseph Smith’s dying words have always intrigued me. I like them, in part, for what they don’t say. The expression lacks a verb and thus neither asks nor confesses nor praises nor questions. It is not a plea for extended life or safety. It is not the dying command of a captain to attack or take cover. We find no last instructions to the Saints or final declaration of love and loyalty. But rather as the hot lead balls tore through the prophet’s body, as he staggered at the window’s edge and fell into the tragic fulfillment of his last …
Joseph Smith And The United Firm: The Growth And Decline Of The Church's First Master Plan Of Business And Finance, Ohio And Missouri, 1832-1834, Max H. Parkin
BYU Studies
The United Firm was a business management company established by Joseph Smith (founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) that oversaw both the Church's economic pursuits, such as maintaining properties, and some spiritual matters, such as publishing revelations and planning the city of Zion. Its board of managers essentially fulfilled roles later taken on by Church leaders when quorums were created. The term "United Firm" does not appear in the scriptures, and therefore the organization's role has been misunderstood and underestimated. One of Joseph Smith's pseudonyms for the United Firm was the United Order, but the United …
"It Seems That All Nature Mourns": Sally Randall's Response To The Murder Of Joseph And Hyrum Smith, Jordan Watkins, Steven C. Harper
"It Seems That All Nature Mourns": Sally Randall's Response To The Murder Of Joseph And Hyrum Smith, Jordan Watkins, Steven C. Harper
BYU Studies
Sally Carlisle was born in New Hampshire in 1805. She married James Randall, and they settled in Warsaw, New York, where they had two sons, George and Eli, and converted to Mormonism. They moved to Nauvoo in 1843. A collection of Sally’s letters addressed to friends and family has been preserved. The letter she wrote July 1, 1844, less than a week after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, has a remarkable provenance (see sidebar).
The "Beautiful Death" In The Smith Family, Samuel Brown
The "Beautiful Death" In The Smith Family, Samuel Brown
BYU Studies
Despite thoughtful attempts by Douglas Davies to situate death at the center of the Mormon “culture of salvation,” the exploration of death in early Mormonism has been somewhat limited to date, particularly as it relates to the Smith family and the earliest years of Mormonism. Against this relative silence stands the testimony of the Smiths themselves, who were deeply concerned with questions of mortality. Joseph Smith was unequivocal on this point during his 1843 funeral sermon for James Adams: “All men know that all men must die. What is the object of our coming into existence then dying and falling …
Junius And Joseph: Presidential Politics And The Assassination Of The First Mormon Prophet. By Robert S. Wicks And Fred R. Foister, Susan Sessions Rugh
Junius And Joseph: Presidential Politics And The Assassination Of The First Mormon Prophet. By Robert S. Wicks And Fred R. Foister, Susan Sessions Rugh
BYU Studies
Robert S. Wicks and Fred R. Foister. Junius and Joseph: Presidential Politics and the Assassination of the First Mormon Prophet. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2005.
Joseph Smith: The Making Of A Prophet. By Dan Vogel, Kyle R. Walker
Joseph Smith: The Making Of A Prophet. By Dan Vogel, Kyle R. Walker
BYU Studies
Dan Vogel. Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2004.
The Archive Of Restoration Culture, 1997-2002, Richard Lyman Bushman
The Archive Of Restoration Culture, 1997-2002, Richard Lyman Bushman
BYU Studies
When I first began work on Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling in 1996, I realized that reconstructing the cultural environment of the Prophet would be one of my largest tasks. I could scarcely conceive how to go about probing the huge quantities of sermons, newspapers, journals, pamphlets, books, artworks, and private diaries that possibly bore on the restoration of the gospel in the 1820s through the 1840s. Yet the culture of that period bore directly on the success of the young church under Joseph Smith’s leadership. People would never be able to grasp theological ideas that were entirely foreign to …
Not For Tourists: Richard Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, David J. Whittaker
Not For Tourists: Richard Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, David J. Whittaker
BYU Studies
Richard Bushman’s Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
"Will The Murderers Be Hung?": Albert Brown's 1844 Letter And The Martyrdom Of Joseph Smith, Timothy Merrill
"Will The Murderers Be Hung?": Albert Brown's 1844 Letter And The Martyrdom Of Joseph Smith, Timothy Merrill
BYU Studies
Albert Brown’s November 11, 1844, letter from Nauvoo to his New York relatives adds significantly to the historical record of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. Brown wrote from the perspective of one loyal to Joseph Smith. When studied in connection with antagonistic accounts published earlier in BYU Studies, readers of the letter can sense the views, loyalties, and hostilities of the bitterly divided factions that swirled around Joseph Smith as they once did around Jesus Christ.
"Lightning Out Of Heaven": Joseph Smith And The Forging Of Community, Terryl L. Givens
"Lightning Out Of Heaven": Joseph Smith And The Forging Of Community, Terryl L. Givens
BYU Studies
Several weeks ago I received an email from someone who identified himself as a BYU student doing a research paper on the Prophet Joseph Smith. He asked, “Would you be kind enough to share with me what you feel the impact of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon on the world has been?” This was an important question, so I took time framing my reply. I wrote, “It was big.” However, upon reflection, I decided against sending that email. I did not want to do most of his work for him. I thought perhaps I would now revisit that …
Are Christians Mormon?: Reassessing Joseph Smith's Theology In His Bicentennial, David L. Paulsen
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 As An American Restorationist, Richard T. Hughes
Joseph Smith As An American Restorationist, Richard T. Hughes
BYU Studies
Richard Bushman’s wonderfully expansive paper “Joseph Smith’s Many Histories” reminds us in forceful ways of the historical complexity that helped create the Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith. Bushman also reminds us that while historical complexity is embedded in history, it embeds itself as well in the hearts and minds of human beings who discover the various realities of history and then appropriate those realities for their own purposes. As an illustration of this point, Bushman tells the story of Christopher Columbus— how his standing as the grandfather of the United States was neither acknowledged nor celebrated until after 1776.
Joseph Smith And The Past, John W. Welch
Joseph Smith And The Past, John W. Welch
BYU Studies
My thoughts on Joseph Smith’s interest in past worlds cluster into three sections. The first deals with the challenge of evaluating and assessing Joseph Smith’s recoveries of texts or views from past worlds or civilizations. The second develops a list of ways in which the past functioned in Joseph Smith’s process of continuing revelation. The third focuses on the dynamic link between the past and the present in Joseph Smith’s concept of priesthood authority and its restoration.