Religious Education Commons^™

Joseph Smith And Preexilic Israelite Religion, Margaret Barker

BYU Studies

Terryl Givens has set Joseph Smith in the religious and cultural context of his time and raised many important issues. I should like to take a few of these issues and set them in another context, that of preexilic Jerusalem. I am not a scholar of Mormon texts and traditions. I am a biblical scholar specializing in the Old Testament, and until some Mormon scholars made contact with me a few years ago, I would never have considered using Mormon texts and traditions as part of my work. Since that initial contact I have had many good and fruitful exchanges …

Part 4: Joseph Smith And The Theological World, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

While Joseph Smith lived in what could be called early nineteenth-century Protestant America, many of his teachings, though bearing a close resemblance to biblical Christianity, stood in stark contrast with the theologies of other religions. Distinctively, he insisted on the need for modern and continuing revelation. While Joseph Smith never thought of himself as a theologian, his experiences and declarations have theological implications. What theological answers did Joseph Smith offer the world? What problems do those answers solve? What problems do they raise? Authors in this part also address the issue of divine discourse beyond the Bible and the odyssey …

Joseph Smith Challenges The Theological World, David Paulsen

BYU Studies

In his illuminating book The Story of Christian Theology, Roger Olson states:

Christian theology does not begin at the beginning. That is, Christian theology began well after Jesus Christ walked the earth with his disciples and even after the last disciple and apostle died. . . . The apostles [had] tremendous prestige and authority. . . . While they were alive, there was no need for theology in the same sense as afterward. Theology was born as the heirs of the apostles began to reflect on Jesus’ and the apostles’ teachings to . . . settle controversies about Christian …

Joseph Smith's Theological Challenges: From Revelation And Authority To Metaphysics, Richard J. Mouw

BYU Studies

In his published dialogue with the Evangelical theologian Craig Blomberg, Stephen Robinson observed that one of the factors that makes it so difficult for Mormons and Evangelicals to understand each other is the issue of terminology. The theology of the Latter-day Saints, he noted, has not been shaped by the same developments that Protestants have experienced since the days of the Reformation. This means, Robinson said, that “Latter-day Saints are generally quite naïve when it comes to the technical usage of theological language.”

Speaking Of Faith: The Centrality Of Epistemology And The Perils Of Circularity, Randall Balmer

BYU Studies

It is difficult for me to respond to David Paulsen. I am not—nor have I ever claimed to be—a theologian. I will not presume to engage many of the issues or to intrude on the conversations in his paper. I am intrigued, however, by several themes raised in his paper. I will comment, first, on the crisis of authority; second, on the centrality of epistemology and the perils of theological circularity; and third, on the quintessentially modern enterprise of apologetics.

World Religion: Dynamics And Constraints, Douglas J. Davies

BYU Studies

Mormonism as a world religion and Joseph Smith as its originating prophet furnish the subject of this paper. A brief theoretical reflection on approaching The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides both an opening context for the quantitatively focused debate on Mormonism’s potential for growth into world religion status and an introduction for a more extensive consideration of several factors of a more qualitative kind that may foster or inhibit that development. The paper then ponders the issue of identity in relation to Joseph Smith.

Contributors, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Joseph Smith's Many Histories, Richard L. Bushman

BYU Studies

In 1992 my wife, Claudia, published a book titled America Discovers Columbus: How an Italian Explorer Became an American Hero. The book argued that until the American Revolution, Columbus was almost completely neglected in histories of the British colonies. Not until three centuries after the fact did North Americans honor him as the discoverer of America. Even in 1792, it required a stretch of the imagination to give him the credit, since he never touched foot on the North American continent and for centuries the British had distanced themselves from the hated Spanish exploiters of the New World. But …

The Worlds Of Joseph Smith Gallery Display, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

A display of books, manuscripts, photographs, and artifacts was assembled to accompany “The Worlds of Joseph Smith” conference at the Library of Congress. Twelve items in this display came from collections in the Library of Congress; three from the Library-Archives of the Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri; two from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah; and thirteen from the LDS Church History Library, Archives, and Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City.

Part 3: Joseph Smith In A Personal World, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

Joseph Smith cared intensely about the personal world. He related to individuals. He championed the exercise of individual conscience. He promoted personal revelation. For this part, the presenter was asked to provide insights into Joseph Smith the man, who became devoutly revered by his followers as the Prophet Joseph Smith. What can be known of his background, his personality, his challenges, his opposition, and his charisma? What has drawn people to him? This presentation opens several windows into the mind and heart of a complex human being who responded to a call from God to undertake a divine work.

Biographical Reflections On The American Joseph Smith, Robert V. Remini

BYU Studies

I have long thought that the importance and role of Joseph Smith in the history of religion in America has been muted more than necessary by the Latter-day Saint church. As his biographer, I was and remain very anxious that his contribution to American culture and religion in general be recognized and appreciated, both by Mormons and by non-Mormons.

Archeological Trends And Book Of Mormon Origins, John E. Clark

BYU Studies

Had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, “By Joseph Smith, Junior, Author and Proprietor.” Such an epitaph, taken from the title page of the Book of Mormon, captures the enduring bond between the man and the book, and also the controversy which coalesced around both with the book’s publication and the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. In the ensuing and continuing “war of words” (Joseph Smith–History 1:10) and prejudice, redemption may hang on the single preposition “by.” What hand did Joseph have in producing …

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 …

Testing Stark's Thesis: Is Mormonism The First New World Religion Since Islam?, Gerald R. Mcdermott

BYU Studies

I n 1984, Rodney Stark startled the academic world with a claim that has kept sociologists and religion-watchers scratching their heads ever since. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons,” he predicted, “will soon achieve a worldwide following comparable to that of Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and the other dominant world faiths.”¹ Stark claimed that Mormonism has grown faster than any other new religion in American history. Between 1840 and 1980, it had averaged a growth rate of 44 percent per decade; in the four decades 1940 through 1980, growth zoomed to an astonishing 53 percent. If …

Joseph Smith And The Making Of A Global Religion, Jan Shipps

BYU Studies

In regard to the other “worlds” of the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith was certainly “in that world and of it.” He was clearly in attendance “in his own time;” he attempted to recover past worlds; he was and is present in his own and in the personal worlds of others; and he challenged the theological world of his day.

Index, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Note From The Editor In Chief, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

A Witness In England: Martin Harris And The Strangite Mission, Robin Scott Jensen

BYU Studies

Throughout his long life, Martin Harris (fig. 1) consistently testified that he knew Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates. At first affiliated with Joseph Smith and the main body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for a time Harris associated with a schism led by James J. Strang. He served a mission in England in 1846 for the Strangites, but he claimed to the end of his life that he had never preached against Mormonism or against the Book of Mormon. Indeed, he was a powerful witness of the Book of Mormon during …

Stephen Prothero American Jesus: How The Son Of God Became A National Icon, Patrick Q. Mason

BYU Studies

Stephen Prothero. American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

Val D. Rust Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts And Their Colonial Ancestors, Jenny Hale Pulsipher

BYU Studies

Val D. Rust. Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Introductory Pages, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept": Reflections On The 1877 Commencement Of The Performance Of Endowments And Sealings For The Dead, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

The first endowments for the dead in Latter-day Saint history were performed on January 11, 1877 in the St. George Temple (fig. 1). Seasoned Nauvoo Temple ordinance and Salt Lake City endowment worker, Alonzo H. Raleigh, wrote of the occasion:

Endowments commenced in the [St. George] Temple and for the first time Endowments for the Dead in this Dispensation. 72 persons received their Endowments. I took the lead in the washing and anointing and instructions in the same. Washed, anointed and clothed the first person and took the general lead of the same, all through by promptings by the direction …

The Dedication Of The Oliver Cowdery Monument In Richmond, Missouri, 1911, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies

As one of three witnesses, Oliver Cowdery testified that “an angel of God came down from heaven” to display an ancient record—a record known then and now as the Book of Mormon. Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer affirmed in written testimony that they saw “the engravings thereon,” and more surprisingly that the voice of God declared Joseph Smith’s translation of the record to be true. Even though all three men eventually disassociated themselves from Joseph Smith, later members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints felt to commemorate Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris for their role in the …

London Missionaries And The Great Exhibition Of 1851, Peter J. Vousden

BYU Studies

The history of the world records no event comparable, in its promotion of human industry, with that of the Great Exhibition.” So claimed Henry Cole, the English civil servant who bore much of the responsibility for organizing the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations,” to give it its full title, in London in 1851. Cole’s claim should not be dismissed as mere hyperbole, for the Great Exhibition was on a scale hitherto unknown, and social historians invariably point to the exhibition as the preeminent symbol of Britain’s economic dominance during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth …

The Little And Gardner Hymnal, 1844: A Study Of Its Origin And Contribution To The Lds Musical Canon, Marilyn J. Crandall

BYU Studies

The purpose of this study is to research the hymnal A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Use of the Latter-day Saints, the first LDS hymnal that included musical notation along with the text. Published in 1844 by Blake and Bailey of Bellows Falls, Vermont (now part of Rockingham, Vermont), it was compiled by Jesse Carter Little and George Bryant Gardner, both of whom were living in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and both of whom converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To date, I have been unable to find a single contemporaneous reference to the hymnal. …

The Psalm 22:16 Controversy: New Evidence From The Dead Sea Scrolls, Shon Hopkin

BYU Studies

Few verses in the Bible have produced as much debate and commentary as Psalm 22:16: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” The discussions center on the last character (reading right to left) of the Hebrew כארו‎ (“pierced/dug”), assumed to be the word from which the Septuagint Greek ὤρυξαν (“they have pierced”) was translated—assumed because the original Hebrew texts from which the Septuagint was translated are no longer extant. If the last character of the Hebrew word was a waw (ו), as the Greek seems to indicate, …

Val D. Rust Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts And Their Colonial Ancestors, Stephen J. Fleming

BYU Studies

Val D. Rust. Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004

Naomi Schaefer Riley God On The Quad: How Religious Colleges And The Missionary Generation Are Changing America, Patrick Q. Mason

BYU Studies

Naomi Schaefer Riley. God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005