Brent Lee Metcalfe

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Brent Lee Metcalfe is an independent researcher and writer of the Latter Day Saint Movement.

Contents

Contributions

Metcalfe is on the editorial board of the John Whitmer Historical Association. [1]

Seventh East Press

In the early 1980s, Metcalfe contributed to the Seventh East Press and Sunstone, while at the same time working as a security guard in the Church Office Building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). According to Metcalfe, he was questioned by LDS Church authorities about his writing for the 7EP and Sunstone was "forced to resign" from his job in April 1983. An anonymous source reported that Roy Doxey, then the director of church correlation, wanted to know about the papers Metcalfe was studying at the Church Historical Library, which were on Elias Smith and others. Doxey denied asking about Metcalfe. Metcalfe believed that his firing was because of a few people in church leadership who perceived him as a threat, even though he viewed his own work as apologetic and not scholarly. [2] [3]

At first Metcalfe was placed on 30 days probation by the LDS Security department and ordered to "sever yourself from involvement with people, groups, or publications that teach doctrines, privately or publicly, which are contrary to those of the Prophet." Metcalfe subsequently resigned from the Seventh East Press and told Sunstone that he would no longer write for them. [4] His supervisor removed the probation, but on April 8 Metcalfe's employment was terminated. [4]

New Approaches to the Book of Mormon

In 1993 Metcalfe organized a group of scholars to publish New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, a series of essays that sought to apply techniques of higher criticism to the Book of Mormon. These scholars included Dan Vogel, Stan Larson, David P. Wright, and John Kunich. In it, Metcalfe himself wrote an essay that was the first to advance the Mosiah priority theory, or that Joseph Smith began dictating the Book of Mormon from the Book of Mosiah. This theory is now well accepted in academia. [5] [6]

According to the Deseret News, the response from the apologetic community was "vitriolic." [7] The LDS Church fired Brigham Young University professor David Wright for his contribution to the volume, and excommunicated both Wright [8] and Metcalfe shortly thereafter. [9] An entire issue of FARMS Review of Books was devoted to rebuttals of New Approaches. William J. Hamblin, responding specifically to an article by Metcalfe, phrased the opening 18 paragraphs of his essay to form an acrostic spelling out "Metcalfe is Butthead." The message was discovered after his review had gone to press, [7] and was edited out in archived copies [10] of the journal.

Personal life

Metcalfe is a native of New Zealand. [4] He grew up a member of the LDS Church in a devout family, and served a mission for the LDS Church. [11] [12] His father was the managing director of the Temple Department for the LDS Church. [11] [4]

Mark Hofmann murders

After being fired from his job in security for the LDS Church for his writings, Metcalfe worked first for Steve Christensen and later for Mark Hofmann. [11] According to Metcalfe, he had written a letter to LDS Church leader Gordon B. Hinckley, disputing the grounds for his termination. Hinckley never responded, but was shortly thereafter offered the job by Christensen, which Metcalfe felt was orchestrated by Hinckley. [4] Metcalfe had become an ardent supporter of the forged Salamander letter, and was hired by Christensen to research the letter. [11] When it became rumored that Metcalfe had lost his belief in the historical claims of the LDS Church, Christensen terminated the project and fired Metcalfe. [4] Metcalfe then assisted Hofmann in leaking the existence of the letter to the press, contrary to the wishes of the LDS Church. [11]

As it began to be clearer that Hofmann was counterfeiting documents, Christensen and Kathy Sheets were murdered by separate bombs created by Hofmann, and Hofmann himself was injured when a later bomb he created inadvertently exploded. [11] As both Metcalfe and the police were afraid Metcalfe might be a future target, he went into hiding. [11] Metcalfe became a suspect himself at one point in time. [11] Metcalfe said of the time, "It was soul-crushing ... I felt like somehow I was responsible for what had happened. And I went through a very long phase of just wishing that I had never been born." [12]

Publications

Related Research Articles

The salamander letter was a controversial forged document about the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of the Latter Day Saint movement that surfaced in the early 1980s. The salamander letter presented a view of the life of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, that stood sharply at odds with the commonly accepted version of the early progression of the church Smith established.

Mark William Hofmann is an American counterfeiter, forger, and convicted murderer. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished forgers in history, Hofmann is especially noted for his creation of fake documents related to the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. When his schemes began to unravel, he constructed bombs to murder three people in Salt Lake City, Utah. The first two bombs killed two people on October 15, 1985. On the following day, a third bomb exploded in Hofmann's car. He was arrested for the bombings three months later, and in 1987 pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of theft by deception and one count of fraud.

The September Six were six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the church in September 1993, allegedly for publishing scholarly work against or criticizing church doctrine or leadership. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and was used in the media and subsequent discussion. The church's action was referred to by some as evidence of an anti-intellectual posture on the part of church leadership.

Dennis Michael Quinn was an American historian who focused on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until he resigned in 1988. At the time, his work concerned church involvement with plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, when new polygamous marriages were officially prohibited. He was excommunicated from the church as one of the September Six and afterwards was openly gay. Quinn nevertheless identified as a Latter-day Saint and continued to believe in many LDS teachings, though he did not actively practice the faith.

Thomas W. Murphy is an American anthropologist and writer. His work has focused on environmental issues and various topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Works relating to Joseph Smith</span>

There are many works relating to Joseph Smith. These works cover Joseph Smith's his life, legacy, and teachings. Smith is the author of several works of scripture, and several personal histories, letters, and other writings. There have also been several biographies written about him.

Grant Hart Palmer spent thirty-four years in the LDS Church Education System, teaching institute and seminary, and served as a chaplain at the Salt Lake County jail for thirteen years. In 2002 Signature Books published Grant’s book, An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, in which Grant scrutinized many of Mormonism’s foundational stories. Grant went on to publish two additional books, The Incomparable Christ in 2005, and Restoring Christ: Leaving Mormon Jesus for Jesus of the Gospels.

Daniel Arlon Vogel is an independent researcher, writer, and author on a number of works that include Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet and is most known for his work on early Mormon documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historicity of the Book of Mormon</span> Overview of historical claims of the Book of Mormon

The historicity of the Book of Mormon is the historical actuality of persons and events that are written in it, meaning the quality of it being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. Most, but not all, Latter Day Saints hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. This view finds no confirmation outside of the movement in the broader scientific and academic communities. Relevant archaeological, historical, and scientific facts are not consistent with the Book of Mormon being an ancient record of actual historical events.

Todd Merlin Compton is an American historian in the fields of Mormon history and classics. Compton is a respected authority on the plural wives of the LDS Church founder, Joseph Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of the Book of Mormon</span>

Subjects of criticism of the Book of Mormon include its origins, authenticity, and historicity, which have been subject to considerable criticism from scholars and skeptics since it was first published in 1830. The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi, who said that it had been written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Contemporary followers of the Latter Day Saint movement typically regard the text primarily as scripture, but also as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.

Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.

Richard S. Van Wagoner was an American historian, audiologist, and author who published works on the history of Utah and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosiah priority</span>

Mosiah priority is a theory about the creation of the Book of Mormon arguing that the original manuscript began not with 1 Nephi, but midway through, starting with Mosiah. According to Mosiah priority, after the text of Mosiah through the end of the Book of Mormon was transcribed, Joseph Smith returned to the beginning and transcribed 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon. Mosiah priority is the most widely held solution to questions regarding the sequence of the English text.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Whitmer Historical Association</span>

The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ, other midwestern Restoration traditions, and early Mormonism. The Community of Christ's approach to its own history was influenced, in part, by historical problems raised and explored through JWHA publications and conferences, and those of its sister organization, the Mormon History Association. JWHA membership numbers around 400 and is open to all, fostering cooperation with LDS and non-Mormon scholars.

Mormon feminism is a feminist religious social movement concerned with the role of women within Mormonism. Mormon feminists commonly advocate for a more significant recognition of Heavenly Mother, the ordination of women, gender equality, and social justice grounded in Mormon theology and history. Mormon feminism advocates for more representation and presence of women as well as more leadership roles for women within the hierarchical structure of the church. It also promotes fostering healthy cultural attitudes concerning women and girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Book of Mormon</span> Overview of and topical guide to the Book of Mormon

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Book of Mormon:

This is a bibliography of works on the Latter Day Saint movement.

The Seventh East Press (7EP) was an American student newspaper at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah that published 29 issues from October 6, 1981, to April 1, 1983. Its peak was 4,000 copies. The newspaper was banned from being sold on campus in February 1983 after publishing an interview with Sterling M. McMurrin, a former institute teacher of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who stated that he never literally believed in the Book of Mormon. Afterwards, the 7EP's sales notably decreased, and it ceased publication later that year. Several contributors had their faithfulness questioned by their local leadership at the request of LDS Church leader Mark E. Petersen.

References

  1. ↑ John Whitmer Historical Society Website: JWHA Leadership and Committees
  2. ↑ Anderson, Lavina Fielding (Spring 1993). "The LDS intellectual community and church leadership: A contemporary chronology" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought . 26 (1): 20. doi:10.2307/45228619. JSTOR   45228619.
  3. ↑ "Mormon says he was fired for newspaper articles". The Sun-Advocate (Price, Utah). August 24, 1983. p. 7A.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Naifeh, S., & Smith, G. W. (2005). "The Mormon murders: A true story of greed, forgery, deceit, and death." St. Martins Press. 2005, page 147, 180
  5. ↑ Metcalfe 1993 , pp. 398–99 lists proponents including Hyrum L. Andrus, Edward H. Ashment, Richard L. Bushman, Edwin J. Firmage, Kenneth W. Godfrey, Dean C. Jessee, Stan Larson, Dale L. Morgan, Max J. Parkin, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, John A. Tvedtnes, Dan Vogel, Wesley P. Walters, John W. Welch, Robert John Woodford, as well as the LDS Institute of Religion manual Church History in the Fullness of Times (1989). Since Metcalfe's article, more publications have agreed with Mosiah priority, including:
  6. ↑ Roper, Matthew (1994), "A More Perfect Priority?", Review of Books on the Book of Mormon , 6 (1): 362–78, doi:10.2307/44796961, JSTOR   44796961 , retrieved 2014-01-09
  7. 1 2 Associated Press (1994-03-22). "Book of Mormon Scholars Unleash Salvo of Barbs". Deseret News.
  8. ↑ Carolyn Mooney (1994-05-18). "Another Mormon Scholar is Punished". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  9. ↑ John Charles Duffy, "MAPPING BOOK OF MORMON HISTORICITY DEBATES—PART I", Sunstone Magazine, October 2008, page 42
  10. ↑ William J. Hamblin (1994). "An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies". FARMS Review of Books. 6 (1).
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Linda Sillitoe; Allen Dale Roberts (1988). Salamander: The story of the Mormon forgery murders. Signature Books. ISBN   0941214656. Location 502, 899, 5027 of 9578.[ clarification needed ]
  12. 1 2 Mehrotra, K. (2021, March 3). Where is Brent Metcalfe Now?, The Cinemaholic. Retrieved December 22, 2022
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