Mormonism and history

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Mormon handcart pioneers are memorialized on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mormon Pioneer handcart statue.jpg
Mormon handcart pioneers are memorialized on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Mormon religion is predicated on what are said to be historical events such as the First Vision of Joseph Smith and the historicity of the Book of Mormon, which describes a detailed pre-Columbian history of the Americas. [1] Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), declared that "Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground." [2] As Jan Shipps has written, "Mormonism, unlike other modern religions, is a faith cast in the form of history," and until after World War II, Mormons did not critically examine the historical underpinnings of their faith; any "profane" investigation of the church's history was perceived "as trespassing on forbidden ground." [3]

Contents

Although traditional Christianity is likewise a history religion, [4] few primary sources survive from two or three millennia ago, and biblical places such as Jerusalem, Jericho, and Bethlehem, are acknowledged to exist by scholars of every religious persuasion. Likewise, the Assyrian and Babylonian empires mentioned in the Bible are treated in all histories of the ancient Near East. By contrast, locations of Book of Mormon places are disputed even by Mormons, and the existence of those places is not acknowledged by any non-Mormon scholars. Martin Marty, a Lutheran scholar of American religion, has observed that LDS beginnings are so recent "that there is no place to hide. ... There is little protection for Mormon sacredness." [5]

"Mormons remember"

As Richard and Joan Ostling have written, "Mormons remember." There has been an official church historian since the organization of the LDS Church, and "Mormon youths and their sisters are exhorted to keep journals as part of their religious commitment. Missionaries are reminded by their superiors that the journals represent a part of their sacred duties." [6] The pioneer era is an especially fertile field for faith-promoting history. As Wallace Stegner has written, the "tradition of the pioneer that is strong all through the West is a cult in Utah." [7] Mormons "tell and retell their stories of pioneer privations and persecutions." Mormon young people are often given the opportunity to pull a handcart through a patch of desert; Mormon children are early taught the miracle of the gulls, the story of seagulls that supposedly saved the crops of the earliest Utah pioneers from an invasion of crickets in 1848. [8]

Under church president Joseph F. Smith, the LDS Church began to purchase, refurbish, and reconstruct its sacred sites, beginning with Carthage Jail in 1903. "Visitors' centers, restored houses, historic parks, monuments, and trail markers sprouted everywhere." In 1999, the church maintained forty-four such sites, many of which were staffed by its missionaries. [9]

Mormons have also developed "something of an annual outdoor pageant circuit" which serves as both a proselytizing tool and a "faith-affirming" experience to the volunteer participants and most of the audience. [10] An elaborate Hill Cumorah pageant, on the site where Smith said the golden plates were given to him, has been annually performed since 1937. [11] Other LDS pageants are regularly performed in eight locations in the United States, including Nauvoo, Illinois; Independence, Missouri; Manti, Utah; and Oakland, California. [9]

Likewise, the LDS Church has regularly produced faith-promoting films with excellent production values for showing in Salt Lake City and at the visitors' centers of Mormon historic sites. Historical films include Legacy: A Mormon Journey (1990), The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd (2000), and Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration (2005). As the Ostlings have written, Legacy is "an example of ritualized history, effectively idealized and simplified." In discussing the Mormon pioneer heritage, "there is no hint of polygamy or millennial land claims or any other distinctive Mormon doctrine, just the idea that a prophet Joseph Smith came up with a new sacred book asking people to lead holy lives." [12] Smith dies as a martyr without mention of Mormon destruction of a Nauvoo newspaper, which triggered the crisis. [12] Nevertheless, "the drama and scenery of the trek are so beautifully photographed" that many Mormons saw the movie repeatedly when visiting Temple Square. [12]

History and theology

Mormon high school students are encouraged to take seminary, a four-year course of religious study. These one-year courses have annual focus on the following: the Old Testament; New Testament; Book of Mormon; and church history and the Doctrine and Covenants. The objective is to enable each student to be familiar with the scriptures and to assist them in applying gospel principles in their daily life. College age students between the ages of 18 and 30 are also encouraged to take religious classes known as "institute". At private church-sponsored universities and colleges, religion courses are required for graduation. Comparatively little of Mormon doctrinal teaching involves "what traditional Christian catechism would call 'pure theology.'" [13] Mormon "history evolves as part of the church's canon," and an LDS Correlation Committee attempts to ensure that "all church publications, from periodicals to curriculum materials, follow official policy and express official interpretations. This means that sensitive historical issues frequently are downplayed, avoided, or denied." [13]

Even the scriptures have been rewritten to fit current doctrine, in line with the idea of continuity and progressive revelation. But once a new version is published, historians are not supposed to notice the change, nor can they write about variations in previous editions. The church regards such reminders as unacceptably embarrassing. The result has been something of an underground traffic in early church documents and editions." [14]

Historian D. Michael Quinn, later excommunicated from the LDS Church, noted that traditional "Mormon apologists discuss such 'sensitive evidence' only when this evidence is so well known that ignoring it is almost impossible." [15] In an oft-quoted speech to church educators in 1981, apostle Boyd K. Packer warned them from the temptation "to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith-promoting or not. ... In an effort to be objective, impartial, and scholarly, a writer or a teacher may unwittingly be giving equal time to the adversary. ... Do not spread disease germs!" [16] In addition, speaking on "scholars" and "intellectuals," Packer also stated "The dangers I speak of come from the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement (both of which are relatively new), and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals." [17] Packer went so far as to question the spirituality of some Mormon historians: "One who chooses to follow the tenets of his profession, regardless of how they may injure the church or destroy the faith of those not ready for 'advanced history' is himself in spiritual jeopardy." [18] In the same speech, Packer described how the things historians tell one another are not uplifting and "go far beyond the audience they may have intended, and destroy faith." [18]

Packer has not been the only LDS Church leader critical of historians. Ezra Taft Benson, the church's 13th president, was also outspoken concerning LDS historians. According to Benson

This humanistic emphasis on history is not confined only to secular history; there have been and continue to be attempts made to bring this philosophy into our own Church history. Again the emphasis is to underplay revelation and God's intervention in significant events, and to inordinately humanize the prophets of God so that their human frailties become more evident than their spiritual qualities. [19]

Benson also warned historians against adding context and background information concerning revelations and LDS history. Referring to Benson, church member and historian D. Michael Quinn explained,

Elder Benson gives as examples the discussion by historians of the American temperance movement in the 1830s as part of the circumstances out of which Joseph Smith obtained the revelation on the Word of Wisdom, and he referred to historians who explained the revelation on the three degrees of glory in terms of contemporary questions by American philosophers about the afterlife [20]

The result of this attitude of Mormonism toward history is that truth, "supposedly embedded in history," becomes "dynamic and fluid." [21] Therefore, as Marxist historian Mark Leone has written, "the church has discouraged any intellectual tradition that would interfere with disguising historical factors or with maintaining much of the social reality through the uncritical way lay history is done." [22]

"Faithful history"

A non-LDS representation of Joseph Smith translating the golden plates by looking at seer stones at the bottom of a hat. Most eyewitnesses described Smith as translating the plates by burying his face in a hat to block out the light; but little church-produced art portrays the process in this way. JosephSmithTranslating.jpg
A non-LDS representation of Joseph Smith translating the golden plates by looking at seer stones at the bottom of a hat. Most eyewitnesses described Smith as translating the plates by burying his face in a hat to block out the light; but little church-produced art portrays the process in this way.

During the early years of the church, Mormons concentrated on telling providential history as they had been commanded to do by Joseph Smith. [30] Church clerks compiled a history of the Latter-day Saint movement, weaving the accounts of various people together "into a seamless narrative as though Smith himself were speaking." Then between 1902 and 1912, Mormon apologist B. H. Roberts prepared the work for publication, including as part of the title the phrase "History of Joseph Smith the Prophet, by Himself." "Even worse than causing confusion over Smith's lack of authorship, Roberts made corrections, deletions, and emendations to the six-volume work without explaining his reasons for doing so." [31]

In the twentieth century, the term "faithful history" became a synonym for official Mormon historical writing that was apologetic and celebratory and that downplayed or avoided "sensitive aspects of Mormon history." [32] "If the scholar was Mormon and the church did not like the message, it attacked the messenger." [33]

New Mormon History

Between the works of "faithful historians" and historical works created by disillusioned Mormons, such as Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History (1945), grew the New Mormon History, which emphasized "examining the Mormon past in the hope of understanding it" rather than attacking or defending the religion itself. [34] The most noted of the early New Mormon Historians was Leonard J. Arrington, who earned his doctorate in economics but whose early work culminated in the publication of Great Basin Kingdom, An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints (Harvard University Press, 1958), which became "a watershed in the writing of the New Mormon History." [34] Arrington played an important role in organizing the Mormon Historical Association in 1965 and became its first president.

In 1972, Arrington was called to serve as the LDS Church Historian, although he was not a General Authority. [35] Some of Arrington's efforts to publish New Mormon history scholarship through the Church Historian's office met positive reception, such as apostle Howard W. Hunter and church president Spencer W. Kimball's approval of the book The Story of the Latter-day Saints . [36] [37] Hunter was Arrington's predecessor as Church Historian, and he in particular believed the church was "mature enough that our history should be honest" and was excited about the Church Historical Department's new professional direction. [36] In 1978, Kimball went so far as to tell Arrington, "the Lord is pleased that you are the historian of his church." [38]

However, other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles—specifically Ezra Taft Benson (quorum president at the time), Mark E. Peterson, and Boyd K. Packer—became highly critical of Arrington's work [39] and, according to D. Michael Quinn, "shared a suspicion of what was going on in the historical department and misgivings concerning Leonard's appointment." [40] Some of Arrington's subordinates were not allowed to publish through church organs or imprints, and they were eventually removed. Church president Kimball disapproved of the criticism, considering it unchristian, but he still refrained from directly censuring critical apostles, resulting in critics generally having the last word on the Church Historical Department. [36] Privately, Arrington wrote, "Our great experiment in church-sponsored history has proved to be, if not a failure, at least not an unqualified success." [41] In 1982, the First Presidency sent Arrington a personal letter releasing him from his call as church historian, and the release "was not publicly announced in General Conference." [42] When the church added a gallery of portraits of all church historians to the East Wing of the Church Office Building, Arrington was not included. [43] [44] A portrait of Arrington was later hung in 1990, but he was grouped with "division heads" rather than with the church historians. [36] According to Quinn, "Leonard [Arrington] became the fall guy ... and the apostles blamed him for everyone who was disturbed or upset or embarrassed about something that they read based upon research that was done since 1972." [40]

Mormon studies became an increasingly hazardous pursuit for Mormon scholars, "especially if they were members of the Brigham Young University faculty." [45] The Church restricted access to papers formerly available to non-Mormons and asked researchers to sign releases "giving the church permission to exercise pre-publication censorship." [42] The sensational Mark Hofmann murder and forgery case of 1985, could only have developed from the "curious mixture of paranoia and obsessiveness" with which both the LDS Church and individual Mormons approached the history of their faith. [46]

Tension between faith and scholarship

D. Michael Quinn

Some LDS Church historians have lost their membership after publishing their work. The most well-known is former Brigham Young University (BYU) professor D. Michael Quinn, who was eventually excommunicated for insubordination. [40] To become a BYU professor, Quinn had to meet with LDS Church apostle Boyd K. Packer, and according to Quinn, Packer told him at that meeting that he had "a hard time with historians, because historians idolize the truth." [40]

Later Quinn's local bishop told him that on the authority of LDS Church apostles, he had been asked to withdraw Quinn's temple recommend until Quinn agreed to stop publishing material damaging to the LDS Church, which it viewed as "speaking ill of the Lord's anointed". [40] According to Quinn, the bishop told him to "find some way to do history without these conflicts with the brethren." Quinn said he replied that he would do his best but that he did not know how he "could do both at the same time." [40] Because BYU professors were required to have a temple recommend, the bishop put the recommend in his desk drawer and told Quinn if anyone asked him if he had a temple recommend, he could say yes. [40]

Quinn taught at BYU for a few more years but eventually decided to resign rather than be forced out. [40] Quinn never again held an academic position and was eventually excommunicated from the church for insubordination because he refused to meet with LDS local leaders concerning "an accusation of apostasy based upon my publications." [40]

Richard Bushman

Richard Bushman, an academic historian who is also a believing Mormon, has written about the tension he feels in writing accurately while also supporting his faith. In his book, Rough Stone Rolling , Bushman does not conceal the more controversial aspects of Joseph Smith's character, but he does try to ameliorate their impact on believing readers while still maintaining historical objectivity. In his essay "The Balancing Act: A Mormon historian reflects on his biography of Joseph Smith," Bushman noted that one reviewer had written of his "walking a high wire between the demands of church conformity and the necessary openness of scholarly investigation." [47] In response, Bushman argued that one did not have to be objective to write history.

Passion and belief are certainly not requirements for historical inquiry, but neither are they crippling handicaps. Once we relinquish, as we must, the "noble dream" of objective history, personal commitment becomes a valuable resource ... Contrary to the idea that belief closes the mind, our passions open our eyes and ears. Stifling my belief in Joseph Smith would extinguish one of my greatest assets. [47]

Bushman said he wanted to avoid writing a hagiography because he wanted to engage "all kinds of readers." Bushman explained,

My historical instincts moved me to tell the whole story as truthfully as I could anyway, but I also knew that if I overly idealized Smith, I would lose credibility with non-Mormons. I also knew that if I overly idealized Smith, I would lose credibility with non-Mormons. With a broad readership in mind, I could not conceal his flaws. Moreover, I tried to voice unbelieving readers' likely reactions when Smith married additional wives or taught doctrines foreign to modern sensibilities. When he went beyond the pale, I acknowledged readers' dismay. [47]

In a short but revealing book published after his book tour for Rough Stone Rolling, Bushman concluded that he had "the educated Mormons" with him but that although he had the respect of most non-Mormon scholars, he did not have "their acquiescence. I have not given them a Joseph they can believe in." [48]

Grant Palmer

Initially Grant Palmer was hired to teach history at the Church College of New Zealand. Shortly later he began teaching religion, which led to a 34-year career in the Church Educational System (CES). He was director of the LDS Institute of Religion in Whittier, California (1970–73) followed by Chico, California (1975–80). Returning to Utah, he then taught LDS seminary at East High School in 1980 and at Brighton High School from 1980 to 1988. [49]

During this time the infamous Salamander letter surfaced, which challenged the orthodox story of Mormon beginnings, though the letter was eventually found to be a forgery. As an ardent student of LDS history, the letter caused Palmer to consider the influences of American folk magic on Joseph Smith's religious practices. [49] In 1985, Palmer's research on this issue led him to write and circulate a manuscript called "New York Mormonism" under the pseudonym "Paul Pry, Jr." which became the first draft of An Insider's View of Mormon Origins. [50] As he grew uneasy with some aspects of LDS history, Palmer approached his CES supervisor about changing positions to teach adults at the Salt Lake County Jail. Teaching more general Christian and Biblical lessons of faith and ethics to all inmates, he was the jail's chaplain and director of its Institute program from 1988 until his 2001 retirement. [51] He also served on the board of directors of the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association. [52]

After completing his long-coming manuscript, he published the controversial book An Insider's View of Mormon Origins with Signature Books in 2002, in which Palmer challenged the orthodox teachings of Mormonism's beginnings. Palmer's prison teaching led him to write another book, The Incomparable Jesus, published by Greg Kofford Books in 2005. [51]

In 2003 An Insider's View was criticized by BYU's Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) in reviews written by Daniel C. Peterson, Davis Bitton, Steven C. Harper, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Louis Midgley. These were published in the FARMS Review alongside an official statement from BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History disagreeing with Palmer's conclusions. [53] In the following Review issue, historian James B. Allen published another critical review. [54]

Palmer asserts that he was disfellowshipped from the LDS Church in December 2004 as a result of An Insider's View of Mormon Origins. (Being disfellowshipped results in probational loss of some church privileges without being forced to leave the church).

Palmer concluded that while he liked many of the teachings of Joseph Smith, "the foundational events in church history are too problematic to ignore". He found that much of what Latter-day Saints take for granted as literal history has, over the years, been modified to emphasize certain aspects over others. This, he believes, has resulted in an inaccurate picture of LDS Church history.

Palmer argues also that the Mormon Jesus is very different from the current Christian Jesus due to the modern practices of the LDS Church such as forced tithing, avoidance of wine drinking, and use of special clothing. [55]

In 2008, Palmer wrote an article in The Salt Lake Tribune comparing the Mormon and Catholic Churches to the Pharisees, whose observance of strict laws and oral traditions was decried by Jesus. Palmer believed that, instead, a true belief in Christian religion is centered in individually becoming good and loving people. [56]

Palmer stated in a Mormon Stories interview in 2012 that due to the publication of a two and half page article in 2010, "Religious feeling and truth", for an obscure Baptist journal in Kansas City, a second disciplinary council was scheduled but Palmer handed in his resignation before the hearing was held. Several reasons led to his decision; mainly, that the first disciplinary council lasted an exhausting seven hours and he did not want to repeat that experience and also that the presiding authority of the second council let him know beforehand that to stay a member and avoid excommunication he would need to repudiate all of the details from his book and also regain his testimony of the church. [57]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "The foundations of the Church are grounded in a series of historic events, without which the Restoration would be incomprehensible and impotent." Douglas F. Tobler and S. George Ellsworth, "History, Significance to Latter-Day Saints," in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 596.
  2. ↑ "If Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed; his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an impostor cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth. If his claims and declarations were built upon fraud and deceit, there would appear many errors and contradictions, which would be easy to detect."McConkie, Bruce R., ed. (1971). Doctrines of Salvation, Vols. 1-3: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith. Bookcraft. p. 188. ISBN   978-1-57008-646-5. as quoted by Cowan, Marvin W. (1997). Mormon Claims Answered . Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  3. ↑ Jan Shipps, Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons (Urbana: University of Illinois, 2000), 164-65.
  4. ↑ For instance, in I Corinthians 15. 14, St. Paul says, "if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain." (KJV)
  5. ↑ Martin Marty, "Two Integrities: An Address to the Crisis in Mormon Historiography," in George D. Smith, ed., Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 174. Faithful History is a collection of essays expressing different views about how to approach the history of the LDS Church. The work includes essays written by two articulate Church apologists, Louis Midgley and David Earl Bohn, although neither is a historian.
  6. ↑ Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Osling, "Faithful History," in Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999), 238-39.
  7. ↑ Wallace Stegner, The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1981), 2.
  8. ↑ Ostling, 241-42. "'Miracle' status apparently has grown since an 1853 General Conference mention by Apostle Orson Hyde, amplified and reinforced over the years by stories in Mormon publications and official church histories." On the story of the gulls, see William G. Hartley, "Mormons, Crickets, and Gulls: A New Look at an Old Story," in D. Michael Quinn, ed., The New Mormon History: Revisionist Essays on the Past (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 137-151.
  9. 1 2 Ostling, 240-41.
  10. ↑ Ostling, 243.
  11. ↑ "Website of the Hill Cumorah Pageant". Archived from the original on 2006-11-25. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  12. 1 2 3 Ostling, 242.
  13. 1 2 Ostling, 247.
  14. ↑ Ostling, 248.
  15. ↑ D. Michael Quinn, ed., The New Mormon History: Revisionist Essays on the Past (Salt Lake City: Signature, 1992), xiii
  16. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, Fifth Annual Church Educational System Religious Eucators' Symposium, August 22, 1981, Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University Studies, quoted in Susan Stansfield Wolverton, Having Visions: The Book of Mormon Translated and Exposed in Plain English (New York: Algora Publishing, 2004), 57. See also, Boyd K. Packer, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1991), 106.
  17. ↑ Packer, Boyd K. (May 18, 1993), Talk to the All-Church Coordinating Council Online reprint by John W. Redelfs at ZionsBest.com
  18. 1 2 Packer, Boyd K. (Summer 1981), "The Mantle Is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect", BYU Studies , 21 (3), archived from the original on 2013-03-10
  19. ↑ Benson, Ezra Taft (March 28, 1977). God's Hand in Our Nation's History (Speech). BYU Fireside. BYU Speeches. Brigham Young University.
  20. ↑ Quinn, D. Michael (1992). "On Being a Mormon Historian (and Its Aftermath)". In Smith, George D. (ed.). Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN   1-56085-007-8. LCCN   91021222. OCLC   23941120.
  21. ↑ Ostling, 249.
  22. ↑ Mark P. Leone, The Roots of Modern Modernism, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979), 204, 211.
  23. ↑ Palmer, Grant H. (2002). An Insider's View of Mormon Origins. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books. pp. 1–2. ISBN   9781560851578. Illustrations in the church magazine, the Ensign, depict the prophet studying the plates much like an archaeologist or classicist might.
  24. ↑ Taves, Ann (2014). "History and the Claims of Revelation: Joseph Smith and the Materialization of the Golden Plates". Numen. 61 (2/3): 182–207. doi:10.1163/15685276-12341315 – via eScholarship. Although modern LDS depictions of Smith translating the revelation often depict him looking at the plates, there is extensive insider testimony to the effect that he actually dictated his translation of the plates to scribes while looking at the 'interpreters'—the urim and thummim or his seer stone—positioned in a hat to block out the light.
  25. ↑ Sweat, Anthony (2015). "The Role of Art in Teaching Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine". Religious Educator. 16: 40–57. For example, in each of the seventeen Ensign images, Joseph Smith is shown looking into open plates (not closed or wrapped or absent plates). . . . Most tellingly, none of the images ever printed in the history of the Ensign (or recent Church videos, such as Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration) depict the translation process of the Book of Mormon as having taken place by placing a seer stone or the Nephite interpreters in a hat.
  26. ↑ "Seer Stones and the Translation of the Book of Mormon". Latter-day Saint History. March 19, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved May 15, 2021– via YouTube. For a long time, church art tended to depict the translation of the Book of Mormon as Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey sitting around a table, sometimes with the gold plates on the table, but that's not really the best match for what we know about the translation process.
  27. ↑ Goble, Clark (June 1, 2017). "The Problem of Mormon Art". Times & Seasons. Retrieved May 15, 2021. People remember paintings that had Joseph with gold plates, indicating he read them. People didn't remember all the lessons that he translated them by looking at the Urim & Thummim. . . . what they remembered was the misleading art.
  28. ↑ Smoot, Stephen Owen (April 28, 2015). "Book Notice: 'From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon'". Ploni Almoni. Retrieved May 15, 2021. The book includes a number of original pieces by Sweat depicting Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon by peering into a seer stone at the bottom of a hat.
  29. ↑ "Question: What Church Sources Discuss Either the Use of the Seer Stone or the Stone and the Hat as Part of the Book of Mormon Translation Process?". FAIR . Retrieved May 15, 2021. According to this timeline of church descriptions and depictions of the seer stone and hat in Smith's translation, illustrations in "the Church publication From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, by Michael Hubbard Mackay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, Religious Studies Center, BYU, Deseret Book Company (May 11, 2015)" are the only church-produced visual depictions of Smith translating the golden plates by burying his face in the opening of a hat to examine seer stones placed inside.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  30. ↑ Ronald W. Walker, David J. Whittaker, and James B. Allen, Mormon History (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001), 5.
  31. ↑ Mormon History, 8.
  32. ↑ Ostling, 251. The church has always tried to retain control over the telling of its history. When in 1853 Orson Pratt published the memoirs of Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, Brigham Young "was unhappy with the book and ordered the printing destroyed." Ostling, 250. "It is not, for example, politically correct to suggest that Mormons, while victims, were not always innocent victims, or that though holiness may be an affront to the observer, ordinary Saintly holiness was not usually the cause of Mormon persecution."
  33. ↑ Ostlings, 251.
  34. 1 2 Walker, et al., 61.
  35. ↑ Walker, et al., 65.
  36. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Devery S. (Summer 2000). "A History of Dialogue, Part Two: Struggle Toward Maturity, 1971–1982". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought . 33 (2): 1–96.
  37. ↑ Arrington 1998, p. 148.
  38. ↑ Arrington, Leonard J. (Fall 1992). "The Founding of the LDS Church Historical Department, 1972". Journal of Mormon History . 18 (2): 6–40 – via Digital Commons@USU.
  39. ↑ Walker, et al., 67,
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Episodes 285-287: D. Michael Quinn – 21st Century Mormon Enigma", MormonStories.org, Mormon Stories Podcast, September 17, 2011, archived from the original on 2014-11-14
  41. ↑ Walker, et al., 68.
  42. 1 2 Ostling, 257.
  43. ↑ Ostling, 258.
  44. ↑ Fletcher, Peggy (April 1985). "Church Historian: Evolution of a Calling" (PDF). Sunstone : 46–48.
  45. ↑ Ostling, 251. As an end run around church policy, some Mormon families donated photocopies of their general-authority ancestors to other libraries, and researchers donated transcriptions and photocopies of their materials to also make them available to the general public. D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, Revised and Enlarged (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 327.
  46. ↑ Ostling, 252.
  47. 1 2 3 Bushman, Richard Lyman (October 2006). "The Balancing Act". Teach. Commonplace. 7 (1).
  48. ↑ Bushman 2007, p. 122.
  49. 1 2 Palmer, Grant H. "My Years in the Church Education System, 1967-2001". Signature Books. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  50. ↑ "The Grant H. Palmer Papers". Marriott Library Special Collections. University of Utah. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  51. 1 2 Palmer, Grant H. (2009), The Incomparable Jesus, Greg Kofford Books, p. [ page needed ], ISBN   978-1-58958-092-3, OCLC   62090740
  52. ↑ "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins". Signature Books. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  53. ↑ "Table of contents". FARMS Review. Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. 15 (2). Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  54. ↑ Allen, James B. (2004). "Asked and Answered: A Response to Grant H. Palmer". FARMS Review. 16 (1): 235–86. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  55. ↑ Rich Rasmussen (April 21, 2011). "Episode 130: Grant Palmer, Interview with". Provo, Utah: Mormon Expression. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  56. ↑ Palmer, Grant (March 1, 2008). "Jesus stressed kind behavior, not rituals, to get to heaven". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  57. ↑ "324-326: Grant Palmer on Sexual Allegations Against Joseph Smith, William and Jane Law, and His Resignation", MormonStories.org, Mormon Stories Podcast, February 26, 2012, archived from the original on 2014-11-14

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Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Most of these smaller groups eventually merged into the Community of Christ, and the term Mormon typically refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as today, this branch is far larger than all the others combined. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to other denominations. Since 2018, the LDS Church has emphasized a desire for its members be referred to as "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", or more simply as "Latter-day Saints".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Cowdery</span> American Mormon leader (1806–1850)

Oliver H. P. Cowdery was an American religious leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized Latter Day Saint, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles and the Assistant President of the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)</span> Religious objects of the early Latter Day Saint movement

According to Latter Day Saint theology, seer stones were used by Joseph Smith, as well as ancient prophets, to receive revelations from God. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Smith used seer stones to translate the Book of Mormon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard J. Arrington</span> American Mormon historian

Leonard James Arrington was an American author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field. Since 1842, he was the first non-general authority Church Historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1972 to 1982, and was director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History from 1982 until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. H. Roberts</span> American Mormon politician (1857–1933)

Brigham Henry Roberts was a historian, politician, and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He edited the seven-volume History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and independently wrote the six-volume Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Roberts also wrote Studies of the Book of Mormon—published posthumously—which discussed the validity of the Book of Mormon as an ancient record. Roberts was denied a seat as a member of United States Congress because of his practice of polygamy.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Signature Books</span> American press specializing in Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana

Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is majority owned by the Smith-Pettit Foundation.

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.

Thomas Glen Alexander is an American historian and academic who is a professor emeritus at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he was also Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western History and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies. After studying at Weber State University (WSU) and Utah State University (USU), he received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965. He taught history at BYU from 1964 until 2004, and served in the leadership of various local and historical organizations.

<i>View of the Hebrews</i> Book by Ethan Smith

View of the Hebrews is an 1823 book written by Ethan Smith, a Congregationalist minister in Vermont, who argued that Native Americans were descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, a relatively common view during the early nineteenth century. Numerous commentators on Mormon history, from LDS Church general authority B. H. Roberts to Fawn M. Brodie, biographer of Joseph Smith, have noted similarities in the content of View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon, which was first published in 1830, seven years after Ethan Smith's book.

The teachings of Joseph Smith include a broad spectrum of religious doctrines as well as political and scientific ideas and theories, many of which he said were revealed to him by God. Joseph Smith is the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and is recognized by multiple Latter Day Saint churches as the founder. Beginning in 1828, Smith began dictating the text of what later became the Book of Mormon, and also began dictating written revelations he said were inspired by God.

New Mormon history refers to a style of reporting the history of Mormonism by both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars which departs from earlier more polemical or faith-based styles of history. Rather than presenting material selectively to either prove or disprove Mormonism, the focus of new Mormon history is to present history in a more humanistic and dispassionate way, and to situate Mormon history in a fuller historical context. Because it is a break from past historical narratives, new Mormon history tends to be revisionist. In many cases, the new Mormon history follows the perspectives and techniques of new history, including cultural history. The Mormon historian Richard Bushman described it as "a quest for identity rather than a quest for authority." New Mormon historians include a wide range of both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, the most prominent of which include Bushman, Jan Shipps, D. Michael Quinn, Terryl Givens, Leonard J. Arrington, Richard P. Howard, Fawn Brodie, and Juanita Brooks.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been subject to criticism and sometimes discrimination since its inception.

Dean Cornell Jessee is a historian of the early Latter Day Saint movement and leading expert on the writings of Joseph Smith Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism and Nicene Christianity</span> Comparison of Mormonism and Nicene Christianity

Mormonism and Nicene Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express their doctrines using biblical terminology. They have similar views about the nature of Jesus Christ's atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as mainstream Christians. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity as codified in the Nicene Creed of 325 and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. Although Mormons consider the Protestant Bible to be holy scripture, they do not believe in biblical inerrancy. They have also adopted additional scriptures that they believe to have been divinely revealed to Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons practice baptism and celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, but they also participate in other religious rituals. Mormons self-identify as Christians.

Reed Connell Durham, Jr. is a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement and former director of the Institute of Religion in Salt Lake City, Utah for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Durham is remembered for a controversial speech given in 1974 about Freemasonry and the Latter Day Saint movement.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Smith</span> Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844)

Joseph Smith Jr. was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thousands of followers by the time of his death fourteen years later. The religion he founded is followed to the present day by millions of global adherents and several churches, the largest of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<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.

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

References

Further reading

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