By September 29, 2008
This last weekend I had the great privelege of attending JWHA’s 36th Annual Conference, held at exotic Old Voree, Wiconsin. This year’s theme was “1844-1859: A Time of Transition” (preliminary program found here). Reminiscent of DKL’s roundup from last year, here are a few things that stood out to me the most, though there are numerous other experiences and papers I could list.
By September 27, 2008
Although it has been described as such, the following document is not an official declaration by the First Presidency supporting civil rights. It wasn’t even written by the First Presidency, but rather by Sterling M. McMurrin. However, President Hugh B. Brown read the statement as part of his October 1963 General Conference address with the approval of Pres. McKay and it was later reprinted in the Deseret News as a quasi-official statement of the Church’s position on civil rights. The statement was drafted in an attempt (that proved to be successful) to avoid protests at conference by the NAACP, which had requested and was denied a meeting with the First Presidency to discuss the Church’s position on civil rights legislation in Utah. Despite its semi-official status, the document is an anomaly, a lone representation of racial liberalism in a sea of conservatism.
By September 26, 2008
Dave B. has been a longtime blogger at Mormon Inquiry and a regular commenter here at Juvenile Instructor. Once upon a time he earned a master’s degree in economic history, but he comes by his knowledge of and interest in Mormon history the old-fashioned way, by reading books. We’re happy to have him as a JI guest blogger for a few weeks.
Last week I heard Ron Walker conduct a Q&A about Massacre at Mountain Meadows with a small group in Southern California. He made a couple of comments in passing that are worth discussing. When asked for one thing that could be learned from the whole episode, he said that in his view the men who brought to pass the massacre were not evil men, but that there is often not much separating goodness from evil in individuals. He said that he has gained a greater appreciation for the simple virtues like kindness, patience, and gentleness and their effect of keeping us on the right side of that narrow divide.
By September 22, 2008
Almost fifty years ago, Leonard J. Arrington sent out a questionnaire to fifty prominent Mormons asking who they thought were the “five most eminent intellectuals in Mormon history.”
By September 22, 2008
I recently spent some time going through nineteenth century newspaper accounts of the death of Brigham Young. One thing that I found shocking was that many of these eastern newspapers, in telling about Polygamy, wrote that Brigham had come up with the idea after he became the leader of the Church and had then attributed it to Joseph Smith.
By September 18, 2008
Last year, Peggy Fletcher Stack ran an article in the Salt Lake Tribune highlighting two important changes in the 2006 Doubleday Edition of The Book of Mormon. Those changes were discussed at length thoughout the bloggernacle. Well, it looks like there were even more changes made—over a hundred more, in fact. I have heard rumors that the latest printing of The Book of Mormon by the Church includes these changes as well, although no printings newer that those issued in 8/2007 were available in the BYU Bookstore when I checked today.
By September 18, 2008
I had the privilege a couple weeks ago of plowing through the Beinecke Library out at Yale in search of LDS-related stuff. Specifically, I got to spend a couple days just looking through the D. Michael Quinn Collection–quite a treasure-trove of documents, specifcally relating to “transitional” period Mormonism.
By September 14, 2008
This is not so much an analytical post as it is an invitation for a forum of discussion.
By September 14, 2008
Here are my notes from the panel discussion on Polygamy and Fundamentalism. Michael Homer asked questions with B. Carmon Hardy, Martha Bradley, Michael Marquardt, and Gordon Melton (Institute for the Study of American Religion) as panelists:
By September 13, 2008
I had the chance yesterday to attend three of four sessions of the USHS’s Annual Conference in the Salt Lake City Library. This was my first time attending this conference. It was free to the public. This was a smaller conference than any I’ve ever been to. Each of the four sessions had a choice of three presentations. A number of authors were in attendance including Carmon Hardy, Michael Homer, Katherine Daynes, Glen Leonard, Will Bagley, Noel Carmack, Michael Marquardt, Robert Carter, Marty Bradley, Reid Nielson, Ron Walker, and others.
Here are my notes from Reid Nielson’s presentation:
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