By February 26, 2009
In an effort to perpetuate the juvenile nature of our blog, we’ve invited Ryan T., the unusually bright undergraduate who contributed a couple of insightful guest posts here recently, to blog at the JI on a more permanent basis. He has graciously accepted. Please join us in welcoming him.
By February 25, 2009
From the Religious Studies Center, and as a follow-up to an earlier post, here is the finalized schedule for the “Preserving Latter-day Saint History” symposium to be held this Friday, February 27.
By February 24, 2009
In case you haven?t noticed by the majority of my posts (excluding the recent series on Wilford Woodruff), I am mostly interested in intellectual history?that is, the history of human thought. When I study history, I want to know what people were thinking, how they formulated their ideas, and how they presented their mind. Perhaps I am just an Emersonian at heart, but I believe all actions begin with the mind. I can stay up all night reading the great works of great thinkers, whether it be John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Ellery Channing, Max Muller, or many others.[1] Beyond learning what happened in history, I want to know why and what thoughts led them to that action. I also hope to see the breaking down of the artificial boundaries between religious and cultural thought, a new direction finally coming to fruition in our generation.
By February 22, 2009
Many readers have no doubt heard of Matt Grow’s new book, Liberty to the Downtrodden: Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer, and most have probably seen Matt’s posts over at Big Brown. But, it’s not every year that a book written by a Mormon scholar, that treats Mormon history prominently, gets published by Yale University Press. This is a big deal, folks, so there really is no such thing as too much promotion in this case. We expect to have a full review of the work posted at the JI within the next few weeks. But here’s a “tide over” from Joe Cannon’s review of the work in the Mormon Times:
By February 20, 2009
A great patron of Mormon history has passed on today, Larry Miller. He is perhaps best known for owning the Utah Jazz and several car dealerships in the state. But to me and many of my blogmates, his generosity is what made five of the best years of my life possible.
By February 19, 2009
I am past deadline on several papers and should be working on homework due in the next hour, but I couldn’t help but put up a post and hopefully stimulate some discussion.
By February 18, 2009
This post is loosely a continuation of my previous one (regarding Mormonism and Anglo-American cultural conflict); both are part of an effort to examine the dialogic relationship between early Mormonism and larger elements of early American culture.
The primary impetus for this post was my recent reading in Daniel Walker Howe?s ?What God Hath Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848,? where Howe makes a claim that Mormons of that period ?embraced a particularly extreme version of American exceptionalism.?[1] The claim is striking to me because it seems to casually (and perhaps uncritically) connect Mormon attitudes to the much larger and longer tradition of American claims to divine favor.
By February 16, 2009
This is continued from my other “Woodruff as Historian” posts.
According to Howard C. Searle, whose dissertation on Early Mormon Historiography is by far the best work on the subject, Wilford Woodruff?s work on the short biographies of the Quorum of the Twelve is one of his two most important contributions to 19th century Church history.[1]
While the writing of Joseph Smith?s history was coming to a close in 1856, attention was understandably turning to the next historical project. Logically, they decided to start working on the history of Brigham Young, though this involved going back in history and covering his birth through August 8, 1844, when the Twelve took leadership of the Church. Beyond a history of just Brigham, Wilford wanted a detailed history of the entire Young family. To Phineas Young, Brigham?s brother, Woodruff wrote,
By February 13, 2009
Word leaked out on January 23 that the Obama administration was vetting BYU law professor Larry EchoHawk for a potential nomination as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. Echohawk is well-known in Indian Country for his advocacy for various tribal groups, and has served as an Idaho State Representative and Idaho Attorney General. EchoHawk’s relative, John, was one of the founders of the Native American Rights Fund, a major Indian law firm. If appointed, EchoHawk would not be the first Mormon Assistant Secretary of the Interior (H. Rex Lee served in the position in the 1950s), but he would likely be the highest-ranking American Indian Latter-day Saint in government service.
By February 12, 2009
It seems every once and a while we get a development in Mormon Studies that is really groundbreaking; to me, this is one of those instances.
© 2024 – Juvenile Instructor
Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”