“Myths” among Mormon Historians

By September 30, 2009


No, this post is not meant to address Mormon history myths promulgated in Seminary or Sunday School, but rather the possible historical misconceptions that are accepted and presented among the academy.

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Event Reminder: Spend An Evening With The Editors of The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations Volume 1

By September 29, 2009


This was announced last week, and I thought I’d post this as a reminder. It should be a great time.

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2009 JWHA Awards

By September 25, 2009


My battery is almost dead and my power cord is not working, so unfortunately, no notes will be taken tomorrow, and I won’t be able to follow up on this until Saturday evening, so if I made a mistake on these awards (doing them from memory), please leave a  comment so one of my cobloggers can correct it. Tonight at the awards banquet, the following awards were given (see past award recipients here):

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In defense of Mormon history

By September 23, 2009


What follows are some thoughts I’ve been tossing around for awhile now, but are offered pretty much off-the-cuff this evening. The subject of those thoughts is well-worn and exceedingly vague—Mormon studies.

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Defining Mormon Materialism, circa 1840s

By September 22, 2009


The more I look at the development of Mormon thought, the more I’m convinced that the development of materialism drastically shaped late Nauvoo and early Utah (and beyond) theology.

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“Such an idea is worse than atheism”: Joseph Smith, Proxy Baptisms, and Sectarianism

By September 19, 2009


In preparing my priesthood lesson on baptisms for the dead for tomorrow (lesson 41), I’ve been going through the omissions from the text. As JNS pointed out awhile back, some of these omissions are pretty interesting. Here’s the text of Joseph Smith’s October 1841 speech on baptisms for the dead

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Book Review:When the Saints Came Marching In: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denton, Texas 1958-2008

By September 18, 2009


George U. Hubbard. When the Saints Came Marching In: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denton, Texas 1958-2008. Denton, Texas: Tattersall Publishing, 2009. x + 326 pp. $15.00. Hardback, ISBN: 978-0-9679775-3-9.

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Churchy Poetry from Denton, Texas

By September 17, 2009


While preparing my review (see here) of the recently published When the Saints Came Marching In: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denton, Texas 1958-2008 by George Hubbard, I came across a few items of local poetry that I’ll include here:

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Leonard J. Arrington Writing Awards Notice

By September 15, 2009


From the Utah State University website:

Arrington Lecture writing, essay contest poster, illustration

Brian Birch-The Awkwardness of Mormonism and its Place in Religious Studies

By September 15, 2009


Brian D. Birch is director of Utah Valley University’s Religious Studies Program and serves on the Board of Directors for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. He is director of the recently created Mormon Chapter of the Foundation for Interreligious Diplomacy, and a member of the steering committee for the American Academy of Religion’s Mormon Studies Consultation. His latest book, Mormonism and Christian Thought is forthcoming through Oxford University Press. Brian participated in the September 8, 2009 informal discussion on Religious Studies and Mormon Studies at the University of Utah (see this announcement) and, like Dr. Phil Barlow, has been kind enough to share a version of his remarks here at the Juvenile Instructor.

The Awkwardness of Mormonism and its Place in Religious Studies

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here and to be among good friends and colleagues.

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