By David G.December 22, 2011
Fire and Sword: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 1836-1839, by Leland Homer Gentry and Todd M. Compton. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2010.
Leland H. Gentry’s 1965 dissertation ?A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 1836-1839? was part of a wave of new Mormon scholarship of the 1960s that sought to reinterpret Mormon history in more academic terms, avoiding the polarities of the ?traditional? anti-Mormon/pro-Mormon battles of the 19th and early 20th century. After reviewing the literature on Mormon Missouri during the late 1830s, Gentry noted in his introduction that
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By Ben PDecember 17, 2011
Anderson, Devery S. ed. The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011.
Continuing Signature Book?s strong tradition in documentary histories, this is a fascinating collection of documents relating to LDS temple policy from the end of Nauvoo to the modern day. Building from the earlier two volumes in this series, Devery Anderson presents a plethora of important sources for historians interested in the development of LDS ritual. With a serviceable introduction that outlines the main themes of the book?s contents, and helpful biographical overviews provided in the footnotes, The Development of LDS Temple Worship is a welcome addition to the Mormon history field.
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By Jared TDecember 15, 2011
UPDATES: See comments: 1, 13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25, 28.
It’s time for the yearly round up of recently published and forthcoming Mormon history books. See last year’s list here. Be sure to also check out Ben’s recap of significant scholarship in 2011 and Stapley’s Christmas Gift Book Guide. Be sure to let me know what I missed in the comments. Rumors about book projects are always welcome! Finally, according to the WordPress stats, this is our 1000th published post. Not a bad milestone for any blog.
Arthur H. Clark & Oklahoma University Press
Gregory K. Armstrong, Matthew J. Grow, Dennis J. Siler. Parley P. Pratt and the Making of Mormonism. (AHC 2011)
James C. Work. Don?t Shoot the Gentile. (OUP 2011) ?A witty memoir of a non-Mormon teacher?s rookie years in Utah?
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By Steve FlemingDecember 12, 2011
Gardner, Brant A. The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford, 2011.
Gardner seeks to understand the nature of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon by a thorough examination of the text coupled with descriptions of the translation process. Gardner compares the Book of Mormon translation to regular translations and argues for three types: literal (an exact, word-for-word translation), functional (a translation that conveys meaning instead of exact wording) and conceptual. Gardener argues that the Book of Mormon translation fits the functionalist type: it is a translation of the concepts into the idioms of Joseph Smith’s world. Gardner goes further, arguing that research on cognition suggests how Smith translated: revelation was given at a pre-language level and then translated into English by Smith. Gardner argues that such is a “natural” account of the translation and that his description still posits Smith as the translator.
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By Ben PDecember 11, 2011
Passed along from JI friend Matt Grow:
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA CENTER FOR COMMUNAL STUDIES CENTER PRIZE
The Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana announces its annual prize competition for the best undergraduate and graduate student paper on historic or contemporary communal groups, intentional communities and utopias.
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By RobinDecember 7, 2011
Post-1844 Mormonism has been on my mind lately since beginning a documentary history project with fellow-blogger Ben Park on the “Succession Crisis.” The documentary record is rich with history that should be more widely available to scholars interested in the various interpretations of Mormonism following Joseph Smith’s death.
I’ve long paused at the term “Succession Crisis,” hesitating at the term’s capacity to depict the history it attempts to clarify. There is no doubt Mormons faced a tumultuous period following the 1844 death of Joseph Smith and his brother in Carthage, Illinois–some of that difficulty stemming from theological/doctrinal confusion. But to what extent did the church and its members undergo a “crisis” in deciding upon a path of “succession?” In trying to be conscious of the language and terminology we use, I’ve put some of my thoughts to digital paper, attempting to outline some points I think the term “Succession Crisis” reveals not just about the past, but historians’ attempt at explaining that past.
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By Ben PDecember 7, 2011
We at the Juvenile Instructor proudly welcome Robin Jensen—one of the foremost experts of Joseph Smith’s revelatory texts, rising star in the Mormon studies community, and all-around good guy—as a full-time contributor. This is how Robin introduces himself:
Robin Jensen is project archivist for The Joseph Smith Papers and helped edit the first two volumes in the Revelations and Translations series (published 2009 and 2011, respectively). In 2005 he earned an MA degree in American history from Brigham Young University, and in 2009 he earned a second MA in library and information science with an archival concentration from the University of Wisconsin?Milwaukee. He is now pursuing a PhD in history at the University of Utah. His first MA thesis explored the initial Strangite proselytizing effort and his second MA thesis explored the sacred record-keeping practices of early Mormonism. He believes that there is nothing better than the smell of old documents in the morning.
While obvious, it should bear mentioning that any posts/comments by Robin are not endorsed by the Joseph Smith Papers or the Church History Library.
I am especially lucky to count Rob as a collaborator and one of my good friends. As everyone who is familiar with his work already knows, we are all in for a treat with his blog contributions.
By Ben PDecember 5, 2011
(I’ve closely followed Mormon history for only six years, but the previous twelve months were, by far, the strongest year in Mormon historical studies that I’ve seen yet. As always, JI is the place to be for looking at past and present scholarship in Mormon history. Besides the following recap of the 2011 year, Jared T’s perennially exhaustive “Recently Released and Forthcoming” list will appear later this week. Also make sure to check out Stapley’s Christmas Book Guide here.)
Continuing a tradition from the last two years, this post will give a quick run down of what I thought were important articles and books in Mormon history from the past twelve months. I like this format because it not only allows discussion of different media of publication, but it also encourages us to contemplate broader themes that are currently “hot” in Mormon historiography.
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By December 1, 2011
We’re thrilled to announce that after an excellent stint as a guest blogger, Tona Hangen has agreed to join the JI as our newest permablogger.
Please join us in welcoming her!
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…”
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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…”
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