By July 31, 2012
One fascinating document that has been submitted to the Saints of Alberta Project (SAP) is this page of lyrics for a folk hymn composed by “H. Garner” on April 17, 1884, titled “Wait till the clouds roll by Zion”:
By July 30, 2012
After some discussion, Juvenile Instructor has decided to try a new type of post today. Instead of having a single-author or making a single argument, this post is a conversation between two scholars about a topic. It should add a different flair to JI and will hopefully spark some discussion. In this case, Max and Amanda discuss the Book of Mormon and its place within Mormon history and scholarship as a whole. Both Max and Amanda are non-members and thus, may (or may not) have a different perspective than historians writing from a believing perspective.
Max: Hi Amanda. We’re trying something new today at JI: a conversational post.
Amanda: Hi Max, Glad to be a part of this.
Max: To get started, there has been a great deal of discussion in the bloggernacle as of late about how to approach the Book of Mormon as a scholarly source. I’d argue that most scholars, especially non-members (like us), get hung up on the “historicity” of the Book of Mormon, or as many would argue, the lack thereof. The inability of some scholars to move beyond ?historicity? is partly a result of the nature of the text itself. From the Book of Mormon?s inception, there has been an insistence that the book is historical.
By July 29, 2012
Below is a much-condensed version of a paper I presented yesterday at the History of Mormonism in Latin America and the US-Mexico Borderlands conference in El Paso, Texas. Our own Jared T organized the conference, which I judge to have been a smashing success. My paper attempted to sketch some of the relationships among the Mormon colonies in Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, and the Southwestern (later Central) States Mission from 1900 to 1905.
By July 28, 2012
Mormon women?s history is alive and thriving, as seen in the rich and diverse offerings at the 2012 Mormon History Association conference in Calgary, Alberta. Out of forty sessions within the two-day period, a full four sessions were entirely devoted to women?s historical and/or contemporary activities, with another three panels examining early Mormon marital practices and broader examinations of polygamy.
By July 27, 2012
By Pete Wosnik
I have long been interested in the cultural influences that helped shape Mormonism. This fascination led me to ask questions about conversion: what accounts for Mormonism’s success, and why did early converts find it so appealing? Delving into the subject I quickly realized that there is a rich historiography full of brilliant scholars grappling with these questions. Whitney Cross and Mario DePillis were some of the earliest scholars to debate these topics. And while they used very limited data, they were in agreement that early Mormons were generally poor coming from the fringes of society. These author’s ideas were rooted in a socioeconomic theory that those unhappy with their current situation are more likely to join radical movements.
By July 26, 2012
Pete Wosnik is an undergraduate at Utah State University. He will graduate in the fall with dual major in history and religious studies. Pete?s academic interests include: Mormon history, early Christian history, American religious history, and philosophy of religion. He recently worked as an undergraduate teaching fellow for Dr. Philip Barlow (Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture) and as an editor for the Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies. Pete also enjoys playing guitar, recording, outdoor activities, and sometimes dating.
Join us in welcoming Pete.
By July 25, 2012
I am at the Schlesinger Library this week doing research in the papers of Corinne Allen Tuckerman, a woman who lived with her husband in Salt Lake City during the turn-of-the-century. A member of the first class to matriculate at Smith College, she was also the President of the National Congress of Mothers, a founder of the Parent and Teachers Association, and a fierce opponent of polygamy. Tuckerman wrote letters to the presidents of seminaries and colleges asking them what their classes taught about marriage, gave lectures about the evils of polygamy, and helped to found Hallock Hall in Utah as a refuge for working class girls. Because the publication of our first edition of the ?What I learned from Jack Weyland? series is going to be a bit postponed, I thought I would give you some snippets from her correspondence:
By July 24, 2012
At 6 a.m. on July 24, 1947, the centennial of the Mormon Pioneers’ entrance into the Salt Lake Valley, the first spectators arrived at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, Utah. By mid-morning, perhaps ten thousand cars were parked over several square miles, with as many as fifty thousand attendees waiting for the festivities to begin. They had gathered to witness the dedication of the sixty-foot tall ?This is the Place? Monument, which would honor not only the Latter-day Saint Pioneers, but also the Spanish, British, and American forerunners who had laid a foundation for the Mormon settlement of the Great Basin. At 9:30, the Boy Scouts raised the American and Utah state flags, while the U.S. Marines band from San Diego, California, began playing ?America.? Church President George Albert Smith, as master of ceremonies, introduced the program and delivered the dedicatory prayer. Speakers included J. Rueben Clark and David O. McKay, Smith’s counselors in the First Presidency; the Most Rev. Duane G. Hunt, bishop of the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese; Rt. Rev. Arthur W. Moulton, retired Episcopalian bishop of Utah; and Rabbi Alvin S. Luchs of Temple B’Nai Israel, all of whom were members of the monument commission. The dedication marked an important occasion in what Laurie Maffly-Kipp has called the ?Long Approach to the Mormon Moment,?as Latter-day Saints sought to claim a prominent place both in the present and the past of the American nation.
By July 24, 2012
We’re happy to announce that we’ve added an enlightening new permablogger to our ranks.
Her bio:
Cristine Hutchison-Jones (call me Crissy!) received her BA in American Studies and Religion from Florida State University in 2001, and her PhD in Religious and Theological Studies from Boston University in 2011. She is a cultural and intellectual historian of religion in the United States with a focus on religious intolerance and representations of minorities. Her dissertation, “Reviling and Revering the Mormons: Defining American Values, 1890-2008,” explored images of the Mormons in American news, fiction and non-fiction writing, and television and film. She is the author of “Center and Periphery: Mormons and American Culture in Tony Kushner’s *Angels in America*.”
Welcome, Crissy!
By July 22, 2012
Pioneer Day, July 24, commemorates the 1847 arrival of Mormon settlers in Salt Lake Valley. Some church members and missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission observed the holiday, but, as with the Fourth of July, city-dwellers celebrated more elaborately.
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