75th Anniversary Review of Joseph Fielding Smith’s “Life of Joseph F. Smith”

 Joseph Fielding Smith, Life of Joseph F. Smith.  Salt Lake City:  The Deseret News Press, 1938.  490 pp.

This year marks the 75^th anniversary of the publication of a classic of Mormon biography, Joseph Fielding Smith?s Life of Joseph F. Smith.  It is a book that is many things:  part genealogy, part hagiography, part scrapbook, part apologia, part castigation of anti-Mormon sentiment of any shade, and part history of Mormonism?s transformation into a 20^th century organization.  Its 490 pages are replete with personal stories, the kind winnowed from a lifetime of observing a loved one and careful interviewing of those who knew JFS intimately.  Conversely,

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Review of Veda Hale’s “Swell Suffering: A Biography of Maurine Whipple”

Veda Hale, “‘Swell Suffering’: A Biography of Maurine Whipple”  http://www.amazon.com/Swell-Suffering-Biography-Maurine-Whipple/dp/1589581245

Note:  There is swearing in the first two paragraphs of this review.  I tried to edit it out, but doing so changed the meaning of the sentences it was in.  If swearing bothers you, skip the first two paragraphs.  Readers should also check out Blair Hodge’s review of “Swelling Suffering” at Faith Promoting Rumor: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpromotingrumor/2011/05/im-pitching-the-whipple-biography-with-all-my-might/

Southwestern States Mission: Without Purse or Scrip

Male missionary in the Southwestern States Mission in the early 1900s proselyted ?without purse or scrip? (WOPOS). [1] If they could not persuade someone to board them for the night, they ?slept with Uncle Sam? [2]; if they could not persuade someone to give them food, they went hungry. WOPOS was taught as both doctrine and policy.

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Conference Announcement: 2013 Church History Conference, “Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith’s Study of the Ancient World”

From our good friends at BYU and the Church History Department. You can follow up-to-date changes at the conference’s website.
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Approaching Antiquity:

Joseph Smith?s Study of the Ancient World

CHURCH HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

March 7-8, 2013

Jointly Sponsored by

The Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University

The Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Come, Come, Ye Saints: the International Version

As part of my dissertation on the ritualization of Mormon history, I have been researching the use of pioneer symbolism in both mainstream American and Mormon public memory. I’ve put together some basic thoughts on this subject for this post today, my third guest post here at Juvenile Instructor. You can find the others here and here.

The concept of public memory is central to what I want to talk about today. By this, I mean the ideas that a people may have about their history, ideas that help a society not only understand its past, but more importantly also its present and future. It reveals essential issues present in every society: issues of organization, of power structures, of the actual meaning of past and present as experienced by different societal groups. I’m operating on the premise that ultimately, how we think about the past is grounded in how we think about the present. Shaping public memory is a contested practice and involves a struggle for authority and domination between ideologies (Bodnar 13), often expressing itself as a conflict between ‘official cultures’ (civic and business leaders, for example) and ‘vernacular cultures’ (‘ordinary people’) [2].

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From the Archives: Peach Cobbler, For Men by Men: Or, When Reed Smoot Makes Dessert

A friend of mine excitedly posted a link the other day on facebook with the accompanying note that “Warren G. Harding’s recipe for waffles is freely available on Google books.” The link took me to a 1922 cookbook entitled The Stag Cook Book, Written for Men By Men (or, alternately, as the cover to the right shows, with the slightly different subtitle A Man’s Cook Book for Men). Dedicated to “That Great Host of Bachelors and Benedicts Alike, who at one time or another tried to ‘cook something’; and who, in the attempt, have weakened under a fire of feminine raillery and sarcasm, only to spoil what, under more favorable circumstances, would have  proved a chef-d?vre,” it reminded me of Tona’s fascinating and fun post from last week on “etiquette and advice manual[s] updating 19th and early 20th century counsel for the 21st century man.” Here, I realized, was a very real example (if one in which the author/editor’s tongue was planted firmly in his cheek) of the sort of literature artofmanliness.com tries to update for the 21st century.* And it didn’t disappoint. In addition to Warren G. Harding’s waffle recipe (in which we learn that “President Harding is a staunch upholder of the gravy school and likes his in the form of creamed chipped beef”—none of that sissy honey or maple syrup for the ringleader of the Ohio Gang), we’re also given access to Charlie Chaplin’s steak and kidney pie speciality and Houdini’s scalloped mushrooms and deviled eggs.  So what does any of this have to do with Mormon history, you ask? Well, among the other contributors to the volume was Mormon senator Reed Smoot, who provided his peach cobbler recipe. Without further ado, here it is in all of its sugary goodness:

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MHA Odds and Ends, January

January means a lot of things. For me, it means biting cold and a desire to never leave the house.

But it also means new stuff from the Mormon History Association, which is a bit better news than the weather. First, the new issue of Journal of Mormon History was released. (Amazingly, with no letters to the editor!) You can find the full table of contents here. Articles include an examination of John D. Lee’s trial, a fascinating look at Mormon redress petitions in Nauvoo by new JSP editor Brent Rogers, and an article by myself and fellow JIer Rob Jenson on what a particular debate in 1846 between a Strangite and Brighamite tells us about the succession crisis. There are also, as always, a good mix of book reviews to keep you up to date on developments in the field. If you don’t already, make sure to subscribe to the journal, especially now that you can have immediate electronic access to new issues.

MHA also uploaded their January newsletter (pdf here). Here are a few of the highlights:

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Southwestern States Mission: Birthdays and Anniversaries

Some missionaries in the Southwestern States Mission noted the passing of birthdays and the anniversary of their leaving home. [1] If there is any pattern in this small sample, it is that missionaries in their forties were somewhat more likely than their younger colleagues to note birthdays.

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“Manvotionals” and (Gentle)manly Nostalgia

This Christmas we got a lovely gift under the tree from my sister that was especially appropriate for our family, and which we really liked. It was a gift set on the “Art of Manliness” with two books and a set of coasters in a self-described “classic cigar box.” One book was an etiquette and advice manual updating 19th and early 20th century counsel for the 21st century man dispensing “classic skills and manners,” and the other was a collection of readings described as Manvotionals, clustered around “the seven manly virtues” (in case you’re keeping track, those are: manliness – which, I have to say, seems a little redundant, plus courage, industry, resolution, self-reliance, discipline and honor). My teen sons have already devoured both books and the collection’s appeal is undeniable – the books come pre-scuffed in that new-but-looks-old-book way that is so popular these days, abundantly illustrated with graphic elements and engravings that look borrowed from Gilded Age business periodicals and 1920s Arrow collar ads.

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The JI’s New Recruit: J Stuart

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve added another bright, young historian to our ranks, J Stuart. Here’s how he describes himself: 

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