By Ryan T.October 11, 2013
The Fall 2013 issue of BYU Studies Quarterly recently hit the web and print subscribers? mailboxes, which means that it?s time for another quick journal content overview for JI?s readers. All the usual caveats apply?that is, these summaries are meant to whet your appetite, but for the full effect you?ll want to visit the pieces and their arguments in their totality. In this issue of BYUSQ, four original articles and other tidbits are on offer.
Continue Reading
By Ben POctober 9, 2013
As crazy as it sounds, the year is coming to a close. Fall Semester is well underway (except out here in Cambridge where it is only beginning), the leaves are changing colors, and my bike ride is getting colder. Also, MHA just released its fourth and final newsletter for the year, so it’s time to keep our tradition alive of highlighting news-y things for our audience. In the words of The O’Jays and, more recently, Jalen Rose, we “gotta give the people what they want!”
Continue Reading
By Nate R.October 8, 2013
Kenneth L. Alford, ed. Civil War Saints. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center (BYU), 2012. xxxiii + 569 pp. Hardcover $31.99. ISBN 978-0-8425-2816-0.
I have contributed here a thorough and lengthy discussion of this book; if you would like just the highlights, please read my first and last paragraphs below. –NRR
As America continues its commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it is fitting that at least one new book should come out examining the connections between Latter-day Saints and the war. Kenneth Alford aims in this edited volume to update and add to the small body of literature surrounding Mormons, the Utah Territory, and the Civil War.[1] While he falls short of creating a one-volume comprehensive treatment of the subject, he and his co-contributors have explored important, previously-uncharted territory that make this book an important addition to any Mormon or Civil War History enthusiast?s library.
Continue Reading
By October 7, 2013
The JI is pleased to announce that Farina King has agreed to join the JI full-time. See here for her fantastic guest post on the Miss Indian BYU pageant. Here is her extended bio:
Bilagáana nish?? dóó Kiyaa?áanii báshíshchíín. Bilagáana dashicheii dóó Tsinaajinii dashinálí. In Navajo, we always introduce ourselves by our four clans. We are born to our mother and her clan, and we are born for our fathers and their clan. Navajos are a matrilineal society, so the clans represent the maternal family lines. We then introduce the clans of our maternal grandfather and paternal grandfather. I am ?Bilagáana? (Euro-American), born for ?Kiyaa?áanii? (the Towering House Clan) of the Diné (Navajo). My maternal grandfather was Euro-American, and my paternal grandfather was ?Tsinaajinii? (Black-streaked Woods People Clan) of the Diné.
Continue Reading
By Edje JeterOctober 6, 2013
It is a truth universally (I think) acknowledged among academically-trained historians that all documents must be ?situated historically.? That is, we must interpret the words (and other aspects of an artifact) in light of the original audience, provenance, language of the time, potential knowledge of the creator, and so on. Of course, reasonable professionals may disagree about the type and degree of interpretation necessary for a given document, but I believe there is wide consensus on the idea that no document or artifact can speak entirely for itself. Students, however, do not always readily accept the necessity. In the interest of helping such students, I give three examples of artifacts that require historical interpretation.
Continue Reading
By Mees TielensOctober 6, 2013
For your reading pleasure during this General Conference weekend.
What better place to begin than Elder Christofferson’s September 24th devotional address at BYU I, titled “The Prophet Joseph Smith” (transcript here). Christofferson spoke about the work done on the Joseph Smith Papers Projects, as well as advocating for a more complete (but always Spirit-led) understanding of Joseph Smith himself. For a summary of the talk, see the Maxwell Institute’s blog (the post is aptly titled, ” A little learning is a dangerous thing,” … so get a lot of it instead”).
At an October 2 talk at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, Mitt Romney spoke critically of the government shutdown, but also made it very clear that he would not run for president a third time. As reported by Deseret News:
“I’ve had two bites at the apple. Three strikes and you’re out,” he said. … “Running for president and losing still was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” he said. “Winning or losing is not how you define success. It is what you give your life to.”
Speaking of the University of Utah, this semester, students have the opportunity to take a special kind of Book of Mormon class. The class, which deals with the Book of Mormon as a literary product, is taught by David Bokovoy, an associate instructor with a PhD in Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East from Brandeis University. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, “The course, sponsored by the donation-funded Tanner Humanities Center and taught by David Bokovoy, examines how the book mimics the Bible in language and tone, and how the story fits as a piece of 19th-century American literature.”
For anyone looking to learn more about the Ordain Women movement, Dialogue Magazine is offering a virtual round table, featuring Emily W. Jensen, Chelsea Shields Strayer, Lisa Butterworth, Neylan McBaine, and Saren Eyre Loosli. Check it out here.
The Atlantic takes on mythologies surrounding the female reproduction system, including an LDS instructional manual titled, Living, Loving, and Marrying in their analysis. The manual referred to menstruation as “the weeping of a disappointed womb”–medically inaccurate, perhaps, but fully reflective of its time.
Lastly, the Bunyion offers readers a solution to the government shutdown: let the LDS Church run the country. No word on Obama’s response, as yet.
By October 4, 2013
Our good friends at BYU’s Department of Church History and Doctrine are looking for another recruit. Find full information and the application here. Relevant details are below.
Continue Reading
By David G.October 4, 2013
The International Church:
Mormonism as a Global Religion
BYU CHURCH HISTORY SYMPOSIUM
March 6?7, 2014
Jointly Sponsored by
The Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, and
The Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Continue Reading
By October 3, 2013
* Position Opening *
Mormon History Association
Executive Director/Business Manager
The Mormon History Association is seeking qualified applicants for the independent-contractor position(s) of Executive Director/Business Manager. The position(s) may be best filled by two people, one of whom serves primarily as Business Manager. The Executive Director/Business Manager serve as officers and members of the MHA Board of Directors. The term is for three years, may be renewed, and begins in early 2014.
Continue Reading
By Natalie ROctober 2, 2013
“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” the statement released by the church in September of 1995 declares that ?Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ?Children are an heritage of the Lord? (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives?mothers and fathers?will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.? These words first read aloud in September of 1995 by church president Gordon B. Hinckley were another powerful iteration among many since the church?s early days that reaffirmed the theological and cultural significance of children within Mormonism.
Continue Reading
The Fall 2013 issue of BYU Studies Quarterly recently hit the web and print subscribers? mailboxes, which means that it?s time for another quick journal content overview for JI?s readers. All the usual caveats apply?that is, these summaries are meant to whet your appetite, but for the full effect you?ll want to visit the pieces and their arguments in their totality. In this issue of BYUSQ, four original articles and other tidbits are on offer.
Recent Comments
Erik on Study and Faith, 4:: “Given your reference to the book you're writing - could you estimate when this book will reach publication? Is it still a few years away?”
Christopher on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “Blake, I get a kick out of your poor reading comprehension skills. If your comment is directed to Joseph, who posted this description, please understand that…”
Eric Nielson on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “Matt, I have signed up with a friend account, but when I try to open the file I am told that I do not have…”
Terry H on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I mean, I know its in the link, but just curious.”
Terry H on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “Perhaps I missed something, but when and where is it?”
Matt Witten on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “This one? https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/157453”