“Missionaries preaching under kukui groves, 1841,” from Charles Wilkes, Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition (Philadelphia, 1849).
Among the many disruptions caused by COVID-19, the coronavirus currently sweeping the globe, are those felt by Latter-day Saint missionaries. More than 1600 missionaries returned home on chartered flights from the Philippines last week. Others are beginning their missions at home, while still others are self-isolating in their apartments around the world, presumably passing their time reading scriptures, proselytizing remotely where possible, and otherwise trying to survive being stuck in place with a companion not of their choosing. At the time of writing, at least two missionaries have tested positive for the virus. A fairly comprehensive (and continually updated) list of how the pandemic is affecting Latter-day Saint missionary work can be found here.
Sarah M.S. Pearsall’s argument in Polygamy: An Early American History is succinct: Polygamy “is a form of marriage and therefore, like monogamy, a matter of public concern structuring societies, cultures, and lineages” (7). She repeatedly, and helpfully, drives this home as she documents and analyzes arguments for and against plural marriage/polygyny/polygamy over three centuries, from early Spanish colonization in New Spain, New France, King Phillip’s War, and among the enslaved in eighteenth-century British colonies before moving on toward the Latter-day Saint practice of plural marriage in antebellum America. She proves, beyond all reasonable doubt, that, “Contrary to popular opinion, American polygamy did not start with the Mormons” (1).
The Book of Mormon Studies Association (BoMSA) is pleased
to announce its fourth annual meeting, to be held October 9–10, 2020, at Utah
State University. The event is sponsored by USU’s Department of Religious
Studies and with thanks to Patrick Mason, the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of
Mormon History and Culture.
This annual event gathers a variety of scholars invested
in serious academic study of the Book of Mormon. It has no particular theme but
instead invites papers on any subject related to the Book of Mormon from any
viable academic angle. This year’s two keynote speakers will be John Durham
Peters (Yale University) and Nancy Bentley (University of Pennsylvania). We
will also hold a special plenary session on the Maxwell Institute’s Brief
Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon series in conjunction with
its full release in 2020.
We therefore invite the submission of papers and
proposals for inclusion in the 2020 conference program. Note that newcomers to
the organization are required to submit a full paper for consideration, while
those who have presented at any of the previous conferences are free to submit
a proposal or a paper. Papers submitted should be no longer than 4000 words,
while proposals should be between 500 and 750 words.
The submission deadline is June 1, 2020. All submissions
should be sent to bookofmormonsa@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Conference
Submission” in the subject line of the submission email.
We particularly encourage the participation of graduate
students. To that end, BoMSA will continue to host a special lunch for graduate
students in attendance, free of charge, in the hopes of creating networking
opportunities.
Hotel space for the conference has already been secured
at a reduced rate at the USU Campus Inn. Once acceptance letters have been sent
out in June, rooms can be booked online through the “Conference” page at
www.bomsa.org.
KEYNOTES: John
Durham Peters (Yale University) + Nancy Bentley (University of Pennsylvania)
DATE: October 9–10,
2020
LOCATION: Utah
State University, Inn and Conference Center
After decades of work, the first volumes of the Emmeline Wells’ diaries went live today on the Church Historian’s Press website to little fanfare. See the press release here. A prominent Latter-day Saint leader and women’s suffrage activist, Wells was a prolific diarist. The forty-seven extant volumes of her diary offer an expansive view in the nineteenth and early twentieth-century life in Utah. The first six are now live with more expected later in the summer.
As millions of us throughout the world move into voluntary isolation to avoid spreading COVID-19 I thought it would be nice to recommend a few podcast episodes to download to pass the time. Please add your own in the 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…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
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…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”
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…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
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…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”