By ChristopherAugust 6, 2009
As reported first by Ardis at Keepapitchinin, Ron Romig, MHA President and recently displaced Community of Christ archivist, has been appointed as the new site director for the Kirtland Temple. From Ardis:
Continue Reading
By ChristopherJuly 16, 2009
While continuing my research on Mormonism in the South this morning, I came across the story of a debate between some young Mormon missionaries and a couple of Protestant ministers in North Carolina in 1900. The local newspaper contained the following summary of the debate:
Continue Reading
By ChristopherJune 10, 2009
About a year and a half ago, I received an invitation to join the newly created Association for Spanish and Portuguese Mormon Studies. At the time it consisted of a website (now apparently defunct) and a google group, which members used to communicate. I have no idea who started the group (or whether it was initially an individual or group effort). It was an exciting prospect for those interested in the international Mormon experience.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherMay 27, 2009
What follows is a portion of the paper I presented at the annual meeting of the Mormon History Association last week in Springfield, IL. The paper focused on the religious lives of Latter-day Saints in the American South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. My aim was to move narratives of the LDS experience in the South beyond analyses of missionaries who served there and the persecution and violence they encountered; to explore the lives of those Saints who were baptized but didn’t migrate West. One of the most interesting aspects of the lives of these “un-gathered” Saints was their patterns of worship.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherMay 14, 2009
Please join the JI in welcoming our newest guest blogger, Russell, who offers the following introduction:
Continue Reading
By ChristopherMay 5, 2009
As a follow up to my post on Glenn Beck’s drawing upon a certain strain of Mormon apocalyptic folklore in articulating his political positions (and the mainstream media’s ignoring the influence of Beck’s religion on those positions), I thought readers might be interested in the latest instance illustrating it.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherMay 4, 2009
I?ve been surprised that the following recent events and statements have not received more attention from the bloggernacle. I thought I?d briefly announce and discuss them here, as I think they are relevant both to scholars interested in Mormonism and race/ethnicity and to Latter-day Saints whose lives these events affect in very real ways.
Continue Reading
By ChristopherApril 22, 2009
I came across this a few months ago, and have been waiting until Earth Day to post it. Since last year’s Earth Day post at the JI looked at a quote from 19th century Mormonism on the environment, I thought it would be appropriate to do something from the 20th century this year. In July 1991, the New Era included a brief article entitled “Planet Pleasing” in the “FYI: For Your Information” section of the teenage-oriented periodical. In addition to the sound and practical advice of the article, I’m intrigued by the author’s effort to connect with her teenage audience. Such lines as “It’s cool to save fuel” and “Gee … Try a Tree” (such profound poetry) suggest a conscious effort to make environmentalism sound cool to young readers (and check out the name of the fictional letter writer within the article … how clever).
Continue Reading
By ChristopherApril 14, 2009
I came across the following article while looking for something else in Samuel Brannan’s The Prophet yesterday. It was authored by Parley P. Pratt and published in May 1845. I had never heard of it or come across it anywhere else [1], and thought readers might find it useful (or at least entertaining).
Continue Reading
By ChristopherApril 7, 2009
BYU News Press Release:
Continue Reading
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.”