Kurt Manwaring has published an interview with Matthew Grey, over on his site, From the Desk. Grey earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. An excerpt from Manwaring’s site on Joseph Smith, translation and Hebrew is posted below; click over to From the Desk to read the rest!
Why did Joseph Smith assume he could gain insights into the Egyptian language and Book of Abraham by studying Hebrew?
Matthew Grey: There is evidence that many early Latter-day Saints—including Joseph Smith, W.W. Phelps, and Oliver Cowdery—naturally adopted some of the assumptions circulating in their nineteenth century intellectual climate, including the common views mentioned above that supernatural means were necessary to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs and/or that Egyptian was a linguistic system related to Hebrew (both having descended from the original “pure language” of humanity) that could be illuminated through Hebraic insights.
Thanks to friend of JI K. Pollock for putting this together!
Metamorphosis:
Scattered and Gathered Saints Emerge After Crises
Saturday, September 19, 2020, 5:30 p.m. CDT
Join the John Whitmer Historical Association from the comfort of your own home to see two great presentations on restoration history by Dr. Jane Hafen and Dr. David Howlett, to enjoy an awards ceremony honoring the top books and articles of 2019, and to participate in a hymn sing!
You can read the original announcement HERE. If you were accepted for the 2020 program, please take care to let Joseph Stuart and Anne Berryhill whether you’d like to present your 2020 paper/panel in 2021. You have until November 15, 2020 to confirm you will deliver your paper, but the sooner you can let them know the easier you will make it to map out a 2021 program!
Mormon History Association
56th Annual Meeting
Rochester/Palmyra, New York
June 10-13, 2021
The Mormon History Association is pleased to announce the rescheduling of its Rochester/Palmyra conference for June 10-13, 2021. This 56th Annual Conference continues the previously-planned theme, “Visions, Restoration, and Movements,” commemorating the 200th anniversary of Mormonism’s birth in upstate New York. If health conditions don’t allow an in-person meeting, MHA will make the conference available digitally.
The Church History Department announces an opening for a Research Historian with the Joseph Smith Papers project. The successful candidate will assist the Publications Division with historical and textual research. This is an exciting and outstanding opportunity for someone interested in pursuing a career in history. We are looking for a motivated, upbeat, and skilled individual to join our team.
This is a full-time position starting in September 2020 and expected to last 12 months.
Please attach a vita, a short writing sample demonstrating ability in using primary sources to form a cogent argument, and a list of three references to your application.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Duties will include research related to document analysis (textual and documentary intention, production, transmission, and reception) and contextual annotation of documents (identifications and explanations). Research will involve work in primary and secondary sources for nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and Latter-day Saint history. Work will include assistance to historians working on publication projects.
The Research Historian will work under the direction of senior Historians/Writers.
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:
Completion of Bachelor’s degree in history, religious studies, or other related field, preference will be given to those with master’s degrees and/or in doctoral programs in history, religious studies, or related field.
Knowledge of and training in historical research
Demonstration of excellent research and writing skills
Ability to work in a scholarly and professional environment
Strong organizational, time management, and verbal communication skills
Organized, with an ability to prioritize time-sensitive assignments
Creative and flexible
Ability to work in a team, as well as independently
From the editors of Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity:
In conjunction with this year’s annual conference of the Mormon History Association, the University of Utah Press is offering a 20%-off advance sale on the soon-to-be released
Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity (available 26 June 2020). This sale also includes free domestic shipping.
The offer is available through the book’s University of Utah Press webpage:
Call for Papers – Inaugural issue of the JMSSA[Original Post]
The Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association (JMSSA) is accepting submissions for our inaugural issue in 2021. Papers accepted for publication will receive a $500 honorarium. JMSSA is a peer-reviewed academic journal sponsored by the Mormon Social Science Association. Founded in 1979, the MSSA is an interdisciplinary scholarly society promoting the study of social life within the Latter Day Saint movement.
Aims and Scope
The Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association publishes original research, synthetic reviews, and theoretical or methodological essays on topics relevant to the Latter Day Saint movement from a social science perspective. We welcome papers from all social science disciplines, as well as work in other disciplines with a social science approach. We encourage submissions from students, junior scholars, and underrepresented voices in Mormon Studies. The journal is atheological and nonpolemical. The journal does not consider previously published work except by invitation. The journal does not consider papers simultaneously submitted elsewhere for review.
Submissions
Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association accepts papers of any length, including research notes. All submissions are screened by the editor or editorial board to determine their suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are forwarded for peer-review. Subsequent to peer-review, papers may be rejected, returned for revision, or accepted for publication.
The journal conforms to the “author-date” citation system outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (Chapter 15). All submissions must be accompanied by an abstract not to exceed 250 words. Abstracts should state the research question(s), identify basic methods, and summarize main findings. Footnotes should be used for essential clarification only, and not for excurses.
Send submissions in MS Word format to: benjamin.knoll@centre.edu For more information, contact Rick Phillips, rick.phillips@unf.edu
We are grateful to organizer Melodie Jackson for passing on details for this event. Here are her words: “There will be some amazing people speaking and singing. It is a healing space for Us. By Us. To Us. I hope you can spread the word and invite as many black people as you can to come and hear each others’ stories. There are healers among us, and I’m excited for you to hear them and feel community, feel heard, and feel seen amidst so much chaos. It will be streamed live through this (Black Lives Matter to Christ) page! 6 pm MST time. Come ready to be validated and filled. See y’all there!”
While we are a Mormon history blog, and not a devotional outlet, we support the work of Black academics doing anti-racist work in Mormonism.
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.”