What a year for scholarship on Mormonism! I don’t envy folks on the Mormon History Association Book Award committees.
If this post inspires you to buy a book, please buy local where you can. Purchase from presses or from Benchmark Books or other independent bookstores. Support the places that support Mormon history.
Mormonism in Broader American (Religious) History
Benjamin E. Park, Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier (New York: Liveright/Norton, 2020).
Taylor G. Petrey, Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020).
Sara M. Patterson, Pioneers in the Attic: Place and Memory along the Mormon Trail (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Each of these books are signal contributions to American history and American religious studies. Park’s book presents a highly readable, deeply-research narrative that helps historians see how Mormon history acted as a microcosm of tensions over American democracy in antebellum America. Petrey’s explores how definitions and practices surrounding race, gender, and sexuality changed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the end of World War II to the present day. Sara Patterson’s analyzes collective memory and sensory religion, shedding new light on a favorite Mormon history topic (Mormon settlers moving west).
Joseph Smith’s Prophetic Career
Ronald O. Barney, Joseph Smith: History, Methods, and Memory (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020).
William L. Davis, Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020).
Samuel Morris Brown, Joseph Smith’s Translation: The Word and Worlds of Early Mormonism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Michael Hubbard McKay, Prophetic Authority: Democratic Hierarchy and the Mormon Priesthood (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2020).
Michael Hubbard McKay and William G. Hartley, eds, The Rise of the Latter-day Saints: The Journals and Histories of Newel Knight (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2020).
Michael Hubbard MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Brian M. Hauglid, Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
2020 is the year of Michael Hubbard MacKay! Each of his books provide insight into Joseph Smith’s religious worlds and ideas. Ronald Barney’s is useful for those interested in learning about memory studies; if anyone would like to write a dual book review with Steve Harper’s book on memory and the First Vision, please send me a note!
Sam Brown’s book is as much theology as it is history, which may scare off some readers. It shouldn’t. Its brilliance, and placing Joseph Smith’s translation conversations with broader ideas about sacred texts, secularism, and what Orsi calls “presence” is a must-read.
I haven’t gotten to William Davis’s book (dissertations! Argh!), but every person I’ve spoken to that has read it has recommended it.
Joseph Smith Papers Project
Elizabeth A. Kuehn, Matthew C. Godfrey, Jordan T. Watkins, and Mason K. Allred, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 10: May-August 1842 (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2020).
Spencer W. McBride, Jeffrey D. Mahas, Brett D. Dowdle, and Tyson Reeder, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 11: September 1842-February 1843 (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2020).
JSPP gonna JSPP. Which is to say, they produce outstanding scholarship that is invaluable to researchers and non-specialists alike. Their website makes teaching early Mormonism so simple and their high-resolution photos make documents come alive. I can’t imagine teaching without it.
Biography
Matthew L. Harris, Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020).
Elisa Eastwood Pulido, The Spiritual Evolution of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, and Utopian Founder, 1878-1961 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
I’m reviewing Harris’s book for Utah Historical Quarterly soon, so check out my full thoughts later in the year. Suffice it to say that I highly enjoyed the book.
Elisa Pulido’s book has the possibility of changing how Mormon studies scholars study polygamy, politics, and write their biographies. For those without very healthy book budgets, Interlibrary Loan and public library purchase requests are your friends!
Interdisciplinary Studies
Christopher James Blythe, Terrible Revolution: Latter-day Saints and the American Apocalypse (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Joanna Brooks, Mormonism and White Supremacy: American Religion and the Problem of Racial Innocence (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Carol Edison, Erica A. Eliason, Lynne S. McNeill, This is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020).
Blythe’s volume presents a fresh take on “vernacular religion” and helped contextualize Latter-day Saint views of the end times from their Church’s creation to the present day. Joanna Brooks’ book received a lot of attention, and her argument about “racial innocence” is very important. Whether you have read the book or not, you should grapple with the reviews by James C. Jones, Paul Reeve, and LaShawn Williams. Edison, Eliason, and McNeil deserve an award for best book title—I look forward to reading the book once my dissertation is in to my committee.
Latter-day Saints and the State
Kenneth L. Alford, Saints at War: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2020).
Derek R. Sainsbury, Storming the Nation: The Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith’s Political Missionaries (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2020).
Alford’s new volume continues the useful and fascinating series on Latter-day Saints serving in the military in the Middle East. Derek Sainsbury’s is a very interesting study on the political missionaries who worked on behalf of Joseph Smith’s run for President of the United States in 1844.
Brief Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020)
1st Nephi: Joseph M. Spencer
2nd Nephi: Terryl Givens
Jacob: Deidre Nicole Green
Enos, Jarom, Omni: Sharon J. Harris
Mosiah: James E. Faulconer
Alma 1-29: Kylie Nielson Turley
Alma 30-63: Mark Wrathall
Helaman: Kimberly Matheson Berkey
3rd/4th Nephi: Daniel Becerra
Mormon: Adam S. Miller
Ether: Rosalynde Frandsen Welch
Moroni: David F. Holland
Someday I will write more, but this series is a major contribution to Latter-day Saint intellectual history. They’re devotional, but those who do not subscribe to Mormonism’s truth claims will be better able to read the Book of Mormon with the help of the twelve author’s insights.
2020 has been an awful year on about seventy-five different fronts, but Mormon history and Mormon studies scholarship is not one of those sources of dismay. The field is growing, disciplinarily, in who writes the histories, and novel approaches to familiar topics.
While there’s no way to include every single publication, these are the articles I think best represent the state and future directions of the field. Articles are listed in alphabetical order, by the author’s last name.
Eligibility The Tanner Humanities Center will award a graduate fellowship in Mormon Studies for the 2021-2022 academic year. The fellowship encourages, in all facets, the scholarly explorations of any religious tradition which traces its roots to Joseph Smith Jr., its people, values, history, culture, and institutions. This fellowship is designed to enable doctoral students of unusual ability and achievement to engage in research and writing full time. Projects should focus on topics related to the history and/or culture of Mormonism. Eligible disciplines include: Communication, English, History, Languages, Law, Philosophy, and Political Science, among others.
Graduate students will have successfully passed their Ph.D. or qualifying exams, and completed all course work by the beginning of the fellowship period (August 2021).
Thanks to friend of JI Katherine Pollock for putting together this post!
The Folklore Society of Utah is holding a digital conference this weekend on Friday November 13, 1:00 PM MST (Pre-Conference Events) and Saturday November 14, 9:00am – 2:15pm MST. This Zoom Conference is open and free to the public! Register for updates and find the Pre-Conference Events, Conference Program and links to Zoom Sessions HERE.
Lisa Gabbert, Cristina Rosetti, Rachel Ross, Daisy Ahlstone, Andi Pitcher Davis, Danny B Stewart, and many others, will be speaking on their research into Utah folklore, Latter Day Saint folklore, the supernatural, literature and folklore, and more.
Keynote Address: Andrea Kitta Ph.D. (East Carolina University), “Covid-19: Why Folklore is More Important than Ever”
Alison Syring recently took over responsibilities for acquiring and editing titles in Mormon Studies at the University of Illinois Press! She was gracious enough to answer a few questions for JI. You can follower her on Twitter @AlisonSyring.
JI: What is forthcoming on Mormon Studies from UIP?
AS: Right now, because we are working on our Fall 2021 list, I am most excited about launching our series Introductions to Mormon Thought. The first books in this series are moving toward production and should be out around this time next year. I think this series is so exciting for a few reasons. Books in this series are about not only those traditionally considered Mormon intellectuals, but also those on the periphery. I think these books will be useful to those long interested in Mormonism and Mormon studies, but they could also potentially attract an audience of people who know little about Mormonism and who are interested generally in intellectuals and intellectual history. They may find themselves discovering or rediscovering people for whom they did not know Mormonism played an important role. For example, one of our first books is on Vardis Fisher, a novelist who grew up Mormon but left the faith after college. A contemporary of writers like William Faulkner, Fisher wrote Western literary novels that often had themes of faith. Though I focused on twentieth-century American literature in college, I had never heard of Fisher. Like myself, I think many non-Mormons don’t realize the degree to which Mormon intellectuals are involved in American life, and this series might help to reveal that with short biographies on writers, political thinkers, and other public intellectuals.
JI: Where do you see the future of Mormon Studies/History going in the next decade?
AS: I’m really excited specifically about where Mormon studies can go at Illinois. We have a long-standing commitment to this field, which has really been reinvigorated in the last few years. I am eager to continue this energy with books that are both a reflection of the exciting developments in the field and also complements to Illinois’s diverse publishing commitments. For example, we’ve had an interest in feminist Mormon studies, which matches a commitment to feminist studies more broadly. Similarly, I am interested in global Mormonism historically and contemporarily, and we continue to have interest in books with transnational scopes.
In terms of new areas of acquisition in Mormon studies, we have published a number of books on Mormon history, which I continue to be interested in, but we haven’t published as many that touch on contemporary Mormon issues. I would be very interested in Mormon studies books that explore the twentieth century or even engage the current moment. I’m also interested in projects that expand beyond history into related disciplines or methodologies, like anthropology and ethnography.
I also think there is an opportunity to expand into Mormon studies that might touch on some of my other areas of acquisition. I would be very interested in Mormon studies books that focus on a region, such as the Midwest or Appalachia. There is exciting work being done at the intersection of religion and digital humanities, and I would be excited to consider Mormon studies projects with DH elements. I also want to continue to support marginalized communities with my acquisitions work, which includes not only topics that may be marginalized, but also scholars who may be marginalized. I think sometimes the most exciting work is being done in areas that we don’t even see, and I’m excited to hear from and support scholars doing that work.
JI: What advice do you have for someone publishing their first Mormon Studies book?
AS: I think I would give the same advice to someone publishing their first book in any discipline: this is really your first big step into academia in your own right. There are potentially hundreds of considerations to make when you are thinking about publishing a book, but consider what is most important to you. Friends, colleagues, and mentors can share their experiences, but no matter what, yours will likely be different. What matters most to you? Maybe you are concerned with a press’s prestige in the field, or maybe you want to have control over the marketing strategy. You might be most concerned with finding an editor who can provide developmental support, or, on the other hand, you might want an editor who is more hands-off. Feel empowered to talk about your priorities with presses and their editors.
On a personal note, I hear a lot from scholars who are looking to publish their first book, but know nothing about the process. It’s been my experience that scholars don’t have a lot of support on navigating scholarly publishing beyond the anecdotal. I am always excited to talk to early career scholars who just want to know what publishing a book is like, either in a group setting or one-on-one. While I can’t necessarily speak for the entire industry, I am happy to talk about what publishing your first book at Illinois could look like. Scholarly publishers are often seen as “gatekeepers,” and so it is very important for me as an editor to make this process as transparent as possible from the first conversations I have with authors.
JI: How do you work through peer review for Mormon Studies? Do you send the book to two people in the field, or to one person in the field and one person in an adjacent historiography?
AS: Illinois is known for having a rigorous peer review process, and there are some standard practices for each project. For example, we always send a proposal or manuscript to at least two scholars for a first-round review. But at the same time, I like to see the peer review process as a collaboration between the scholar and myself. The press needs certain things from peer review, of course, but those priorities should not eclipse the scholar needing useful feedback on their work. If the project is interdisciplinary, I always want to find a pair of scholars who will bring a breadth of disciplinary knowledge to the project. Because Illinois publishes so many interdisciplinary books, and because most of the fields I specifically acquire in, while history based, are interdisciplinary, I think it’s a great strength of ours that we are able to reach across disciplines to find the right scholars to review each project.
I also tend to do more work with projects on the front end. I don’t want to send a project for outside review if I already know what a reviewer will say, especially if those critiques will be something I am well positioned to work on with an author, like the organization or the argumentative through-line. I want to create the smoothest process for authors, so I like to get as much done before peer review as possible, so that reviewers can focus on the disciplinary elements like sources and argument. I’ve found that this often provides the most useful reports for authors, and the smoothest process forward to—ideally!—contracting.
Sign up to listen to author Val Holley, Ken Cannon, Kathryn MacKay, Greg Prince, and Kate Kelley discuss Holley’s new book, Frank J. Cannon: Saint, Senator, Scoundrel!
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Job Summary
The senior editor at BYU Studies is committed to publishing impeccable scholarship that is informed by the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She or he has a creative vision for making the scholarship published in BYU Studies both more relevant to and more accessible to well educated but non-specialist readers. The successful applicant will assist the editor in chief and the editorial director in publishing. They will also possess the ability to manage growth initiatives designed to exponentially increase awareness of BYU Studies content. The senior editor is capable and comfortable discussing scholarship in a variety of disciplines, managing student editors, editing journals, working with digital humanities, and implementing marketing principles. This position requires the candidate to work with students, staff, editorial board members, scholars, contractors, printers, and the media.
Spencer W. McBride, Jeffrey D. Mahas, Brett D. Dowdle, and Tyson Reeder, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents Volume 11: September 1842-February 1843 (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2020).
John C. Bennett, con man, and political insider, and former Joseph Smith confidante, left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 1842. His departure catalyzed a series of changes within Joseph Smith’s religious movement, particularly as the Latter-day Saint prophet and his followers scrambled to adjust to the curious media’s attention and their neighbor’s vitriol.
Those changes are transcribed, annotated, and verified in the 105 documents that comprise the eleventh volume of the Documents series of the Joseph Smith Papers, released in October 2020. These documents fall broadly into three categories. First, the extradition attempts led by Lilburn W. Boggs, related to an assassination attempt that took place on May 6, 1842. The Missouri governor believed that the Latter-day Saints bore responsibility, and, so his logic went, it must have happened on Joseph Smith’s orders. The Latter-day Saint leader won a court case that denied Missouri’s extradition attempt—Smith’s followers celebrated at parties and in song.[1]
Smith was also busy trying to put out the gossipy blaze that was John C. Bennett’s speaking tour. The former Nauvoo mayor and member of the LDS Church’s First Presidency had published several letters that shared scandalous details about Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage. As the JSPP editorial team writes, “Smith was, in fact, secretly practicing plural marriage in Nauvoo by this time.” Furthermore, “he had introduced the practice to a small circle of Latter-day Saint, but most church members were not aware of it.”[2] Bennett spun some yarns and “seemingly fabricated” several of his claims, but the truth was irrelevant to a hungry public’s appetite for salacious details about the Mormon prophet.[3]
Lest readers and historians forget, Joseph Smith was also a religious leader. Documents 11 shows how Smith directed his church, oversaw the temple’s construction, wrote editorials for the Church’s newspaper, and elaborated on his teachings regarding the practice of vicarious baptism for the dead. Of utmost importance is also remembering that Joseph Smith felt a deep-seeded duty to protect “his family and his fellow Latter-day Saints from persecution.” (JSPP Press Release).
Map of Nauvoo
The JSPP volume editors for D11 were gracious enough to meet with scholars and journalists to share a few personal reflections and highlights.
Spencer McBride began with a quote from Joseph Smith’s journal from a different JSPP volume to introduce what the Latter-day Saint prophet said about his leadership: that he did not expect perfection from his followers and they should not expect perfection from him. Infallibity was never on the table. Which, McBride reminds us, is important to keep in mind for both devotional members of the Church and scholars. I would add a paraphrased line from O Brother Where Art Thou: one’s ideals and one’s actions don’t always align.
Historian Spencer W. McBride explains how Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo used the still-unfinished Nauvoo temple for worship services in 1842 and 1843
Brett Dowdle introduced a letter from September 7, 1842 on baptisms for the dead. Like Dowdle, I was fascinated by the time that Smith took, while in isolation while evading Missouri’s authorities, to dictate such a long letter. Smith included an immense amount of detail, he said that “you may find this very particular,” but it’s because of his commitment to preserving a record that could be used by God at judgment. Historians everywhere may have different concerns, but I think I speak for us all when I say “thank you for insisting on careful recordkeeping!”
Brett Dowdle introduction records of baptism for the dead in Nauvoo
Jeffrey Mahas explained that Joseph Smith spent a lot of this time in hiding while negotiating his way out of Missouri’s arrest warrants, related to a murder attempt on Lilburn W. Boggs’ life. Mahas calls this likely the greatest legal victory of Joseph Smith’s life. When returning home from court, several Saints composed a song, including lines by Eliza R. Snow. MAHAS THEN SANG THE FIRST VERSE. Friends, this was a time never to be forgotten.
After a stirring rendition of the jubilee song, Mahas pointed out that the song praised Thomas Ford, who later becomes notorious in Mormon history. Eliza R. Snow’s wrote:
“Protection’s wreath again will bloom Reviv’d by Thomas Ford; Which under Carlin had become Like Jonah’s wither’d gourd…
Like Freedom’s true and genuine son, Oppression to destroy, His Excellency has begun To Govern Illinois…
His ‘Mormon’ subjects fondly trust, The citizens will share, A legislation wise and just, While he retains the Chair, While foul oppression’s &c.
The Jubillee Songs, Docs 11, 334.
On to the Q&A:
Dowdle noted that the September 7 letter was special because he doesn’t necessarily produce long letters or discourses like that document, but that he’s still operating with “space” to think. McBride noted that Smith’s life was busy at this time (per usual), but that he was still busy. The types of documents are unique in this period because he’s not preaching, but he’s able to produce a lot of documentation, including on things like currency. Mahas added that he is in hiding, but still near Nauvoo. Smith ends up moving thirty miles upriver from the City of Joseph, where he doesn’t have friends, family, or scribes to record his thoughts at this point (Smith preferred to dictate rather than write). A later account by someone who spent time with Joseph Smith at this time remembered a lot of boredom.
In response to a question about Bennett, McBride said that Joseph Smith was on the defensive, but that it’s essential to remember that many of Smith’s teachings are geared towards assuring converts moving to Nauvoo. Many are coming to Illinois expecting jobs and could be disappointed in what was available. Smith’s concern was with the Saints, though it would be oversimplifying to discount Bennett’s speaking tour against Mormonism.
A question came in about the consistency in annotation, style, etc. comes from frequent review, collaboration, and a consistent effort to have an authorial voice.
Our friends at BOMSA are holding their annual conference this week. Be sure to check out all the presentations, but we are particularly excited about the historical presentations (listed below):
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
10:15 PM-12:15 PM
Robin Jensen (JSPP), “A Preliminary Examination in to the Authenticity of the University of Chicago Leaves of the Original Book of Mormon Manuscript (Alma 3:5-4:2; 4:20-5:23)
Janiece Johnson (Neal A. Maxwell Institute), “Scripturalizing the Book: Book of Mormon Authority and the Material Record”
Christopher Jones (BYU), “A Necessary Book for Dark-Skinned People’: Reading the Book of Mormon with the First Missionaries to the Pacific”
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