Reviewed by Jon England, Ph.D. Candidate at Arizona State University
In April of 2013, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Quorum of the Seventy gave a lecture at the University of Utah’s Wallace Stegner Center Symposium. In his lecture, titled “Righteous Dominion and Compassion for the Earth,” Nash explained that the Mormon environmental ethic revolves around the concept of “stewardship” and the need to care for God’s creations. Coincidentally, just a few months later, historians Jedediah Rogers and Matthew Godfrey began exploring the possibility of a book on Mormon environmental history. The result is The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden, a collection of essays from both established scholars and young historians of Mormon environmental history.
In the
first essay, Rogers takes us through the historiography of Mormon environmental
history and identifies some of the gaps. He references Lynn White Jr.’s 1967
assertion that Christianity is to blame for environmental degradation. This has
become a central debate in environmental history, and each author approaches it
through the context of their various subjects. Sara Dant gets at the roots of
Mormon environmental ethics by questioning the legitimacy of a Brigham Young
quote: “There shall be no private ownership of the streams that come out of the
canyons, nor the timber that grows on the hills. These belong to the people:
all the people.”[1] I
won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that she reminds historians to double
check their sources. She also identifies the tension within the Mormon
environmental ethic between communal stewardship and a market economy. Thomas
Alexander’s “Lost Memory and Environmentalism” works to confirm Dant’s
conclusion. Mormon settlers began with an environmental ethic (a bit of a
misguided ethic, but an ethic nonetheless), which they forgot as they secularized
their sense of entrepreneurship. As a result, the Wasatch Front environment
suffered with overgrazing, air pollution, and a decline of native species.
Most
environmental histories of the Latter-day Saints deal with their time in Utah
and settling the West. Matthew Godfrey, however, shows that over a decade
before Brigham Young attempted to make the “desert blossom as a rose” in
northern Utah, Joseph Smith was teaching the Saints to do the same thing in
Missouri. And Brett Dowdle provides an insightful look at how American Mormon
missionaries in England and British converts in the U.S. perceived new
environments.
Richard
Francaviglia takes us back to the Great Basin and posits that Mormons used and
created maps that show how they viewed the land they were settling. These maps
obviously proved essential in building cities, but also expressed the vision
Mormons had for their settlements. Betsy Gaines Quammen delves into land policy
with an examination of the history and founding of Zion National Park. She
convincingly asserts that Thoreauvian ideals of wholesome nature converged
harmoniously (for the most part) in Zion with Mormon perceptions of practical
wilderness use. Jeff Nichol’s essay, however, argues that the Mormon sense of
stewardship had its limits. Echoing Dant and Alexander, Nichol exposes the
tensions within Mormon environmental thought of communitarian ideals and market
successes within the context of the livestock industry. Communal projects, such
as shared ranges, helped establish Mormon communities, but overgrazing became
more prolific as Utah moved toward a market economy. Overgrazing livestock
changed the local environment in disastrous ways.
Another way
Mormons changed their environment was through irrigation. Brian Frehner
complicates the history of reclamation projects with the story of St. Thomas,
Nevada. Mormons founded St. Thomas in 1865, and for decades struggled to keep
it afloat only to watch it literally sink under the waters of Lake Mead in
1938. In 2002 however, remnants of the town reappeared due to the diminished
flow of the Colorado River. The story of St. Thomas is one of both success and
failure and shows that reclamation projects never fully accomplished their purpose
to control nature in the Southwest.
The last
few essays focus on the diminishing agrarian culture of the Church through the
twentieth century. Brian Cannon shows
that this change came despite Mormon leaders’ efforts to keep the Church’s
agrarian identity. Nathan Waite illustrates how Church president Spencer W. Kimball
looked to preserve the connection between the land and the Church by
encouraging members to maintain gardens. Rebecca Anderson offers a fascinating
look at the history of place and memory by comparing Ensign Peak to the gravel
pits that line Beck Street just to the north. While Ensign Peak represents the
early Mormon vision of what Zion could become, the gravel pits show the reality
of development.
George
Handley provides a fitting conclusion to this collection with a summation of
what Mormonism has to offer environmentalism. He also identifies what’s at
stake. Mormonism has yet to embrace its own environmental ethic in an effective
way. Fortunately, this collection represents a possible turning point as it
reflects the growing concern among Mormons, particularly among the younger
generation, for the environment.
The authors touch on issues specific to Utah
such as over-development and smog, and global issues like climate change, but
not in-depth, leaving room for more discussion and analysis. Just as Elder
Nash’s lecture (which is included in the appendix) opened the door for more
conversation around the Mormon environmental ethic, Eden lays the
groundwork for more substantial work in the environmental history of Mormonism.
[1]
Sara Dant, “The ‘Lion of the Lord’ and the Land: Brigham Young’s Environmental
Ethic,” The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden, 29
The Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Documents 8: February-November 1841 reveal Joseph Smith’s life as he endeavored to build a city and expand the faith that he led. These documents also reveal the interstices between these two projects. Through correspondence, revelations, sermons, financial documents, meeting minutes and other significant documents, Volume 8’s editorial team helps readers to understand the multifaceted growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after its first large-scale transatlantic push and before the introduction of temple liturgy.
In the documents created over ten short months, readers begin to see how Joseph Smith’s life was complicated by the many forms of government that he oversaw. Most notably, to me, Joseph Smith and his followers strove to build a city that offered a liberal view of religious tolerance to any who would live in it. The Nauvoo City Council Book records, “Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-Day-Saints, Quakers, Episcopalians Universali[s]ts Unitarians, Mahommedans, and all other religious sects and denominations whatever, shall have free toleration and equal Privilieges in this City.” Joseph Smith himself promised to hear any case wherein any person “guilty of ridiculing abusing, or otherwise depreciating another in consequence of his religion or of disturbing, or interrupting any religious meeting, within the Limits of this City,” could be fined up to $500 and receive six months imprisonment.[1]
Kurt Manwaring has published an interview with historian Ignacio Garcia over on his site, From the Desk. Garcia earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Arizona and is Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western & Latino History at Brigham Young University and is President Elect of the Mormon History Association. An excerpt from Manwaring’s site is posted below; click over to From the Desk to read the rest!
What are the most important changes MHA has made in the past decade and where do you hope to see the organization 10 years from now? What factors most influence the organization’s ability to realize the progress you envision?
The Mormon History Association is conducting a search for editor of the Journal of Mormon History. The editor of the journal determines the content, solicits submissions, oversees peer review, works with submitting authors in performing substantive and stylistic content editing, and coordinates with a JMH production staff and the University of Illinois Press to ensure that issues of the journal are published according to deadline and within budget. The editor has full editorial control of the journal but reports to the MHA board of directors in maintaining a high-quality product that serves as the flagship publication for the organization. The Mormon History Association is particularly interested in candidates with an academic institutional affiliation but will consider submissions by all qualified applicants.
The person chosen to be the editor will be appointed to a four-year term beginning in January 2020, renewable at the discretion of the MHA board of directors.
The Third Annual Meeting of The Book of Mormon Studies Association October 11–12, 2019 Utah State University
The Book of Mormon Studies Association (BoMSA) is pleased
to announce its third annual meeting, to be held October 11–12, 2019, at Utah
State University. The event is sponsored by USU’s Department of Religious
Studies and with thanks to both Philip Barlow and Patrick Mason, successive
occupiers of 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 Paul Gutjahr
(Indiana University) and Amy Easton-Flake (Brigham Young University). We will
also hold a special book interview session with Community of Christ scholar
Dale E. Luffman.
We therefore invite the submission of papers and
proposals for inclusion in the 2019 conference program. Note that newcomers to
the organization are required to submit a full paper for consideration, while
those who have presented at either of the previous two 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.
Kurt Manwaring has published an interview with historian Sara Georgini over on his site, From the Desk. Georgini earned her Ph.D. in American History at Boston University and is a Series Editor for The Papers of John Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Her most recent book, Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family, examines the religious lives of the Adams Family across several generations. An excerpt from Manwaring’s site (including a question about the Adams Family and Joseph Smith is posted below; click over to From the Desk to read the rest!
How was religion used to frame the successes and failures of John Adams’ political endeavors?
On
Thursday, June 6, 2019 the Fourth Annual Mormon Studies Publication Workshop
will be held at the University of Utah.
The
workshop helped to create a sense of community among young scholars from a
variety of places and disciplines while providing helpful feedback for
developing projects. Over the past three years, we have received dozens of
excellent submissions on race, gender, sexuality, and other historiographical
fields. Last year, at Boise State University, we hosted scholars from across
the United States California to Massachussetts. You can read more about the 2017
meeting at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at
Washington University in St. Louis here.
Workshopped
papers from the past three years have become parts of books published by (or
under contract with) Oxford University Press, University of Nebraska Press, and
Routledge University Press; the Journal
of Religion, the Journal of Mormon History,
Church History: Studies in Christianity
and Culture, completed dissertations, and other distinguished venues.
The workshop, “Writing: Strategies on How and When to Write,” will be held Thursday, June 6 from 10:00 AM AM-3:30 PM. There will be no cost for the workshop beyond punctual arrival and rigorous intellectual engagement.
Several articles on Mormon history or Mormon Studies have been published in non-Mormon specific venues in the past few months. While the Journal of Mormon History, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Sunstone, and BYU Studies continue to be sources of groundbreaking and award-winning scholarship, they are not the only journals interested in the academic study of Mormonism.
I’ve included the abstract and link to each article. Let me know if I missed any from the past few months in the comments!
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Recent Comments
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Gary Bergera on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny's great. Thanks for posting this.”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Ben P on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “My favorite former boss and respected current historian!”
Hannah J on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I really enjoyed this! Going to be thinking about playing the long game for a while. Thanks Amy and Jenny.”