Ezra Booth and Commandments in Early Mormonism

Ezra Booth, a former Methodist minister, he converted to Mormonism in 1831 after witnessing a miraculous healing performed by Joseph Smith. Booth initially found the Mormon message very compelling, especially the promise of spiritual gifts and the imminent establishment of the New Jerusalem. But as months passed, Booth found the gap between expectation and result to widen, as in his mind the spiritual gifts did not come in the manner he hoped and the site of the New Jerusalem in Missouri (see D&C 57) was not the land of milk and honey he envisioned (as described in D&C 38:18). He also didn’t like the June 1831 (D&C 52) commandment to walk to Missouri for the dedication of the temple site, or the August 1831 commandment to walk back to Ohio (D&C 60), preaching along the way (at 800 miles one way, I wonder how many people actually liked the thought of that), and he became increasingly critical of JS and other Mormon leaders. In early September, the church conference silenced Booth from preaching, and over the next few months he published a series of letters in the local newspaper, the Ohio Star.

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Columbus, the European Conquest, and the Radical Message of the Book of Mormon

Although the Book of Mormon never explicitly names Christopher Columbus, many readers have supposed that 1 Nephi 13:12 refers to he who ?sailed the ocean blue? in 1492. The chapter also seems to provide a theological justification for the European conquest of the Americas that followed in the wake of Columbus’ voyage (vv. 14-15; compare 2 Nephi 1:11; Mormon 5:19; 3 Nephi 16:9; see also 16:8; 2 Nephi 26:15). In this, the Book of Mormon does not vary that drastically from ideas then prevalent in the broader American society that justified the expansion of European settler societies across the continent, the concomitant decline of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and their absorption into white society.

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Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Interpreting Early Mormon Thought

[What follows is the gist of the introduction from my paper “Celestial Family Organization: The Developing Nature of Mormon Conceptions of Heaven, circa 1840s,” presented at the 2010 MHA Conference.]

This post begins with a seemingly unrelated starting point: the debate over the legacy of Kantian philosophy in 1790s Germany. Philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte, in defense of his interpretation of Kantian idealism, argued for a distinction between ?the inventor? of an ideological system, and ?his commentators and disciples.? Fichte explained,

The inventor of a system is one thing, and his commentators and disciples are another?The reason is this: The followers do not yet have the idea of the whole; for if they had it, they would not require to study the new system; they are obliged first to piece together this idea out of the parts that the inventor provides for them; [but] all these parts are in fact not wholly determined, rounded and polished in their minds?

Fichte continued by explaining ?the inventor proceeds from the idea of the whole, in which all the parts are united, and sets for these parts individually?The business of the followers,? on the other hand, ?is to synthesize what they still by no means possess, but are only to obtain by the synthesis.?[1]

The specifics of Kantian philosophy that Fichte was debating hold little importance to us, but the tension he outlines between an ?inventor? and ?disciple? plays an important correlating role in the development of early Mormon thought, just as it does with any movement that boasts an innovative founder.

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“A Uniformity So Complete”: Early Mormon Angelology

[To continue my attempt to post something without much work on my part, what follows is the introduction to my recent article, just put online by the Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies. I post this also to encourage other graduate students to consider submitting to IMW Journal in the future; while it is a student-run production, it boasts an impressive academic review board with professional and respected scholars to help improve your submission; I received great feedback on my earlier drafts that significantly improved the article. To view the articles from the most recent issue, as well as to see submission guidelines,  click here.]

?An angel of God never has wings,? proclaimed Joseph Smith in 1839, just as the LDS Church was establishing itself in what would come to be known as Nauvoo, Illinois.

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Book Review: Leo Damrosch, Tocqueville’s Discovery of America

To get a better understanding of the cultural milieu of early Mormonism, one might need to make an extra trip to Yale?s Beinecke Library. And read French.

Damrosch, Leo. Tocqueville?s Discovery of America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010. xxi + 227 pp. Illustrations, maps, endnotes, index. Hardback: $27.00; ISBN 978-0-374-27817-5.

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Early Mormon Lamanism, Forgotten Apocalyptic Visions, and the Indian Prophet

The year 1890 looms large in American history. It ranks up there with 1776, 1877, and 1945 as important dates that historians have used to organize our past. It also shapes collective memory. Mormons most readily associate 1890 with the Woodruff Manifesto and the ?official? end of polygamy. For Americans, and westerners more specifically, 1890 represents the end of the Frontier, the most American part of our history, to paraphrase Frederick Jackson Turner. According to C. Vann Woodward, the 1890s marked the hardening of segregation in the South.

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New Article: “Salvation Through a Tabernacle: Joseph Smith, Parley P. Pratt, and Early Mormon Theologies of Embodiment”

[The following is the introduction to my recently published article in Dialogue. I post it here with three goals in mind: 1) To get any feedback/corrections/accusations on the article, as well as to provide discussion for anyone else who finds the topic as fascinating as I do. 2) To fulfill my guilt and anxiety to post something of substance here, but doing so without much work on my part. 3) To remind everyone what a great resource Dialogue is, and how awesome they are for strengthening their online presence. For those who haven’t done so yet, go to their website right now and subscribe and/or donate!]

Book Review: Mark Lyman Staker, ‘Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations’

Staker, Mark Lyman. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith?s Ohio Revelations. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2009. xlii + 694 pp. Illustrations, maps, endnotes, appendix, bibliography, index, scripture index. Hardback: $34.95; ISBN 978-1-58958-113-5.

Reading through this 600-page text, one fact becomes crystal clear: Mark Staker has read, considered, and contextualized every document that has any relevancy to Mormonism?s Kirtland experience. Likely multiple times. He is not exaggerating when he writes that he ?tried to piece together as thoroughly as possible the events connected with significant Mormon sites in Ohio? (xiii)?and ?thoroughly? is nowhere near a strong enough word. His meticulous scholarship is a rare achievement in Mormon studies, and the broad range of sources listed in his (50 page) bibliography is a testament to the extent of his research. Though he rightly notes that this is not a ?comprehensive history of the Kirtland period? (xl) because it does not touch on all important aspects of the decade?especially religious and ecclesiastical developments of the mid 1830s?one can only imagine the depth and length a ?comprehensive history? in his hands would entail!

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A Kingdom of Priests: Progress and Patronage in Early Mormonism’s Heaven

[In the spirit of transparency, I admit that what follows is an attempt to use the JI as a sounding board for ideas from my upcoming MHA presentation. Critiques are greatly appreciated.]

In 1787, after spending the last two decades of his life working toward American independence and a new form of democratic government, Benjamin Franklin noted that ?there is a natural inclination in mankind for a kingly government.?[1] He was speaking in Philadelphia to the framers of the Constitution, many of whom had grown disillusioned with the potential for radical social movement the early American republic had experienced, and envisioned their own natural aristocracy as the pinnacle of society.[2] Less than a half-decade later, Philadelphia became the location of the most recent of at least a dozen publications of the satirical novel The History and Adventures of Joseph Andrews. Written by British author Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews mocked the aristocratic foundations of the eighteenth century, especially its ?whole ladder of dependence,? and the novel?s printing success in post-Revolutionary America demonstrates the culture?s acceptance of radical Whig philosophy that revolted against a fixed social status.[3]

What does Thomas Paine have to do with the Book of Moses? A Footnote to Sunday School Lesson 1 (Moses 1)

[While I sit in the Pisa Airport finishing my Sunday School Lesson for tomorrow, I couldn’t help but share a point of convergence between the lesson and my recent scholarly research (I am currently working on the Christian response to Thomas Paine in the 1790s). What follows is not a fully drawn-out, or perhaps even thought-out, post, but rather a half-baked idea worthy of nothing more than a footnote for tomorrow’s SS class.]

The 1790s represented drastic change for western civilization. On one side of the Atlantic, the early American republic was beginning to forge into a stable nation; on the other side, an early-embraced revolution was evolving into dangerous anarchy in France.

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