By David G.June 16, 2008
The language of martyrdom and persecution provided Latter-day Saints the linguistic tools by which they could reverse the power relations as they had been defined by the Missourians and Illinoisans. Mormon opponents were successful in expelling the Latter-day Saints from both Missouri and Illinois, prosecuting and imprisoning Mormon leaders for crimes, all while avoiding legal sanctions for non-Mormon vigilantes. Mormon authors were well aware of these inequalities, leading them to imagine a time when God would vindicate their people.
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By Ben PJune 3, 2008
Just in case you didnt get enough on Emerson back in February (see here and here), this is an encore performance.
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By Ben PMay 28, 2008
One of the great things about blogging is the ability to bounce ideas off people much smarter than yourself. Therefore, I want to just throw one of my thoughts out and hope that an engaging discussion on the topic will follow.
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By David G.May 14, 2008
I found this while going through the Times and Seasons, and it reminded me of Chris’s post on Mormonizing John Wesley. Apparently Mormon J. M. Grant (Jedediah, I presume) wrote a letter to the New York Messenger, and included an excerpt from a letter from Jefferson to John Adams, and asked his readers if they thought Thomas Jefferson was a Mormon. Grant’s letter was later republished in the Times and Seasons.
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An extract from a letter written to JOHN ADAMS BY THOMAS JEFFERSON, of Virginia, published by Mr.
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By Ben PApril 30, 2008
The following was printed in Times and Seasons, September 1, 1842.
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By Ben PApril 10, 2008
A few months ago, while traveling on a rickety bus in Peru from Cusco to Puno, I read Craig Campbell’s Images of the New Jerusalem: Latter Day Saint Faction Interpretation of Independence, Missouri.
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By Ben PMarch 13, 2008
I am currently trying to situate Joseph Smith within the larger American romantic movement, and am hoping for some help. While there are a lot of similarities between Smith and the likes of Emerson, I also agree with Clark in believing that these similarities can be easily overstated (see here and here). While both hoped to collapse the distance between the sacred and the profane, I just can’t get over Joseph’s institutional thought. To me, while they both wanted to bring people into the presence of God, Emerson focused on self-reliance and nature while Joseph utilized the priesthood. It seems like for the early Mormons romanticism merely serv
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By Ben PMarch 11, 2008
If you are looking for a post that explores the rich theological possibilities of theodicy, this post is not it. While I find the topic interesting, I don’t want to address the questions associated with it here. Rather, I want to use the topic of theodicy as a starting point for a discussion on how we use Joseph’s teachings.
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By David G.February 20, 2008
I’m SC Taysom is currently drafting an encyclopedia article on Mormon history from 1830-1844. The essay is supposed to pick up right after the founding of the Church in April 1830 and conclude with the Martyrdom. For my opening paragraph, I want to summarize in 150-200 words the major themes of the period. I have my ideas for this paragraph, which I may post at some point below, but I’d like to see how others would draft this paragraph.
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By Ben PFebruary 19, 2008
We as Latter-day Saints love to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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