By ChristopherApril 4, 2012
Some of you may have already seen the new column at Patheos.com’s Mormon Portal launched last week. The brainchild of two JI bloggers, Peculiar People aims to provide “commentary on culture, politics, the humanities, sports, the arts, and so on through the lens of Mormonism.” Featuring a talented team of contributors—including our own Ben P, Matt B, Ryan T, Max M, and myself, along with present and prior JI (guest) bloggers Rachel Cope, Heidi Harris, Rachael Givens, and David Howlett and a whole slew of other brilliant scholars of Mormon history and culture (Patrick Mason, Susanna Morrill, Taylor Petrey, Richard Livingston, Kate Holbrook, Seth Perry, Xarissa Holdaway, Emily Belanger, and Alan Hurst)—the column will appear twice weekly (Monday and Wednesday). We hope to attract both Mormon and non-Mormon readers, and invite those of you who follow JI regularly to check in over there occasionally, too.
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By AmandaApril 3, 2012
This year, I am planning on flying to Honolulu to do research on Mormon communities such as Laie and Lahaina. Hawai’i?s official tourism website assures me that I will enjoy the ?clear, blue waters of Kailua beach,? ?the metropolitan cityscapes of Honolulu,? and ?the historic architecture of Iolani Palace.? (http://www.gohawaii.com/oahu/about). Had I traveled there in the nineteenth century, however, I would have found myself surrounded not by luxurious hotels and volleyball courts but a multitude of half-fed, half-wild dogs and cats.
When William Root Bliss visited the city in 1873, he discovered that what should have been a quiet port city had been transformed into a noisy, yowling place by the pets of its residents. ?Every family,? he reported, ?keeps at least one dog; every native family a brace of cats.? In addition to these beloved pets, there were five thousand homeless animals and a gaggle of cocks and chickens for cockfighting. As soon as dusk hit, a single crow would caw, asking how Bliss liked ?Hoo-ner-loo-loo.? It wasn?t long before a dozen of his compatriots had joined in. The dogs would then begin to howl, joined by the cats who protest with ?every vowel sound in the Hawaiian language.? It was impossible, he wrote, for him to sleep. Although Mark Twain did not comment on his ability to sleep in Honolulu, he wrote in Roughing It that when he arrived in Honolulu, he
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By Edje JeterApril 1, 2012
Exposure to either this weekend?s General Conference or to some turn-of-the-century Mormon missionary diaries can prompt the same questions: Do the missionaries have any brothers or do they only have brethren? Where are the sistren? And What?s with all the beloving?
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By RobinMarch 30, 2012
In honor of Women?s History month, I bring you something from the archives.
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By ChristopherMarch 29, 2012
Givens, Terryl L. and Matthew J. Grow. Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
In 1854, Parley P. Pratt, Mormon apostle, theologian, polygamist, and apologist, set out to write his autobiography. In a letter to church historian George Smith, he explained that it was intended to be “a Lean, megre sketch of Church History. As my hurried life, and hurried manner of writing, prevents my branching out on many interesting items” (as quoted on p. 348). As anyone who has read Pratt’s autobiography—published posthumously by his son in 1874—can testify, it goes far beyond the “Lean, megre sketch” he apparently set out to write, and has served as both a ready resource for historians of 19th century Mormonism and a beloved book to thousands and thousands of lay Latter-day Saints to the present day. But Pratt was certainly right in noting that the Autobiography left out “many interesting items.” In Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism, accomplished scholars Terryl Givens and Matthew Grow set out to investigate those “many interesting items”—including many episodes that Pratt would likely never have discussed in detail even if he had the time and space to do so.
What struck me most forcefully while reading Givens and Grow’s book was Parley Pratt’s personality. Described by the authors as having a “tempestuous character,” Pratt comes across
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By Andrea R-MMarch 28, 2012
Mormon women are in trouble again. Not for selling out to the patriarchy or for working outside the home. Not for having too many or not enough kids. Not for wearing skinny jeans or peep-toe shoes. No, this time it?s for being overwhelming subscribers to an online bulletin board site called Pinterest.[i]
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By Steve FlemingMarch 26, 2012
So my adviser, Ann Taves, has approved my final “throughline” for me to send out to the rest of my committee. Let me clarify. The way Ann likes to do it, is for her students to write the initial prospectus, then do all the research and then write a second prospectus. She calls the second prospectus a “throughline” or a chapter by chapter detail of your arguments.
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By Edje JeterMarch 25, 2012
In honor of Elder Jones?s late bedtime on 1900 May 27, this week I will discuss two aspects of missionary sleeping arrangements. How often did they share a bed? and How did they feel about it?
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By DavidPMarch 20, 2012
David Pulsipher is a professor of history at Brigham Young University-Idaho. David was a 2007-2008 Fulbright scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia (University), in New Delhi, India. His research and scholarship focuses on peace and non-violence, and particularly how Mormons have appropriated and/or responded to these ideologies. He has presented papers at the Mormon History Association, Claremont Graduate University, BYU Studies Symposium, and the Congress of the Asian Political and International Studies Association. David is currently working on a volume of collected essays (co-edited with Patrick Mason and Richard Bushman) called War and Peace in Our Time: Mormon Perspectives; and a second co-authored book with Patrick Mason exploring a distinctively Mormon theology and ethic of peace. Please join us in giving David a warm and generous JI welcome.
In honor of women?s history month, we might remember an all-to-brief moment when Mormon women led in the public sphere and men followed—the ?Peace Meeting? movement. Given the prevalence of martial imagery and military heroes in contemporary Mormon culture, it is easy to forget that the Church officially endorsed and organized anti-war protests during the first decade of the twentieth century. These centrally directed and locally produced affairs were held annually—usually on or around May 18, to commemorate the first Hague Conference—and were no small productions. Meetinghouses were draped in international peace colors (gold, purple, and white). Ward choirs prepared and sang patriotic hymns and anti-war songs. Poems were specially composed and recited. Peace resolutions were adopted and signed. And ward leaders (male and female) disavowed war and called for international institutions for arbitration.
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