Mormonism: Part of a Greater Whole?

As I have been reading massive amounts of books on American History in preparation for my first PhD Comprehensive exam, I have started to ponder about the ways which historians have examined Mormonism as part of larger narrative in American History, Western History, the History of American Religion, or the History of Religion in general. I was reading through Battle Cry of Freedom the other day and was surprised to find that McPherson placed Joseph Smith and Mormonism into his narrative as part of the Western expansion that preceded the Civil War. His coverage isn’t extensive, but he does track the Mormons from New York to Ohio to Missouri and then to Salt Lake City. [1]

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Interview with Thomas Alexander in Mormon Historical Studies

This is just a note to point interested readers in the direction of the latest issue of Mormon Historical Studies which contains, among other wonders, a candid and fascinating interview with Thomas Alexander (conducted by former Alexander student David Hall). Even for those of us fortunate enough to count Tom as a mentor, there is plenty of material here that he hasn’t spoken much about before. Check it out.

Tocqueville and American Religious History

The historian of American history loves to quote Tocqueville, and the historian of U.S. religious history is no different. Even historians of Mormonism find him helpful.[1] Yet what place does Tocqueville’s work have in helping us understand early nineteenth century American religion?

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The Juvenile Instructor Continues to Grow

In hopes of living up to the recent declaration that the Juvenile Instructor is a “big LDS blog,” we’re pleased to announce that Jordan W. will be joining the team here at JI as a permablogger.  Jordan’s posts as a guest blogger were well received (well, mostly well received, see comment #11!!!!!!!), and we look forward to his future contributions. Please help us welcome Jordan as the newest full-time blogger at the Juvenile Instructor.

Mormon Responses to Darwin, 1859-1933

The First Presidency of the Latter-day Saint Church has never made a direct statement in response to Darwin, his book, or his theory of evolution. Yet, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the church did respond indirectly. Less formally, certain leaders openly attacked Darwin’s ideas, while other church officials and lay members disliked transmutation but contemplated other forms of evolution. Various personalities and their corresponding works exemplify these responses.

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Directions to the Steed Farm Please

Everyone reading this blog probably has an opinion about Gerald Lund’s The Work and the Glory series. I know I do. But that is perhaps saved for another post. I actually have some very specific questions in mind. I have heard from multiple sources, always at least second-hand, the following story:

Place: Church History Site (I have heard variants from Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Palmyra)
Setting: Summer tourist rush
Dramatis Personae: Church history guide (usually a senior missionary), idiotic tourist and or a family of same.

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B. H. Roberts and Pragmatism. Part III on William James and Mormonism

(continued from Part II)

With the Mormon conception of a premortal council in mind, as Roberts continued reading Pragmatism he set about noting where James steered askew from a Mormon way of seeing things, filling in the gaps where James does not follow the Mormon line of reasoning all the way out as well as identifying other elements that resonate with Mormonism. Where James suggests–again, perhaps hypothetically–that some proto-individuals, at this pre-dawn of creation, might recoil from such a dangerous proposition and prefer rather to “relapse into the slumber of nonentity” from which they had “been momentarily aroused by the tempter’s voice,” Roberts demurs. In the bottom margin of his copy of Pragmatism–and later in the footnotes of his published works–Roberts offered this corrective of James’s implication that God brought human souls into being out of a nonentity to which they might at any time return:

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“Infinite Regress” or “Monarchical Monotheism”

In Brian Birch’s class, “Mormonism and Christian Theology,” at CGU we recently discussed the “King Follet Discourse” and the “Sermon in the Grove” and the ways Mormon scholars have interpreted records of these sermons over the years. A point of conversation relates to what Smith meant in stating that God “is a man like one of yourselves” who “dwelt on a Earth same as Js. himself did.”[1] In a related recorded statement, Smith is said to have explained that “Paul says there are gods many & Lords many” I want to set it in a plain simple manner–but to us there is but one God pertaining to us.”[2] Smith’s words generally have been interpreted in two ways.

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Is There A Place at the Academic Table for Mormon Studies?

I will soundly argue that the answer to the question above is an unequivocal “No!” Just playing. The formation of Mormon Studies Chairs at Utah State University and Claremont Graduate School with similar programs in the works at other institutions of higher learning suggests an affirmative answer to this query. I think it is obvious that our intellectual predecessors have worked long and hard to make this possible, and consequently we should be grateful. The formation of chairs, along with other movements in the media and politics, mark a new era in the scholarly study of Mormonism, as universities “scramble” to create classes in Mormonism. Sunday night I attended a fireside in Pasadena where Drs. Richard and Claudia Bushman spoke of this exciting time. As Claudia was speaking she mentioned the idea that we had the opportunity to become intellectual pioneers. This struck me. To be honest, I felt rather overwhelmed thinking about the legacy that budding scholars of Mormonism have to live up to. Further, it seems that we must participate in forming the idea of what it means to study Mormonism at a graduate level. Consequently, I think the important question relates to what kind of place we will create for ourselves at the academic table.

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Welcome JI’s newest guest blogger, Jordan W.

The Juvenile Instructor is pleased to introduce its newest guest blogger, Jordan Watkins.  Jordan has long been friends with many of the bloggers here at JI, and is an aspiring young scholar interested in Mormon and American Religious History.  He describes himself thus:

My name is Jordan Watkins and I’m pretty awesome…and objective:) I was born and raised in Alpine, Utah in the heart of “Happy Valley” where above 95% of the population is LDS. I served an LDS mission in Leon, Mexico. I received my BA in history at BYU. I am in my second semester at Claremont Graduate University in the MA history program, emphasizing in 19th Century US Religious History as best I can (small history faculty, none specializing in US Religious History). I have no wife, no kids, and no pets. I realize this should translate into a large number of brilliant publications and conference presentations, but alas, I think I like watching movies and sleeping too much.

We should add that he has, indeed, presented a few fascinating papers at academic conferences and his work has been published, including a recent article he co-authored in BYU Studies.  Please join us in welcoming Jordan to the Juvenile Instructor.