On the Necessity of Interpretation: Three Examples

It is a truth universally (I think) acknowledged among academically-trained historians that all documents must be ?situated historically.? That is, we must interpret the words (and other aspects of an artifact) in light of the original audience, provenance, language of the time, potential knowledge of the creator, and so on. Of course, reasonable professionals may disagree about the type and degree of interpretation necessary for a given document, but I believe there is wide consensus on the idea that no document or artifact can speak entirely for itself. Students, however, do not always readily accept the necessity. In the interest of helping such students, I give three examples of artifacts that require historical interpretation.

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Position Opening: MHA Executive Director

 
The Mormon History Association is seeking qualified applicants for the independent-contractor position(s) of Executive Director/Business Manager. The position(s) may be best filled by two people, one of whom serves primarily as Business Manager. The Executive Director/Business Manager serve as officers and members of the MHA Board of Directors. The term is for three years, may be renewed, and begins in early 2014.

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Monthly Theme: Childhood, Children, and Youth

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” the statement released by the church in September of 1995 declares that ?Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ?Children are an heritage of the Lord? (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives?mothers and fathers?will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.? These words first read aloud in September of 1995 by church president Gordon B. Hinckley were another powerful iteration among many since the church?s early days that reaffirmed the theological and cultural significance of children within Mormonism.

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Mormon-themed Aphrodisiacs, Part 3 of 4: Advertising Strategies

Note: this post discusses sexual activity in general and erectile dysfunction in particular, though mostly with nineteenth-century language.

In this week?s post I want to look briefly at the marketing for Franklin Bosworth Crouch?s Mormon Elders? Damiana Wafer. To start, I think I should emphasize that to late 1800s non-Mormons, the ?Mormon Elder? in ?Mormon Elders? Damiana Wafer? almost certainly evoked a caricatured church leader—an old man with a long beard and many, younger wives—rather than the typically young-adult ?Elder? of today . [1] So… why name a drug for erectile dysfunction after religious leaders stereotyped as creepy old men? [2]

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“No Race Suicide in Utah:” Eugenics, Race, and a 1907 Postcard

This is a guest post by Cassandra Clark, a PhD student at the University of Utah whose work focuses on how religious communities thought about religious discourse and race.  Cassandra is the mother two lovely daughters – both of whom bear the names of Presidents!.  She also attended the University of Northern Colorado where she earned a MA in history and teaches courses at the community college in Salt Lake.

Filed away in the archives of the Church History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are two copies of a 1907 postcard with the by-line, ?No Race Suicide in Utah!?[1]  The scene printed on the postcard depicts an old bearded gentleman, decked out in a black suit and top hat, carrying a baby on each arm with eight children following him.  Each child is adorned in brightly colored dress, and several of them hold toys while two clutch balloon strings.   The artist, identified as C.R. Miller, printed ?No Race Suicide in Utah!? in all capital letters on one fourth of the top right hand corner of the card.

As I held this postcard in my hands, I realized that this one piece of material culture provided a physical representation of the conclusions I drew about Mormon involvement in the American eugenics movement.  The eugenics movement, or the scientific program pioneered by Charles Darwin?s cousin, Sir Francis Galton, encompassed two main objectives. First, the promotion of ?positive eugenics,? or the proliferation of the ?white? race by emulating Victorian gender roles and large family sizes, and second, ?negative eugenics,? or the sterilization of all people deemed ?unfit? because of their lifestyles and economic status.[2] For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in the midst of the American West, eugenics became a vehicle

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Food as Relic? Sacrament Bread as Material Culture

This is a guest post from Kris Wright, a fantastic independent historian whose work on the healing practices of Mormon women  (written with Jonathan Stapley) has received awards from the Mormon History Association and should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of Mormon women.  Links to those articles can be found here: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol37/iss1/1/ and here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1664187

Photo courtesy of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers

Two weeks ago, I ran up the steep hill behind the Conference Centre in the pouring rain (without an umbrella, of course) on my way to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum.  I have been interested in the material religion of Mormon women, particularly how they have created and used religious objects that are associated with LDS rituals –things like sacrament bread, sacrament vessels, consecrated oil, sacred clothing and other textiles.  I was hoping to see some handmade sacrament cloths that were housed in the museum and cursed myself for my poor planning.  As I entered the building soaked and winded, I hoped that the trip was going to be worthwhile.  I did see the sacrament cloths, but it also ended up being a great opportunity to see something that I would have never imagined still existed ? sacrament bread from the 19^th century.

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Responses: Paul Harvey and Edward Blum respond to Noel Carmack’s Review Essay in the Journal of Mormon History

Almost exactly one year ago, the University of North Carolina Press published Edward Blum and Paul Harvey’s The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America, a sweeping and provocative analysis of the ways in which Americans from various walks of life over the last four hundred (!) years have imagined Jesus. Among the many contributions the book makes, and of particular interest to JI readers, is the authors’ situating Mormons as important players in the larger story of race and religion they narrate so masterfully. In fact, one paragraph in particular has garnered more attention than nearly any other part of the book—a brief discussion in chapter 9 of the large, white marble Christus statue instantly recognizable to Mormons the world over. In the latest issue of the Journal of Mormon History, Noel Carmack authored a 21 page review of The Color of Christ, focusing on their treatment of Mormonism and paying particular attention to their discussion of the Christus. Professors Blum and Harvey generously accepted our invitation to respond here, as part of both our ongoing Responses series and as an appropriate contribution to our look at Mormon material culture this month. 

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Under Glass at D.I.: How I Found a Rare Copy of The World’s Fair Ecclesiastical History of Utah

To historians, collectors, and aficionados of 19^th-century America, it is no surprise that the Chicago World?s Columbian Exposition, or Chicago World?s Fair of 1893 is highly popular for its abundance of collectible items still in circulation among antique dealers, collectors? sites, and Ebay, of course. Indeed, a cursory search of ?Chicago World?s Fair 1893? on Ebay brings up hundreds of items, from paper weights, silk scarves, plates, bowls, medallions, shaving cups, lamps, bookmarks, coins, spoons, Fair tickets, and every variation of printed and photographic material imaginable.  One could literally lose fortune, space, and sanity to build a personal collection of World?s Fair memorabilia. 

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Mormon-themed Aphrodisiacs, Part 2 of 4: Market Penetration

Note: this post discusses sexual activity in general and erectile dysfunction in particular, though mostly with nineteenth-century language.

Two weeks ago I discussed the ?Mormon Elder?s Damiana Wafer,? a late-nineteenth-century sexual cure-all for males and females. The wafer was not alone. ?Mormon Bishop Pills? and ?Brigham Young Tablets? also did their parts for the health and happiness of humanity—though I imagine they did more enriching of peddlers than anything strictly physiological. In this post I will argue that Mormon-themed aphrodisiacs were not one-off gags that popped up in a few times or places but were, in fact, a persistent instantiation of a stereotype of hyper-sexual Mormons. [1]

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Mormon Studies Weekly Roundup (MSWR)

Time for another weekly news roundup!

Since it?s college football season, what no better place to start than with last night?s BYU v. Utah game. (I am going to make the assumption that a fair share of our readers watched or at least knew about last night?s game in which Utah came out victorious with a score of 20 to 13). This article from KSL features an interesting map of where the highest concentrations of Utah and BYU fans live along the Wasatch front. In summary: if you are a Utah fan avoid Highland and if you root for the Cougars avoid Cottonwood Heights.

After you?re done perusing the map move along to Peggy Fletcher Stack?s article that outline?s the church?s newer and subtler ?post-Prop 8? strategy to deal with proposed gay marriage legislation in Hawaii. In a September 15^th letter, LDS leaders in Hawaii urged church members to review ?”The Family: A Proclamation to the World? in addition to contacting member of the Hawaii Legislature to voice their opinions.

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