By Ben PJanuary 4, 2011
[As a heads-up, this post does not attempt to make any claims or arguments. It’s just a few half-baked thoughts concerning early Mormon notions of the Kingdom of God and how it related to Americanism, specifically during the 1840s. I hope it generates some discussion–or, at least–encourages some thought on what I think may be an under-utilized approach to early Mormon history.]
It’s almost considered a common trope nowadays to describe Mormonism as “the quintessential American religion”–or something in those regards. Harold Bloom may be most famous for recently making such a claim, but the sentiment has been around a long time. An American-born prophet, an American-located Garden of Eden, a canonized revelation extolling the American Constitution, an American-centered headquarters–you get the idea. The question of how Mormons in the nineteenth century understood their relationship with the United States has received a lot of attention in recent decades, with good reason. It is a fascinating story of how Mormons both rejected America—by becoming fed up with persecution and mobocracy and moving West—while still holding the pure “ideal” of America and merely equating their contemporary nation as experiencing an apostasy akin to modern-day Christianity. Mormon scriptures both placed America the location at the center of future divine events while also prophesying the downfall of America the government as a necessary apocalyptic sign paving the way for the millennium. The paradoxical positioning of both rejecting and embracing the American image was at the center of the Mormon sense of self during the late-Nauvoo and early-Utah periods.
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By Jared TDecember 31, 2010
Taken summer 2010.
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By Steve FlemingDecember 26, 2010
As I mentioned in the prospectus I posted, I see both striking resemblances between Mormonism and late Neoplatonism and important influences of late Neoplatonism on the history of Christianity that need to be explored. My committee balked at linking Mormonism to late Neoplatonism and wanted further proof. So I?ve been doing some research.
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By Jared TDecember 23, 2010
On December 23, 1805, Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont. As David observed a few years ago, Joseph asserted his identity as a New Englander in petitioning for redress for the Missouri persecutions:
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By Ryan T.December 21, 2010
My presentation at the last MHA conference revolved around some ideas I?d been working with related to Mormon collective identity. A while ago I became fascinated with the way that Charles Taylor has been using the concept of ?social imaginaries? in his work in social philosophy. To him, a ?social imaginary? is basically the perceived social world of an individual, and Taylor?s work shows how these perceptions are critical for understanding how societies function. [1] This is an idea similar to the basic premise that Benedict Anderson introduced in Imagined Communities. Anderson focused on the phenomenon of the nation, and he described how the shared perceptions of citizens of were truly the element that made a nation possible. [2] In my view, both of these ideas ? ?social imaginaries? and ?imagined communities? have an important connection to the question of group or collective identity.
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By Jared TDecember 18, 2010
The Provo Daily Herald has a whole page dedicated to continuing coverage of the Provo Tabernacle Fire with updates and lots of photos, including this aerial video of yesterday’s fight against the fire.
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By ChristopherDecember 17, 2010
The Provo Tabernacle caught fire this morning at 2:45 am (Mountain Time) and is still currently up in flames. The major newspapers aren’t reporting on the fire yet, and the cause of the fire is still unknown at this point.
According to abc4.com, “Provo Fire Battalion Chief Lynn Scofield says the part of the roof has collapsed, and the fire has spread to most of the building. He says there’s a chance that the building will be a total loss.”
This makes me sick, as the Tabernacle is a really beautiful building with significant historical meaning. Construction began in 1883, and although it was not completed until 1898, the Church’s General Conference was held in the building in 1886 and 1887. Attending Stake Conference there and driving by on a daily basis stand out among the many good memories from the six years I spent living in Provo.
[I rushed to get this post up this morning before leaving the house. I see now that Ardis also posted on this early this morning at Keepapitchinin and her post contains links to the several news organizations reporting on it now.]
By Ryan T.December 15, 2010
Spencer, Thomas M, ed. The Missouri Mormon Experience. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2010. x + 187 pp. Illustrations, maps, endnotes, index. Hardback: $34.95; ISBN 978-0-82-621887-2
Back in September of 2006, historians of Missouri and of Mormonism met in Jefferson City, MO for a somewhat unusual conference co-sponsored by two local organizations: The Missouri State Archives and the Columbia Missouri Stake of the LDS Church. As its title suggests, ?The Missouri Mormon Experience: A Conference of History and Commemoration? was intended to be simultaneously a historical venture and a social act ? intended to ?understand the troubles of the 1830s as well as to promote understanding between Mormons and non-Mormons in the state today.? It commemorated the 25th anniversary of the rescindment of Lilburn Boggs? Extermination Order by Gov. Kit Bond (1976).
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By matt b.December 8, 2010
The Intellectual Prospects for Mormonism?: The Third Biennial Faith and Knowledge Conference for LDS Graduate Students in Religion
Duke University
February 11-12, 2011
The Faith and Knowledge conference series was established in 2006 to bring together LDS graduate students and young faculty in religious studies and related disciplines in order to explore the intellectual interactions between religious faith and scholarship. In past conferences, graduate students have been invited to reflect upon aspects of their own intellectual reconciliations?or their failures to do so?between church and academy, and to offer fruitful solutions to fellow students undergoing similar intellectual journeys.
In keeping with these past objectives, we invite graduate students in religious studies and related disciplines working on issues related to religion (including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, ethics, history, and others) to consider Mormonism?s prospects. What intellectual and ethical issues do Mormons now face in the academy and in the intellectual world generally? What are Mormonism?s prospects for development, reconciliation, or heightened conflict?
The conference will feature a keynote address by Grant Hardy, author of Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader?s Guide.
Papers should be brief, pointed comments of ten to fifteen minutes reflecting the author?s experience and designed to serve as starting points for discussion.
Travel and accommodations subsidies will be available for those who contribute papers.
The deadline for paper proposals has been extended to October 15, 2010. Short proposals (no more than 250 words) should be sent to Ariel Bybee Laughton ( ariel.laughton@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Presenters will be notified by December 1, 2010.
Richard Bushman
Jason Combs
Ariel Bybee Laughton
Seth Payne
Taylor Petrey
UPDATE:
The upcoming Faith and Knowledge conference for graduate students in Religious Studies is now accepting participant registration for those not giving papers. The 2011 conference schedule should soon be finalized and made available to those who register. In the past, qualified registrants have been eligible for a free hotel room for the duration of the conference in order to make it easier for graduate students to attend. The $25 registration fee helps pay for the conference expenses. Register here.
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