By Jared TJune 3, 2009
The Sacred Space Symposium at BYU concluded with a panel discussion guided by Richard Bushman and included each of today’s presenters. Dr. Bushman had opening remarks and launched discussion with a few questions of the panel before turning it over for questions from the audience. I did not take down the questions from the audience, sorry. We hope that providing these notes has been fruitful for many of you. Those of us who attended really enjoyed it and felt that the presenters were well prepared and engaging in their presentations. Jim Faulconer deserves hearty praise for his work putting it together and we hope to see many more conferences like this one that bring the work of national scholars from within and without the Mormon tradition to bear on issues of Mormon studies.
Richard Bushman
Before the Manhattan temple dedication a group of us was shown through the building.
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By Jared TJune 3, 2009
Laurie Maffly-Kipp, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In mid September 1983, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated a temple in Santiago Chile. It was the first built in a Spanish speaking country, just a few months prior to the Mexico City Temple. Pres. Hinckley stood in for Pres. Kimball, Elders McConkie and Packer with wives and other leaders attended. This occasion was the most visible sign of the Church’s recent growth in South America. Work had been going on for years to prepare for it. The first stake organized in Chile occurred 11 yrs earlier. The members, he said, were not ready for a temple then.
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By Ben PJune 3, 2009
[My last contribution to JI’s attempt to recreate this wonderful symposium]
Steve Olsen, “The Mormon Quest for Zion”
Although not a lawyer, Olsen presented his paper point-by-point as if arguing a case. Further, he used powerpoint to present each point. As such, I think the best way to stay true to his presentation is to post each point that he put up (they are all pretty self-explanatory). These are his thoughts on the development of Mormon thought of “sacred space.”
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By Jared TJune 3, 2009
Michael Fishbane, Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies, Divinity School, University of Chicago presented on the Divine Presence in the Hebrew Bible. He hilighted that sacred places are not natural, but are made in the Hebrew Bible. My notes:
My contribution to this conference will be to focus on the theme of sacred space in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is the foundational document of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. My orientation has to benefit from the limitations of one slice of historic theology, but we’ll see that it has many dimensions. To help narrow the focus, I want to talk about the interplay of sacred space in the bible and the sacred presence.
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By Jared TJune 3, 2009
Hamid Mavani, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Claremont Graduate University spoke on the sacred in Islam. In essence, he argued that sacred space is defined by intent in Islam. My reformulated notes:
I should let you know that I am the only Muslim speaker; you can be assured that what I say is the absolute truth [laughter].
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By Ben PJune 3, 2009
[Again, take these as my far-from-perfect reformulations of a spectacular presentation]
Jeanne Halgren Kilde, “Foregrounding the Background: Power and Proximity in Sacred Space
Kilde began her fascinating presentation with a defense for the study of sacred space. She credited us for wanting to engage the issue, because it is largely in the background of religious scholarships. This neglect is mostly because of two reasons: first, we often focus on texts as the best representation of religious thought. Second, when we do move beyond texts, we mostly focus on ritual. This leaves out an important part of the ‘soul’ of religious worship: the actual space—the architecture, the layout, and the physical appearance of how and where worship occurs. She argues that we can gain access to the believer’s mind by looking at how they viewed space as an element of religion. Specifically to her research, Kilde has focused on what sacred space can tell us about the evolving idea of authority.[1]
Kilde gave several great examples of how this approach can reveal much about religious history.
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By Jared TJune 3, 2009
Richard A. Cohen, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Institute of Jewish Thought and Heritage, University of Buffalo (SUNY) presented a paper a the Sacred Space Symposium on “Place, Sacred Space, and Utopia”. The session was chaired by Ralph Hancock, Associate Professor of Political Science, BYU. Dr. Cohen argued, in essence, that there is no sacred space in Judaism and even the most publicly sacred place in Judaism, the temple, is a testament to the placelessness of holiness in Judaism. My notes are not to be seen as a word for word transcript. I have made additions and rewordings for clarity and I missed plenty. Here it is:
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By Ben PJune 3, 2009
What follows is my sporadic, poor attempt of reformulation, added by notes, of Givens’s presentation–take them as such.
Terryl Givens, “Contexts for an LDS Temple”
Givens introduced his presentation by explaining that he would address the temple in four different contexts. First, within the context of JS’s ideas of apostasy and restoration. Second, through the lens of the temple as human anthropology, or the eternal potential of pre- and post-mortal possibilities. Third, as a response to the Romantic notion of natural supernaturalism. And fourth, addressing the possibility of a “weeping God.”
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By Jared TJune 3, 2009
Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, President of Brigham Young University kicked off the Sacred Space Symposium with very brief remarks welcoming both presenters and guests. He remarked, in essence, that one of the roles of a university is to understand our own tradition better and also the understandings and perspectives of others. With presentations across a wide theological range, this is shaping up to be a great symposium.
The JI is out in force here this morning and we will be providing notes for each presentation. Stay tuned!!
By June 2, 2009
Due to a user error, these few notes from the MHA Conference were not posted with the rest last week:
Ruth Knight Bailey, Ardis Smith, and Stirling Adams
These three paper collectively further our understanding of the complex subject of Mormonism and race, though each in a unique way.
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