By February 5, 2008
We’ve enjoyed having Bored in Vernal as our guest over the last little bit. Her posts have been insightful and based on solid research. She has also brought a much needed feminist perspective to our discussions of the Mormon past. We’d like to give her a big thanks for sharing some of her insights with us.
By February 5, 2008
Admin: This post is authored by occasional guest blogger and friend to JI, Bored in Vernal.
Eliza R. Snow holds a unique position in Mormon history. She never had children or a husband of her “own,” though she was married to the first two LDS Prophets. Eliza became extremely influential in the early Church for a variety of reasons. Her situation with less family responsibility gave her free time to pursue her interests. Her calling as General Relief Society President saw her travelling among the Saints and gave her an authoritative position. Her proximity to Church leadership put her in firsthand touch with Church doctrine as it was developed. Finally, her considerable talent in writing gave her a voice among men and women alike.
By February 4, 2008
At an 11 a.m. press conference in the Church Office Building, Bruce Olsen, press secretary to the First Presidency, announced a reorganization of the First Presidency took place the previous day, Sunday, 3 February 2008. This marks the fifteenth such reorganization of the First Presidency in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A previous reorganization was described by N. Eldon Tanner, then a counselor in the First Presidency, which occurred following t
By February 4, 2008
Although Mormon historians usually focus primarily on the metropolis in Mormon history, there has been for most of our history a thriving presence of Latter-day Saints on the periphery. The following excerpt, taken from an 1856 New Jersey article, sheds light on Latter-day Saint life outside of Utah and the West during the 1850s.
State Gazette (Trenton) 6 September 1856
MORMONS IN NEW JERSEY.-There are a considerable number of Mormons in this state; in Monmouth,
By February 3, 2008
Admin: This post is authored by occasional guest blogger and friend to JI, Bored in Vernal.
I’ve enjoyed reading the Women’s Exponent since it became available online. I’m amazed at how political and liberated many of the articles are. Their interest in the world beyond their valley surprised me. It is fascinating to read the historical information:
By February 1, 2008
Robin Scott Jensen is employed by the Church Archives and works as an editor on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, working on Joseph Smith’s 1843-1844 journals and JS’s revelations. Robin received a master’s degree in history at BYU, writing his important thesis on early Strangite missions. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Library Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has been published in the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, BYU Studies, and The Journal of Mormon History. Robin has received many awards for his work, including “Student Researcher of the Year, 2005” for the Joseph Smith Papers.
By February 1, 2008
In the decades following the demise of polygamy, Church leaders were continually called upon to answer questions concerning the practice of plural marriage. The answers provided illustrate the negotiations that these leaders undertook between the presence of the past and demands of the present. I believe that it is simplistic to argue that leaders only downplayed polygamy. Rather, narratives of polygamy were often shaped during this period with not only Protestant America in mind (which led to a marginalizing of plural marriage) but also the RLDS (which led to a centralizing of polygamy in the Mormon past). The following excerpt comes from Charles W. Penrose, “Peculiar Questions Answered Briefly,” Improvement Era 15, no. 11 (September 1912): [sorry, GospeLink doesn’t give page numbers].
By January 30, 2008
One thing that continually impresses me is the ability of the early Latter-day Saints to reinterpret their persecutions as positive events in their lives. Although they also complained a lot concerning the the treatment they received at the hands of the Missourians and Illinoisans, early Mormons were also adept in reversing their losses and turning them into triumphs. For Parley P. Pratt and other Latter-day Saints, being called to suffer and even die for the truth was
By January 28, 2008
In the late fall of 1875, Frank M. Derby sent a note to Brigham Young’s office inquiring about Young’s interest in purchasing the latest masterwork of Derby’s client, Hubert H. Bancroft. Young’s reply, sent out over the signature of his secretary, George Reynolds is pithy but telling.
By January 27, 2008
The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey R. Holland’s October 2006 General Conference address, “Prophets in the Land Again.” I was present in the Conference Center that afternoon and count the feeling felt in that room during Elder Holland’s comments, President Hinckley’s short remarks following, and the singing of “We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet” immediately after his words among the most spiritual experiences of my life. I wept that afternoon, and I we
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Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “Interesting, Jack. But just to reiterate, I think JS saw the SUPPRESSION of Platonic ideas as creating the loss of truth and not the addition.…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “Thanks for your insights--you've really got me thinking. I can't get away from the notion that the formation of the Great and Abominable church was an…”
Steve Fleming on BH Roberts on Plato: “In the intro to DC 76 in JS's 1838 history, JS said, "From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important…”
Jack on BH Roberts on Plato: “"I’ve argued that God’s corporality isn’t that clear in the NT, so it seems to me that asserting that claims of God’s immateriality happened AFTER…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”