Perspectives on Parley Pratt’s Autobiography: Views of Race and Pratt’s 1851 Journey to California

Well, here is my modest and somewhat impromptu contribution to this most excellent series. Pratt’s Autobiography offers the reader some interesting perspectives about his views on race and native populations. This great series inspired me to dust off my copy of the Autobiography and give a brief look at how Pratt deals with these issues on his Chilean Mission. For time and other constraints, I have not done the extensive reading or thought that this topic merits, but I offer the following, very preliminary, observations as food for thought.

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No More “Skin of Blackness”?: Race and Recent Changes in the Book of Mormon

Last year, Peggy Fletcher Stack ran an article in the Salt Lake Tribune highlighting two important changes in the 2006 Doubleday Edition of The Book of Mormon. Those changes were discussed at length thoughout the bloggernacle. Well, it looks like there were even more changes made—over a hundred more, in fact. I have heard rumors that the latest printing of The Book of Mormon by the Church includes these changes as well, although no printings newer that those issued in 8/2007 were available in the BYU Bookstore when I checked today. 

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Mormon Perceptions of Asian Race, 1880-1930 (Part II:Japanese and Conclusion)

(Continued from here)

In 1890 there were only four documented “persons of Japanese ancestry” in the entire territory of Utah.[1] Contrasted with the Chinese, Utahns had no contact whatsoever with a significant Japanese population. Subsequently, the Japanese were easily romanticized, especially in light of the glowing reports from National newspapers about Japan’s westernization and generous trade agreements. After Admiral Perry’s opening of Japan in 1854, the United States quickly recognized that the Japanese were apparently an enlightened race to so willingly and expeditiously adopt principles of modernization into their nation. Soon, trade ambassadors from Tokyo were traveling to Washington, D.C. along the transcontinental railroad to further solidify political relations between both countries. Along the way, delegations stopped in Salt Lake City.[2] The Japanese politicians were dazzling to the Mormons. They wore fine western clothing, spoke English, and were obviously gentlemen.

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Mormon Perceptions of Asian Race, 1880-1930 (Part I:Chinese)

Since we’ve been posting a bit on race topics, I thought this would be a good time to contribute selections from my Joseph Smith Seminar 2007 paper entitled “Another Other: Asian Race and LDS Theological Change 1880-1930.”

Just as a note, I only chose to analyze perceptions of the Chinese and Japanese because those “races” had more sources to work from for the period I was interested in. However, I think a further inquiry into Korean, Southeast Asian, Mongolian, and South Asian perceptions would be helpful and fascinating. The sources are out there, the work just needs to be done.

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Race, Personal Narrative, and Mormonism

Before I get into the meat of my first post, I would like to offer a few explanations for offering up a bit of personal and family history. First, I feel like it is essential for a historian to reveal his own positionality so that readers can understand the context for the rest of his work. Second, many of my motives for becoming a historian and much of my work involve a search to understand my own identity. And finally, I think that Mormon historicity has more connection to the self and family than other types of historical inquiry.

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From Embrace to Embarrassment: Remembering Joseph Smith’s Polygamy

Latter-day Saints (including me) in the 21st century have, to say the least, a complex relationship with their past. A friend once told me that Mormon history offers everything a historian could ask for—polygamy, visions, ancient books, violence, prophets, etc. While these things fascinate historians and buffs alike, for many contemporary Mormons that are missionary minded, they present uncomfortable difficulties when brought up with friends of other faiths. I think that part of this discomfort stems from the fact that we no longer see ourselves in parts of our past. When we share stories about ourselves with others, we choose aspects of our past that we feel define us. In like manner, we hide or diminish those things that embarrass us. One of these things is Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy.

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Thoughts on Study and Faith, Part 1: Introduction

I’ve been working my “intellectual biography of Joseph Smith” for a long time now (hope to finish before too long), or an attempt to traced where Smith got his ideas. By “intellectual biography” I mean the focus on his ideas. Framing the project in this way is Inherently controversial from within the faith as his revelatory claims believed by followers are that the ideas came from God or from lost scriptures also with God as the ultimate source.

I’ve been at this a while, but one part of my claim is that JS, it looks to me, would have had access to all the ideas he taught, to Mormonism, including the Book of Mormon, from particular sources. Yes, Mormonism was/is quite different than the prevailing Protestantism, so he wasn’t drawing on orthodox Protestantism for the distinctly Mormon stuff, but those idea were still out there.

No doubt such claims can prompt a lot of debate and can be taken as an attack on the faith. I’ve been at this a while, am still a practicing Mormon, and I recently finished serving as bishop of my ward having been released this last May.

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Believers and Skeptics in the Writing of Mormon History

January 22, 2024, at 1 p.m. MST

            Scholars have hotly debated the role that faith should play within Mormon Studies. Richard Bushman, for example, has argued believing scholars should develop their own hermeneutic that recognizes the presence of God in human history. Other scholars have rejected his suggestion, asking what evidence a person would use to identify the hand of God. The role that faith should play in writing history has been particularly contentious within Mormon history. Apologists and critics of the LDS Church have long used history to try to prove or disprove its truth claims. In this webinar, five scholars will discuss the role that faith should play in writing Mormon history and the difference between academic and devotional history.

Participants:

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New Books in Mormon Studies 2024

This year is as bounteous as nerds could have hoped for. What do you have your eye on?

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Journal Editor Q&A: Christopher C. Jones (Journal of Mormon History)

Thanks to Christopher for answering a few questions about editing JMH! You can read the original post at the US Religion Substack.

What led you to apply to become the editor of The Journal of Mormon History?

• The Mormon History Association, which sponsors the Journal of Mormon History, has long been one of my scholarly homes. It served as my introduction to the historical field: as an undergraduate history major, I presented my first conference paper at MHA’s annual conference in 2007 and published one of my first peer-reviewed articles in the Journal (in 2011). Even as my own immediate research interests expanded during graduate school and my early professional career to include the broader history of religion in early America, I remained active in MHA, attending its conference each year, serving on its board, and co-chairing the program committee for the annual conference. Editing the Journal of Mormon History was an enticing possibility, allowing me to remain not only involved in the subfield, but also to shape its future, especially as it neared its 50^th anniversary of publication (the first issue of 2024 will mark that anniversary). As the field of Mormon Studies has grown in both size and disciplinary scope, I hope to maintain and grow JMH, reaffirming its place as the premiere scholarly outlet for Mormon history.

What topics are underrepresented in Mormon history that present opportunities to contribute to the field?

• As many readers of Religion in US History likely know, Mormon history is thriving as a field of historical inquiry, and has grown increasingly diverse in its range of topics and more sophisticated in its methodological approaches. Scholarship dealing with race, gender, sexuality, and the Mormon past has increased in both quantity and quality, but more still remains to be done. There is also much work to be done on the history of Mormonism internationally, ranging from studies of Latter-say Saint missions and missionaries to local expressions of Mormonism, and how those are shaped by the religious politics of the U.S./intermountain West and the regional cultures of locations around the globe. But I’m an intellectual pluralist here: as the RiAH’s “blogfather” Paul Harvey once quipped, “I’m pretty much interested in the history of everything.” Within the scope of the Journal of Mormon History, I am interested in all aspects of the Latter Day Saint past (including not only Latter-day Saints, but all individuals, institutions, practices, and ideas that trace their lineage to Joseph Smith and the movement(s) he began).  

What is the role of topic-and-tradition-specific history journals like JMH in the field(s) of American religious history?

• I would like to think there’s some synergy here. When I researched and wrote an article on the politics of race and religion in the first Mormon mission to Jamaica in 1853 in Religion & American Culture, I benefitted greatly from reading several excellent articles published in JMH on 19^th century Mormon missions, the history of Mormonism and race, and more. It was a better article because of that earlier research published in a topic-and-tradition specific journal like JMH. But our aim isn’t only to solicit and publish scholarship narrowly of interest to Mormon history scholars. I want to publish the very best research in the field of Mormon history, whether that comes from veterans in the field, newcomers who encounter in their research on something else some interesting aspect of the Mormon past, or independent scholars and lay historians who bring an unrivaled passion to their research. Forthcoming issues of the Journal thus include topics ranging from Mormonism and Christian nationalism to Lutherans and Mormon interactions in 1850s Denmark, and from early Mormon genealogical practices to why century Latter-day Saint church president Joseph Fielding Smith rejected the possibility of space flight and what it says about anti-modernism and religion in the mid-20^th century United States.

What are the benefits of publishing an article on Mormon history in a field-specific journal like the Journal of Mormon History rather than a journal with a wider topical frame? 

• The Journal of Mormon History has a wide and engaged readership. MHA has more than 2000 dues-paying members, and all of them receive each issue of the journal. It is also accessible on JSTOR and elsewhere, extending its reach beyond MHA’s membership. And we know, from anecdotal evidence and self studies, that people who subscribe to the journal read the journal. One of Mormon history’s greatest strengths has always been the interest and passion its participants have. That means people actively read Mormon history and take a (sometime intense) interest in new research in the field. So one benefit is a fairly wide readership. The second benefit is that we can promise authors a thorough review of their articles by experts in the particular topics of Mormon history they’ve written about. Some of those reviewers are experienced academics in Mormon Studies; others are independent scholars who know the archival material in various repositories better than just about anyone. This combination ensures submitted articles will be thoroughly vetted and, when accepted for publication, be better as a result of the review and editorial process.
  
  In addition, we pay many of those who publish in JMH. My editorial predecessors and friends Jessie Embry and Christopher Blythe introduced an initiative that offers a $500 honorarium “for all scholars publishing in the JMH for the first time, as well as for all those whose professions do not include a research component. This includes contingent faculty, community college faculty, students, and independent scholars.”
  
  Finally, we offer a mentorship program for graduate students and first-time authors, “in which JMH board members and other volunteer mentors offer to read papers and provide feedback preparatory to submitting an article for publication.”

How has working as an editor made you a better writer?

• This remains to be seen, I think. I’m still somewhat new on the job. But a senior colleague once counseled me that the best writers are often the busiest readers. And I think (and hope) that not only reading but editing others’ writing has made me a more thoughtful critic of my own. I see some habits and tendencies in submitted and accepted articles that I favor in my own writing. I also see aspects of others’ writing that I admire and seek to incorporate into my own.

Anything else you’d like to share?

• Yes. I’m excited to use this forum to announce the launch of the Journal of Mormon History podcast, the inaugural episode of which will appear alongside the publication of the Journal’s first issue in 2024. The podcast will be hosted by me, and include a brief overview of the newest issue’s contents, plus a short interview with an author of one of the articles in that issue. The podcast will be available on YouTube and major podcast platforms.