As Patrick Mason rightly noted in his guest post on Friday, “the Mormon moment was good for Mormon studies”–even if it had, by now, worn out its welcome. Perhaps the most obvious result of the past two years was a deluge of columns, op-eds, essays, and articles designed to explain Mormonism to a curious audience. And by “deluge,” I mean “holy-crap-there-are-tons-of-new-stuff-ever-week-to-the-point-that-they-all-mesh-together.” So in attempt to make sure they don’t all fade from memory, this post tries to, with the help of friends, list some of my favorites. (I’m sure I’ve forgotten many–that’s where you come in handy: if you suggest something I find very important, I’ll even add it to the list.) If I had more time/interest, I would try to outline some of the major lessons and offer a general narrative arc of where the “moment” went over the past two years, but I’ll save that for someone else.

Below, you will find the author, title, venue, date, summary, and brief excerpt from what I remember to be the “best” of the Mormon moment coverage. Please add any that I missed in the comments, as well as take issue with/challenge some of my selections.

(And to the future historian who was looking for sources when anaylizing this “Mormon moment”: you’re welcome.)

Matthew Bowman, “The Generation Gap: Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and the two very different strains of Mormonism they represent,” The New Republic (May 2011)

• Get used to Matt’s name here. In his inaugural contribution, Matt introduces what I think is the major lesson from this latest version of the “Mormon moment”: the diversity within the movement.
• “Huntsman is only 13 years younger than Mitt Romney, but they are generations apart in temperament. Romney trying on Huntsman?s leather jackets and shades, or hopping on one of his motorcycles, would rightly make him look ridiculous. But, beyond mere differences of personality, Romney and Huntsman also represent two very different strains of Mormonism. While both men are the progeny of the same class of wealthy Mormon elite, Huntsman?s public life is born of a younger strain of Mormonism than is Mitt Romney?s?a Mormonism increasingly well-adapted to the boisterous diversity of early twenty-first century America, and, perhaps because of that, a Mormonism with which America is growing increasingly comfortable.”

Walter Kirn, “Mormons Rock!” Newsweek (June 2011)

• The lead article in the “Mormon moment” issue of Newsweek, officially launching the move. While nothing too new or noteworthy in this column, it established the talking points for many of the coverage that followed: the Mormon business ethic, the problem of secrecy, the alienation from mainstream culture, etc.
• “But despite the sudden proliferation of Mormons in the mainstream, Mormonism itself isn?t any closer to gaining mainstream acceptance. And nowhere is the gap between increased exposure and actual progress more pronounced than in politics. In recent weeks NEWSWEEK called every one of the 15 Mormons currently serving in the U.S. Congress to ask if they would be willing to discuss their faith; the only politicians who agreed to speak on the record were the four who represent districts with substantial Mormon populations. The rest were ?private about their faith,? or ?politicians first and Mormons second,? according to their spokespeople.”

John Turner, “A Pageant of Mormon History and Mirth: A 75-Year-Old New York Tradition that Only Looks like the Rapture,” Wall Street Journal (July 2012)

• Lots of great coverage of the Hill Cumoruh Pageant—including this fabulous “fab or drab” piece from Buzzfeed, and Max’s excellent piece in Slate—but John’s is excellent in capturing the complexities of Mormon culture.
• “Above all, the pageants speak to reverence for history, both of the Mormon church and the more ancient history contained in their scriptures. For Mormons who come to Palmyra, the pageant brings them to the spot where they believe Joseph Smith received the golden plates. For everyone else, the Hill Cumorah Pageant provides a window into Mormonism’s familial, communal and artistic spirit.”

Walter Kirn, “Confessions of an Ex-Mormon: A personal history of America’s most misunderstood religion,” The New Republic (July 2012)

• My vote for the most touching and poignant column on Mormonism, Kirn offers an absolutely beautifully written memoir on his experience with Mormonism, arguing that its the religion’s humanity, not exotic beliefs, that shape the church.
• “I sat on a bench regarding its Eastern face and the trumpeting gold angel on its main spire: Moroni, the being who directed Joseph Smith to the spot where the golden Book of Mormon lay buried. I was after something, I realized. A lift, a boost, a spiritual burning in the stomach. I?d never given up chasing that sensation. I tried to force things by praying with closed eyes?or not praying exactly, focusing my willingness. Nothing. The roar of big trucks on I-15, the pounding of my caffeinated pulse. Then I opened my eyes and saw something I?d missed: a simple carved symbol above the Temple?s entrance that other religions might not have thought to put there. It told a story, it summed it up in stone. My father?s story. A lot of mine. And, from what I knew, much of theirs?the Mormons. Nothing mysterious. Nothing cultish. Just a handshake.”

Caroline Winter, “How the Mormons Make Money,” Bloomberg Business Week (July 2012)

• A touchstone for much discussion, this article is an in-depth look at the financial wing of the LDS Church.
• “Watching a religious leader celebrate a mall may seem surreal, but City Creek reflects the spirit of enterprise that animates modern-day Mormonism. The mall is part of a sprawling church-owned corporate empire that the Mormon leadership says is helping spread its message, increasing economic self-reliance, and building the Kingdom of God on earth.”

McKay Coppins, “Polygamists See Themselves in Romney, Obama Family Trees,” Buzzfeed (August 2012)

• McKay visits polygamous communities in Utah while explaining the fascinating coincidence that both presidential candidates have polygamous heritage.
• “More than ever before in U.S. history, polygamists view this year as an opportunity to convince the American public that they have something to offer the world ? and they’re pointing to the presidential election as Exhibit A. Call it the polygamist moment.”

Edward Blum and Paul Harvey, “How (George) Romney Championed Civil Rights and Challenged his Church,” Atlantic (August 2012)

• Blum and Harvey, authors of a foundational new book on race, religion, and politics, look at what has changed in civil rights, Mormonism, and the Republican Party between George’s and Mitt’s presidential campaigns.
• “In order to stand alongside leaders like Martin Luther King, George Romney had to weave his way through the intricate mazes of race, religion, civil rights, and church leadership issues. Should he choose to follow his father’s lead, Mitt Romney’s path would seem to be much smoother. But the Republican Party has itself shifted so far to the right that the landscape has changed. Historic barriers have been lifted, but with such sharp divides within politics itself, common ground seems more elusive than ever.”

Peggy Fletcher Stack, “Mormon Women Seeking Middle Ground to Greater Equality,” Salt Lake Tribune (August 2012)

• Though not tethered to Romney’s run, this catches the growing spirit of middle-way feminism in Mormon culture. Written by the legendary Stack, and drawing from top voices in Mormon women’s studies, it touches on many of the salient issues in Mormonism and gender–a topic remarkably absent in much of the Mormon moment.
• “They are not pushing for ordination, but they crave a more engaged and visible role for women in the Utah-based LDS Church. It is a role, they believe, their Mormon foremothers played ? and one that could fit easily into the institutional structure without distorting or dismantling doctrine.”

John G. Turner, “Why Racism is Still a Problem for Mormonism,” New York Times (August 2012)

• After contextualizing Mormonism’s racist past, Turner (rightly, I think) shows that ignoring and moving on from the problem is not enough.
• “Nevertheless, regardless of how outsiders would respond (audiences will still enjoy that line in ?The Book of Mormon?), a fuller confrontation with the past would serve the church?s interests. Journalists frequently ask prominent Mormons like Mr. Romney and Ms. Love about the priesthood ban. African-Americans, both members and prospective converts, find the history distinctly unsettling. Statements by prior church presidents and apostles provide fodder for those Latter-day Saints ? if small in number ? who adhere to racist notions.”

Taylor Petrey, “Mormonism and the Christianity Police,” Peculiar People (September 2012)

• As always, the question of whether Mormonism is Christian popped up its ugly head. Here, Petrey expertly shows that the very way the question is framed displays an amnesia over the title’s ambiguous history and demonstrates a presumptive authority of religious power.
• “Definitions of Christianity that seek to portray its essence are arguments about what that essences should be, not objective descriptions of fact.  They assume the very thing they are trying to prove.  Such definitions are rhetorical and ideological, producing similarities between themselves and what they see as authentic Christianity, and downplaying the differences.  Those that represent the boundaries as natural and fixed also represent themselves as atemporal, outside of the tumults of time and space.  But we know that such definitions fail the test of time.”

Kristine Haglund, “Why Mormon Men Love ‘Church Ball’ and are Scared of Homosexuality,” Religion and Politics (September 2012)

• Kristine, with her typical brilliance, shows the tenuous cultural line of masculinity that defines much of our gendered experience.
• “The performance of Mormon masculinity is a difficult balancing act, a tightrope walk between poles established by a brutish, hyper-masculine ?natural man? and an effeminate gay man. It is perhaps unsurprising that Mormon patriarchs?as well as Mormon men running for high elected office?wobble from their carefully constructed equilibrium when buffeted by the cultural winds of feminism and the gay rights movement.”

Andrea Radke-Moss, “Pragmatism and Progress: An Overview of LDS Sister Missionary Service in the Twentieth Century,” Juvenile Instructor (October 2012)

• The wake of new changes in missionary ages brought many reflections on the progress of gender relation within the work. Andrea’s stands out for expertly showing the historical precedent for this progress.
• “The age change puts missionary service for young women squarely along their road maps of major life milestones, even privileging ?Mission? as a desirable step toward life preparation.  Young women will have more opportunities for lessons about companionship, effective communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving, public speaking, more intense gospel study, doctrinal preparation, church governance, and leadership.  As with previous historical episodes, even if there is a pragmatic motive behind the Church?s policy change, in this case, the pragmatism comes with a great leap forward.  The implications are endless, and I eagerly await their full exploration.”

Seth Perry, “What’ve We Learned?” Peculiar People (October 2012)

• In the waning moments of the Mormon coverage, Seth offers some important and incisive lessons.
• “That, then, may be the most surprising consequence of Mitt Romney?s campaign: by forcing those most devoted to religion?s place in politics to make a decision between ?values? and ?faith,? he may succeed in making the religious element matter a bit less for everyone.”

Matthew Bowman, “Spencer W. Kimball and the Complexities of Mormon Political Theology,” Political Theology (October 2012)

• A fitting conclusion to many of the coverage that tried to tether Romney’s theology to his politics, Bowman makes the necessary point that both “religion” is often too messy to be compartmentalised so easy, especially in a dynamic faith like Mormonism.
• “Spencer W. Kimball, in short, had no coherent political position. He would alternatively inspire and horrify today?s progressives, and prove an inconsistent and frustrating ally to the American right.  And this is as it should be.  Mormonism is not so simple as a quirky version of American conservatism, and both Mormons themselves and their fellow Americans would do well to notice.”

Joanna Brooks, “Seen Andrew Sullivan’s Expose-Style Footage of the LDS Temple? Now Read this,” Religion Disptaches (November 2012)

• Perhaps the most unfortunate occurrence in the “moment” was the LDS temple video going viral on youtube. Here, Joanna not only explains why this is disrespectful, but also offers a helpful framework to understand why so many Mormons find the Temple a powerful experience.
• “What are you seeing when you see those videos of LDS temple ceremonies? Simply put, LDS temple worship is a high religious ritual that includes standard elements of ritual used in other faith traditions, including ritual dress, symbol, gesture, morality play, and sacred boundaries. What makes the LDS temple ceremony seem so unfamiliar is that high religious ritual held private or secret has disappeared from most modern faith traditions?exceptions here being Native American traditions (especially Puebloan kiva ceremonies, also held in privacy) and the Ismaili sect of Islam (with millions of members worldwide).”

Patrick Mason, “Why Romney’s Loss is Good for Mormonism,” Peculiar People (November 2012)

• Mason expertly explains why Mormonism is always its best, and most powerful, when found on the margins of the body politic.
• “Beyond the daily walk of individual Latter-day Saints, Romney?s loss also has salutary effects for the institutional church.  Because Romney is not in the White House, the LDS Church will be able to continue to weigh in on public issues of vital importance to it.  Had Mitt Romney occupied the Oval Office, the White House and the Church Office Building would have cut off virtually all contact, for fear that either the president or the prophet would be accused of theocratic ambitions.  As it is, however, the church can maintain its legal and appropriate lobbying efforts in Washington just like every other church and special interest in America does.  Ironically, a Romney administration would have had the effect of decreasing the political influence of the LDS Church.”

Terryl Givens, “How Mormons became American,” Religion and Politics (November 2012)

• Givens explains how Mormonism’s move from the periphery to the center of American culture coincided with America’s cultural emphasis moving from the center to the periphery–an irony that keeps Mormonism at arm’s length.
• “The meaning of this new role, however, is especially dubious in today?s intellectual and political climate (not to mention in a world that now has more Mormons in foreign countries than in America). It is now because Mormons occupy what used to be the center that they fall into contempt. The embrace of ultraconservative values, not their flagrant rejection, is now construed as the source of Mormon perfidy.”

Joanna Brooks, “The Speech Mitt Romney Never Gave,” Religion Dispatches (November 2012)

• Romney, for understandable reasons, never made his Mormonism a big issue. But if he had, Brooks offers what a powerful message his Mormonism could have been.
• “My faith has taught me that big dreams require sacrifice and hard work, and that we have miles yet to travel before we achieve a place where all can enjoy security, liberty, and well-being. But this is not particular to Mormonism. This is an American article of faith, held by people of all religious backgrounds, and of no religious affiliation at all. It?s this faith that we hold in common that I will uphold as president.”

McKay Coppins, “A Mormon Reporter on the Romney Bus: How America got used to his religion, and mine,” Buzzfeed (November 2012)

• McKay has been one of the top beat reporters following Romney, and his insights into Romney’s faith has been in a league of their own. In this recap after the election, he looks at the big picture of how Romney’s religion became normalized.
• “As we neared election day, it became increasingly clear to me that Mormonism was being woven into the social fabric of the political class. Pool reporters began to see trips to church with Romney less as a tantalizing peak into the candidate’s strange religion, and more in the way Mormons sometimes view it: a dull chore to be fulfilled out of obligation.”