An important part of early Mormon culture making was the promotion of polygamy in the ranks. Although Kathy Daynes is correct to note that the brethren had to preach polygamy from the pulpit in order to get the members to enter into polygamous relationships, it is also important to remember that polygamy was promoted in other forms as well, such as in the following song. According to Carmon Hardy, “[t]his verse appeared as part of a ballad sung to the tune of ‘Rosa May’ in the 17th Ward School House in Salt Lake City, on 15 October 1856,” at the height of the Mormon Reformation (more…)

(continued from Part II) 

With the Mormon conception of a premortal council in mind, as Roberts continued reading Pragmatism he set about noting where James steered askew from a Mormon way of seeing things, filling in the gaps where James does not follow the Mormon line of reasoning all the way out as well as identifying other elements that resonate with Mormonism. Where James suggests–again, perhaps hypothetically–that some proto-individuals, at this pre-dawn of creation, might recoil from such a dangerous proposition and prefer rather to “relapse into the slumber of nonentity” from which they had “been momentarily aroused by the tempter’s voice,” Roberts demurs. In the bottom margin of his copy of Pragmatism–and later in the footnotes of his published works–Roberts offered this corrective of James’s implication that God brought human souls into being out of a nonentity to which they might at any time return: (more…)

In Brian Birch’s class—“Mormonism and Christian Theology”—at CGU we recently discussed the “King Follet Discourse” and the “Sermon in the Grove” and the ways Mormon scholars have interpreted records of these sermons over the years. A point of conversation relates to what Smith meant in stating that God “is a man like one of yourselves” who “dwelt on a Earth same as Js. himself did.”[1] In a related recorded statement, Smith is said to have explained that “Paul says there are gods many & Lords many—I want to set it in a plain simple manner—but to us there is but one God pertaining to us.”[2] Smith’s words generally have been interpreted in two ways. (more…)

Writing in 1957, Catholic sociologist Thomas F. O’Dea devoted a chapter of his important work, The Mormons, to what he saw as “sources of strain and conflict” in the Latter-day Saint church.  The most significant of those sources of strain, according to O’Dea, was the unsettled issue of the relationship between the institutional church and the growing number of “liberal intellectual” Mormons who had encountered “modern secular thought.”  While admitting that “the situation of the intellectual is likely to be somewhat ambiguous in any society,” [1] O’Dea felt that especially in the paradoxical Mormon church, which emphasized ecclesiastical authority and revelation but also encouraged education and intellectual pursuit among the rank-and-file, the intellectuals’ dilemma was especially enigmatic.  After briefly tracing the history of the strain, conflict, and compromise in the early 20th century between the conservative church and the liberal intellectuals, O’Dea ended by suggesting that the matter was far from settled. (more…)

I will soundly argue that the answer to the question above is an unequivocal “No!” Just playing. The formation of Mormon Studies Chairs at Utah State University and Claremont Graduate School with similar programs in the works at other institutions of higher learning suggests an affirmative answer to this query. I think it is obvious that our intellectual predecessors have worked long and hard to make this possible, and consequently we should be grateful. The formation of chairs, along with other movements in the media and politics, mark a new era in the scholarly study of Mormonism, as universities “scramble” to create classes in Mormonism. Sunday night I attended a fireside in Pasadena where Drs. Richard and Claudia Bushman spoke of this exciting time. As Claudia was speaking she mentioned the idea that we had the opportunity to become intellectual pioneers. This struck me. To be honest, I felt rather overwhelmed thinking about the legacy that budding scholars of Mormonism have to live up to. Further, it seems that we must participate in forming the idea of what it means to study Mormonism at a graduate level. Consequently, I think the important question relates to what kind of place we will create for ourselves at the academic table. (more…)

The Juvenile Instructor is pleased to introduce its newest guest blogger, Jordan Watkins.  Jordan has long been friends with many of the bloggers here at JI, and is an aspiring young scholar interested in Mormon and American Religious History.  He describes himself thus:

My name is Jordan Watkins and I’m pretty awesome…and objective:) I was born and raised in Alpine, Utah in the heart of “Happy Valley” where above 95% of the population is LDS. I served an LDS mission in Leon, Mexico. I received my BA in history at BYU. I am in my second semester at Claremont Graduate University in the MA history program, emphasizing in 19th Century US Religious History as best I can (small history faculty, none specializing in US Religious History). I have no wife, no kids, and no pets. I realize this should translate into a large number of brilliant publications and conference presentations, but alas, I think I like watching movies and sleeping too much.

We should add that he has, indeed, presented a few fascinating papers at academic conferences and his work has been published, including a recent article he co-authored in BYU Studies.  Please join us in welcoming Jordan to the Juvenile Instructor.

After months years of anticipation, the Joseph Smith Papers Project has finally announced a publisher…The Church Historian’s Press. If you haven’t heard of this press before it’s because it hasn’t existed prior to now. There have been high hopes that a University press (other than BYU’s) would agree to be the publisher, but apparently those hopes have been in vain. Let’s just say that this is disappointing news.

The Project has also launched a project website, which looks to be a great site that will include transcri (more…)

(continued from Part I) 

Brigham Henry Roberts (1857-1933), LDS general authority, historian, and theologian–twice nominated as “the most eminent intellectual in Mormon history”[1]–owned copies of at least five of James’s works: Psychology, Pragmatism, A Pluralistic Universe, The Meaning of Truth, and Some Problems of Philosophy. Of those books, Roberts first read Pragmatism, which he finished reading, as indicated by an inscription on the last page of Roberts’s personal copy of the book, on the morning of March 16, 1908. In July of that same year he purchased A Pluralistic Universe and in October, Psychology.[2] These five books are now housed as part of the B. H. Roberts Memorial Library in the archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to Roberts’s habit of writing in the margins of his books, an examination of the collection can be revealing of how he read, particularly where he saw resonance with Mormon thought and where he parted ways with certain ideas. (more…)

In the spring of 1914, at a bi-annual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Levi Edgar Young, a relative of Brigham Young, stood at the pulpit of the Mormon tabernacle in Salt Lake City and declared that “if Dr. William James, of Harvard College, had come to Utah before he died, he would have found a society that, above all other human societies, illustrates better the theory of pragmatism, brought about by that great psychologist[,] than any other society on earth today.” [1] James almost had the chance to do just that-to visit Utah-having been invited by Brigham Young Academy president Benjamin Cluff to come to Provo, Utah, to lecture-an invitation James unfortunately had to decline due to his poor health. [2] But even though James never had the chance to see pragmatism in action in the Mormon West, he was no stranger to the faith. He had had several Mormon students at Harvard, including Levi Edgar Young, and had on one occasion dined with Benjamin Cluff during Cluff’s visit to Cambridge in 1892.

In his diary, Cluff described the conversation that took place during his dinner engagement with the renowned professor. “During the conversation,” writes Cluff, (more…)

As my final act as guest poster, I’m offering another selection from my GEA collection paper about how these compositions were framed (thought a sensational post title might attract a few more readers ;-).

I look forward to joining you more permanently at the end of March! Thanks for the invite future fellow Instructors! (more…)

Ed Blum over at Religion in American History asks

[W]hat are the best titles in American religious history? Not the best books, but the best literary titles - and why.

I want to ask the same question here, but adapted to a Mormon history context. What does everyone think?

We’ve heard rumors that other blogs have been conspiring to nab Heidi, our latest guest blogger, to be a permablogger elsewhere. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but such conspiracies are bound to fail. Heidi has accepted our invitation to stay with us as, in her words, the “first Juvenile Instructoress.” Unfortunately, she has made some kind of strange pact for Lent about giving up blogging, and so we must wait until March 22 for her to start as an official permablogger (although she assures us that she will finish out her guest stint). But regardless, we wanted to let everyone know and begin the congratulations process.

Margaret Young has graciously agreed to provide us a multi-part commentary on the making of the film, Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. She needs little introduction, as she has blogged at various sites, including Times and Seasons, Mormon Mentality, and By Common Consent. She is, in a word, prolific.

Journal: Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons
Margaret Young
Next showing (and the only screening currently scheduled in Utah):
Saturday March 8th at 11:00 a.m.
Egyptian Theater, Ogden
Part of the Foursite Film Festival (www.foursitefilmfest.com ).

David Grua suggested I detail the miraculous way this documentary came to be. This particular post will sim (more…)

I’m SC Taysom is currently drafting an encyclopedia article on Mormon history from 1830-1844. The essay is supposed to pick up right after the founding of the Church in April 1830 and conclude with the Martyrdom. For my opening paragraph, I want to summarize in 150-200 words the major themes of the period. I have my ideas for this paragraph, which I may post at some point below, but I’d like to see how others would draft this paragraph. (more…)

The props coal county women chose to include in their valuable portraits reveal deepening layers of their concept of gender and equality. The traveling tent studio could not afford the space to transport fashionable or particularly exceptional props to the mining towns. Subsequently, patrons often brought their own valuables, and thus their own values, to include in their framed lives as particularly cherished objects. (more…)

Well now, Ben beat me to it. But, since I might have some interesting things to say in addition (and I have an admin logon this week bwahaha) I’m just going to make it a new post. (more…)

According to the Belief-O-Matic Quiz at beliefnet.com, my beliefs regarding God, the afterlife, human nature, etc. match up 92% with Mormonism.  According to the site, they match up better (100%) with “Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants.”  I imagine this is due to the fact that ”Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants” include a wide range of religious groups and beliefs.  More interesting to me was the fact that my views lined up well with the Quakers (both orthodox and liberal varieties), as well as the Ba’hai faith, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and (gulp) Neo-Paganism.  (more…)

We as Latter-day Saints love to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson. (more…)

From January 13-15, 1834, the State of Ohio held a preliminary hearing, ostensibly to determine if anti-Mormon Doctor Philastus Hurlbut had in fact threatened the life of Joseph Smith. After hearing several witnesses, the justice of the peace determined that there was sufficient evidence that a threat had occurred, and the case was set for the following April. But the JP also allowed for testimony on far more than just the alleged threat. The First Presidency wrote not long after the hearing to the Saints in Missouri that the trial included an investigation of “the merits of our religion.”[1] It appears that the JP heard testimony concerning Hurlbut’s research on the Soloman Spalding manscript and even had Joseph testify concerning the finding of the Book of Mormon. Hurlbut’s attorney, James A. Briggs, wrote several letters later in his life (more…)

This one goes out to Ardis

And can I also say I’m glad these photos are intriguing people because they really are a hugely wonderful yet hugely untapped resource that only recently has become accessible (aka, not fragile glass plates in large cardboard boxes with no index) 

Selection from my paper:
(more…)

As a historian I, of course, have some issues with historians. My main bugaboo this past year has been what I term “source prejudice.” We favor textual documents over visual, no doubt about it. What really gets me is that one of the main defenses for this has been that textual documents are more open and reliable, visual more obscure and relative. Well now, there are definitely interpretation issues within textual documents too; we still need to consider intention, audienc (more…)

When Joseph the Prophet and Hyrum the Patriarch were murdered, the Mormon community felt as if the worst event possible had happened. (more…)

The Juvenile Instructor has come into a bit of luck recently in attracting solid and talented guest bloggers. That luck has not run out. We’re pleased to announce our latest guest, Heidi, known also as Pinto. Heidi received a BA in Humanities and History at BYU in 2006, and will graduate with a Masters in American Studies at Boston University this spring. I got to know Heidi this summer as part of the Joseph Smith Seminar with Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens (although we quickly discovered that she was that “Special Collections girl” [meaning she worked there] and I was “that guy with a shaved head always looking up Joseph Smith stuff” when we were undergrads at BYU). She tells me that s (more…)

The Juvenile Instructor would like to thank BHodges for his contributions as a guest blogger the last week and a half.  His insights into the Journal of Discourses produced some great discussion, and we encourage everyone interested to keep up with his exploration of the JD over at his blog, Life on Gold Plates.  Please leave a comment helping us thank him for his contributions.  Thanks again, BHodges.

Heber C. Kimball
June 29, 1856

Because leaders and speakers didn’t give prepared sermons or refer to notes in most cases, the discourses contain unique insight into their feelings and emotions. A good example of the differing nature of the discourses is found by contrasting a few from Heber C. Kimball.

In February of 1855 Heber recounted some experiences connected with being driven from Nauvoo, and included some fiery rhetoric:

(more…)

Vengeance on God’s enemies has been a key theme in Latter-day Saint collective memory of persecution. This, I believe, in part reflects the uneven power relations that structured Mormon contact with other Americans. Since the Latter (more…)

Discourse by Brigham Young
March 16, 1856
JD 3:247-249

On March 14, 1856 Brigham Young addressed a group of Saints at the Social Hall where he told the congregation “think, brethren, think, but do not think so far that you cannot think back again.” Two days later he resumed the thought in his address at the Tabernacle, urging his listeners to develop balance:

In the eastern country there was a man who used to go crazy, at times, and then come to his senses again. One of his neighbors asked him what made him go crazy; he replied, “I get to thinking, and thinking, until finally I think so far that I am not always able to think back again.”

Can you think too much for the spirit which is put in the tabernacle?

You can, and this is a subject which I wish the brethren instructed upon, and the people to understand. The spirit is the intelligent part of man, and is intimately connected with the tabernacle. Let this intelligent part labor to excess, and it will eventually overcome the tabernacle, the equilibrium will be destroyed, and the whole organization deranged. Many people have deranged themselves by thinking too much.

Brigham was encouraging moderation in all things, including study and critical thinking.

(more…)

I recently came across an internet quiz entitled “Which Theologian are You?”  You answer thirty theological questions, answering each on a six-division scale progressing from “disagree” to “agree”, and then submit your answers. In response, the quiz matches up your theology (by percentage) with that of ten influential Christians from throughout history, ranking them from one to ten, and tells you a bit about the theologian you match most closely with. 

I match up 67% with Charles Finney, the noted Presbyterian revivalist and Joseph Smith’s contemporary in upstate New York, but Anselm is close behind at 60%.  Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century Puritan preacher and theologian, came in last with only a 13% match.  I am curious to see what others’ matches are.  If you take the quiz, please leave a comment telling who your first and last matches were.  I’m interested in how Latter-day Saints situate their theology in relation to other Christian denominations’ theologians, and what that reveals about the notion of a “Mormon Theology” or lack thereof.

In 1888, the Deseret News Weekly published a talk by Joseph E. Taylor apparently given in the Logan Temple. I found interesting how Taylor connects the dots between Adam-God and multiple probations using statements from Brigham Young and Joseph Smith. The full article can be found here beginning on page 19. (more…)

In the summer of 1950, a young Harvard graduate student named Thomas F. O’Dea traveled to Salt Lake City and met with a veritable who’s who of Mormon intellectuals and church leaders. (more…)

Discourse by Heber C. Kimball
June 29, 1856
JD 4:1-7

Much criticism of Joseph Smith and the LDS Church in general stems from the doctrine regarding the eternal potential of mankind. The Church believes that men and women are the “offspring” of Heavenly Parents (see Acts 17:28-29) composed of the same eternal substance (see D&C 93:33-35), and as such, have divine possibilities. However, there are many names for and many interpretations of the doctrine in and out of the Church. Describing the various schools of thought on the subject is not the purpose of this post, however.

In this discourse, President Heber C. Kimball tangentially referred to deification; not as a glorious declaration that we can become gods, or godlike, but to remind his listeners not to put the cart before the horse. We ought to consider becoming true Saints before focusing too much on being gods:

(more…)