I have recently been exploring Chiung Hwang Chen’s 2004 book Mormon and Asian American Model Minority Discourses in News and Popular Media which, along with her and her husband Ethan Yorgason’s 1999 Dialogue article, makes the case that the media has portrayed both Asian Americans and Mormons in the last fifty years utilizing what Asian American scholars have identified as a model minority discourse. [1] Although Chen is not a historian, the way that she tracks changes in representation over time feels quite historical and, in some ways, might be considered a continuation of what Terryl Givens was trying to do in The Viper on the Hearth. [2] Although I have some critiques of the book which I will get to later, I thought it might be relevant to also consider some of the advantages to her approach. (more…)

So, I had a pretty wacked out dream last December.  I found it rich with symbolism, though, so as something of a change from the usual I thought I’d post what I wrote about it in my journal and ask you all to play Joseph of Egypt and have your hand at interpreting it.  In the process you get to see what an extreme nerd I am.  I’m interested to see what you all come up with.

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Word of this panel has been around already, but I thought I’d draw attention to it here. I understand this presentation has been over a year in the making, conceived as a way to bring in fresh perspectives from a few of the nation’s foremost academics on the place of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in wider historiographical frameworks and how well the authors engaged some of these themes in their book. Enjoying sponsorship from a wide spectrum of individuals and organizations, this will be an exceptional opportunity not to be missed. (more…)

In recent years there has been a consistent effort on the part of Church members to provide a renewed influence on the efforts and contributions of Emma Smith. For my part, I have been encouraged to see the softening of the rhetoric which surrounded her and these efforts to understand the post-martyrdom Emma. (more…)

I’ve been going through Joseph F. Smith’s letter correspondence from his first mission to Hawaii of late and have come across several references to the Mormon Reformation, which reached its zenith, according to most accounts, during 1856-1857. These letters surprised me for several reasons. (more…)

Earlier this summer, in preparation for my first-time visit to Monticello in the lush country of Virginia, I read Joseph Ellis’s biography on Thomas Jefferson.[1] In the introduction, I was particularly struck by what Ellis described as one of the main struggles in writing on a man like Jefferson: (more…)

Enlightenment thought brought many threats to eighteenth and nineteenth century religious movements. (more…)

About a year ago, I was talking with a friend about the state of Mormon history. He mentioned that he felt that one of the problems with Mormon history was that so many historians emphasized nineteenth century Mormonism, with a particular emphasis upon the Joseph Smith years. He then told me that he thought that the future of Mormon history would be in the field of twentieth century Mormon history. (more…)

The Juvenile Instructor is pleased to announce our latest guest blogger, Brett D.  Brett describes himself as follows:

I am an MA student in History at BYU hoping to graduate in either April or August of 2009 and with plans of going on for a PhD in American history.  I have worked for two years for BYU’s Education in Zion exhibit as a researcher.  I am also currently working as a researcher for Ron Walker’s forthcoming biography of Brigham Young.  I am writing my thesis on the progressive era elements of the Church’s educational programs from 1885 to 1935.  A registered menace to society, I occupy my time watching BYU sports, particularly football.

Please join us here at the JI in welcoming Brett.

David Whitmer was a powerful figure in the early Mormon Church. Besides being one of the Book of Mormon Witnesses, he was in the Missouri Presidency and (some believed) ordained to be Joseph Smith’s successor in 1834. He was released from his Missouri position in 1837 and was excommunicated from the Church in 1838. (more…)

Yesterday over at Religion in U.S. History, Paul Harvey posted a map of “Leading Church Bodies, 2000,” taken from  Mark Silk and Andrew Walsh’s fantastic Religion by Region series, and rhetorically asks, “Is the South still a cultural region?” (more…)

Limiting the time-frame of when Joseph Smith was visited by Peter, James, and John to a specific period has been problematic for Mormon historians. This mostly results from Joseph’s (almost) complete silence regarding the event. His statements on it are both very rare and quite ambiguous. Here, I will give a brief outline of the debate, a couple of the most relevant arguments, and then leave it open for discussion on some important questions. (more…)

Recently (and weirdly) the Holy Eucharist has been in the news.

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