The old news: Some “orthodox” polygamy continued after the 1890 Manifesto. James G. Duffin, president of the Southwestern/Central States Mission from 1900 to 1906, and Amelia B. Carling, one of the early full-time, full-length single-sister missionaries (1901–1902), married polygamously in 1902. [1]

The new news: Duffin and Carling courted while she was a missionary under his supervision; their marriage took place before her release or immediately thereafter. (I assume Quinn knew it, but I haven’t found a publication pointing out this (more…)

In 1888, Joseph Smith Black accompanied Andrew Jensen and Edward Stevenson ”on a tour through the eastern states.” The trio arrived in Kansas City, Missouri on September 9 and immediately set out to visit important sites in Latter-day Saint history. (more…)

Prospects for Scholarship in the Humanities

May 8-9, 2009

BYU Provo and Aspen Grove, UT

A conference sponsored by Mormon Scholars in the Humanities

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Elizabeth has agreed to come aboard the Juvenile Instructor on a permanent basis. Please join us in welcoming her. We look forward to your future posts, Liz.

One year ago today, David G., Stan, Jared, and I sat down to lunch at J-Dawgs. We discussed our standard assortment of all things Mormon, discussed our then-current research, and eventually the talk turned to the bloggernacle. (more…)

Since I’m writing and you’re reading this for free, I figure I can throw in some random stuff at the end just because. (more…)

Last weekend I joined Mormons and neighbors in Sabine Pass, Texas, removing debris. I did the same after Rita three years ago but back then a Mormon family lived there. Not anymore, and I’d be surprised if one moved in any time soon. On the other hand, reconstruction brought new members to the local ward—as it seemingly brought the Coquats to Galveston in 1900. Drawing clean lines between the storm and future events or circumstances is difficult, but I think we can reasonably identify some consequences of the 1900 Galveston storm, particularly its influence on where people live, that are still with us. (more…)

Earlier I wrote about Mormons who found evidence of God’s mercy or of His one true church in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. A parallel thread in those documents was that the Lord was also vengeful, or at least millenarian. (more…)

Missionaries and other church members detected God’s will in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane’s destruction and in the Elders’ preservation therefrom. (more…)

In many senses, the event that is a “storm” lasts far longer than the storm itself. Thus, hurricane Ike (2008) found some houses in my home ward with roofs still tarped from Rita (2005). Likewise, psychological and social changes can persist far longer than floodwaters. 1900 was no different. (more…)

Incredibly, the Juvenile Instructor is approaching it’s 1st year anniversary.  We went live on October 26, 2007.  We hope to have a little historical write up nearer that time about how all this got going.  In the mean time, I wanted to put up some posts you might have missed since our beginning.  There are too many good ones to put them all up, but here’s a sampling from our first months:

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Preparation, information gathering, and relief efforts figure prominently in present-day discussions of Mormons and natural disasters. Just last conference President Eyring spoke of those who praise the church for “know[ing] how to organize to get things done” but don’t always recognize that “the miracle lies not in organization alone, but in the people’s hearts” [1]. Elders who experienced some part of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane recorded evidence of concerned hearts; their dairies also provide glimpses of a nascent organization. (more…)

Like many Elders in the American South, and like many of the people they visited, Elder Brooks and companion, Elder Decker, were both suffering from malaria in September 1900. Although they had some success in their counties near the Louisiana border, flooding and disease took a heavy toll on their enthusiasm and their bodies. In fact, Elder Decker requested release from the mission on September 03. (more…)

Hurricanes have been on my mind of late—and more literally in my yard and in a great many houses. Instead of writing about recent storms, however, I’d like to discuss the 1900 Galveston Hurricane that nearly obliterated the city of Galveston, Texas, before smashing its way into the continental interior. Estimates vary, but the modern consensus centers around eight-thousand dead. Four Mormon missionaries and one member (presumably) were in Galveston that night and a hand-full of Saints and other missionaries—probably less than a hundred—encountered the storm before it disintegrated. Over the next few days I will examine elements of the Mormon experience of, response to, and interpretation of the storm. This page will function as a homepage of sorts, with links added as the posts become available. (more…)

See part I here.

On the last page of the May 1834 issue of Evening and the Morning Star, the Church included the minutes of a meeting held on May 3, 1834. In a straightforward way, and lacking any fanfare, it included the following: (more…)

Admin Note: We’re pleased to have Joe Geisner, a frequent reader and knowledgeable commenter here at the JI post his review of the newly published James H. Martineau journals. 

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from my inbox: 

SUMMER SEMINAR ON JOSEPH SMITH

“Parley and Orson Pratt and Nineteenth-Century Mormon Thought”
Brigham Young University
May 26-July 3, 2009 (more…)

I reckon I better start earning my keep around these parts and post more often. James G. Duffin presided over the Southwestern States (later Central States) Mission in the first years of the twentieth century. Below I’ve reproduced his diary entries dealing with an abortion case brought before a church court. (more…)

From Matt Grow:

The Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana announces its annual paper prize competition for the best undergraduate and graduate student paper on historic or contemporary communal groups.  The author of the best graduate paper or thesis or dissertation chapter will receive $500.  The author of the best undergraduate paper or thesis will receive $250.  Send two copies of submissions, by January 15, 2009, to Matthew Grow, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, IN, 47712. Questions may be directed to mjgrow@usi.edu.

One of BYU’s homecoming events this year (today, I think) will be to honor Dr. Jim Olson, a Regents Professor of History at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, with a Distinguished Service Award. I hope this post doesn’t sound like a eulogy. When I asked him about the award earlier this week, he said it meant that he had to wear a suit to the football game. (more…)

Occasionally we like to provide our readers who may not have the time or inclination to read widely in the scholarly literature of American history or other disciplines with a sampling of what scholars are saying about Mormonism. Today John Demos is in the spotlight. (more…)

Admin: This post is authored by former occasional guest blogger and friend to JI, Bored in Vernal. Thanks, BiV! 

Doctrine and Covenants 84:3-4 instructs the Latter-day Saints concerning the city of Zion, which was to be their “New Jerusalem:”

3 Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation.

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Yesterday was an exciting one for me. As part of my campus job writing what amounts to AP copy, I got to interview Reverend John Thomas, general minister of the United Church of Christ, before he spoke to the Yale community. He titled his speech “The Future of the Prophetic Voice in the Ecumenical Church.” Rev. Thomas amended this title to read “After Seven Years,” based on a letter Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote entitled “After Ten Years.”

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A couple of years ago while visiting Nauvoo with my family, we stopped by Jonathan Browning’s home and gun shop. Housed there is a large collection of Browning’s guns, many of which include a brass plate on the handle with the inscription, “Holiness to the Lord — Our Preservation.” (more…)

So, you’ve hunted down the latest eerie photograph of dead prisoners of war once held in Salt Lake City’s Fort Douglas. You’ve stumbled backwards over the rough ground around Emo’s grave more nights than you can remember, and you’ve shaken your head in patronizing amusement when George fiddles with the lighting in the Capitol Theatre. You’ve even made the trip down to Utah Valley to poke around the old Lehi Hospital, where the elevator does not always work as it should, and the chief resident once murdered his lover, the unlucky head of nursing.

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*This is continued from Part I. (more…)

*This is the first of a two-part summary of the paper I presented at JWHA this past weekend. (more…)