Parley and Orson Pratt and Nineteenth-Century Mormon Thought

                                    Public Symposium at Brigham Young University

                                    Sponsored by the Mormon Scholars Foundation

                                                               July 2, 2009

                                     B092 of the Joseph F. Smith Building at BYU

In the tradition of Richard Bushman’s summer seminars on Joseph Smith and early Mormonism, eight graduate students, under the direction of Terryl Givens and Matthew Grow, have studied the writings of Orson and Parley Pratt and will be presenting their research at this symposium. The seminar has been hosted by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

10:00 Terryl Givens, University of Richmond, Introduction

10:10 Ryan Tobler, University of Chicago, “Parley Pratt and Evolving Views of the American Republic in Early (more…)

I received the following in my email. I’ll post it since it’s a great documentary as well as being a great Mormon book store.

(more…)

Over the past week, four contributors to the Juvenile Instructor have toured, given tours, researched in, peered through the windows of, and otherwise participated in the opening of the new LDS Church History Library and Archives. Their experiences, ruminations, and ponderables are below.

(more…)

If readers will indulge me for a moment, I’d like to tell a story as preface.  My wife and I went to the Salt Lake temple this morning (we were originally going to Bountiful, but changed plans at the last moment) and coming out of there at about 10:40 am, I saw that people were entering the library. I thought perhaps there was a tour of some kind. My wife wasn’t able to go to the open house tours last week, so I thought it would be a great chance to get her over to see it. Well, to my surprise it was actually open for the dedication of the building and as it was a ticketed event (I’m showing my in-the-loopness here <grin>), we didn’t have much prospect for entering.  However, the nice brother at the door told us to hold on a few minutes as the service would be starting shortly. He said that if there was room, we could come in.  So there was and we did.  I couldn’t help but feel thankful that circumstances had presented themselves so that this could happen.  It was a great meeting. Here are my notes. As always, this is not an exact transcription, but my reformulation of handwritten notes:

(more…)

This post inaugurates a new series at the Juvenile Instructor, featuring brief conversations reassessing the significance of major works of Mormon history.
(more…)

For early Mormon writers, their growing materialist theology brought several theological problems for their rationalistic minds to solve. Placing God within a physical body that takes up physical place perceivably posed threats to God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and, especially, omnipresence. Thus, many were left to determine how a godhead composed of three personages could be everywhere at the same time and have power over everything in the universe. The answer, at least for the Pratt brothers, was a redefinition of the Holy Ghost. (more…)

Charles L. Cohen is Professor of History and Religious Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Director of the Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions. He is the author of God’s Caress: The Psychology of Puritan Religious Experience (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986) and the editor, with Paul S. Boyer, of Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008). Dr. Cohen was the 2005 Tanner Lecturer at the annual meeting of the Mormon History Association, and his lecture was published as “The Construction of the Mormon People,” Journal of Mormon History 32 (2006): 25-64. He is also the author of “No Man Knows My Psychology: Fawn Brodie, Joseph Smith, and Psychoanalysis,” BYU Studies 44 (2005): 55-78. Additionally, he advised Spencer Fluhman’s 2006 PhD dissertation (“Anti-Mormonism and the Making of Religion in Antebellum America”), and is currently mentoring Jed Woodworth’s graduate studies at UW-Madison.

(more…)

Apropos of nothing: some numbers about millennial temples. To justify its place at JI, let’s call it an exercise in evaluating an agent’s perspective. (more…)

Jeanne Halgren Kilde is the Director of the Religious Studies program at the University of Minnesota, where she earned her PhD. She is the author of two immensely important books: When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth-Century America, and more recently Sacred Power, Sacred Space: an introduction to Christian architecture and worship, and of several articles. The value of her work is only enhanced by her graciousness as a scholar and mentor. We’re immensely honored to have her offer her thoughts here on the recent BYU Sacred Space seminar, at which she participated.

Thank you to Matt for inviting me to contribute a few words to this blog. And thank you to everyone involved in the Sacred Space symposium, including the audience members. Everyone I met was enormously hospitable and generous.
(more…)

Rick Phillips, “Mormon Religiousness and the Enduring Significance of ‘Gathered’ Communities.” Phillips argued that having a dense population of Mormons contributes to religiousness and church activity and sees statistical evidence for decreased religousness among LDS in the Mormon Culture Region (Utah, Idaho, etc.) as LDS population density has decreased. Don’t miss notes from Massimo Introvigne on Mormonism and Twilight in Italy, Michael Homer on Oriana Fallaci and Anti-Mormonism, and Elder Robert S. Wood, and Iain Irving on Mormonism and Postmodernism/Modernism.

Utah has been characterized as the Mormon homeland where it dominates politics, etc. In July 2005, a Salt Lake Tribune article presented statistics that said the proportion of Utah’s citizens that were Mormon began declining in the 1980s. In a series following, the Tribune took time to follow up on this trend.

(more…)

Ian Irving, “Modernity, Postmodernity, and Mormonism.” Ian was present, but feeling ill, so Armand Mauss read his paper. Irving argues, in essence, that the LDS Church has modernist and postmodernist elements that keep it relevant to people of both philosophical persuasions. Don’t miss notes from Massimo Introvigne on Mormonism and Twilight in Italy, Michael Homer on Oriana Fallaci and Anti-Mormonism, and Elder Robert S. Wood.

Why has the LDS Church retained appeal through the current cultural shift? By appealing to modernist and postmodernist groups. (more…)

Elder Wood was the concluding speaker at the 2009 CESNUR conference. He delivered his address at a closing banquet at the Alta Club Saturday evening. Stay tuned for notes from eight more sessions from CESNUR. For now, don’t miss notes from Massimo Introvigne on Mormonism and Twilight in Italy and Michael Homer on Oriana Fallaci and Anti-Mormonism.

I am delighted to be with you, I wish I could have attended the whole conference, but I’ve been in Virginia, and I arrive d this morning at 4 am, the plane was delayed a bit, but I made it in time for this evening. I should tell Dan, speaking of the Angelo Moroni, I remember some years ago standing in line at the Washington D. C. Temple open house, a man and his young son who were clearly not members were in line in front of me. The son pointed at the statue and said, “Daddy, who is that?”  The dad said, that’s the Angel Marriott, son [laughter]. So next time I saw Bill Marriott, I said you’ll never believe who’s up there on top of the temple [laughter]. (more…)

Massimo Introvigne, “New/Old Mormon Family Values: Italian Reactions to Big Love and Twilight.”

As background for this paper, last year I gave a seminar paper on Italian media and the Romney campaign.  It appears in International Mormon Studies 2, published after the conference of the European Association of Mormon Studies.  (more…)

Michael Homer, “Oriana Fallaci, Mormonism and Anti-Mormonism.” Michael Homer spoke this morning. I will have notes from Massimo Introvegne’s lecture later today as well as some notes and reflections from yesterday’s panel on the Temple Lot Church.

A new entry in anti-Mormon historical fiction. Some of the most enduring 19^th century writing by famous authors of historical fiction includes Mormonism after the move to Utah and the announcement of polygamy.  The Mormon image was crafted by those who never visited Utah. (more…)

CESNUR, the Center for Studies on New Religions, is holding their international conference in Salt Lake City June 11-13, that’s tomorrow, Thursday, through Saturday, in the City Council building. There are several sessions on Mormonism. Here is a link to the programme: http://www.cesnur.org/2009/slc_prg.htm

At the MHA conference a few weeks ago, an associate asked if I, as a never-married LDS male, were “hyper-aware” of single women at MHA. [1] I gave my standard spiel: I want to marry; feel strong social pressure to do so; and am into my third decade of post-pubertal celibacy and therefore am always aware of who does and does not wear a wedding/engagement ring. (more…)

About a year and a half ago, I received an invitation to join the newly created Association for Spanish and Portuguese Mormon Studies. At the time it consisted of a website (now apparently defunct) and a google group, which members used to communicate. I have no idea who started the group (or whether it was initially an individual or group effort). It was an exciting prospect for those interested in the international Mormon experience. (more…)

Biographer Breck England argued that Orson Pratt’s interpretation of Joseph Smith’s revelations and teachings largely shaped Pratt’s thought.[1] In his introduction, England noted that Pratt “made a lifelong effort to construct a rational theology on the revelatory foundation laid by Joseph Smith.”[2] (more…)

The Juvenile Instructor is pleased to announce a new series that will become a regular feature of the blog. The series—Scholarly Inquiry—will consist of a series of questions addressed to a guest scholar and that person’s responses. Visiting scholars will include both Mormons and those from other faith traditions, as well as historians of Mormonism and those whose primary research interests focus on other subjects. The aim of Scholarly Inquiry is to involve a larger community of scholars in attempts to situate the Mormon experience in wider contexts and new and innovative ways.

(more…)

June 8, 1978

To all general and local priesthood officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world:
Dear Brethren: (more…)

Maybe this is old news to some, but I wanted to bring attention to a program that the Church recently begun on its radio channel. Reid Nielson, professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU and author/editor of a number of great works on Mormon history was asked to host a weekly radio program in which he interviews a mission or stake president from around the world and learns about the lives of LDS Church members the world over.  The program is called Into All The World and has three previous podcasts available for listening online. I’m happy to see continued steps toward bringing issues facing the international church into sharper focus and I’m sure I speak for more than myself when I wish Reid well in this new project.  (more…)

I’m sorry for the severe delay in posting this research.  It is a very interesting facet of my overall research at discussions of civil rights in BYU’s newspaper The Daily Universe:

In March 1964, the Daily Universe published a series of three editorials on the Nation of Islam, which were most likely reprinted editorials from a national newspaper.[1]  The first of the three editorial was published three days after Malcolm X announced that he was leaving the Nation of Islam, and an editor’s note preceding the first editorial noted that the editorial series was being published given “recent developments in the Black Muslim movement” and “recent publicity” on Cassius Clay and the Nation of Islam.[2] Although the new series was listed under the headline of “Black Muslim Threat,” the editorials discussed the religious movement in more objective and respectful terms than might be expected of an extreme group at BYU. (more…)

I

There’s been a lot of enthusiasm for this conference, and every inch of it deserved. Not a cubic zirconium among the presentations, and more than one absolute diamond (Laurie Maffly-Kipp on preparation; Richard Cohen on the Hebrew temple). This was an impressive and a diverse kaleidoscope, and the most interesting thing was the way, one after another, each speaker demonstrated the point Jeanne Halgren Kilde made – that talking about sacred space, at its essence, is talking about the way we experience religion. Space matters because people do things in it.
(more…)

Steve R. Sorensen, former director of the LDS Church Archives  and co-editor of the 5th volume in the Joseph Smith Papers’ document series passed away on May 29, 2009.  In 1980 he started work as an archivist for the Church and went on to serve 16 years as director of the Archives.[1] In 2006, Steve received the Leonard Arrington Award from the Mormon History Association for his lifetime contributions to Mormon history.[2] (more…)

The Sacred Space Symposium at BYU concluded with a panel discussion guided by Richard Bushman and included each of today’s presenters. Dr. Bushman had opening remarks and launched discussion with a few questions of the panel before turning it over for questions from the audience.  I did not take down the questions from the audience, sorry. We hope that providing these notes has been fruitful for many of you. Those of us who attended really enjoyed it and felt that the presenters were well prepared and engaging in their presentations.  Jim Faulconer deserves hearty praise for his work putting it together and we hope to see many more conferences like this one that bring the work of national scholars from within and without the Mormon tradition to bear on issues of Mormon studies.

Richard Bushman

Before the Manhattan temple dedication a group of us was shown through the building. (more…)

Laurie Maffly-Kipp, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In mid September 1983, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated a temple in Santiago Chile.  It was the first built in a Spanish speaking country, just a few months prior to the Mexico City Temple. Pres. Hinckley stood in for Pres. Kimball, Elders McConkie and Packer with wives and other leaders attended.  This occasion was the most visible sign of the Church’s recent growth in South America. Work had been going on for years to prepare for it. The first stake organized in Chile occurred 11 yrs earlier. The members, he said, were not ready for a temple then. (more…)

[My last contribution to JI's attempt to recreate this wonderful symposium]

Steve Olsen, “The Mormon Quest for Zion”

Although not a lawyer, Olsen presented his paper point-by-point as if arguing a case. Further, he used powerpoint to present each point. As such, I think the best way to stay true to his presentation is to post each point that he put up (they are all pretty self-explanatory). These are his thoughts on the development of Mormon thought of “sacred space.” (more…)

Michael Fishbane, Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies, Divinity School, University of Chicago presented on the Divine Presence in the Hebrew Bible.  He hilighted that sacred places are not natural, but are made in the Hebrew Bible. My notes:

My contribution to this conference will be to focus on the theme of sacred space in the Hebrew Bible.  The Hebrew Bible is the foundational document of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.  My orientation has to benefit from the limitations of one slice of historic theology, but we’ll see that it has many dimensions.  To help narrow the focus, I want to talk about the interplay of sacred space in the bible and the sacred presence.  (more…)

Hamid Mavani, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies, Claremont Graduate University spoke on the sacred in Islam. In essence, he argued that sacred space is defined by intent in Islam.  My reformulated notes:

I should let you know that I am the only Muslim speaker; you can be assured that what I say is the absolute truth [laughter]. (more…)

[Again, take these as my far-from-perfect reformulations of a spectacular presentation]

Jeanne Halgren Kilde, “Foregrounding the Background: Power and Proximity in Sacred Space

Kilde began her fascinating presentation with a defense for the study of sacred space. She credited us for wanting to engage the issue, because it is largely in the background of religious scholarships. This neglect is mostly because of two reasons: first, we often focus on texts as the best representation of religious thought. Second, when we do move beyond texts, we mostly focus on ritual. This leaves out an important part of the ‘soul’ of religious worship: the actual space—the architecture, the layout, and the physical appearance of how and where worship occurs. She argues that we can gain access to the believer’s mind by looking at how they viewed space as an element of religion. Specifically to her research, Kilde has focused on what sacred space can tell us about the evolving idea of authority.[1]

Kilde gave several great examples of how this approach can reveal much about religious history. (more…)

Richard A. Cohen, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Institute of Jewish Thought and Heritage, University of Buffalo (SUNY) presented a paper a the Sacred Space Symposium on “Place, Sacred Space, and Utopia”. The session was chaired by Ralph Hancock, Associate Professor of Political Science, BYU.  Dr. Cohen argued, in essence, that there is no sacred space in Judaism and even the most publicly sacred place in Judaism, the temple, is a testament to the placelessness of holiness in Judaism. My notes are not to be seen as a word for word transcript. I have made additions and rewordings for clarity and I missed plenty.  Here it is: (more…)