Mormon Experience Scholarship Issues & Art
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Moroni: Angel Or Treasure Guardian? 39
Mark Ashurst-McGee: Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? 39 Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian? Mark Ashurst-McGee Over the last two decades, historians have reconsidered the origins of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the context of the early American tradition of treasure hunting. Well into the nineteenth century there were European Americans hunting for buried wealth. Some believed in treasures that were protected by magic spells or guarded by preternatural beings. Joseph Smith, founding prophet of the Church, had participated in several treasure-hunting expeditions in his youth. The church that he later founded rested to a great degree on his claim that an angel named Moroni had appeared to him in 1823 and showed him the location of an ancient scriptural record akin to the Bible, which was inscribed on metal tablets that looked like gold. After four years, Moroni allowed Smith to recover these “golden plates” and translate their characters into English. It was from Smith’s published translation—the Book of Mormon—that members of the fledgling church became known as “Mormons.” For historians of Mormonism who have treated the golden plates as treasure, Moroni has become a treasure guardian. In this essay, I argue for the historical validity of the traditional understanding of Moroni as an angel. In May of 1985, a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune posed this question: “In keeping with the true spirit (no pun intended) of historical facts, should not the angel Moroni atop the Mormon Temple be replaced with a white salamander?”1 Of course, the pun was intended. -
The Book of Mormon Keystone of My Life!
The Book of Mormon Keystone of my life! ¾ Keystone of Our Religion We all know the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. As the Prophet Joseph Smith stated on the introduction page, “…. I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on the earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man (or woman) would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” In October Conference 1986, Elder Boyd K. Packer stated, “…true doctrine understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” ¾ A Remarkable Difference As I have grown in the gospel and also watched my children grow in the gospel I have noticed a remarkable difference as we have studied the Book of Mormon. Any study of Christ and his life will bring you closer to the Lord, but there is a power in the Book of Mormon like no other book. In 1980, when we were young parents Marion G. Romney in his April conference address said, “....I believe that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. -
MARY JANE WOODGER 275 E Joseph Smith Building Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602 (801) 422-9029 Work
MARY JANE WOODGER 275 E Joseph Smith Building Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602 (801) 422-9029 Work PROFESSIONAL TRACK 2009-present Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU 2003-2009 Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU 1997-2003 Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU 1994-99 Faculty, Department of Ancient Scripture, BYU Salt Lake Center 1980-97 Department Chair of Home Economics, Jordan School District, Midvale Middle School, Sandy, Utah EDUCATION 1997 Ed.D. Brigham Young University, Educational Leadership, Minor: Church History and Doctrine 1992 M.Ed. Utah State University, Secondary Education, Emphasis: American History 1980 B.S. Brigham Young University, Home Economics Education HONORS 2012 The Harvey B. Black and Susan Easton Black Outstanding Publication Award: Presented in recognition of an outstanding published scholarly article or academic book in Church history, doctrine or related areas for Against the Odds: The Life of George Albert Smith (Covenant Communications, Inc., 2011). 2012 Alice Louise Reynolds Women-in-Scholarship Lecture 2006 Brigham Young University Faculty Women’s Association Teaching Award 2005 Utah State Historical Society’s Best Article Award “Non Utah Historical Quarterly,” for “David O. McKay’s Progressive Educational Ideas and Practices, 1899-1922.” 1998 Kappa Omicron Nu, Alpha Tau Chapter Award of Excellence for research on David O. McKay 1997 The Crystal Communicator Award of Excellence (An International Competition honoring excellence in print media, 2,900 entries in 1997. Two hundred recipients awarded.) Research consultant for David O. McKay: Prophet and Educator Video 1994 Midvale Middle School Applied Science Teacher of the Year 1987 Jordan School District Vocational Teacher of the Year PUBLICATIONS Authored Books (18) Casey Griffiths and Mary Jane Woodger, 50 Relics of the Restoration (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Press, 2020). -
Automatic Writing and the Book of Mormon: an Update
ARTICLES AND ESSAYS AUTOMATIC WRITING AND THE BOOK OF MORMON: AN UPDATE Brian C. Hales At a Church conference in 1831, Hyrum Smith invited his brother to explain how the Book of Mormon originated. Joseph declined, saying: “It was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.”1 His pat answer—which he repeated on several occasions—was simply that it came “by the gift and power of God.”2 Attributing the Book of Mormon’s origin to supernatural forces has worked well for Joseph Smith’s believers, then as well as now, but not so well for critics who seem certain natural abilities were responsible. For over 180 years, several secular theories have been advanced as explanations.3 The more popular hypotheses include plagiarism (of the Solomon Spaulding manuscript),4 collaboration (with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, etc.),5 1. Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., Far West Record: Minutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1844 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 23. 2. “Journal, 1835–1836,” in Journals, Volume. 1: 1832–1839, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, vol. 1 of the Journals series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 89; “History of Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons 5, Mar. 1, 1842, 707. 3. See Brian C. Hales, “Naturalistic Explanations of the Origin of the Book of Mormon: A Longitudinal Study,” BYU Studies 58, no. -
Uses of the Judeo-Christian Bible in the Anti-Abolitionist
THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY: USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC OF THE UNITED STATES by Michael J. Mazza B. A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1990 M. A., University of Pittsburgh, 1996 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2009 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Michael J. Mazza It was defended on April 15, 2009 and approved by Nancy Glazener, University of Pittsburgh Moni McIntyre, Duquesne University William Scott, University of Pittsburgh Committee Chair: Jean Ferguson Carr, University of Pittsburgh ii THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY: USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC OF THE UNITED STATES Michael J. Mazza, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2009 Copyright © by Michael J. Mazza 2009 iii Jean Ferguson Carr_______ THIS FIERCE GEOMETRY: USES OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BIBLE IN THE ANTI-ABOLITIONIST AND ANTI-GAY RHETORIC OF THE UNITED STATES Michael J. Mazza, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2009 This dissertation examines the citational use of the Judeo-Christian Bible in two sociopolitical debates within the United States: first, the debate over the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, and second, the contemporary debate over gay rights. This study incorporates two core theses. First, I argue that the contemporary religious right, in its anti-gay use of the Bible, is replicating the hermeneutical practices used by opponents of the abolitionist movement. My second thesis parallels the first: I argue that the contemporary activists who reclaim the Bible as a pro-gay instrument are standing in the same hermeneutical tradition as nineteenth-century Christian abolitionists. -
Clery Act Campus Security Report and Fire Safety Report
Brigham Young University [Enter Campus Name] Annual Security Report • 2013 Clery Act rt Campus Security Report and o Fire Safety Report p e F ei r S a R f et y l a u [Place Campus Photo Here] nn A Jerusalem Center 2017 Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center Annual Security Report • 2017 C o n t e n Table of Contents ts PHONE NUMBERS ........................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 5 THE CLERY ACT ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 PREPARING THE ANNUAL SECURITY REPORT ................................................................................................................. 5 CRIME STATISTICS ........................................................................................................................................... 6 COLLECTING CRIME REPORTS AND STATISTICS PROCEDURES ............................................................................................ 6 STATISTICS TABLE.................................................................................................................................................... 6 STATE OF ISRAEL CRIME STATISTICS TABLE .................................................................................................................. -
Mormon Millennialism: the Literalist Legacy and Implications for the Year 2000
ARTICLES AND ESSAYS Mormon Millennialism: The Literalist Legacy and Implications for the Year 2000 Dan Erickson ONE'S SEARCH FOR MEANING usually leads to eschatological inquiry. More than mere theology, millennialism is a way of looking at world history and the destiny of humankind.1 Beginning with Joseph Smith's initial re- ligious experience, the idea of an imminent millennium preoccupied Mormon aspirations and set the tone for the new movement. Smith, blessed by his father that he would continue in his ecclesiastical office un- til Jesus Christ should come again, described the mood of his age when in 1832 he wrote, "It is a day of strange appearances. Everything indicates something more than meets the eye. ... The end is nigh."2 Smith's account of the angel Moroni's visit records Moroni's citing of prophecies from the Old and New Testaments which emphasized the last days and Second Coming.3 The texts quoted by Moroni validated the view that Christ's re- turn was near and his millennial announcement was clear: "the day had not yet come 'when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,' but soon would come."4 Prophecy was shortly to be fulfilled. A great work "was speedily to [be] commenced ... that a people might be prepared with faith and righteousness, for the Millennial 1. J[ohn]. F. C. Harrison, The Second Coming: Popular Millenarianism, 1780-1850 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1979), 228. 2. Joseph Smith et al., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., 2d ed. -
Peter Saccio
Great Figures of the New Testament Parts I & II Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D. PUBLISHED BY: THE TEACHING COMPANY 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, Virginia 20151-2299 1-800-TEACH-12 Fax—703-378-3819 www.teach12.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 2002 Printed in the United States of America This book is in copyright. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of The Teaching Company. Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D. E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies Vanderbilt University Divinity School/ Vanderbilt University Graduate Department of Religion Amy-Jill Levine earned her B.A. with high honors in English and Religion at Smith College, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion are from Duke University, where she was a Gurney Harris Kearns Fellow and W. D. Davies Instructor in Biblical Studies. Before moving to Vanderbilt, she was Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at Swarthmore College. Professor Levine’s numerous publications address Second-Temple Judaism, Christian origins, Jewish-Christian relations, and biblical women. She is currently editing the twelve-volume Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Literature for Continuum, completing a manuscript on Hellenistic Jewish narratives for Harvard University Press, and preparing a commentary on the Book of Esther for Walter de Gruyter (Berlin). -
Heartbeat of Mother Earth the Magdalen Mysteries and the Path Of
The Magdalene Mysteries and the Path of the Blue Rose Veronica Goodchild, PhD February 2017 [email protected] (Copyright – all rights reserved) (NB. A Pilgrimage Journey, “The Magdalene Mysteries and the Path of the Blue Rose,” is in preparation for this autumn in the Languedoc region of SW France. Please email me if you would like further information) The Magdalene Mysteries relate both to alternate histories and Gnostic Texts concerning Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and to the Tradition of the Blue Rose, the name given to MM’s teachings, and a lineage of Grail Priestesses and Womb Shamans whose central symbol is the Chalice of the Grail. I was led to these Paths initially by a dream-vision on June 22, 2016, on the morning I was entering France from Italy, on my way to the Languedoc region in the SW, a part of France known for the beauty of its landscape, its rich history especially in Medieval times, its wine producing vineyards, olive groves, and sunflower fields, together with its alternative stories of MM and Jesus ‘after’ the crucifixion, its heretical Cathar ‘Holy Spirit’ movement from the 11th to 13th centuries for whom the Grail Chalice was a central symbol, and the stories and legends of the Holy Grail which sprung up in France and elsewhere during the 12th century. Since my dream, I’ve been on a journey to discover how I am being addressed by it, and what the relevance of the stories and traditions to which they relate might be for us today, in the Age of Transition to a new Aeon or myth. -
Mormon Literature: Progress and Prospects by Eugene England
Mormon Literature: Progress and Prospects By Eugene England This essay is the culmination of several attempts England made throughout his life to assess the state of Mormon literature and letters. The version below, a slightly revised and updated version of the one that appeared in David J. Whittaker, ed., Mormon Americana: A Guide to Sources and Collections in the United States (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 1995), 455–505, is the one that appeared in the tribute issue Irreantum published following England’s death. Originally published in: Irreantum 3, no. 3 (Autumn 2001): 67–93. This, the single most comprehensive essay on the history and theory of Mormon literature, first appeared in 1982 and has been republished and expanded several times in keeping up with developments in Mormon letters and Eugene England’s own thinking. Anyone seriously interested in LDS literature could not do better than to use this visionary and bibliographic essay as their curriculum. 1 ExpEctations MorMonisM hAs bEEn called a “new religious tradition,” in some respects as different from traditional Christianity as the religion of Jesus was from traditional Judaism. 2 its beginnings in appearances by God, Jesus Christ, and ancient prophets to Joseph smith and in the recovery of lost scriptures and the revelation of new ones; its dramatic history of persecution, a literal exodus to a promised land, and the build - ing of an impressive “empire” in the Great basin desert—all this has combined to make Mormons in some ways an ethnic people as well as a religious community. Mormon faith is grounded in literal theophanies, concrete historical experience, and tangible artifacts (including the book of Mormon, the irrigated fields of the Wasatch Front, and the great stone pioneer temples of Utah) in certain ways that make Mormons more like ancient Jews and early Christians and Muslims than, say, baptists or Lutherans. -
When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon Jack M
BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 51 | Issue 4 Article 10 12-1-2012 When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon Jack M. Lyon Kent R. Minson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Lyon, Jack M. and Minson, Kent R. (2012) "When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 51 : Iss. 4 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol51/iss4/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Lyon and Minson: When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon Page from the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, showing on line 3 the beginning of the book of Mosiah. Courtesy Community of Christ, Independence, Missouri. Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2012 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 51, Iss. 4 [2012], Art. 10 When Pages Collide Dissecting the Words of Mormon Jack M. Lyon and Kent R. Minson erses 12–18 of the Words of Mormon have always been a bit of a puzzle. VFor stylistic and other reasons, they do not really fit with verses 1–11, so commentators have tried to explain their presence as a sort of “bridge” or “transition” that Mormon wrote to connect the record of the small plates with his abridgment from the large plates.1 This paper proposes a different explanation: Rather than being a bridge into the book of Mosiah, these verses were originally part of the book of Mosiah and should be included with it. -
Mormon Bibliography 1979-1980
BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 21 Issue 2 Article 10 4-1-1981 Mormon Bibliography 1979-1980 Scott H. Duvall Scott C. Dunn Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Duvall, Scott H. and Dunn, Scott C. (1981) "Mormon Bibliography 1979-1980," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol21/iss2/10 This Bibliography is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Duvall and Dunn: Mormon Bibliography 1979-1980 mormon bibliography 1979 1980 scott H duvall and scott C dunn in the past two or three years we have seen a definite increase in the number of publishers catering to the mormon audience we daily see and hear advertisements promoting new novels diaries and inspirational material designed to appeal to the mormon culture for many years deseret book and bookcraft were the only publishers dealing with and soliciting manuscripts with mormon con- tent then horizon publishers in bountiful utah and hawkes publishing in salt lake city were established perhaps the success of these latter two firms has inspired the proliferation of mormon publishers we now have to be sure some of these recent efforts are private ventures designed to provide an outlet for the authors thoughts creative ef- forts or family history