DOCSLIB.ORG

The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 Volume 7 Number 2 Article 10 1995 The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect Louis Midgley Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Midgley, Louis (1995) "The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect," Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011: Vol. 7 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr/vol7/iss2/10 This Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Title The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect Author(s) Louis Midgley Reference Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 7/2 (1995): 219–52. ISSN 1050-7930 (print), 2168-3719 (online) Abstract Review of Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition (1985), by Jan Shipps. Jan Shipps. Mormonism: The Story of a New Relig­ ious Tradition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1985. 211 pp., with index. $11.95, paperback. Reviewed by Louis Midgley The Shipps Odyssey in Retrospect Where, then , do we draw the line between explain­ ing and "explaining away"? . It is either a fact, or legend , or lie. You must take it or leave it. C. S. Lewis, .. 'Horrid Red Things' "1 Some, impressed by the sheer mass and charge o f the Book of Monnon, are now asking why it can ' t be seriously and respectfully treated as a myth . Lois of myths are today coming in for the most reverential treatment. But the hook disdains such subterfuge. and never tires of reminding us that it is not myth but hi s­ tory and mu st stand or fall as such ... To call th is rec­ ord a myth is to condemn it as effectively as by calling it a fraud. Hugh Nibley2 By happenstance, lan Shipps's Mormonism: Th e Story of a Ne w ReligiOlu Tradition was published a few years before the Review of Books on the Book of Mormon was begun. The assess­ me nt of the Book of Mormon contained in this book. if it were published now, wo uld warrant comment. The celebratory treal- c. S. Lewis. God ill lire Dock: Esm}'s un Theulugy (U/d Elhies. ed. Walter l'looper (Grand Rapids. MI: Eerdmans. 1970).71. 2 Hugh Nibley. Since C!lmorah. 2nd cd. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS. 19811). :\:iv- :\:v, 220 REV IEW or BOOKS ON THE BOOK OF MORMON 712 (1995) men! this book has already recei ved,3 and the loft y reputation of its author- the premier non-Mormon ex pert on Mormon th ings­ justifies retrospective anemian 10 Jan Shipps's book. It Iherefore seems appropriate, at the tent h anni versary of the publication of Mormonism, to examine its author's voyage of discovery as she has stri ven to fashion a sat isfactory explanation of the Book of Mormon and its place in the history. as we ll as Ihe fai th and mem­ ory of Latter-day Saints.4 I will not examine her crowning achievement-the notion that the Church is not a cult, at least as Ihat term is now used by Evan­ gelical Protestant critics. nor a sect nor a denomination, and that it is nei ther Catholic nor Protestant, but "a new religious tradi ­ li o n."5 This is an adaptation of the opini on first broached in 1945 by Fawn M, Brodie, who claimed that Mormonism "was a 3 I have located twenty ,three reviews (or re vi ew essays) ~ea l in g with Shi pps's Mormo nism- mostly affirmati ve: there are, however, probably other reviews th at I have not located. Kla u ~ J. Hanse n, in a pre publication review entitled "Jan Ship ps and the Mormon Tradition," Journal of Mormon His /ory I I (1984): 135-45, describes Mormonism ""as one of the mos t significant and sti mulati ng wo rks in the history of Mormo n sc holarship, as well as a major contribut ion to th e li terature of religious studi es:' Ibid., 136. But he also faults Shipps for not addressing the h<lrd qucstions of whether th e Book of Mormon is what it clai ms 10 be and hcnce wheth er Joseph Smith tol d the trut h. Thomas G. Alexander, in a tendentious re view en titled "Substa ntial , Importam, Brill iant." Dia/ogue 1814 (Winter 1985): 185-87. lio nizes Shipps. and lashes out at Ha nsen "on the leCt'· and those critics he imagines ""o n the right:' Sterli ng M. MeMurrin has praised Shipps in the Journal of American Ethnic History 8 (Fall 1988): 129- 30: and al so in Essays (uui MO/wgm plu in C% ratlo History 4 (1986): 101- 5. Some th oughtful commems on Mormoni.rm have occasionally been packaged as pa rlor review essays. Some of the mOS I pe rceptive (3 11 in lo this class and inc lude especiall y Davi s Bi tton, 'The Mormon Pas t: The Search for Understanding," Religious Swdies R('view 1112 (Ap ri l 1985): 11 4-20: and Mart in Ri dge. "Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and a Religious Tradition:' Reviews ill Americun History 14 (March 1986): 25-33. Othet reviews also raise subt le questio ns about the method and arguments employed by Shipps. See e.\pcciall y M. Gerald Bradford, JourllLllfor the ScientifiC Study of Religion 26/1 (March 1987): 11 7-18: also in IJ YU SlUdies 2812 (Spring 198~): 113-15. 4 Shipps recognizes that explanations of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon cannot be made independent of each other. 5 Shipps's speculation docs nOI apply to the RLDS, who have had con- siderable Proteslant leanings from thei r begin ni ng in 1860 and who are now moving toward Protestant liberalism . SHIPPS, MORMONISM (MIDGLEY) 221 real religious creati on, one intended to be to Christianity as Chris­ tianity was to Judaism: that is, a reform and a consummation," though Shipps insists that "her sustained argument does not fol ­ low the lines of Fawn M. Brodie's work."6 Introducing Shipps Shipps has been an influential figure among Mormon histori­ ans since 1973. She describes herself as an "inside-outsider" to the Latter-day Saint communit y.7 She is perhaps the only non­ Mormon scholar who has fashioned an entire career out of Mormon studies. In addition, she was both the first woman and the first non-Morman- with the exception of RLDS luminary Paul M. Edwards-to serve as presidenl of the Mormon History Asso­ ciation.S The first contact Shipps had with Latter-day Saints and the Mormon past came in 1960 when her husband- a librarian- look a position at Utah State University. Earlier she had studied music at two small Southern women's colleges. In Logan she switched from music to hi story, while working on a teaching certificate. At that time, according to Shipps. hi story at Utah State was Mormon and Utah hi story. Within a year she had her degree and moved with her husband to Colorado. With her interest in Mormon thin gs aroused, at age 36 she earned a doctoral degree in history at the University of Colorado. The novel explanation of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon contained in the initial chapter of her dissertalion,9 later modified and refined, got the attention of RLDS and Latter-day Saint hi storians. IO She eventually parlayed 6 Fawn M. Brod ie, No Man Knows My Hislory: The Life of Joseph Smilh, lire Mormon Prophet, 2nd. rev. cd. (New York: Knopr. 197 1). viii (q uoted by Shipps at p. 169 n. 2). 7 For a play on thi s formula, see Shipps's personill essay entitled "A n ' Inside-Outsider' in Zion," Dialoglle 151 1 (Spring 1982): 139-61. 8 She served in that role in 1979-80. 9 Jan Shipps, "The Mormons in Politics: The First Hu ndred Years" (Universi ty of Colorado. Ph.D. dissertation, 1965: Ann Arbor: University Mi(.;rofillns, 1974). J 0 See J;11l Shipps. 'The Prophet Puzzle: Suggestions Leading toward a More Comprehensive Interpretation of Joseph Smith:' JUI/mal of MOrmotl lIis­ lOry I ( 1974): 3-20: reprinted in The New MUrllwn HiSlOr)': Rel'isionisl Essuys 222 REVIEW OF BOOKS ON lliE BOOK OF MORMON 712 (1995) her degree into a pos ition teaching religious studies and hi story at Indiana Uni versity-Purdue Uni versity at Indianapolis. She is CUf­ remiy the key gentile "expert" on Mormon issues fo r the media. Recognizing the Crucial Truth Claims Shipps stresses the crucial role of the Book of Mormon in constituting the fai th of the fl edgling Church of Christ. The publi­ cation of the Book of Mormon set in place "Mormoni sm's fo un­ dational claims" (p. xii), which are linked to "the claims made in the book" (p. xiii; cf. p. 174 n. 5). Joseph Smith claimed " that the plates were actuall y a book whose text contained the Fulness of the gospel th at would lead to salvati on" (p. 13), Thus, " oo n­ Mormons become Mormons when they respond to Mormonism's fundamental truth claims by taki ng the Book of Mormon at face value,"ll But these truth claims are also potentiall y divisive, and "the tru th claims at the very heart of the Book of Mormon guar­ ameed," according to Shipps, that this potenti al would be realized as soon as this "very strange book," as Parley P.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wayward Saints
    Wayward Saints Wayward Saints The Social and Religious Protests of the Godbeites against Brigham Young Ronald W. Walker Foreword by Jan Shipps Brigham Young University Press, Provo, Utah and University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City Distributed to the academic trade and libraries by University of Utah Press, www.UofUpress.com Publication of this book was supported by grants from the Charles Redd Center for Western History, the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, and the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History. © 2009 by Brigham Young University, all rights reserved. Cover image: William Godbe, used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved. Cover design by Catharine Verhaaren Gruver and Robert E. M. Spencer Interior design by Marny K. Parkin Opinions expressed in this publication are the opinions of the author and his views should not necessarily be attributed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University, or University of Utah. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, digital, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and record- ing or in an information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the primary publisher. To contact BYU Studies, write to 403 CB, Brigham Young University, PO Box 24098, Provo, Utah 84602, or visit http://byustudies.byu.edu. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walker, Ronald W. (Ronald Warren), 1939– Wayward saints : the social and religious protests of the Godbeites against Brigham Young / Ronald W.
    [Show full text]
  • Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons Jan Shipps
    BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 40 Issue 3 Article 8 7-1-2001 Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons Jan Shipps Leslee Thorne-Murphy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Thorne-Murphy, Leslee (2001) "Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons Jan Shipps," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 40 : Iss. 3 , Article 8. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss3/8 This Book Review 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]. Thorne-Murphy: <em>Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons book reviews JAN SHIPPS sojourner in the promised land forty years among the Morcormonsmormonsmons urbana and chicago university of illinois press 2000 xiii 400 appp notes index 3495349534.95 revirevlreviewedd by leslee thorne murphy jan Shippshippssshipposss newest contribution to mormon history sojourner in the promised land forty years among the Morcormonsmormonsmons is a collection of essays that gives us a retrospective not only of her work as a historian but also of her personal experience as a friendly observer oftheofodthethe saints the most inno- vative aspect of the book is the parallel she draws between her own growth and that oftheodtheofthe church during the past forty years her journey from
    [Show full text]
  • Jan Shipps Among the Mormons
    The Long Honeymoon: Jan Shipps among the Mormons Klaus J. Hansen T HIS ESSAY HAD ITS ORIGINS in a projected review of Jan Shipps's So- journer in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons (Urbana: Univer- sity of Illinois Press, 2000). I have expanded it into an assessment of Professor Shipps's oeuvre as a scholar of Mormonism, set within the con- text of the historiography of Mormonism and American culture. Not long ago I had occasion to drive Interstate 15 down the spine of Utah from Salt Lake City to St. George, a figurative stone's throw from both Arizona and Nevada, then drove back by way of the eastern side of the range, winding my way north along U.S. Highway 89, from Mount Carmel Junction east of Zion National Park, following the Sevier River to the town of Richfield. After traversing a sagebrush-covered ridge, my car crossed into Sanpete County, where the Manti Temple, gleaming white in oolite limestone hewn from the nearby mountains, reminds travelers that this is Mormon country. Of course, a few days earlier, when my plane had KLAUS J. HANSEN is a member of the history department of Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where he has taught the history of A m e r i - can thought and culture since 1968. Most recently, he is the author of works on the liberal tradition in America published in the journal of American History, and on de Tocqueville, in the Canadian Journal of History. He is at work on a revised edition of Quest for Empire: The Political Kingdom of God and the Council of Fifty in Mormon History (1967; rev.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Mormon Cultural History and the Changing Status of the Archive Joseph M
    San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research 2009 The rise of Mormon cultural history and the changing status of the archive Joseph M. Spencer San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Spencer, Joseph M., "The rise of Mormon cultural history and the changing status of the archive" (2009). Master's Theses. 3729. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.umb6-v8ux https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3729 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RISE OF MORMON CULTURAL HISTORY AND THE CHANGING STATUS OF THE ARCHIVE A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Library and Information Science San Jose State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Library and Information Science by Joseph M. Spencer August 2009 UMI Number: 1478575 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 1478575 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
    [Show full text]
  • Claremont Mormon Studies J Newsletteri
    Claremont Mormon Studies j NEWSLETTERi SPRING 2013 t ISSUE NO. 8 Thoughts from the IN THIS ISSUE Hunter Chair Perfecting Mormons & Mormon Studies at BY Patrick Q. Mason Claremont Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies iPAGE 2 k he Mormon moment may be University is fond of saying, the Student Contributions over, but Mormon studies is research university is one of T PAGE 3 alive and well. With the election humankind’s greatest inventions— k past us, media and popular attention and graduate school is, at its about Latter-day Saints will wane best, the most refined version of Oral Histories Archived at considerably, but that incomparable Honnold-Mudd PAGE 7 there has never been “When we get it right, invention. a more auspicious When we get k time for the graduate education it right, graduate “Martyrs and Villains” scholarly study of has been and remains education has been PAGE 8 Mormonism. a tremendous force for and remains a k We live in an era the advancement of tremendous force for Reminiscence at of mass media and the advancement of human knowledge.” the Culmination of social technologies human knowledge. Coursework that allow us to Mormon Studies at PAGE 8 “connect” with thousands, even CGU is just one slice of that grand millions, of people at the click of a endeavor; Steve Bradford’s insightful few buttons. We are witnessing a column that follows reminds us revolution in the way that higher of some of the reasons why the education is being delivered, and it endeavor is worthy of not only will be fascinating to see what will our enthusiasm but our support as happen with developments such well.
    [Show full text]
  • Mormons Study "Abroad": Brigham Young's Romance with American Higher Education, 1867- 1877 Author(S): Thomas W
    American Society of Church History Mormons Study "Abroad": Brigham Young's Romance with American Higher Education, 1867- 1877 Author(s): Thomas W. Simpson Source: Church History, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Dec., 2007), pp. 778-798 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Society of Church History Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27645088 . Accessed: 17/12/2013 09:29 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Cambridge University Press and American Society of Church History are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Church History. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 129.170.195.128 on Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:29:21 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Mormons Study "Abroad": Brigham Young's Romance with American Higher Education, 1867-18771 Thomas W. Simpson Because Mormons could never fully realize their separatist dreams of a visible Zion inNorth America, the history ofMormonism has involved highly complex contacts and negotiations with non-Mormons.2 In their to or en attempts convert, resist, appease outsiders, Mormons have gaged in a distinctive dialectic of secrecy and self-disclosure, of eso teric rites and public relations.
    [Show full text]
  • A Bird's-Eye View of the Mormon Prophet
    Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 Volume 15 Number 2 Article 20 6-1-2003 A Bird’s-Eye View of the Mormon Prophet Jan Shipps Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Shipps, Jan (2003) "A Bird’s-Eye View of the Mormon Prophet," Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011: Vol. 15 : No. 2 , Article 20. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr/vol15/iss2/20 This Mormon Studies is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Title A Bird’s-Eye View of the Mormon Prophet Author(s) Jan Shipps Reference FARMS Review 15/2 (2003): 443–51. ISSN 1550-3194 (print), 2156-8049 (online) Abstract Review of Joseph Smith (2002), by Robert V. Remini. A Bird’s-Eye View of the Mormon Prophet Jan Shipps hether biographies are extended accounts or brief surveys of Wlives, they come in two main forms. Either they concentrate on an individual’s life, making the subject the center of attention, or they tell a much larger story, situating a subject’s life in the time and place in which it was lived. In the first instance, whether the authors tell their subjects’ stories from the inside out (psychobiography) or the outside in (traditional narrative biography), they assess the accomplishments, significance, and influence of individuals by centering on their personal lives and locating them in their own extended universes of family, friends (and enemies), and more distant observers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Mormon Cultural History and the Changing Status of the Archive
    San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research 2009 The rise of Mormon cultural history and the changing status of the archive Joseph M. Spencer San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Spencer, Joseph M., "The rise of Mormon cultural history and the changing status of the archive" (2009). Master's Theses. 3729. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.umb6-v8ux https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3729 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RISE OF MORMON CULTURAL HISTORY AND THE CHANGING STATUS OF THE ARCHIVE A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Library and Information Science San Jose State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Library and Information Science by Joseph M. Spencer August 2009 UMI Number: 1478575 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 1478575 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
    [Show full text]
  • The Challenge of Historical Consciousness: Mormon History and the Encounter with Secular Modernity
    The Challenge of Historical Consciousness: Mormon History and the Encounter with Secular Modernity Louis Midgley Martin E. Marty, distinguished Professor of the History of Modern Christianity at the University of Chicago, has made an important contribution to the understanding of “the crisis in Mormon historiography.”1 I will set forth his arguments and examine their soundness. I will also show that on most issues this most esteemed American church historian is close to the position I wish to advance, and that his stance is more rened and better grounded than that taken by historians who fashion naturalistic explanations of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith’s prophetic claims. Marty’s analysis of what is currently being discussed by Mormon historians constitutes both a clarication of key issues upon which there has been some confusion, and a sound starting point for further clarication. In spite of the narrow focus of Marty’s essay, he manages to describe a quandary of faith among Mormon historians that is older than the two decades in which the writing of Mormon history has become professionalized. The crisis which he describes, which he seems to see as rather recent, has actually been unfolding for half a century. The rst signs of an exigency over the Mormon past reached the attention of the Saints with the publication in 1945 of No Man Knows My History, Fawn M. Brodie’s notorious biography of Joseph Smith,2 which began as an attack on the Book of Mormon,3 and eventually constituted a full-scale naturalistic explanation of Joseph Smith’s prophetic claims.
    [Show full text]
  • Forging the Mormon Myth Maryanne Hafen Oglethorpe University, [email protected]
    Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume 6 | Issue 1 Article 4 August 2016 Forging the Mormon Myth MaryAnne Hafen Oglethorpe University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/ojur Part of the History of Religion Commons, Mormon Studies Commons, Other History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Hafen, MaryAnne (2016) "Forging the Mormon Myth," Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/ojur/vol6/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hafen: Forging the Mormon Myth Forging the Mormon Myth MaryAnne Hafen Senior Honors Thesis April 24, 2016 Published by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University, 2016 1 1 Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research, Vol. 6 [2016], Iss. 1, Art. 4 Under the pretense of rare document collecting Mark Hofmann sold hundreds of forged documents to the Mormon Church and other private collectors for hundreds of thousands of dollars. His documents not only fooled world­class collectors and authenticators, they fit neatly into Mormon history. Though much of the information presented in them was falsified, his convincing handwriting, inclusion of meticulously researched historical minutiae, and ability to capture the voice of early Church members ensured that no one could believe they were fakes. A handful of key forgeries raised suspicions about Mormon origins and the historical tradition in which they had been retold earlier in the twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • NOTES and COMMENTS the Case for the New Mormon History
    NOTES AND COMMENTS The Case for the New Mormon History: Thomas G. Alexander and His Critics M. Gerald Bradford MY OVERWHELMING FIRST IMPRESSION of Thomas G. Alexander's "Historiog- raphy and the New Mormon History: A Historian's Perspective" published in DIALOGUE (Fall 1986) is that the author, in the words of a character in a recent Paddy Chayevsky screenplay, is "mad as hell and is not going to take it any more." This is unfortunate. An article, ostensibly devoted to clarifying the theory and method of a new approach to Mormon history, becomes in- stead a largely polemical attack on some whom Alexander considers critics of his way of writing Mormon history. Obviously historians hold profoundly different opinions on how to write Mormon history, differences that are not just academic but go to the very heart of understanding the Mormon tradition and hence affecting the faith of be- lievers. And yet, with all that has been written in the last twenty-five years, we still do not know much about the historiography of this new approach. A well- thought-out article, clarifying this situation, accurately portraying the various sides in the matter, and presumably defending one approach over others, would have made a real contribution to the much-needed dialogue on this subject. But on each of these fronts, Alexander's article comes up short. Instead of identifying and assessing methodological claims made by New Mormon Historians1 or otherwise discerning presuppositions at work in their writings, Alexander proposes that this new way of writing Mormon history is an example of a larger scholarly effort he terms "human studies." He spends M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Secret History of Mormonism
    Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship 1-1-1996 The ecrS et History of Mormonism Richard Bushman Claremont Graduate University Recommended Citation Bushman, Richard L. “The eS cret History of Mormonism,” Sunstone 19.1 (March 1996), 66-70. This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SUNSTONE Book of Mormon spoke of an old Bible from THE SECRETHISTORY which Smith and Oliver Cowdery contrived their account. Alexander Campbell said the OF MORMONISM Book of Mormon tried to answer all the theo- logical controversies that had troubled New ~o;k for the past ten years. Nineteenth-cen- THE REFINER'S FIRE: THE MAKING OF tury editions of Roget's Thesaurus linked MORMON COSMOLOGY, 1644-1844 Joseph Smith's revelations with Mohammed by John L. Brooke and false prophets. In the twentieth century Cambridge University Press, 1994 anti-Masonry was brought into the picture. In more recent years, the influence of primi- xix+421 pages, $34.95 tivist restorationism, republicanism, and magic have all received book-length treat- THE JOURNALS OF WILLIAM E. MCLELLIN, 1831-1836 ments by serious historians, and Harold edited by Jan Shipps and John W Welch Bloom has offered a gnostic Joseph Smith who, by dint of pure genius, recovered cabal- BYU Studies and University of Illinois Press, 1994 istic religion for nineteenth-century xxi+520 pages, $29.95 Americans.
    [Show full text]