
Advisory Board Noel B. Reynolds, chair Grant Anderson James P. Bell Donna Lee Bowen Involving Readers Douglas M. Chabries Alan L. Wilkins in the Latter-day Saint Academic Experience Editor in Chief John W. Welch Church History Board Richard Bennett, chair 19th-century history Brian Q. Cannon 20th-century history Kathryn Daynes 19th-century history Gerrit J. Dirkmaat Joseph Smith, 19th-century Mormonism Steven C. Harper documents Frederick G. Williams cultural history Liberal Arts and Sciences Board Barry R. Bickmore, chair geochemistry Susan Howe English, poetry, drama Neal Kramer early British literature, Mormon studies Steven C. Walker Christian literature Reviews Board Eric Eliason, co-chair English, folklore John M. Murphy, co-chair Mormon and Western Trevor Alvord new media Herman du Toit art, museums Gerrit van Dyk Church history Specialists Casualene Meyer poetry editor Thomas R. Wells photography editor Ashlee Whitaker cover art editor STUDIES QUARTERLY BYU Vol. 57 • No. 1 • 2018 ARTICLES 4 From the Editor 6 True and Faithful: Joseph Fielding Smith as Mormon Historian and Theologian Reid L. Neilson and Scott D. Marianno 65 “Ye Are No More Strangers and Foreigners”: Theological and Economic Perspectives on the LDS Church and Immigration Walker A. Wright 128 Handcart Trekking: From Commemorative Reenactment to Modern Phenomenon Melvin L. Bashore PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE 104 Photographs of the Dedication of Pioneer Square in Salt Lake City, July 25, 1898 Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Ronald L. Fox ESSAY 123 The Work of Their Hands Taylor Cozzens POETRY 180 My Son’s Guitar Class Darlene Young REVIEW ESSAYS 159 Approaching Completion: The Book of Mormon Critical Text Project: A Review of Royal Skousen’s Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon and The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon: Grammatical Variation Grant Hardy 181 A Plain and Precious Part Restored: An Essay Based on Matthew W. Bates’s The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament Paul Y. Hoskisson BOOK REVIEWS 198 The Mormon Jesus: A Biography by John G. Turner Reviewed by Andrew C. Reed 202 An Introduction to the Book of Abraham by John Gee Reviewed by Adam Oliver Stokes 206 The Memory of the Temple and the Making of the Rabbis by Naftali S. Cohn Reviewed by Avram R. Shannon 213 Emmeline B. Wells: An Intimate History by Carol Cornwall Madsen Reviewed by Cherry Silver BOOK NOTICES 218 Directions for Mormon Studies in the Twenty-First Century Foundations of the Restoration Let Us Reason Together At Sword’s Point, Part 1 and Part 2 Th e Council of Fifty At the Pulpit From the Editor John W. Welch s we send this issue of BYU Studies Quarterly to press, I find myself A reflecting on the influences of many people upon my life. Goodly parents and beloved family members always come at the top of my appre- ciation list. I recently met with many friends associated with BYU Stud- ies and was filled with overwhelming thankfulness for the many editors, authors, advisors, administrators, readers, and subscribers, who sustain this extraordinary publication. And I feel more profoundly indebted to BYU for its increasingly unusual mission. As President Dallin H. Oaks recently said at a BYU leadership conference, the mandate given to BYU now has a new complexity: “Today Brigham Young University . needs to resist being homogenized by the world.” Using the analogy of “the battle group of CES” with BYU as the flagship, he charged this array of institutions to build up and defend the Church. This initiative also sets out to provide education for all members of the Church, wherever they may be, consistent with their circumstances. We have been called to rally our resources in this effort, and, at BYU Studies, we eagerly answer his call. President Oaks encouraged BYU faculty to “offer public, unassigned support of Church policies.” He emphasized the word unassigned, for “the duty is inherent in the position.” BYU Studies hopes to place its corpus of valuable scholarship even more effectively at the disposal of scholars and Church members around the world. Our BYU Studies website and the social media channels of affiliated organizations are poised to educate and inspire people for good in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join this effort, putting your shoulder to the wheel, submitting thoughtful and well-crafted materials, spreading the word, 4 BYU Studies Quarterly 57, no. 1 (2018) From the Editor V 5 without waiting to be assigned. All articles in this journal are typical of this BYU Studies mode of operation. They are voluntarily submit- ted, unsolicited. They are then rigorously peer reviewed and edited by experts whose personal yearnings support the Church. What could typify better putting one’s shoulder to the wheel than Mel Bashore’s article in this issue on commemorative reenactments of Mormon handcart trekking? There are good reasons to memorialize our history and those who came voluntarily to Zion. And who better exem- plifies the dedicated life of a disciplined Mormon than Joseph Fielding Smith, self-taught as a historian and inspired by his prophet-father? Reid Neilson and Scott Marianno’s study helps us walk thousands of pages in his intellectual shoes. One key to evaluating and appreciating historical writing is to know what motivated or constrained its writer. Often overlooked, the influence of Joseph Fielding Smith’s efforts was more methodological than is usually realized. Walker Wright’s article on religious and economic perspectives about immigration, strangers, and refugees is marvelously timely. He approaches the debate over immigration through a double lens: the Church’s official statements and scholarly research on the economic effects of immigration. He demonstrates that the Church’s accommodat- ing approach is overwhelmingly supported by the research. Migration is often impelled by external pressures, but it is ultimately the voluntary response of those fleeing to improve their lives. Immigrants come unas- signed, so people can reach out to them without needing to be asked. I am confident that readers will be enriched by the essays and reviews in this issue: a timely book review of John Gee’s introduction to the Book of Abraham; a summation of Royal Skousen’s latest volumes in his monumental Book of Mormon Critical Text project; a review of the survival of temple precepts in rabbinic literature; an essay on an early Christian idea of the Trinity being composed of three persons charac- terized by relentless affection and concern for others; a discussion of John Turner’s tracing of Mormon emphases on aspects of Jesus; and a celebration of the long-awaited final volume in Carol Madsen’s two-part biography of Emmeline B. Wells. For all of this we can certainly be grateful. As in all cases with good things in life, we go forward with faith and hope that we may, in the end, have joy and rejoicing, being thankful for the concerted and conse- crated efforts of many contributors. Figure 1. Portrait of Joseph Fielding Smith with his father, Joseph F. Smith, May 1914. Courtesy Church History Library. True and Faithful Joseph Fielding Smith as Mormon Historian and Theologian Reid L. Neilson and Scott D. Marianno ach year hundreds of thousands of visitors to Salt Lake City’s Tem- Eple Square make their way to the Church History Museum1 of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While many of the museum’s exhibits have been rotated over the past three decades, the “Presidents of the Church” gallery, made of individual displays for each previous Church president, is a longstanding exhibit that has generally been refreshed only after a Mormon prophet has died and his artifacts have been added to the chronological display cases. The current museum exhibit commemorating President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) hangs on the east wall of the second-floor gallery (fig. 2). To the right of his official oil portrait is a text panel that reads: “Joseph Fielding Smith was one of the Church’s most prolific writers. His numerous books and articles helped educate generations of Latter-day Saints about the his- tory and doctrine of the Church.” To the left of his portrait is a large display case showcasing his numerous publications. The largest text panel within this showcase is titled “Church Historian,” and it reads as follows: “Joseph Fielding Smith worked nearly 70 years in the Church historian’s office, 50 years as Church historian. He authored more than twenty volumes on Latter-day Saint history and doctrine.” This exhibit succinctly summarizes Smith’s legacy as both a historian and theologian. For most Latter-day Saints who grew up in or converted to the Church during Smith’s five-decade tenure as Church Historian, Smith 1. The Museum of Church History and Art, which opened in April 1984, was renamed the “Church History Museum” in November 2008. BYU Studies Quarterly 57, no. 1 (2018) 7 8 v BYU Studies Quarterly Figure 2. The Joseph Fielding Smith exhibit at the Church History Museum, Salt Lake City, Utah. Church History Department, photograph taken by Julie MacDonald. was viewed as a trusted expert on LDS doctrine, practice, and history because of his popular and widely available publications. His many book publications, regular periodical articles, and semiannual general conference addresses kept Mormon history in the public eye and mind on an ongoing basis. His status as an authority on Mormon doctrine and history was also bolstered by his familial relationship to his great uncle the Prophet Joseph Smith, grandfather Patriarch Hyrum Smith, and father President Joseph F. Smith, and by his own apostolic calling.
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