Journal of Mormon History Volume 22 Issue 1 Article 1 1996 Journal of Mormon History Vol. 22, No. 1, 1996 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation (1996) "Journal of Mormon History Vol. 22, No. 1, 1996," Journal of Mormon History: Vol. 22 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol22/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Mormon History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Journal of Mormon History Vol. 22, No. 1, 1996 Table of Contents CONTENTS ARTICLES PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS • --The Emergence of Mormon Power since 1945 Mario S. De Pillis, 1 TANNER LECTURE • --The Mormon Nation and the American Empire D. W. Meinig, 33 • --Labor and the Construction of the Logan Temple, 1877-84 Noel A. Carmack, 52 • --From Men to Boys: LDS Aaronic Priesthood Offices, 1829-1996 William G. Hartley, 80 • --Ernest L. Wilkinson and the Office of Church Commissioner of Education Gary James Bergera, 137 • --Fanny Alger Smith Custer: Mormonism's First Plural Wife? Todd Compton, 174 REVIEWS --James B. Allen, Jessie L. Embry, Kahlile B. Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994 Raymonds. Wright, 208 --S. Kent Brown, Donald Q. Cannon, Richard H.Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas of Mormonism Lowell C. "Ben"Bennion, 212 --Spencer J. Palmer and Shirley H. Palmer, comps. and eds. The Korean Saints: Personal Stories of Trial and Triumph, 1950-1980 f. Michael Allen, 216 --Rebecca Bartholomew. Audacious Women: Early British Mormon Immigrants Lynn Matthews Anderson, 219 --Davis Bitton. Historical Dictionary of Mormonism. Steven L. Olsen, 22 This full issue is available in Journal of Mormon History: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol22/iss1/ 1 JOURNAL OF MORMON HISTORY Spring 1996 JOURNAL OF MORMON HISTORY SPRING 1996 COVER: Abstraction of the window tracery, Salt Lake City Tenth Ward. Design by Warren Archer. Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life, published by ABC-CLIO, and in Religion Index One: Periodicals, published by the American Theological Library Association. ©1996 Mormon History Association ISS 0094-7342 After publication herein, copyright reverts to authors. Copies of articles in this journal may be made for teaching and research purposes free of charge and without securing permission, as permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the United States Copyright Law. For all other purposes, permission must be obtained from the author. The Mormon History Association assumes no responsibility for contributors' statements of fact or opinion. Staff of the Journal of Mormon History EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Lavina Fielding Anderson Executive Committee: Lavina Fielding Anderson, William G. Hartley, Jeffery O. Johnson, G. Kevin Jones, Lynne Watkins Jorgensen, D. Michael Quinn, Patricia Lyn Scott, Jean Bickmore White Editorial Staff: Susan L. Fales, Kenneth A. Hansen, Janet Jenson, Linda Lindstrom, Marti S. Lythgoe, Vaneese C. Nelson, Marianne Perciaccante Associate Editor: Martha Dickey Esplin Book Review Editor: Richard L. Jensen Letters Editor: Jean Bickmore White Editorial Manager: Patricia Lyn Scott Business Manager: G. Kevin Jones Abstracts Editor: Luana Uluava Miller Compositor: Brent Corcoran Designer: Warren Archer BOARD OF EDITORS Mario S. De Pillis, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Susan L. Fales, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Roger D. Launius, NASA, Washington, D.C. Dean L. May, University of Utah, Salt Lake City Isleta Pement, Temple School, Independence, Missouri Marianne Perciaccante, Ithaca, New York Susan Sessions Rugh, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota The Journal of Mormon History is published semi-annually by the Mormon History Association, 2470 N. 1000 West, Layton, UT 84041, (801) 773-4620, and is distributed to members upon payment of annual dues: student, $12.50; regular, $15; sustaining, $20; Friend of Mormon History, $50; Mormon History Association Patron, $500 or more. Single copies $10. The Journal of Mormon History exists to foster scholarly research and publication in the field of Mormon history. Manuscripts dealing with all aspects of Mormon history are welcome, including twentieth-century history, regional and local history, women's history, and ethnic/minorities history. First consideration will be given to those which make a strong contribution to knowledge through new interpretations and/or new information. The Board of Editors will also consider the paper's general interest, accuracy, level of interpretation, and literary quality. The Journal does not consider reprints or simultane- ous submissions. Papers for consideration must be submitted in triplicate, typed and double-spaced throughout, including all quotations. A preferred length is twenty pages, but longer manuscripts may be considered. Authors should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition (see a recent edition of the Journal) and be prepared to submit accepted manuscripts in IBM-DOS format, WordPerfect or ASCII. Send manuscripts to the Journal of Mormon History, Box 581068, Salt Lake City, UT 84158-1068. JOURNAL OF MORMON HISTORY VOLUME 22, No. 1 SPRING 1996 CONTENTS ARTICLES PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS The Emergence of Mormon Power since 1945 Mario S. De Pillis 1 TANNER LECTURE The Mormon Nation and the American Empire D. W. Meinig 33 Labor and the Construction of the Logan Temple, 1877-84 Noel A. Carmack 52 From Men to Boys: LDS Aaronic Priesthood Offices, 1829-1996 William G. Hartley 80 Ernest L. Wilkinson and the Office of Church Commissioner of Education Gary James Bergera 137 Fanny Alger Smith Custer: Mormonism's First Plural Wife? Todd Compton 174 REVIEWS James B. Allen, Jessie L. Embry, Kahlile B. Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994 Raymonds. Wright 208 S. Kent Brown, Donald Q. Cannon, Richard H.Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas ofMormonism Lowell C. "Ben"Bennion 212 Spencer J. Palmer and Shirley H. Palmer, comps. and eds. The Korean Saints: Personal Stories of Trial and Triumph, 1950-1980 f. Michael Allen 216 Rebecca Bartholomew. Audacious Women: Early British Mormon Immigrants Lynn Matthews Anderson 219 Davis Bitton. Historical Dictionary ofMormonism. Steven L. Olsen 222 Mario S. De Pillis PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS The Emergence of Mormon Power since 1945 Mario S. De Pillis As I look back on the past forty years of scholarly activity, I realize that I have been almost obsessed with the appeal of Mormonism. I continually ask, Why do people join the Mormon Church, and why do they stay? In short, what is the power of Mormonism? It is clear to me now that I was attempting to answer this question of power and appeal in my first article on Mormonism back in 1966 when I argued that the new movement offered authoritative stability to ajacksonian generation in chaos.1 My article was a deeply felt and carefully researched piece of professional history. But I now see that every generation is one of chaos, including today's. The appeal, that is, the power of Mormonism, is more complex, even MARIO S. DE PILLIS is professor emeritus of social and religious history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He delivered a version of this essay as his presidential address at the annual conference of the Mormon History Association in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on 24 June 1995. He wishes "to thank the Journal's anonymous readers for invaluable suggestions, particularly for their forbearance with my quotations from Tony Kushner that are painful for Latter-day Saints to read, but which, for me, represent a powerful perception of Mormonism in American life—and not just intellectual life." The Quest for Religious Authority and the Rise of Mormonism," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 1 (Spring 1966): 68-88. Journal of Mormon History though a people's need for authoritative answers remains central— and not just to Mormons and their converts. My premise is that Mormon power today takes two forms: public and private. Its private power is old, but its public power is new. I argue that, since World War II, Mormonism has achieved an unprecedented degree of power—influence that it can wield on its own behalf and recognition by others—in American society. The foundation of that power is not merely Mormonism's booming membership or political representation, although both are usually mentioned regularly in media coverage, but rather in a new public perception of Mormonism. In contrast, the sources of private Mor- mon power originate in four internal religious characteristics which, taken together, are peculiar to the faith: tradition, community, doctrinal authority, and the devotion of its women. MORMONISMS VOICE IN THE CULTURE WARS The emergence of Mormon public power since 1945, especially in the last fifteen years, has been one of the more remarkable developments in the history of American religion. Mormonism's rise to power occurs at a crucial moment in American social and religious history, a moment characterized by what James Davison Hunter, a professor of sociology and religious studies at the University of Virginia, calls "culture wars," or the contest over who shall define America.2