UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Performing Revelation: Joseph Smith and the Creation of The Book of Mormon Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/86h814zv Author Davis, William Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Performing Revelation: Joseph Smith and the Creation of The Book of Mormon A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Theater and Performance Studies by William Davis 2016 © Copyright by William Davis 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Performing Revelation: Joseph Smith’s Oral Performance of The Book of Mormon by William Davis Doctor of Philosophy in Theater and Performance Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Michael Colacurcio, Co-Chair Professor Michael Hackett, Co-Chair In 1830, Joseph Smith Jr. published The Book of Mormon and subsequently founded a new American religion. According to Smith, The Book of Mormon represented the English translation of an authentic record, written in “Reformed Egyptian,” concerning ancient Israelites who migrated to the Americas in approximately 600 B.C.E. Smith’s purported translation of this sacred history, however, did not occur by traditional means. Rather than directly consulting the record and providing an English rendition, Smith employed a method of divination by placing a “seer stone” into the bottom of his hat, holding the hat to his face to shut out all light, and then he proceeded to dictate the entire text of The Book of Mormon in an extended oral performance, without the aid of notes or manuscripts. By his side, Smith’s scribes wrote down the entire text verbatim in the moment Smith uttered them. As a result, at over 500 printed pages, The Book of Mormon stands as one of the longest recorded oral performances in the history of the United States. ii This dissertation aims to uncover some of the primary techniques of oral performance that Smith used in the construction of his work. Oratorical skill constituted a critical mode of public and private discourse in the culture of the early American nation; and, as I will argue, the text of The Book of Mormon reveals key characteristics of Smith’s techniques in oral performance that, in turn, reflect the oratorical training of the age. Drawing on Smith’s exposure to a kaleidoscope of cultural institutions that inculcated oratorical skills—focusing specifically on formal and informal education, Sunday school training and revivalism, folk magic practices, semi-extemporaneous Methodist preaching and exhorting, and the fireside storytelling culture of early America—this dissertation will demonstrate how these related cultural streams of oral performance converged in Smith’s production of The Book of Mormon, providing him with the necessary skills and techniques to produce and recite his massive Christian epic through the medium of the spoken word. iii The dissertation of William Davis is approved. Patricia Harter Sean Metzger Michael Colacurcio, Committee Co-Chair Michael Hackett, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2016 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... vi-vii Curriculum Vitae...................................................................................................................... viii-ix Introduction: Performing Revelation .............................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Joseph Smith’s Changing America .......................................................................... 27 Chapter Two: Religion, Folk Magic and Christian Occultism ...................................................... 46 Chapter Three: Education and the Trope of Uneducated Oracle ................................................. 60 Chapter Four: Formal Education: From Schoolbooks to Oral Performance................................ 74 Chapter Five: Informal Education: From Home School to Debate Societies ............................. 105 Chapter Six: Memory, Imitation and Composition ..................................................................... 136 Chapter Seven: Advanced Rhetorics: John Walker and Hugh Blair .......................................... 177 Chapter Eight: Inspired by the Holy Spirit: Religion and Semi-Extemporaneous Oral Performance ................................................... 205 Chapter Nine: Synthesis: Storytelling Culture and Oral-Formulaic Composition ...................................................................................... 224 Epilogue ...................................................................................................................................... 250 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 259 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the course of preparing and writing this dissertation, I have benefited from the support of several mentors, as well as a number of colleagues and friends. I am grateful to the professors of my committee, each of whom provided invaluable advice: Michael Colacurcio, Michael Hackett, Patricia Harter and Sean Metzger. Professor Shelley Salamensky, one of my original co-chairs prior to her departure from UCLA, also deserves special recognition and thanks. My co-chairs, Professor Michael Colacurcio and Professor Michael Hackett, have provided exemplary guidance and careful attention to my work. Professor Colacurcio’s seasoned insights and penetrating questions elevated my scholarship and prompted me to search for ever- deeper and more meaningful interpretations. I am indebted to his generosity and exactly standards (and delirious puns). Professor Hackett’s warm encouragement, not only with the dissertation but throughout my time at UCLA, offered a much needed anchor for my efforts. Though not officially part of my committee, Professor David Rodes played a crucial role in this dissertation, both as a mentor and a very dear friend. I am humbled by the countless hours he spent reading my drafts and offering invaluable suggestions on how, with elegance and grace, to improve my rough prose. Furthermore, this work would never have come to fruition without the kind encouragements of my dearest friends, the late Dr. James R. Sullivan and the Reverend James Krauser. I also want to thank Richard Schechner, who sponsored me as a visiting scholar to NYU’s Performance Studies program in 2010. He was the first to suggest that I look at Joseph Smith’s dictation of the Book of Mormon as a performance studies project. This study is indebted to his theories, insights and methods. My research has also benefited from numerous conversations with several UCLA faculty members, especially Lowell Gallagher, Joseph Nagy, Felicity Nussbaum, Christopher Looby, Eric Jager, Andy Kelley, Myrl Schreibman and Hanay Geiogamah. To my classmates, Anndretta Lyle Wilson, Gwyneth Shanks and Sheila Malone, I vi owe my gratitude for their years of friendship and encouragement in the trenches. In student services, Barrett Korerat deserves special attention for his diligence in helping me to sustain my progress through the program. My research into the cultural performances of religious experiences began long before my arrival at UCLA, and it would be impossible to name everyone who has contributed to my efforts. My appreciation extends to everyone who played a role in helping me to formulate my research and pursue my goals. Nevertheless, I do need to recognize a number of people who provided critical advice and inspiration over the years: Paul Walsh, Keith Peterson, John L. Bryant, Mary McCafferty, Steven Urkowitz, Bob Owens, William Hanley, V. A. Kolve and Larry Luchtel, Jim and Sue Hurford, David Ligare and Gary Smith, Noel L. Silverman, Tanya Melich, Audrey Andrews, Jeannette Gilkison, Michael Austin, Richard Rodriguez, D. Michael Quinn, Brent Metcalfe, Connell O’Donovan, Rick Grunder, H. Michael Marquardt, Christopher C. Smith, Dorothy Taylor, Tracy Taylor, Taylor Hines, Marcia Howard, Andy and Bronya Galef, Sam Watters, the late Andrea Rich, Judith Johnson, and the staff members of the UCLA library, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, and the New York Public Library. Finally, I want to offer special thanks and deep gratitude to my family. Their support has been immeasurable, and I feel fortunate to be surrounded by such loving people. Most of all, I am grateful to, and thankful for, my mother and late father, Gayle and William Davis. Their lifelong expressions of patience, kindness and encouragement have sustained me through my darkest hours and brightest days. Words can never convey the love, honor and gratitude I feel for their gift of unconditional love. vii CURRICULUM VITAE Education • Ph.D. Candidate, Theater and Performance Studies, UCLA (2016). • Visiting Scholar, Department of Performance Studies, New York University (2010). Sponsor: Richard Schechner. • M.S. Digital Filmmaking and Design, New York University (2008). • M.F.A. Classical Acting, the Shakespeare Theatre/George Washington University (2001). • B.A. Film Studies, the University of Utah (1999). Research and Publications Peer-Reviewed Articles • “Reassessing Joseph Smith Jr.’s Formal Education,” (forthcoming: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought) • “The Anatomy of a Whale: Transatlantic