Samuel Morris Brown
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199793570
- eISBN:
- 9780199932511
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793570.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book of cultural history reinterprets earliest Mormonism by viewing it through the lens of founder Joseph Smith Jr.'s complex, intimate, and conflicted relationship with death and dying. When ...
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This book of cultural history reinterprets earliest Mormonism by viewing it through the lens of founder Joseph Smith Jr.'s complex, intimate, and conflicted relationship with death and dying. When approached from this perspective, many of the unusual or striking aspects of earliest Mormonism make sense, allowing outsiders and insiders a refreshing new look at a much-discussed but poorly understood religious tradition. While contextualizing Mormonism within a broad protest against American Protestantism and long-standing folk responses to life's difficult questions, the book also demonstrates the coherence and scope of the early Mormon worldview. The book also provides insight into the ongoing problem of the tragedy of early mortality through the eloquent and complex response to death that early Mormonism provided. Through this detailed and contextualized case study of one remarkable new religious tradition, the book extends the fields of American religious history, lived religion, and Mormon studies.Less
This book of cultural history reinterprets earliest Mormonism by viewing it through the lens of founder Joseph Smith Jr.'s complex, intimate, and conflicted relationship with death and dying. When approached from this perspective, many of the unusual or striking aspects of earliest Mormonism make sense, allowing outsiders and insiders a refreshing new look at a much-discussed but poorly understood religious tradition. While contextualizing Mormonism within a broad protest against American Protestantism and long-standing folk responses to life's difficult questions, the book also demonstrates the coherence and scope of the early Mormon worldview. The book also provides insight into the ongoing problem of the tragedy of early mortality through the eloquent and complex response to death that early Mormonism provided. Through this detailed and contextualized case study of one remarkable new religious tradition, the book extends the fields of American religious history, lived religion, and Mormon studies.
Max Perry Mueller
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469636160
- eISBN:
- 9781469633770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469636160.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter introduces three of the main figures of the book, Joseph Smith Jr., Jane Manning James, and Wakara. It also introduces how these different Mormons conceptualized their relationship with ...
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This chapter introduces three of the main figures of the book, Joseph Smith Jr., Jane Manning James, and Wakara. It also introduces how these different Mormons conceptualized their relationship with God, and their relationship with other members of the Mormon people, especially members of different races. The founder of Mormonism, Smith believed that he was divinely mandated to create a religious movement that would end all divisions within the human family, including racial divisions. The Ute chief, Wakara, and his brother Arapeen believed that they were divinely called to share the lands of Utah with white settlers, but also called to fight against Mormon efforts to destroy the Ute way of life. An early black Mormon pioneer, James believed that she was divinely called to prove her Mormonness, which would help her shed her supposed black accursedness.Less
This chapter introduces three of the main figures of the book, Joseph Smith Jr., Jane Manning James, and Wakara. It also introduces how these different Mormons conceptualized their relationship with God, and their relationship with other members of the Mormon people, especially members of different races. The founder of Mormonism, Smith believed that he was divinely mandated to create a religious movement that would end all divisions within the human family, including racial divisions. The Ute chief, Wakara, and his brother Arapeen believed that they were divinely called to share the lands of Utah with white settlers, but also called to fight against Mormon efforts to destroy the Ute way of life. An early black Mormon pioneer, James believed that she was divinely called to prove her Mormonness, which would help her shed her supposed black accursedness.
D. Michael Quinn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231140201
- eISBN:
- 9780231530781
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231140201.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter sketches the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or Mormons, in America. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS has a worldwide membership of more ...
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This chapter sketches the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or Mormons, in America. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS has a worldwide membership of more than 14 million, with two-thirds of these adherents outside the United States. It likewise received international media attention in 2008 as the proudly avowed faith of a “conservative Republican” candidate for the U.S. presidency. This merging of ecclesiastical growth with political prominence began to characterize North America's homegrown religion within a few years of its formal inception in 1830. That amalgam resulted from the faith's insistence that there is no real distinction between the secular and the religious, “for all things are spiritual” to God. The Mormons are noted for their own exclusionary assertions of authority, truth, and liturgy, as well as claims of continued revelation to a series of “living prophets of God” on earth in modern times. This claim alone separates Mormonism from traditional Christianity. The first of these prophets was Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Mormon Church.Less
This chapter sketches the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or Mormons, in America. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS has a worldwide membership of more than 14 million, with two-thirds of these adherents outside the United States. It likewise received international media attention in 2008 as the proudly avowed faith of a “conservative Republican” candidate for the U.S. presidency. This merging of ecclesiastical growth with political prominence began to characterize North America's homegrown religion within a few years of its formal inception in 1830. That amalgam resulted from the faith's insistence that there is no real distinction between the secular and the religious, “for all things are spiritual” to God. The Mormons are noted for their own exclusionary assertions of authority, truth, and liturgy, as well as claims of continued revelation to a series of “living prophets of God” on earth in modern times. This claim alone separates Mormonism from traditional Christianity. The first of these prophets was Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Mormon Church.
David J. Howlett
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038488
- eISBN:
- 9780252096372
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038488.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. Though the site is sacred to all Mormons, the ...
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The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. Though the site is sacred to all Mormons, the temple's religious significance and the space itself are contested by rival Mormon denominations: its owner, the relatively liberal Community of Christ, and the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This biography of Kirtland Temple is set against the backdrop of religious rivalry. The two sides have long contested the temple's ownership, purpose, and significance in both the courts and Mormon literature. Yet members of each denomination have occasionally cooperated to establish periods of co-worship, host joint tours, and create friendships. The book uses the temple to build a model for understanding what he calls parallel pilgrimage—the set of dynamics of disagreement and alliance by religious rivals at a shared sacred site. At the same time, it illuminates social and intellectual changes in the two main branches of Mormonism since the 1830s, providing a much-needed history of the lesser-known Community of Christ.Less
The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. Though the site is sacred to all Mormons, the temple's religious significance and the space itself are contested by rival Mormon denominations: its owner, the relatively liberal Community of Christ, and the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This biography of Kirtland Temple is set against the backdrop of religious rivalry. The two sides have long contested the temple's ownership, purpose, and significance in both the courts and Mormon literature. Yet members of each denomination have occasionally cooperated to establish periods of co-worship, host joint tours, and create friendships. The book uses the temple to build a model for understanding what he calls parallel pilgrimage—the set of dynamics of disagreement and alliance by religious rivals at a shared sacred site. At the same time, it illuminates social and intellectual changes in the two main branches of Mormonism since the 1830s, providing a much-needed history of the lesser-known Community of Christ.
Paul Gutjahr
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190221928
- eISBN:
- 9780190221959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190221928.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature, Church History
First published in 1830, over the next half-century The Book of Mormon appeared in some dozen new editions. Perhaps the most important edition of the nineteenth century appeared in 1879 and was ...
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First published in 1830, over the next half-century The Book of Mormon appeared in some dozen new editions. Perhaps the most important edition of the nineteenth century appeared in 1879 and was edited by Orson Pratt. When this edition appeared, Pratt had served as a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a mission president in Britain, and was a member of Brigham Young’s “Vanguard Company” that crossed the Western plains to select a site for Mormon colonization. More important, he was one of early Mormonism’s premier educators and theologians. His edition bore all the marks of a lifetime of study, presenting the book in a highly systematized format and including footnotes that incorporated theological glosses on Mormon history, archaeology, and geology. This essay explores the origin of many of the textual changes found in the 1879 edition and the enduring influence of these changes.Less
First published in 1830, over the next half-century The Book of Mormon appeared in some dozen new editions. Perhaps the most important edition of the nineteenth century appeared in 1879 and was edited by Orson Pratt. When this edition appeared, Pratt had served as a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a mission president in Britain, and was a member of Brigham Young’s “Vanguard Company” that crossed the Western plains to select a site for Mormon colonization. More important, he was one of early Mormonism’s premier educators and theologians. His edition bore all the marks of a lifetime of study, presenting the book in a highly systematized format and including footnotes that incorporated theological glosses on Mormon history, archaeology, and geology. This essay explores the origin of many of the textual changes found in the 1879 edition and the enduring influence of these changes.
John D. Young
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- June 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348138
- eISBN:
- 9780199376735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348138.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter explores the potential in Mormon scripture and theology for a reformulation of the confessional narrative of the Great Apostasy: one that both remains true to the fundamental tenet of ...
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This chapter explores the potential in Mormon scripture and theology for a reformulation of the confessional narrative of the Great Apostasy: one that both remains true to the fundamental tenet of apostasy and appreciates the nuanced complexity of the historical record. Noting that LDS theology is heavily, and often unwittingly, reliant on theological formulations and institutions that emerged before Joseph Smith, it contends that Mormons should take a much longer view of providential history than their standard narrative permits. It models this new approach by looking at the historical development of the doctrine of Christ’s Atonement, showing that Mormons believe in doctrines that predate Joseph Smith by several centuries. From a providential viewpoint, examples like this may demonstrate for Mormons the persistence of God’s inspiration through centuries once considered dark and apostate.Less
This chapter explores the potential in Mormon scripture and theology for a reformulation of the confessional narrative of the Great Apostasy: one that both remains true to the fundamental tenet of apostasy and appreciates the nuanced complexity of the historical record. Noting that LDS theology is heavily, and often unwittingly, reliant on theological formulations and institutions that emerged before Joseph Smith, it contends that Mormons should take a much longer view of providential history than their standard narrative permits. It models this new approach by looking at the historical development of the doctrine of Christ’s Atonement, showing that Mormons believe in doctrines that predate Joseph Smith by several centuries. From a providential viewpoint, examples like this may demonstrate for Mormons the persistence of God’s inspiration through centuries once considered dark and apostate.
Christopher C. Jones and Stephen J. Fleming
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- June 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348138
- eISBN:
- 9780199376735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348138.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter examines the multifaceted discourse about the apostasy of Christianity in early Mormon sermons and conversion narratives. It categorizes two prevailing attitudes in this discourse—an ...
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This chapter examines the multifaceted discourse about the apostasy of Christianity in early Mormon sermons and conversion narratives. It categorizes two prevailing attitudes in this discourse—an exclusive perspective that rejected other religious traditions as inadequate and an inclusive perspective that perceived other religious traditions as inspired yet insufficient. Latter-day Saints’ perceptions about apostasy were conditioned by their previous religious background, by the cultural context in which they wrote, and by ongoing developments within Mormonism.Less
This chapter examines the multifaceted discourse about the apostasy of Christianity in early Mormon sermons and conversion narratives. It categorizes two prevailing attitudes in this discourse—an exclusive perspective that rejected other religious traditions as inadequate and an inclusive perspective that perceived other religious traditions as inspired yet insufficient. Latter-day Saints’ perceptions about apostasy were conditioned by their previous religious background, by the cultural context in which they wrote, and by ongoing developments within Mormonism.
Terryl Givens
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- June 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348138
- eISBN:
- 9780199376735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348138.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The epilogue questions whether an LDS restoration demands a precipitous juncture with the past, since Joseph Smith advocated embracing, not standing apart from, the past as a means of reforming and ...
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The epilogue questions whether an LDS restoration demands a precipitous juncture with the past, since Joseph Smith advocated embracing, not standing apart from, the past as a means of reforming and expanding possibilities for human and divine interaction. It traces Joseph Smith’s evolving understanding of Revelation 12 and the image of the church coming out of the wilderness as he came to understand himself as the inaugurator of a new dispensation of Christianity that gathered and extended the truths of the past. Joseph Smith set a precedent for contemporary Mormonism to imagine fundamental continuity with the past, instead of radical discontinuity.Less
The epilogue questions whether an LDS restoration demands a precipitous juncture with the past, since Joseph Smith advocated embracing, not standing apart from, the past as a means of reforming and expanding possibilities for human and divine interaction. It traces Joseph Smith’s evolving understanding of Revelation 12 and the image of the church coming out of the wilderness as he came to understand himself as the inaugurator of a new dispensation of Christianity that gathered and extended the truths of the past. Joseph Smith set a precedent for contemporary Mormonism to imagine fundamental continuity with the past, instead of radical discontinuity.
