Early Mormon History
Did Joseph Start a Religion, or Simply a Denomination?
The book for my book club is by Sarah Baringer Gordon, The Mormon Question. It’s been a really hard book to find at the library (nearly impossible), so I got a late start on it. It takes a very different approach to the polygamy question. Ms Gordon has a law degree, and so she talks […]
Dec 23: Joseph’s Birthday, Emma’s Anniversary
Today is Joseph’s 204th birthday. (He was born in 1805 for those of you curious about the math.) Since Dec 22 is the first day of winter, and the day with the shortest amount of sunlight, I’ve heard people say that Joseph’s birth was symbolic. Joseph was bringing light into the world after a period […]
Dancing in the Temple, and Other Changes Over the Years
I’ve been reading some of the interesting changes in temple ceremonies (specifically the Endowment ceremony) in the book, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, by David John Buerger. (I talked about this in my previous post as well.) The temple is a place where we are constantly reminded that if we […]
The Mysteries of Godliness
My book club just read this book, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, by David John Buerger. I have to say that while the book is interesting, I had some real discomfort while reading the book. As an active Mormon, we have promised not to talk about the sacred ceremonies outside […]
Economics of Polygamy, Divorce, and Happiness (Daynes part 4)
Ok, I’ve talked about this book quite a bit–I’ll probably take a break for a while after this post. (If you’re tired of the topic, perhaps you’d like to see what I wrote over at Mormon Matters: Utah Happiest State in Nation.) One of the stereotypes of polygamy has been that Mormon men were just […]
Surrogate Parenthood/Types of Polygamist Marriages (Daynes Part 3)
Kathryn Daynes tells a really interesting story about an infertile couple in her book More Wives than One. The Church Handbook of Instruction was leaked onto the internet a few years ago, and the church sued to stop it’s publication. The only reference I could find indicates that the Church strongly discourages members from participating […]
Daynes History of Marriage (Part 2)
I have really been enjoying the book More Wives than One by Kathryn Daynes, an associate professor of history at BYU. In my previous post on the book, I mentioned that marriage wasn’t as regulated as it is today. There were no marriage licenses, blood tests, or even ceremonies required. If a couple said they […]
Intro to “More Wives Than One” by Kathryn Daynes
My book club is reading More Wives than One, by Kathryn Daynes. I am loving this book! You may remember my earlier post outlining my perspective on Polygamy, as well as Bushman’s perspective. I must say that I was very uncomfortable with many of these aspects (and I still am.) Daynes outlines the much more […]
“Healthy Bucksom Lassies”: “ Spalding’s “Manuscript Found” Part 2
This is part 2 of my in-depth look into Solomon Spalding’s only known novel, “Manuscript Found.” I’ve previously discussed the Spalding Theory of Book of Mormon origins, and given an introduction to Spalding’s only known manuscript discovered by LL Rice in Hawaii. The original manuscript is located at Oberlin College in Ohio. One of the […]
Introduction to Spalding’s “Manuscript Found” Part 1
I was surprised at the recent burst of activity on my post back in April titled, Debunking the Spaulding Manuscript Theory. One of my commenters (Roger) seem to believe the Spaulding Theory still has merit. I even had Craig Criddle stop by. He is a leading proponent of the theory and published a peer-reviewed article […]
Mormon Heretic 