Early Mormon History
The Trials and Deaths of John D. Lee and Brigham Young
I wanted to continue Ken Burns’ discussion of the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows as part of his series, The West (available on Netflix.) In Part 6, he discussed the trial of John D. Lee. At the beginning of part 6, he begins with this introduction. By 1874, Washington had launched still another assault on […]
Ken Burns on the Context of the MMM
I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ 1996 documentary series on The West. Â It’s a 9 part series, so it takes a bit of effort to get through. Â Of course Burns spends some time discussing the Mormons, and I found his treatment of Mormons within the context of the western United States very interesting. In Part 4: […]
Mapping Elections and Mormonism
“Maps are powerful tools”, said John Hamer at the 2011 John Whitmer Historical Association meetings. His remarks have be published in the latest issue of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal (Fall/Winter 2012). He goes on to say Beyond their capacity to dazzle, maps allow historians to organize information in a completely different way than […]
Facebook Proclamations
I am amazed at how much time people spend on Facebook. Â I post rarely, though it is nice to stay in touch with people growing up, even if I don’t comment. Â A few years ago, I noticed on Facebook an announcement from one of my Facebook “friends.” Â He posted his resignation letter from the LDS […]
The Sacred/Secret Temple
I had the pleasure of attending the closed-circuit dedication of the Brigham City Temple this afternoon. Â My family was able to walk through the temple a few weeks ago. Â While the architecture seems somewhat reminiscent of the Salt Lake Temple, it is one of the newer, much smaller temples that the church now builds. Â Boyd […]
Questions for Mormons
Most of the people who come to my blog are Mormons, but there are some that aren’t. Â I have been surprised that my 3-year old post on the Trial of Joseph’s Assassins has suddenly developed a spirited discussion. Â I want to keep that post on topic, so I have decided to move some of the […]
The Purpose of Fasting
Our ward doesn’t start until 11. In our family, we’ve encouraged our children to fast once they are baptized. My oldest son is ten, and my daughter is eight. One morning, after the deacons came to our house to collect fast offerings, I caught my son crouching in the kitchen trying to hide a yogurt […]
Apostle: Special Witness of Christ
I have just finished The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by Michael Quinn. Many of us know that a Mormon Apostle is a special witness of Christ. Does that involve a personal vision or visitation of Christ? In the earliest days of the church, it did. Quinn says on page 1,
BYU Education Week Recap 2012
Well, I’m conferenced out now. I attended BYU Education Week for the first time (though my wife has been going for years), and wanted to give a few impressions following my Sunstone and FAIR Conference posts. I was frankly astonished at how enormous BYU Education Week is. It dwarfs these other two conferences in size. […]
Rehabbing Elder McConkie
I took a break from the Kimball biography to discuss the recent Sunstone and FAIR conferences, but now it is time to get back to Lengthen Your Stride by Edward Kimball, and I wanted to discuss Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s role in the events leading up to the 1978 revelation. Elder McConkie has been much maligned […]
Mormon Heretic 