Mormon
Boomerang Back to Religion
I transcribed a bit more of the Jana Riess interview from Mormon Stories. Â There have been many posts (such as this one by Mike S) lamenting the fact that the activity rates seem to be slowing for the LDS Church. Â I thought it was interesting that John Dehlin acknowledged that atheists are having a hard […]
Jana Riess: Truth Doesn't have to be Empirical
Jana Riess has recently published a book called Flunking Sainthood in which she decides to spend 1 month participating in various spiritual rituals. For example, she spent one month fasting from sun up to sun down as a pious Muslim would do during Ramadan (though she picked the month of February because it had the […]
The First Black Mormon Leader: Pete
Since today is MLK day, I thought it might be nice to talk about the first Black Mormon leader. In his book on The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations, Mark Staker spends a surprising amount of time discussing the first Black Mormon Convert–a former slave known as Black Pete, and notes that he […]
Mixing Religion and Government
After welcoming everyone with a “Happy New Year”, the Salt Lake Tribune posted a headline “LDS view on role of governing is distinct.” What caught my attention was the subheadline: “Church doctrine says it is unjust to mix religion and civil government.” As I mentioned in a previous post, even Richard Bushman has called Brigham […]
Was Jesus Born in December?
In his 1915 classic entitled Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage maintained that Jesus Christ was born on April 6 in the year 1 BC.1 Talmage was apparently the first LDS writer to propose this particular date. Nearly a century has passed since his book appeared, and in that time it has become practically […]
Eating Crow over Jimmer and Tim Tebow
Back in April, Rick Reilly of ESPN.com discussed Jimmer Fredette. Â Reilly said “If his last college game is what he’s bringing to the NBA, then I’d say, in five years, he’s got a really good chance to be your Provo area Isuzu dealer.” Â In another article, he said, “I’ll donate $5,000 if he starts a […]
Nauvoo City Council Minutes
Not sure what to get for someone who knows everything about Mormon history? Â Here’s a last minute gift-idea: The Nauvoo City Council and High Council Minutes. Â The book is due to be released on Dec 19 and is edited by John Dinger. Â This is the first time that the City Council Minutes have ever been […]
Looking at the Spaulding Manuscript
Soon after the publication of the Book of Mormon, critics believed that Joseph must have plagiarized it from another source. One of the most prominent theories since the 1830’s is the Spaulding (or Spalding) Theory. Briefly, the theory states that Joseph Smith plagiarized (or at least used as a source) an unpublished book written by […]
Daniel Peterson Talks Candidly About Correlation
Dan Wotherspoon put together a 4 hour interview with BYU Professor Daniel Peterson on a variety of topics. It is available on the Mormon Stories Website or at iTunes. I really enjoyed the interview, and decided to create a transcript for part 3 where Peterson talked about his (futile) experience trying to improve the church […]
Dimensions of Faith: Conflating Cain with Bigfoot
Dimensions of Faith:A Mormon Studies reader is a collection of essays on varying topics in Mormon studies. Â I previously discussed Wilford Woodruff’s vision of the Founding Fathers. Â One of the most entertaining essays was titled “A Mormon Bigfoot” by Matthew Bowman. Â In the essay, Bowman discusses how Cain seems to have morphed into Bigfoot.
Mormon Heretic 