The current dominant narrative among Mormon historians is that the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) didn’t begin to function as a commandment or Mormon identity marker until the early twentieth century. Thomas Alexander argues that although there were “sporadic” attempts … Continue reading
I’ve posted before on Worlds Without End about some examples of “stylistic drift” that occurred during Book of Mormon dictation. As I then explained, Joseph Smith didn’t restart his dictation from the beginning of the Book of Mormon after Martin … Continue reading
INTRODUCTION A couple summers ago, I romped through the Utah archives for six weeks as part of a research seminar on the cultural history of the Book of Mormon plates at BYU. This six-week archival adventure ended up being one … Continue reading
One of the tragedies of historical study is that there are many items in private collections that we historians simply do not have access to. A few years ago, the Spink Shreve Galleries sold off a large collection of important … Continue reading
A few years ago I corresponded with some Mormons who complained that Catholic-style crucifixes are “gruesome” and “creepy.” (For those who don’t know, a crucifix is a depiction of Christ hanging on the cross.) I suspect that this complaint stems from a … Continue reading
Given the latest flare-up of the Israel-Palestine conflict, I thought it might be interesting to post LDS Apostle David O. McKay’s account of his visit to Jerusalem on November 2, 1921, the fourth anniversary of Britain’s “Balfour Declaration” proposing to … Continue reading
In a pioneering paper published two decades ago, Brent Lee Metcalfe demonstrated that after Martin Harris lost the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith didn’t immediately start over from the beginning of the book. Rather, he … Continue reading
President Obama’s terrible showing at the presidential debate last night understandably has some liberals feeling nervous. Many, including the Obama campaign, have risen to the occasion and critiqued Mitt Romney’s debate performance at the level of substance. Others, unfortunately, have … Continue reading
A great cloud of journalists and scholars have characterized Mormonism as an American religion. Leo Tolstoy reportedly called it the American religion.[1] Born and based in the United States, the LDS Church teaches that the Garden of Eden is in … Continue reading
In September 1823, Joseph Smith pried open a stone box in the side of a New York hill and beheld, for the first time, the luminous gold plates of the Book of Mormon. On July 3, 1850, James J. Strang … Continue reading