An antique cannon nicknamed the “Old Sow” resides in the LDS Church History Museum. There’s a story behind the nickname. However, it should be noted that this isn’t the first “Old Sow” cannon in American history. Nor is the legend … Continue reading
One of the lesser-known aspects of Joseph Smith’s family history is that his uncle, Jason Mack, anticipated many of the themes that would become important to the Mormon movement. According to Lucy Mack Smith, Jason was “a studious and manly … Continue reading
We at Worlds Without End are pleased to host a guest post by one of our regular commenters, Allen Hansen. This post is adapted from his presentation at the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities conference on March 16th, 2013. Shortly … Continue reading
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
Speaking of her Mormon community, the historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has said, “We revere our sisters but don’t understand them.”[1] She has also astutely noted, “The past is a foreign country.”[2] In both statements, she has summed up well how … Continue reading
While my next post (I promise!) will explore the story of Abraham, Pharaoh, and Egyptus in the Book of Abraham as it relates to perpetuation of Priesthood, I will first be exploring an intermediate group found narratively in between the … Continue reading
RealClearPolicy editor Joseph Lawler had the following to say about this past weekend’s holiday: Each year, the days leading up to March 17th remind us of another alarming reality that wasn’t obvious before social media: apparently at least half of Americans … Continue reading
An unusual aspect of early Relief Society history is that the precise date on which Eliza R. Snow became its second General President is ambiguous. Some accounts have her presiding from 1866 until her death in 1887.[1] Others give a … Continue reading
See the introduction to this series here: Adjusting the Narrative: Introduction and Proposal. I highly suggest reading the introduction before proceeding. As part of Joseph Smith’s prophetic literary output, he greatly expanded on the biblical figure of Cain in texts … Continue reading
A New Day For many, the recent addition of an explanatory header to Official Declaration 2 in the 2013 LDS edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was a breath of fresh air (see posts and comments here, here, here and … Continue reading