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
A few years ago, I stumbled across one of Joanna Brooks’ many Ask Mormon Girl blog posts.[1] The inquirer was desperately trying to cope with his feelings of loneliness as a literature student attending “wards filled with aspiring physicians, lawyers, … Continue reading
The title of this essay may seem a bit shocking; like an issue that shouldn’t require much thought. Of course Mormons should not be leery of Mormon studies! To the contrary, Mormons should embrace the fact that their religion is … Continue reading
*Author’s Note: An earlier version of this address was presented at the annual Mormon Scholars in the Humanities conference, March 15, 2013 at Brigham Young University. The Latter-day Saint temple endowment is a taboo topic for reasons obvious to probably … Continue reading
I’d like to offer congratulations to J. Spencer Fluhman on his appointment as editor of the Mormon Studies Review, and to the rest of the editorial advisory board that has been selected to oversee the journal. How excited I am … 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
One of the Book of Mormon’s most distinctive features is its presentation of the “pride cycle” as a type of meta-narrative that describes how societies rise to prosperity through humility and righteousness, become convinced that this prosperity is the result … Continue reading
In a book published in 2003 by Brigham Young University’s Religious Studies Center, LDS author Mark Elbert Eastmond presented a fascinating exploration on the doctrinal reasons for Christ’s atoning sacrifice. I’m really quite fond of Eastmond’s article. Since its original … 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
In seeking to make sense of Mormon-evangelical conflicts within nineteenth-century America, it has been easy to overlook their similarities. For Mormons today, Joseph Smith’s First Vision is proof of the prophetic mantle of Joseph Smith and evidence of God’s revealed … Continue reading