This paper was written as a draft of the author’s contribution to a recent publication. See Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster eds., The Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy, (Independence, John Whitmer Books Press 2010), 152-183.
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FAIR Podcast, Episode 6: John Durham Peters p.2
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Just in time for Thanksgiving, here’s part two of my interview with John Durham Peters, the A. Craig Baird Professor in communication studies at the University of Iowa. Peters joined me through Skype from his home in Iowa for this two-part episode on Mormonism and Communication (see part 1 here). A bibliography of Peters’s works directly relating to Mormonism is available at lifeongoldplates.com. Articles and mp3s are available for free download.
We cover a lot of ground in part two, beginning with a discussion about John’s book Courting the Abyss: Free Speech and the Liberal Tradition. Peters talks about Paul’s milk and meat distinction and the liberal tradition of truth grappling with error. Other topics range from the idea of civility in political discourse to the “guts” of the atonement. Peters also explains why he situates mercy at the very heart of his theory of communication. All this and more, in the final part of my interview with John Durham Peters. Email questions, comments, and suggestions to “podcast (at) fairlds.org.”
Runtime:
41:56
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FAIR Podcast, Episode 5: John Durham Peters p.1
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John Durham Peters is one of America’s leading thinkers in the subject of communications. He has been called “a master wordsmith and a wonderful brain” and his work has been described as “witty, irreverent and intellectually daring.” Peters is currently the A. Craig Baird Professor in communication studies at the University of Iowa. He is the author of two books: Speaking Into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication and Courting the Abyss: Free Speech and the Liberal Tradition. For a growing bibliography of Peters’s works directly relating to Mormonism, see here.
Peters joined me through Skype from his home in Iowa for this two-part episode on Mormonism and Communication. Media technology can be understood as issuing a call to action in the world, and Peters discusses the some of the ethical questions media can raise. We talk about the role media has played thus far in the restoration of the Church, through print, radio, and television. Peters also brings a unique perspective to the possibilities and problems of witnesses.
*By way of correction, in part one of this interview I mentioned Wilford Woodruff’s testimony as having been recorded in 1898. The correct date is March 19th 1897.
Runtime:
53:36
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“Well nigh as dangerous:” Revelation and infallibility
In my opinion, one of critics’ most harped-on “weaknesses” of the Church is actually its greatest strength: the lack of absolute certainty and infallibility, and the possibility that Church leaders could potentially lead astray. How could that be a good thing? Because of our purpose for being here, and the great blessing of learning through experience to seek, receive, discern, process, and apply personal revelation. That this is not a guaranteed error-free process for anyone, regardless of past success, is what makes this crucial, and what ultimately preserves and protects the Church from being led astray.
There are numerous statements from Church leaders, unknown to many, that expound on this seeming paradox. Comments on my recent paper for FAIR are welcome!
/Misc/Latter-day_Prophecy_and_Revelation.html
FAIR Podcast, Episode 4: Richard L. Bushman p.2
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In part two, Richard Bushman discusses challenges facing Mormon graduate students, his latest book “Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction,” and other subjects including temples, the LDS sacraments, Mormon cosmology, and Zion. Bushman is an award-winning American historian, currently serving as the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is also a general editor of the ongoing Joseph Smith Papers project.
Runtime:
47:51
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Article Notes: Seixas, James, and the Rock
With my study of plural marriage demographics completed, I have returned to studying early Christian church leadership. I like to type in search terms in library subscription databases and skim the articles that pop up. I figure some might be interested in my research notes. I welcome any discussion about issues that are raised. [Read more…] about Article Notes: Seixas, James, and the Rock
“Go west young man” and sex ratios
An enduring folk apologetic for 19th century plural marriage has been to assert that it was justified because a shortage of men. Looking at raw Census data, John Widtsoe [1] debunked that notion, but did not end its popular appeal. Widtsoe’s conclusions have been embraced by critics [2] who wish to create cognitive dissonance for members who may have put too much weight on that folk rationale for plural marriage. On the other end of the spectrum, Brian C. Hales [3], a speaker at this year’s FAIR conference, also dismissed the folk apologetic and concentrated on rebutting critics’ plural marriage rationale (primarily as lust fulfillment) and supporting theological rationales (primarily as part of the restoration and preparation for conditions in the next life).
FAIR Podcast, Episode 3: Richard L. Bushman p.1
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Richard Lyman Bushman is an award-winning American historian, currently serving as the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is also a general editor of the ongoing Joseph Smith Papers project. Bushman sat down with host Blair Hodges for an extended two-part interview. Part one discusses Bushman’s biography of Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling. We discuss polygamy, seer stones, gold plates, and other Joseph Smith-related questions.
Runtime:
61:15
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Questions about this episode and ideas for future episodes can be added to the comments section here, or emailed to “[email protected].”
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FAIR Podcast now available on iTunes!
The FAIR Podcast is now available for free download at iTunes. Check out the first two episodes, featuring Gregory L. Smith and Terryl L. Givens, respectively. Later this week part one of a special two-part episode featuring historian Richard L. Bushman will be published. As you can see, one important criterion for our podcast interviewees has been the middle initial of “L.”
Questions about these episodes and ideas for participants in future episodes can be emailed to [email protected].
FAIR relies on contributions from readers and listeners. To help support FAIR, make a donation today.
Misquoting Brigham
An anonymous blog that provides out-of-context and embarrassing quotes from Brigham Young has manufactured a quote it attributes to the second president of the Church. On the “About” page, the blog owner says about himself:
I am a Prophet of God in this dispensation. I carry on the work that began with Joseph Smith. I led the Saints to the barren Salt Lake Valley and it is where we built Zion, even though Joseph Smith taught the Savior would return in Jackson County Missouri. Monogamous marriage is not the order of heaven, for it is only through polygamy that a man may achieve exaltation. The government should stay out of the lives of the Saints and let us worship and practice our religion according to the dictates of our own conscience. If there ever comes a day when the Saints interfere with the rights of others to live as they see fit, you can know with assurance that the Church is no longer led by a Prophet, but a mere man. The doctrines of this Church are eternal, for they were ordained before the world was and any man who changes these doctrines such as the temple ceremony, or the man who abandons polygamy, or allows blacks the Priesthood of God, is a fallen prophet.
I am Brother Brigham. And I am the voice of God.
The blog does not provide a citation for the quote. This is nothing more than a clumsy mashup of virtually every controversial subject on which Brigham ever spoke: Zion, polygamy, church and state, authoritarianism, the temple, and blacks and priesthood. And there’s an oblique reference to Proposition 8, too.
Normally this kind of juvenile prank would be ignored, but the quote was posted to a high-traffic discussion site for ex-Mormons, and now is being blogged and shared through Facebook.
FAIR volunteers have searched electronic databases of all of Brigham Young’s recorded sermons — the Journal of Discourses, the Deseret News, the 6-volume Brigham Young Addresses, and early Church newspapers — and have not found anything like this coming from Brigham’s mouth.
This quote is a hoax. Please pass the word.
For more, see the FAIR wiki:
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Update: The original blog owner has admitted that the quote is a fake, but that it is “merely words that sum up [Brigham’s] doctrine and [Brigham’s] teachings.”
Russell Henderson
