In 1869, God called Dr. Teed, a US Civil War veteran and doctor who dabbled in alchemy, to be a messiah who would turn people to Christ. Renamed Koresh, Teed began a prophetic mission. His most interesting teaching is that the earth is round—but it’s also hollow, and we’re on the inside. It’s a strange …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2011
Exquisite Manifestation: Displaying A Hybrid Spirituality
According to scholars, Mormons are the leading consumers of religious iconography and “kitsch,” as compared to members of other North American Christian denominations. These physical reflections of religious identity are important to Mormons, who routinely display various images and objects in multiple locations in their homes. With an emphasis on altars, this paper looks at …
Craft, Creation, And Creed: Frivolity, Utility, And Spirituality
Working with and creating textiles has been women’s province for millennia, to the point that the matrilineal side of a family is known as the Holly Welker, Sara Burlingame, Obadiah Schwarzkopf, Rachel Mabey Whipple
Homemaking Radicalism And Homemaking Realities
The LDS Church has made it clear to women that their proper sphere of influence is the home; it is women’s responsibility to care for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and psychological health and well-being of all who live with them. Women’s myriad obligations to family and home fall under the category of Brad Kramer, Tracy …
Preview Of Coming Volumes In The Series Persistence Of Polygamy: Joseph Smith And The Origins Of Mormon Polygamy
This session focuses on forthcoming anthologies in the Persistence of Polygamy series, including eight essays examining Joseph Smith and the beginnings of Mormon polygamy up to 1844. The essays are original, never-before-published contributions by scholars with special expertise on the subject. Among the topics examined are polyandry, underage marriage, the question of Joseph Smith’s polygamous …
To Give Or Not To Give?
Standing at the intersection is a shabby woman holding a cardboard sign begging for help. She stares straight at you in despair. On the street, a scruffy man pushing a loaded shopping cart asks for your spare change. What do you do? Do you give? Do you ignore? Do you reflect, ‘I donated at Christmas …
Community Of Christ’s Journey In The National Council Of Churches
In November 2010, the delegates to the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC), a leading force for ecumenical cooperation and witness among US Christian denominations, accepted the Community of Christ as a member, making it the 37th communion [denomination] in the NCC. This paper will explore the impulses, initiatives, and …
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Can Mormons talk, write, and read candidly and nabashedly about sex? Is there a Mormon literature open to appreciation of sensuality in the daily living of a rich and fulfilling existence? Can the erotic be accommodated in the weave and texture of LDS understanding, culture, and theology, while maintaining a recognizably essential Mormon core? This …
Mormons And Masonry
In the early nineteenth century, many prominent Freemasons sought to “Christianize” Freemasonry. Distinguished European Masonic writers promoted interpretations of Masonic rituals that were almost clusively Christian. Reverend Salem Town of New york also promoted this Christian application in his widely circulated A System of Speculative Masonry (1818), claiming that the initiate’s progression out of darkness …
The Forbidden Fruit Is Meat: An Interpretation Of The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil
The China Study provides convincing scientific evidence that animal protein is detrimental to human health, and others have proven that meat consumption wastes land, water, and energy. Thanks to progress in nutritional research, more people now turn to living foods diets. ancient scriptures, modern revelations, and varied religious traditions suggest that Divinity has consistently urged …