PRELUDE TO CLAREMONT: ‘FAITHFUL SCHOLARSHIP’ AND THE MAINSTREAMING OF MORMON STUDIES As Mormon studies emerges at Claremont, it will be shaped by negotiation among various interests. The most important set of LDS interests is represented by ‘faithful scholarship,’ which has come to set the standard of acceptable scholarship about Mormonism for many Latter-day Saints poised …
Event: Southwest Symposium 2006
THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR NOTHING: JACOB TAUBES, JOSEPH SMITH, AND MORMON POLITICAL THEOLOGY
THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR NOTHING: JACOB TAUBES, JOSEPH SMITH, AND MORMON POLITICAL THEOLOGY Does Mormon political theology endorse positive political action in the world or theological withdrawal from worldly political authority as a political attitude? While many political theologies are often either positive or negative toward involvement, LDS doctrine seems to have characteristics of …
JOURNEYS OF FAITH
JOURNEYS OF FAITH Petersen- It was during my college experience at BYU in the 1980s that I developed my love for studying religion as well as my respect for Mormonism’s theological depth. Now I teach religious studies’ students at Utah Valley State College, and I find that many of these students who share the passion …
MORMON CINEMA AT FIVE: A HEALTH REPORT
MORMON CINEMA AT FIVE: A HEALTH REPORT Although Mormons have been a topic for films as early as 1905, and LDS filmmakers have been telling quintessential Mormon stories since the 1930s, Richard Dutcher’s films God’s Army (2000) and Brigham City (2001) mark what some consider to be the birth of ‘Mormon Cinema’, feature-length fiction films …
MORMON WOMEN AND THE LDS “BLOGGERNACLE”
Come and meet with some of the contributors to the Mormon feminist Bloggernacle as they share poetry, stories, and essays from the recently established Exponent II blog EXPONENTBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM. These women tell why they’ve chosen to speak out on the Internet about Mormon women’s issues such as priesthood, singles, plastic surgery, sex, motherhood, social justice, pop …
SCREENING OF NEW YORK DOLL AND DISCUSSION WITH DIRECTOR GREG WHITELY
New York Doll is a film that captures one of those rare occasions where life is not only stranger but also better than fiction. As the founding member of the visionary rock group The New York Dolls, Arthur “Killer” Kane belonged to a select group of musicians widely credited as the definitive proto-glam-punk ensemble. The …
FAMILIES OF THE PROPHETS: THE REST OF THE STORY
In recent years, the Priesthood/Relief Society manuals have told the life stories of the early church presidents, including Brigham Young (1998–99), John Taylor (2003), Wilford Woodruff (the current manual), Joseph F. Smith (2000–01) and Heber J. Grant (2004). These men were polygamists, yet the manuals tend to leave out their plural families. What were their …
HUGH NIBLEY AT CLAREMONT
HUGH NIBLEY AT CLAREMONT After Hugh Nibley received his Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1938 and until he joined the Army in 1942, he taught at the Claremont colleges. It was a time of great transitions for Hugh. He began his Claremont tenure with anti-Semitic attitudes (ironic given his own Jewish ancestry) but left with a …
THE BOOK OF MORMON IN LIGHT OF DNA STUDIES: WHERE ARE WE NOW?
William Lobdell’s 16 February 2006 Los Angeles Times story is the latest in a string of stories over the past four years in which journalists have focused public attention on how DNA research on Amerindian ancestry has impacted discussions of Book of Mormon historicity. Until now, the impact of these stories on typical Mormon discourse …
‘THE GODDESS IS ALIVE AND MAGICK IS AFOOT’: MORMON PAGAN WOMEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY
‘THE GODDESS IS ALIVE AND MAGICK IS AFOOT’: MORMON PAGAN WOMEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY Scholars of religion report that Wicca, Paganism, and other ‘earth centered’ or ‘nature’ religions are the fastest growing of all new religious movements in America. This discussion will explore why some LDS women have chosen Wiccan and similar practices as …