Martha Beck’s memoir, Leaving the Saints, in which she claims to have recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her father, LDS scholar Hugh Nibley, has raised new interest in Mormon circles about how memory works. This session explores how memories are created and retrieved, as well as issues related to memory …
Speaker: C. Jess Groesbeck
Joseph Smith & The Shaman’s Vision: A Forgotten Paradigm For The Life Of The Mormon Prophet
This presentation continues my consideration of the merits of the paradigmatic model of Joseph Smith as a shamanic personality as the most comprehensible way to understand and embrace his life and work. Utilizing the research of C.G.. Jung and Mircea Eliade and others on archetypal patterns of ancient religions and healing practices, this session furthers …
THE MYTHICAL BOOK OF MORMON, PART II
I will continue developing the thesis that the Book of Mormon is not literal, but symbolic, archetypal history brought forth by the visionary Joseph Smith, in shamanic fashion, as a grand symbolic, spiritual ethic to rebalance the culture into which it came. Calling on the work of Carl Jung and John Weir Perry, I will …
AUTHOR MEETS CRITICS. JOSEPH SMITH: THE MAKING OF A PROPHET BY DAN VOGEL
Vogel’s provocative work approaches the life and times of Mormonism’s founder from a naturalistic perspective. He attempts to bring into focus several familiar, if murky issues, folk magic, treasure-digging, anti-masonry, and pious fraud, painting a detailed portrait of Joseph Smith as a sincere evangelical who used dubious means to promote faith. Of particular interest is …
Book Review Panel. Under the Banner of Heaven
SL03091, This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the thirty-fifth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. It also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the revelation reversing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ policy of …
The Soul is Dead That Slumbers
The high rate of depression and prescription drug use in Utah strongly suggests some form of social pathology may exist that contributes to widespread emotional problems. These statistics seem incongruousin in the light of the positive correlation between Church affiliation, individual happiness, and family stability. This paper explores the questions,“is there such a pathology?” and …
Joseph Smith and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon II, a Cultural Systems View
This paper continues the exploration of familial and cultural elements in the life of Joseph Smith as he translated the Book of Mormon. It examines surprising connections with family parchments and their creative symbolic expression. Using archetypal patterns and principles of cultural systems, it reveals a never-before-presented picture of how the Book of Mormon came …
Joseph Smith, The Smith Family, And The Coming Forth Of The Book Of Mormon: A Family Systems Approach
Joseph Smith, The Smith Family, And The Coming Forth Of The Book Of Mormon: A Family Systems Approach The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a story of epic proportions in religious history. Interestingly, behind the story of the visitation of angels, such as Moroni, and the miraculous coming forth of this divine …
THE SMITHS, THEIR DREAMS AND VISIONS: PART II, JOSEPH SMITH AND THE FAMILY TRIANGLE
THE SMITHS, THEIR DREAMS AND VISIONS: PART II, JOSEPH SMITH AND THE FAMILY TRIANGLE This presentation continues my exploration of the early life development of Joseph Smith. In seeking a context for Joseph Smith’s early visions, particularly the First Vision, I will explore the basic family triangle involving Joseph Smith Sr., Lucy Mack Smith, and …
PONDERING THE ORIGINS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON: Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith–Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon
PONDERING THE ORIGINS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON: Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith–Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon Robert D. Anderson, Allen Roberts, C. Jess Groesbeck, Klaus J. Hansen