While it might be surprising to some, the first three LDS prophets were secretly anointed to an office described as the “Ruler over Israel” and the “Prophet, Priest, and King” over the Kingdom. In recent years, new sources about this ordinance have come to light, including a revelation in John Taylor’s own handwriting to be …
Speaker: Christopher C. Smith
The Plural Wives of John W. Woolley and Lorin C. Woolley The Interconnectedness of the Early Fundamentalists
“The Plural Wives of John W. Woolley and Lorin C. Woolley,” by Marianne T. Watson. This paper will show there were more plural wives of both John and Lorin Woolley than previously known. They will be identified and discussed within the context of pre and post-Manifesto plural marriages. “The Interconnectedness of the Early Fundamentalists,” by …
Joseph Didn’t Set Out to Start a Church (Let Alone a New Religion!)
When Oliver Cowdery showed up in Palmyra with “fire in his bones” and the idea to start a new church, Joseph Smith initially resisted the idea. Even after Cowdery persuaded him, Smith thought he would get it started and then give up his leadership and pass the baton to others. Gradually he changed his mind. …
Christopher C. Smith’s Four Views Of Joseph Smith: Historians Debate The Prophet Puzzle
This is an excerpt from the original Sunstone 2015 presentation, Four View of Joseph Smith: Historians Debate the Prophet Puzzle.
Four Views Of Joseph Smith Historians Debate The Prophet Puzzle
“The mystery of Mormonism cannot be solved until we solve the mystery of Joseph Smith,” Jan Shipps wrote. Four decades later, the prophet continues to puzzle. Was he true prophet, sincere visionary, pious fraud, or con man? In a friendly debate, four historians will each advocate a different hypothesis. Opening statements and rebuttals will be …
Four Views Of Joseph Smith Historians Debate The Prophet Puzzle
“The mystery of Mormonism cannot be solved until we solve the mystery of Joseph Smith,” Jan Shipps wrote. Four decades later, the prophet continues to puzzle. Was he true prophet, sincere visionary, pious fraud, or con man? In a friendly debate, four historians will each advocate a different hypothesis. Opening statements and rebuttals will be …
BOOK OF MORMON ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LUNATIC FRINGE: JOSE DAVILA, JOHN BREWER, AND THE ANCIENT RECORDS OF CENTRAL UTAH
In the 1960s-1970s, Jose Davila and John Brewer independently discovered and translated various Nephite and Jaredite writings in central Utah. Though they regarded themselves as scientists, Davila and Brewer modeled their enterprise on the Joseph Smith story and the LDS prophetic tradition and actively sought acceptance by Church authorities and Mormon academics. After some initial …
SW10010: American Indian Delegations to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo/Joseph Smith as a Spiritual Egalitarian
“The Great Spirit Has Told Us That You Are the Man”: American Indian Delegations to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, Christopher C. Smith Joseph Smith as a Spiritual Egalitarian, Bryan Cottle Smith: In 1843 and 1844, several anti-American, formerly British-allied Indian groups dispatched delegations to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. They apparently came to Smith because the …
SW10019: Rising Scholars: What’s Emerging from CGU’s Mormon Studies Program?
The Mormon studies program at Claremont Graduate University took years to conceive, plan, and fund. What’s been happening since the program commenced? We’ll hear a status update about this groundbreaking endeavor in Mormon studies. What kinds of students is the program attracting? What kinds of projects and research are Mormon studies faculty and students involved …
SL10222: Instrumental Mysticism: The Inspired Fictionalization of the United Firm Revelations
It is well known that the 1835 D&C substituted ancient-sounding CHRISTOPHER C. SMITH