The Americanization Of Mormonism Reflected In Pop Culture Once marginalized but now centralized in American culture, Mormonism is a very interesting case study for cultural studies-type critiques which employ political theory and strategy, as well as philosophy, anthropology, literary criticism, religious studies, and other fields. We can learn much about Mormonism’s relationship to networks of …
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Open Reading Of Genesis: Jacob Boehme’s Mysterium Magnum And Joseph Smith’s Books Of Moses, Abraham, And The Book Of Mormon
Open Reading Of Genesis: Jacob Boehme’s Mysterium Magnum And Joseph Smith’s Books Of Moses, Abraham, And The Book Of Mormon Jacob Boehme and Joseph Smith each offered what they claimed were divinely inspired expansions on the creation story that point to the openness of God. In doing so, both rejected doctrines of predestination and creatio …
My Call to Christian Political Action
My Call to Christian Political Action In church, we spend too much time on relatively insignificant things while the world needs our witness, our application of the teachings of Jesus found in the New Testament to the problems of the world. The conflicts between the teachings of Jesus and the messages of our culture and …
Visions In The Nighttime
Visions In The Nighttime Mystical experience has been linked to altered states of consciousness throughout scripture, including Latter-day Saint teachings. How is an altered state measured? Does experience show that positive experiences of this type are exclusively predicated upon righteousness? What can we learn from those who have pursued these states of consciousness? How do …
Our Dual Challenge: Ecumenism And Abiding Faith
Our Dual Challenge: Ecumenism And Abiding Faith Despite precedents to the contrary, such as the Thirteenth Article of Faith, the School of the Prophets, and the 1978 First Presidency declaration on world religions, Mormons have become increasingly insular with respect to other-than- officially enunciated or approved sources of inspiration. By the same token, too many …
A New Look At I Woodbridge Riley
A New Look At I Woodbridge Riley This presentation is based on an investigation of every factual statement and biographical reference in I. Woodbridge Riley’s The Founder of Mormonism: A Psychological Study of Joseph Smith, Jr. Who was Riley? Why was he so fascinated with religious leaders such as Smith and Mary Baker Eddy, founder …
Toward A Comparative Mormon Erotics
Toward A Comparative Mormon Erotics This presentation takes seriously the suggestion that cultures be read closely to see how they understand erotics and their understandings of and practices concerning bodies. As part of an effort to build a comparative erotics, this paper works from a close reading of key Latter-day Saint texts, such as “A …
Scarlet Threads In The Lineage Of Jesus
Scarlet Threads In The Lineage Of Jesus In his list of who fathered whom in the lineage of forty-two generations from Abraham to Jesus, Matthew includes five women. This presentation focuses on four of them, Tamar, Rachab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, who, though chosen as members of the most royal of lineages, are largely ignored today, …
Reflections On Mormon Liminality: A Generational Response
Reflections On Mormon Liminality: A Generational Response Dan Wotherspoon’s December 2005 Sunstone editorial speaks of the concept of liminality in relation to the Sunstone community, that as we explore questions within Mormonism, we often find ourselves in the awkward, sometimes dangerous, threshold (limen) between two worlds. Wotherspoon speaks of his own sustained immersion in liminality …
The God Of This World: Gnostic Insights Into Mormonism
The God Of This World: Gnostic Insights Into Mormonism Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, with forty-plus million copies sold and a movie version, has highlighted the alternative Christianity of Gnosticism. In his The American Religion, Harold Bloom notes the Gnostic characteristics of Mormonism, such as belief in the uncreated essence of the individual and …