Andrew H. Hedges
Autor(a) de Joseph Smith Papers: Journals, December 1841-April 1843, Vol. 2
About the Author
Obras de Andrew H. Hedges
On This Day in the Church: An Illustrated Almanac of the Latter-Day Saints (1999) — Autor — 31 cópias
The Disciple As Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson (2000) — Editor — 25 cópias
Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church: The 33rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (2004) — Editor; Contribuinte — 22 cópias
The Doctrine and Covenants: Revelations in Context: The 37th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (2008) — Editor — 20 cópias
The Disciple As Witness: Essays on Latter-Day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson (2000) — Editor; Introdução; Contribuinte — 19 cópias
The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon: The 44th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (2015) — Editor — 13 cópias
Through the Lens: The Original 1907 Church History Photographs of George Edward Anderson (2010) 10 cópias
Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World (2015) — Editor; Prefácio; Contribuinte — 9 cópias
Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: Western Canada (2000) — Editor; Contribuinte — 6 cópias
Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: California (1998) — Editor; Contribuinte — 6 cópias
Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: New York and Pennsylvania (2002) — Editor; Contribuinte — 5 cópias
Associated Works
The Testimony of John the Beloved: The 27th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (1998) — Contribuinte — 32 cópias
Joseph: Leading Church Scholars Explore the Life and Ministry of the Prophet (2005) — Contribuinte — 30 cópias
Nearly Everything Imaginable: The Everyday Life of Utah's Mormon Pioneers (Studies in Latter-Day Saint History) (1999) — Contribuinte — 22 cópias
Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen (2002) — Contribuinte — 21 cópias
Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant (Brigham Young University - Studies in the Book of Abraham) (2005) — Contribuinte — 19 cópias
Regional Studies in Latter-Day Saint Church History: The New England States (2004) — Contribuinte — 11 cópias
BYU Studies Vol. 60 No. 3, 2021 Yet To Be Revealed: Open Questions in Latter-Day Saint Theology (2021) — Contribuinte — 3 cópias
Mormon Historical Studies - Vol. 8, Nos. 1-2 (Spring/Fall 2007) (2007) — Contribuinte — 1 exemplar(es)
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
Membros
Resenhas
This book is from the 2013 BYU Church History Symposium, held March 7–8, 2013. The Church History Symposium is a nearly annual (there apparently wasn’t one held in 2015) event that draws speakers from places such as Brigham Young University, other universities, the LDS Church History Department, and often LDS general authorities as well. The book contains many of the papers that were presented, but unfortunately there are a few missing, such as Steven C. Harper’s presentation on masonry. However, that and most of the other papers that were given (including all but one that is in the book) are available to view here, although the video presentations are generally abbreviated versions of what is in the book: https://religion.byu.edu/event/2013-byu-church-history-symposium
The conference spanned two days. The first day was held at BYU and the second was at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. I was only able to attend the first day, which is one of the reasons I was interested in this book. The keynote address was given by Richard L. Bushman, and it was very crowded, which left many of us without seats until after he was done (apparently there were many students that had come just to hear Bushman).
The preface of the book states that the theme for the conference came out of a professional development training trip taken by new faculty from the BYU departments of Ancient Scripture and Church History and Doctrine to church history sites in Palmyra, Kirtland, and Nauvoo. As they visited these sites, they “were impressed as the extraordinary range of Joseph’s encounters with antiquity became increasingly apparent” (page xiii) and “deeper reflection upon these issues convinced us that there was an important, dynamic, and under-explored relationship between Joseph Smith’s personal interactions with ancient material and many of his unfolding revelations” (page xiv).
It also says that in the past, studies of this topic have tended to be either critics trying to prove plagiarism, or apologists showing parallels to things to which he couldn’t have had access. The presenters at this symposium “explored a critical and less dichotomous ‘middle ground’ as they offered a more complex, sophisticated, and nuanced treatment of early Mormon intellectual history than had been previously available” (page xvi). It is interesting to note that some of the scholars that have written things that fit into the apologist category referred to above were actually speakers at this conference.
Within the overall theme, the book is divided into seven different sections. “Prophets and the Study of Antiquity in Early America” has Richard Lyman Bushman discussing Joseph’s interest in Latin and Greek, Hebrew, and Egyptian, while David F. Holland compares Joseph Smith with his contemporaries Mary Baker Eddy and Ellen White. In “Early Mormon Interaction with Scholars and Scripts of Antiquity,” Richard E. Bennett and Michael Hubbard MacKay both discuss Martin Harris’s trip to have a transcription of the Book of Mormon characters examined.
“Joseph Smith’s Interest in the Ancient Americas” has Mark Alan Wright talking about physical objects such as the gold plates and related artifacts, the arrowhead purportedly found with the remains of Zelph, the ruins at Adam-Ondi-Ahman, the Kinderhook plates, etc. Wright refers to Don Bradley’s research given at the 2011 FAIR conference that shows a character on the Kinderhook plates that corresponds to a character in the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (from the papers associated with the Book of Abraham), which appears to be the source of the cursory summary that was recorded by William Clayton.
Also in this section, Matthew Roper discusses Joseph Smith’s fascination with Central American ruins, fueled by the works of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood. Catherwood’s “drawings provided, for the first time, a conceivable real-world picture of what Nephite cities and monuments could have looked like. This influence can be seen in examples from the earliest portrayals of Book of Mormon scenes in the nineteenth century to those of contemporary Mormon artists” (page 146). Also, “these works provided interesting information on Central American history which [Joseph] felt corresponded with that in the Book of Mormon” (page 154).
The next section is on “Joseph Smith, The Bible, and Nineteenth-Century Biblical Scholarship.” Kent P. Jackson talks about the relationship of the Bible with the restoration, the Joseph Smith Translation, and the Bible commentary that frequently was part of his sermons. Nicholas J. Frederick then talks about “Joseph Smith’s Engagement with the Gospel of John,” including the translation of the parchment that is now in the Doctrine and Covenants, as well as its influence on things such as the King Follett Discourse. And Matthew Bowman addresses “Mormonism, Early Christianity, and the Quest for the True Religion in Antebellum America.”
Following is “Joseph Smith’s Study of Biblical Languages.” Matthew J. Grey talks about the study of Hebrew in Kirtland, and John W. Welch tackles Greek and Latin. Then, in “Joseph Smith and Ancient Texts,” Thomas A. Wayment discusses “Joseph Smith’s Developing Relationship with the Apocrypha” and Lincoln H. Blumell talks about Josephus. Kristian S. Heal then focuses on the early church fathers and their influence on early Mormonism. “...In almost every case, Joseph Smith is one step removed from the sources. Thus, the documents offer, at best, a reflection of the views held by Joseph Smith and his immediate circle. More properly, these sources give a clear picture of what Latter-day Saints were writing and reading concerning early Christianity and the early Church Fathers in their own publications during Joseph Smith’s lifetime” (page 408).
The last section is on “Joseph Smith and Nineteenth-Century Egyptology.” John Gee addresses “Joseph Smith and Ancient Egypt.” He gives us an overview of the state of Egyptology in Joseph’s time. He also discusses the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, concluding that “the majority of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers belongs to Phelps. So they cannot be used to reconstruct Joseph Smith’s knowledge of Egyptian, only that of W. W. Phelps” (page 441). Kerry Muhlestein gives us “Joseph Smith’s Biblical View of Egypt,” covering connections Joseph made between the papyri he obtained and the Bible, particularly tying them to Abraham and Joseph. The final paper is the only one without a video available for viewing. In it, Brian M. Hauglid gives us an overview of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and explores the connections they may have to Joseph’s and his colleagues’ interest in Egyptian and the Book of Abraham.
This collection of papers should be of interest to any student of early church history. It’s unfortunate that some of the conference presentations were left out of the book, but it does contain a worthwhile amount of information on many different topics by some of the best scholars of the respective subjects.… (mais)
The conference spanned two days. The first day was held at BYU and the second was at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. I was only able to attend the first day, which is one of the reasons I was interested in this book. The keynote address was given by Richard L. Bushman, and it was very crowded, which left many of us without seats until after he was done (apparently there were many students that had come just to hear Bushman).
The preface of the book states that the theme for the conference came out of a professional development training trip taken by new faculty from the BYU departments of Ancient Scripture and Church History and Doctrine to church history sites in Palmyra, Kirtland, and Nauvoo. As they visited these sites, they “were impressed as the extraordinary range of Joseph’s encounters with antiquity became increasingly apparent” (page xiii) and “deeper reflection upon these issues convinced us that there was an important, dynamic, and under-explored relationship between Joseph Smith’s personal interactions with ancient material and many of his unfolding revelations” (page xiv).
It also says that in the past, studies of this topic have tended to be either critics trying to prove plagiarism, or apologists showing parallels to things to which he couldn’t have had access. The presenters at this symposium “explored a critical and less dichotomous ‘middle ground’ as they offered a more complex, sophisticated, and nuanced treatment of early Mormon intellectual history than had been previously available” (page xvi). It is interesting to note that some of the scholars that have written things that fit into the apologist category referred to above were actually speakers at this conference.
Within the overall theme, the book is divided into seven different sections. “Prophets and the Study of Antiquity in Early America” has Richard Lyman Bushman discussing Joseph’s interest in Latin and Greek, Hebrew, and Egyptian, while David F. Holland compares Joseph Smith with his contemporaries Mary Baker Eddy and Ellen White. In “Early Mormon Interaction with Scholars and Scripts of Antiquity,” Richard E. Bennett and Michael Hubbard MacKay both discuss Martin Harris’s trip to have a transcription of the Book of Mormon characters examined.
“Joseph Smith’s Interest in the Ancient Americas” has Mark Alan Wright talking about physical objects such as the gold plates and related artifacts, the arrowhead purportedly found with the remains of Zelph, the ruins at Adam-Ondi-Ahman, the Kinderhook plates, etc. Wright refers to Don Bradley’s research given at the 2011 FAIR conference that shows a character on the Kinderhook plates that corresponds to a character in the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (from the papers associated with the Book of Abraham), which appears to be the source of the cursory summary that was recorded by William Clayton.
Also in this section, Matthew Roper discusses Joseph Smith’s fascination with Central American ruins, fueled by the works of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood. Catherwood’s “drawings provided, for the first time, a conceivable real-world picture of what Nephite cities and monuments could have looked like. This influence can be seen in examples from the earliest portrayals of Book of Mormon scenes in the nineteenth century to those of contemporary Mormon artists” (page 146). Also, “these works provided interesting information on Central American history which [Joseph] felt corresponded with that in the Book of Mormon” (page 154).
The next section is on “Joseph Smith, The Bible, and Nineteenth-Century Biblical Scholarship.” Kent P. Jackson talks about the relationship of the Bible with the restoration, the Joseph Smith Translation, and the Bible commentary that frequently was part of his sermons. Nicholas J. Frederick then talks about “Joseph Smith’s Engagement with the Gospel of John,” including the translation of the parchment that is now in the Doctrine and Covenants, as well as its influence on things such as the King Follett Discourse. And Matthew Bowman addresses “Mormonism, Early Christianity, and the Quest for the True Religion in Antebellum America.”
Following is “Joseph Smith’s Study of Biblical Languages.” Matthew J. Grey talks about the study of Hebrew in Kirtland, and John W. Welch tackles Greek and Latin. Then, in “Joseph Smith and Ancient Texts,” Thomas A. Wayment discusses “Joseph Smith’s Developing Relationship with the Apocrypha” and Lincoln H. Blumell talks about Josephus. Kristian S. Heal then focuses on the early church fathers and their influence on early Mormonism. “...In almost every case, Joseph Smith is one step removed from the sources. Thus, the documents offer, at best, a reflection of the views held by Joseph Smith and his immediate circle. More properly, these sources give a clear picture of what Latter-day Saints were writing and reading concerning early Christianity and the early Church Fathers in their own publications during Joseph Smith’s lifetime” (page 408).
The last section is on “Joseph Smith and Nineteenth-Century Egyptology.” John Gee addresses “Joseph Smith and Ancient Egypt.” He gives us an overview of the state of Egyptology in Joseph’s time. He also discusses the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, concluding that “the majority of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers belongs to Phelps. So they cannot be used to reconstruct Joseph Smith’s knowledge of Egyptian, only that of W. W. Phelps” (page 441). Kerry Muhlestein gives us “Joseph Smith’s Biblical View of Egypt,” covering connections Joseph made between the papyri he obtained and the Bible, particularly tying them to Abraham and Joseph. The final paper is the only one without a video available for viewing. In it, Brian M. Hauglid gives us an overview of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and explores the connections they may have to Joseph’s and his colleagues’ interest in Egyptian and the Book of Abraham.
This collection of papers should be of interest to any student of early church history. It’s unfortunate that some of the conference presentations were left out of the book, but it does contain a worthwhile amount of information on many different topics by some of the best scholars of the respective subjects.… (mais)
This book contains the papers from the 44th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, held in October, 2015. The Sperry Symposium is held annually, and draws most of its speakers from the Church Educational System. Each year’s theme is usually based on the book of scripture that will be studied by LDS adults in the coming year, and this volume fits right in with this year’s (2016) Gospel Doctrine study of the Book of Mormon.
The first paper in the book is by Elder Merrill J. Bateman. He gave the keynote speech on “The Coming Forth of Plain and Precious Truths.” He describes many aspects of the gospel that may be only vaguely mentioned in the Bible, but for which we learn much more from the Book of Mormon. Some examples are the plan of salvation, the premortal life, the fall of Adam, the atonement and resurrection, and specific doctrines taught by Christ.
The book then has several papers on the process of publishing the Book of Mormon. Topics cover the preparation of Joseph Smith as a seer, the receipt of the plates, the translation, the loss of the 116 pages, the witnesses (both male and female) of the translation process and the plates, and then finally the negotiations to get it published. There is then discussion of how the book was received, how it was used in the early church, and its eventual translation into 110 languages (not including Hebrew or the Deseret Alphabet, which are not currently in print). There are then two papers on the purposes of the Book of Mormon – to “show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord” and “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ” (both as listed on the Book of Mormon title page).
Steven C. Harper’s paper on “The Probation of a Teenage Seer: Joseph Smith’s Early Experiences with Moroni” will be of particular interest to those who are not very familiar with Joseph’s use of seer stones, both as a teenager and in the translation of the plates. It talks about the spiritual gifts that Joseph showed early which prepared him for his role in the restoration of the church, as well as the development he had to go through from his first visit by Moroni until he was finally ready to receive the gold plates four years later.
There has always been a lot of curiosity about the lost 116 pages. J. B. Haws reviews the information that we know, that we don’t know, and some information we have of varying degrees of reliability that might give us some possible insights. What we don’t know includes things like how many pages there were (it may not have actually been 116), whether they might still exist (Lucy Harris may have burned them), and exactly what was on them. We do know that they did actually exist, since Lucy Harris never denied having been involved with them, despite having had good reason to. We might know, based on Joseph’s rebuke by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, that he was not yet aware that there were two sets of plates of Nephi, and that he picked up where he had left off in the translation with Mosiah, and then went back to Nephi’s record at the end of the translation process to fill the hole that was left in the beginning.
Po Nien Chou and Petra Chou give an interesting overview of the history and process of the translations of the Book of Mormon into other languages, starting with Danish. It then went to other European languages, the Pacific islands, Asia, and then Africa. The translation process today is heavily regulated by the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve. Where it was once done by individuals or small groups, some of which were not members of the church, it is now done by committees made up of well-qualified members with temple recommends. “Many of our modern translators utilize computers and word processors, lexicons and encyclopedias to help and guide them in their sacred assignment. The modern work is extensive, and each step must be critically analyzed by Church translation experts” (page 241). Following this paper, there is an appendix that gives a timeline of “Book of Mormon Milestones,” another appendix with “Book of Mormon Languages in Sequence of First Published,” and yet one more with “Selected Questions and Answers on Translating into Other Languages.” The question and answer section contains answers from the Church, and some of them are very interesting, such as one addressing a “literal” translation.
Although I’ve studied the Book of Mormon and the early history of the church throughout my life, this volume has helped me remember some of the things that went into making the Book of Mormon available for us and how greatly we are blessed to have it. I have also learned some new things. The book has helped renew my interest in studying the Book of Mormon once again this year, and it should be a rewarding read for all who value it as scripture.… (mais)
The first paper in the book is by Elder Merrill J. Bateman. He gave the keynote speech on “The Coming Forth of Plain and Precious Truths.” He describes many aspects of the gospel that may be only vaguely mentioned in the Bible, but for which we learn much more from the Book of Mormon. Some examples are the plan of salvation, the premortal life, the fall of Adam, the atonement and resurrection, and specific doctrines taught by Christ.
The book then has several papers on the process of publishing the Book of Mormon. Topics cover the preparation of Joseph Smith as a seer, the receipt of the plates, the translation, the loss of the 116 pages, the witnesses (both male and female) of the translation process and the plates, and then finally the negotiations to get it published. There is then discussion of how the book was received, how it was used in the early church, and its eventual translation into 110 languages (not including Hebrew or the Deseret Alphabet, which are not currently in print). There are then two papers on the purposes of the Book of Mormon – to “show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord” and “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ” (both as listed on the Book of Mormon title page).
Steven C. Harper’s paper on “The Probation of a Teenage Seer: Joseph Smith’s Early Experiences with Moroni” will be of particular interest to those who are not very familiar with Joseph’s use of seer stones, both as a teenager and in the translation of the plates. It talks about the spiritual gifts that Joseph showed early which prepared him for his role in the restoration of the church, as well as the development he had to go through from his first visit by Moroni until he was finally ready to receive the gold plates four years later.
There has always been a lot of curiosity about the lost 116 pages. J. B. Haws reviews the information that we know, that we don’t know, and some information we have of varying degrees of reliability that might give us some possible insights. What we don’t know includes things like how many pages there were (it may not have actually been 116), whether they might still exist (Lucy Harris may have burned them), and exactly what was on them. We do know that they did actually exist, since Lucy Harris never denied having been involved with them, despite having had good reason to. We might know, based on Joseph’s rebuke by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, that he was not yet aware that there were two sets of plates of Nephi, and that he picked up where he had left off in the translation with Mosiah, and then went back to Nephi’s record at the end of the translation process to fill the hole that was left in the beginning.
Po Nien Chou and Petra Chou give an interesting overview of the history and process of the translations of the Book of Mormon into other languages, starting with Danish. It then went to other European languages, the Pacific islands, Asia, and then Africa. The translation process today is heavily regulated by the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve. Where it was once done by individuals or small groups, some of which were not members of the church, it is now done by committees made up of well-qualified members with temple recommends. “Many of our modern translators utilize computers and word processors, lexicons and encyclopedias to help and guide them in their sacred assignment. The modern work is extensive, and each step must be critically analyzed by Church translation experts” (page 241). Following this paper, there is an appendix that gives a timeline of “Book of Mormon Milestones,” another appendix with “Book of Mormon Languages in Sequence of First Published,” and yet one more with “Selected Questions and Answers on Translating into Other Languages.” The question and answer section contains answers from the Church, and some of them are very interesting, such as one addressing a “literal” translation.
Although I’ve studied the Book of Mormon and the early history of the church throughout my life, this volume has helped me remember some of the things that went into making the Book of Mormon available for us and how greatly we are blessed to have it. I have also learned some new things. The book has helped renew my interest in studying the Book of Mormon once again this year, and it should be a rewarding read for all who value it as scripture.… (mais)
wonderful photos of church sites, inside story
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 16
- Also by
- 20
- Membros
- 224
- Popularidade
- #100,172
- Avaliação
- 4.2
- Resenhas
- 4
- ISBNs
- 16
The volume begins with a timeline of Joseph Smith’s life, maps, an introduction that outlines the events of the last year of a very busy life, and the usual explanation of the editorial method being used for the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It then contains the text of the journals followed by three appendixes which are relevant excerpts from journals kept by Willard Richards and William Clayton detailing Joseph Smith’s activities during this time period. There is also a section of reference materials containing things like a chronology, pedigree chart, glossary, and organizational charts of the church and Nauvoo. There is a full index of all three volumes in the Journals series. (Previous volumes didn’t contain an index due to this planned combined index, but individual indexes can be found online and were provided in print on request.) There are also photos scattered throughout of things like the actual journals, the Kinderhook plates, the first issue of the Nuavoo Neighbor, a list of marriages and sealings that was added at the end of one of the journals later, and the guns in the possession of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail.
The introduction explains several things that the journals mention, such as Joseph Smith’s candidacy for the United States presidency, his last plural marriages, the Council of Fifty, the Anointed Quorum, the destruction of the press of the Nauvoo Expositor, and Joseph’s resulting arrest. It also points out that the journals during this period were all kept by Joseph’s private secretary, Willard Richards. This means it was based on observation, and that some of the information was written after the fact from memory, or using secondhand sources, which sometimes resulted in inaccuracies.
Most of the actual journal entries are very terse, and the majority of the detail is in the footnotes, which often take the majority of the page. For example, on page 202, the entry at the top of the page begins with “Monday- 11. March- 1844 At home 9. A M. in council. in Lodge room.” The footnote for that says:
This concluding volume of the Journals series was worth the wait. With all of this information being made available, this is truly a great time to be studying the origins of the Church. While these volumes are primarily intended for scholars to use as primary sources, they should be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about Joseph Smith and the Restoration.… (mais)