Books
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Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View
This popular text, used throughout the Church for the study of world religions, has been revised and expanded. Two additional authors, several new chapters, a number of new illustrations, and much updated material add fresh perspectives to the former edition's tried-and-true approach. The result portrays the vivid spectrum of truth as it extends across cultures and religious systems.
The book presents a...
Sister-Wives and Suffragists: Polygamy and the Politics of Woman Suffrage, 1870–1896
Beginning in 1870, Utah women from both polygamist and monogamist marriages attempted to establish their primacy as the standard-bearer of woman’s rights in the territory. Some sought support from leaders within the territory while others looked to those in the national arena. Ultimately, the activities of Mormon women helped to secure woman suffrage for Utah in 1870.
Although it was the New Movement women who helped advance the women’s rights dialogue in the territory and establish a relationship between Utah’s women and eastern suffragists, their efforts prepared the way for an alliance between Mormon women and national suffragists.
Many historians have overlooked the role of Mormon women in securing woman suffrage. Because Mormon women neither publicly drafted petitions nor held public demonstrations to seek the vote, many historians have concluded that they were not politically active until after they were enfranchised and then only in response to attempts to disfranchise them. However, the reaction of Mormon women to their enfranchisement and their readiness to assume an active political role in their communities suggest a different conclusion: that they were politicized prior to enfranchisement and their activities contributed to their own enfranchisement.
Nineteenth-century woman suffragists in Utah left a legacy of activism, commitment and achievement.
Summer Fellows’ Papers 1997–1999: Archive of Restoration Culture
The Archive of Restoration Culture was founded on the belief that Joseph Smith and the Restoration cannot be appreciated without an understanding of his environment. Student-scholars began working on the Archive project in 1997 and were followed during the next two years by other teams of advanced undergraduates and graduate students.
The papers in the volume are the fruits of their labors. They show how far afield Joseph Smith's thoughts ranged, and how many of his contemporaries were wrestling with similar issues—the role of Israel, the nature of priesthood, the quest for the visionary. The nineteen articles collected in this book are divided into the following categories: priesthood and Church government, visionary leaders in the age of Joseph Smith, distinctive doctrines of the Restoration in historical context, and the cultural background of the Restoration. Joseph Smith becomes both more recognizable and more unusual when placed against this background.
Summer Fellows’ Papers 2000–2002: Archive of Restoration Culture
This volume presents the second series of papers from the Archive of Restoration Culture seminar on Joseph Smith and his times at the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History. The Archive of Restoration Culture was founded on the belief that Joseph Smith and the Restoration cannot be appreciated without an understanding of his environment. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students from several disciplines were drawn by the opportunity to examine Joseph Smith from the viewpoint of their disciplines, often in comparative perspective.
This volume continues with the research papers written by the seminar participants in the years 2000 to 2002. Investigations range widely, covering varied topics arranged into the broad themes "Interpreting Sacred Texts," "Cosmologies and Theologies," "Temple and Ritual," and "People and Places." The nineteen papers in this volume show great imagination in the students' innovative approaches to Joseph Smith's character, his works, and his history.
Summer Fellows’ Papers 2003: Latter-day Saint Women in the Twentieth Century (Archive of Restoration Culture)
As part of the Smith Institute’s women’s initiative, eight advanced students were invited to BYU in summer 2003 to research women’s history in the twentieth century. The eight papers in this volume are the fruits of their labors. The papers show the actions and reactions of faithful women affected by change in the Church, such as international growth and the institution of the correlation program, and by change in American culture, such as the social revolutions of the late twentieth century.
While there were a number of great and important women to study, the scholars wanted also to consider the lives of the unsung. This volume reflects the scholars’ search for the generalities that create a master narrative of LDS women’s experience in the twentieth century interwoven with the individual stories, the poignant quotations, and the experiences of individual women.
Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters
Joseph Smith believed in sustaining the law. This book presents his main legal encounters in the context of his day. Party to more than two hundred suits in the courts of New York, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and elsewhere, he faced criminal charges as well as civil claims and collection matters. In the end, he was never convicted of any crime, and he paid his debts. These incidents were significant institutionally as well as personally.
Eleven legal scholars analyze these legal encounters. Topics cover constitutional law, copyright, disorderly conduct, association, assault, marriage, banking, land preemptive rights, treason, municipal charters, bankruptcy, guardianship, habeas corpus, adultery, and freedom of the press.
A 53-page legal chronology presents key information about Joseph’s life in the law. An appendix provides biographies of sixty lawyers and judges with whom he was involved, some being the best legal minds of his day. This book is for anyone interested in the life of Joseph Smith, whether general readers, historians, lawyers, or law students. Each chapter tells a fascinating story based on controlling legal documents—many just recently discovered—that allow detailed legal analysis and accurate understanding.
The full book is available for free here: Sustaining the Law, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. walker, and John W. Welch
Individual chapters:
- Preface
- Introduction
- Joseph Smith and the Constitution
- The Smiths and Religious Freedom Jesse Smiths 1814 Church Tax Protest
- Standing as a Credible Witness in 1819
- Being Acquitted of a Disorderly Person Charge in 1826
- Securing the Book of Mormon Copyright in 1829
- Organizing the Church as a Religious Association in 1830
- Winning against Hurlbuts Assault in 1834
- Performing Legal Marriages in Ohio in 1835
- Looking Legally at the Kirtland Safety Society
- Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy
- Losing Land Claims and the Missouri Conflict in 1838
- Imprisonment by Austin Kings Court of Inquiry in 1838
- Protecting Nauvoo by Illinois Charter in 1840
- Suffering Shipwreck and Bankruptcy in 1842 and Beyond
- Serving as Guardian under the Lawrence Estate 1842-1844
- Invoking Habeas Corpus in Missouri and Illinois
- Defining Adultery under Illinois and Nauvoo Law
- Legally Suppressing the Nauvoo Expositor in 1844
- Legal Chronology of Joseph Smith
- Lawyers and Judges in the Legal Cases of Joseph Smith
- Glossary of Early Nineteenth-Century Legal Terms
- Contributors
- Index
Taking the Gospel to the Japanese, 1901–2001
The first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Japan encountered formidable language, religious, and cultural barriers. After considerable efforts, Church officials closed the mission in 1924. Later, the gospel was reintroduced in mid-century, when it took root.
Since that time, Mormon missionaries have baptized many believers, several missions have opened, auxiliary organizations such as the Relief Society have been instituted, and two temples have been constructed.
This volume celebrates the Church's first hundred years among the Japanese. The articles explore such issues as the Japanese presses' portrayal of Mormonism and answer questions such as what the historical and cultural challenges are to successful missionary work in Japan; why the Book of Mormon needed to be translated three times in one century; and whether Latter-day Saint converts hail from specific areas based on the region's religious traditions.
The essays in the book let readers witness the expansion and growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints among the Japanese.
Telling the Story of Mormon History
In March 2002, the Smith Institute hosted top Latter-day Saint historians at the Telling the Story of Mormon History symposium. This symposium was designed to explore the ways in which Mormon history is presented and the range of purposes it serves. Elder Bruce C. Hafen opened the conference with a keynote address explaining some of the challenges he faced when writing his biography of Elder Neal A. Maxwell, The Story of a Disciple's Life.
The Best of the Frontier Guardian
The Frontier Guardian was published in Kanesville, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from 1849 to 1851. The newspaper was started by Orson Hyde, who used it to maintain contact among the Latter-day Saints and to help keep them focused on their ultimate destination in the West.
However, the Guardian’s content reflected the diverse culture of the region. The paper covered local, national, and international news. Information about the westward trek—mostly to the Salt Lake Valley and to the California gold fields—appeared in every issue, and those who traveled west had various religious affiliations.
The Guardian is a window into this way station for westward emigration, and the newspaper illuminates the religious, social, economic, and political aspects of this frontier community.
The Frontier Guardian connected the Latter-day Saints in Kanesville and recorded their experiences. Including people of all faiths, the newspaper highlights miners, politicians, business owners, and newspaper subscribers, alongside Mormon emigrants, missionaries, and dissidents. Even newlyweds and the deceased emerge from the Guardian’s columns in Black’s annotations, the sum total bringing rich human texture to this period of constant movement.
—Jill Mulvay Derr, co-editor of Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry
The Best of the Nauvoo Neighbor
Published from May 1843 to October 1845, the Nauvoo Neighbor is a significant key to understanding the Latter-day Saint experience at the Mississippi River. Although not an official Church newspaper, the Neighbor was edited by Apostle John Taylor and played a significant role in the national discussion of Mormonism, the presidential election of 1844, and perceptions of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. The paper printed an unrelenting defense of Mormonism against a backdrop of exaggerated reports and sensational claims that stemmed from Hancock County to newspapers in the East.
By 1843, what had once been a fledgling community of Mormon believers huddled near the Mississippi was a bustling metropolis. As such, the city of Nauvoo could support more than one LDS newspaper, especially a paper focused on local news. In addition to defending the faith, the Nauvoo Neighbor printed conference reports, epistles from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, city ordinances, poetry, fiction, marriage and death notices, words of wisdom, and humorous anecdotes.
The 127 issues of the Neighbor also contain over 950 names that make a valuable genealogical database. The accompanying DVD includes not only full-color scans of each issue but also brief biographical sketches of the individuals mentioned in the Neighbor.
The Best of The Prophet
Published for just one year, from May 1844 until May 1845, The Prophet is a key to understanding the Latter-day Saint experience in the East at that crucial time in LDS Church history. The pages are filled with news of Mormonism and the spread of the Latter-day Saint faith in New York, Pennsylvania, and other eastern states in the mid-1840s. Local news of interest to Latter-day Saint historians is presented against a backdrop of historical events, such as the United States presidential election of 1844, the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, and the ongoing wrestle between Sidney Rigdon and the Apostles as they vied for converts in the East.
Editors of The Prophet printed an unrelenting defense of Mormonism to counteract exaggerated reports and slanderous claims stemming from Hancock County, Illinois, and printed in eastern newspapers. Editors George T. Leach, William Smith, Samuel Brannan, and Parley P. Pratt confronted politicians, newspaper columnists, and even the governor of Illinois on statements that misrepresented Mormon faith and vilified discipleship. In contrast, they wrote in glowing terms of Joseph Smith and thousands of Mormons gathered on the banks of the Mississippi. They wrote words of encouragement to fellow believers in the East who were planning to migrate to Nauvoo.
The accompanying DVD contains full-color scans of all fifty-two issues of The Prophet, as well as annotations about people, places, and terms mentioned in the newspaper.
The Best of the St. Louis Luminary
Published from November 1854 to December 1855, the St. Louis Luminary was started by Apostle Erastus Snow, the Latter-day Saint leader over the region. The newspaper maintained contact among the members, helped emigrating Saints stay focused on their ultimate destination in the West, and played a significant role in the national discussion of polygamy, which had been publicly announced in 1852.
Snow’s goal was to produce a paper “devoted to the exposition of the favorable side of Mormonism,” something the “honest inquirer” had longed to read. The newspaper also consisted of a composite of exchanges from other periodicals, and a variety of local businesses—regardless of whether they were owned by Mormons—advertised in it.
Furthermore, hundreds of names published in the columns yield a valuable genealogical database. Its forty-two missionary-agents traveled throughout most of the Midwest soliciting subscribers.
I believe that this work will benefit readers and researchers alike by helping them explore another Mormon periodical from the mid-ninteenth century. Professor Black has again provided us with a powerful research tool that sheds light on a corner of history which has gone largely neglected.
—Fred E. Woods, Professor, Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University and author of When the Saints Came Marching In: A History of the Latter-day Saints in St. Louis
The Book of Mormon Paintings of Minerva Teichert
The Book of Mormon paintings by Minerva Teichert present a dramatic, impassioned synopsis of the story of the Book of Mormon. These evocative scenes from the lives of people such as Lehi, Sariah, Alma, and Captain Moroni form a treasure of spiritual truth and feeling. The gift of a bold artist, these engaging images were deliberately composed by swiftly painted on whatever was available, from paper to Masonite panels to canvas. They capture a wealth of knowledge and experience as they portray the courageous individual decisions and epic group sagas of the peoples of the Book of Mormon. Perhaps more importantly, they illuminate this testament of Jesus Christ.
For the first time ever the complete collection of Minerva Teichert's Book of Mormon murals is presented here in full color. More than forty murals combine to tell stories of faith and endurance from the Book of Mormon. More than forty murals and numerous sketches by Minerva Teichert combine to tell in vivid detail the stories of faith and endurance from the Book of Mormon from Lehi and his journeys in the wilderness, to King Benjamin's prophetic farewell address, to Moroni's sorrow at the destruction of his people. Each mural reflects the faith Minerva professed and the enthusiasm with which she painted the gospel story.
The Doctrine and Covenants by Themes: The Text of the Doctrine and Covenants Arranged Topically
The Doctrine and Covenants was meant to be read. It should be read often. Yet it is not easy for most people to get through. So here is a reader's edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. All of its passages have been organized by topic and formatted to enhance readability.
The Emergence of Brigham Young and the Twelve to Mormon Leadership
This study investigates Brigham Young and his fellow apostles in the 1830s as they gradually became an effective quorum and moved toward eventual ascendancy. It examines the all-encompassing religious framework from which Brigham Young acted and uses it to shed light on both the complex issues confronting early Mormons and on his emergence as a leader.
Young, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, succeeded in unifying the group and molding it into the effective leadership cadre that received increasing responsibility for general church business. Brigham Young believed his abilities were a gift from God and that his leadership was successful because God was with him and his people. He saw himself as a rough and unpolished instrument with the grit to do his best and the faith to leave the rest to God.
Young was certain that in the long run the kingdom would triumph and, as he liked to say, no power from earth or hell could prevent it.
The Japanese Missionary Journals of Elder Alma O. Taylor, 1901–10
Called to the Japan Mission at age eighteen, Alma O. Taylor and his parents would have been shocked had they known his mission would last nearly nine years. Alma, the eighteen-year-old lad, would return a twenty-seven-year-old man, having served one of the longest continuous missions in Church history.
For eight and a half years (August 1901–January 1910), Alma worked with intense fervor, keeping a detailed journal of his experiences and impressions. Alma’s journal recaptures early Mormonism in Japan through the eyes of a young missionary. The body of this book is devoted to making his writings available for the first time to all those interested in the foundational events of the Church in Japan.
Alma’s many accomplishments included learning both the spoken and written Japanese word; assisting in the translation of missionary tracts, Church hymns, and the Book of Mormon; serving as president of the Japan Mission from his early to late twenties; opening new proselyting areas throughout Japan; and finding, teaching, converting, and strengthening many of the early Japanese Saints.
Shortly before Alma left his mission, he recorded his feelings about his final year in Japan: “During the year I have had many experiences some the most pleasant in life and some the most bitter that humans are called upon to experience. . . . Great is the debt of gratitude I owe to the Lord for His many blessings.”
The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family: A Family Process Analysis of a Nineteenth-Century Household
Mormonism began with a single family—the family of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. Just how did this family operate, and what characteristics did they exemplify? Although much has been written about this family, little has been produced with the intent of sifting through the historical records to reveal what kind of family this was.
Through careful research, marriage and family therapists have developed several paradigms or models to facilitate family assessment, and these constructs can be used to evaluate a historical family. While there are certain limitations, there also are many constructs that can be successfully evaluated in a historical family. Kyle Walker uses five family process concepts—cohesion, resiliency, religiosity, conflict management, and family work and recreation—to examine historical sources that identify how the Smith family operated.
The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836
For years, William E. McLellin (1806–1883) has been a mystery to Mormon historians. Converted in 1831, he served missions with Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, Parley Pratt, and others. He was also ordained one of the twelve original Latter-day Saint Apostles in 1835. Yet seeds of doubt and difficulty were already evident in his brief period of excommunication in 1832 and in various points of tension and later conflict with Church leaders.
In the early 1980s, the fabled McLellin journals were reportedly located by the infamous document forger, Mark Hofmann. Little did anyone know that they were soon to be found in the holdings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had acquired the journals in 1908.
These six detailed and fascinating journals, written from 1831 to 1836 during McLellin’s most faithful years, now shed new light on the nature of early Mormon worship and doctrine, as well as on religious attitudes in America in the 1830s. They document his daily travels, meetings, preachings, healings, sufferings, and feelings. They offer many clues toward solving the mystery of McLellin in early Mormon history.
McLellin died in Independence, Missouri, in 1883. Although no longer affiliated with any LDS church or party, he held firm to his testimony of the Book of Mormon and to the events he experienced and reported in these remarkable journals.
“McLellin’s unusually full and literate journals open to view another side of Mormonism that was flourishing in the tiny hamlets and small towns of America.”
— Jan Shipps
“In early Mormon documents like McLellin’s journals, one finds all of the makings of a modern Acts of the Apostles.”
— John W. Welch
An essential source for anyone interested in the beginnings of Mormonism and the religious history of America. Copublished by the University of Illinois Press and BYU Studies, with permission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon
The close readings in this book bring many new details to light, making the legal cases in the Book of Mormon clear to ordinary readers, convincing to attorneys, and respectable to scholars of all types, whether Latter-day Saints or not. All readers can identify with these compelling legal narratives, for they address pressing problems of ordinary people.
The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith
The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith is a thoroughly researched documentary history of Frederick G. Williams and his immediate family. This book provides an intimate look at many significant events in the Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and pioneer Utah periods of Church history.
Frederick G. Williams (1787–1842) was an important figure during the early days of the restoration of the gospel and the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a missionary on the original mission to the Lamanites (1830–1831), was a personal scribe to the Prophet Joseph Smith for four years (1832–1836), participated in Zion's Camp (1834), was Second Counselor in the First Presidency for five years (1832–1837), was a central figure in the miraculous events surrounding the Kirtland Temple dedication (1836), and for twelve years was the principal doctor for the Saints in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois until his death in 1842.
The Mormon Reformation
Famine and hard times in Utah in the mid-1850s convinced Church leaders that God was not pleased with the state of the Kingdom. Consequently, they initiated a program of rebaptism, rededication, and retrenchment among the Saints between 1856 and 1857. Jedediah Grant exerted much influence during this period, helping to convince members to change and repent. Over time, however, the fervor subsided and was replaced by a more moderate and reasoned approach to reform.
This short-lived but somewhat controversial period saw excommunications and heavy-handed rhetoric, but also spiritual rejuvenation, forgiveness, and recommitment. Paul H. Peterson’s 1981 dissertation paints a clear and fascinating picture of the Mormon Reformation.
The Truth, The Way, The Life: An Elementary Treatise on Theology
B. H. Roberts offers excellent insights to the foundational elements of the gospel, bringing logic and reason to the stage of faith. The Truth, The Way, The Life feels almost as though Elder Roberts is personally leading the reader through the unexplored areas of the mind, introducing concepts that have eternal effects when fully understood. Through his wonderful understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, as well as science and philosophy, this book will surely be a treasured classic in any library.
This book includes complete text as well as 200 pages of explanatory essays by John W. Welch (editor); BYU professors Gary L. Hatch (great-grandson of B. H. Roberts) on Roberts’s rhetoric; Doris R. Dant on attitudes toward women; Truman G. Madsen on philosophy; David L. Paulsen on theology; William E. Evenson on science; Andrew C. Skinner on the Atonement; with further notes and comments on religion and history by William J. Hamblin, David R. Seely, Michael D. Rhodes, University of Utah professor Davis Bitton, and Weber State University professor Richard C. Roberts (grandson of B. H. Roberts), and the award-winning story of The Truth, The Way, The Life by James B. Allen.
832 pages, based on all three original drafts owned by the LDS Church and on the comments of Joseph Fielding Smith and the other Apostles who reviewed the manuscript in 1929–30.
This revised edition has been enhanced technically, expanded to include new contextual documents, and rearranged for easier access. This BYU Studies monograph is published by permission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Willie Handcart Company
The Willie Handcart Company offers new insights into the experiences of this group, which sailed from Liverpool, England, in May 1856 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley five months later. With limited funds and resources, these faithful Latter-day Saints pulled their belongings in handcarts over the Mormon Trail and endured some of the most severe hardships of all those who gathered to Zion.
On September 7, for example, after the best oxen were lost in a stampede, flour was taken from one of the company's few wagons and distributed among the handcarts, according to each man's strength. James Hurren, age 29, put five of the 100-pound sacks on his handcart, along with his family's baggage and two small girls who were unable to walk. This extra weight burdened his handcart considerably yet he didn't complain. Later, on October 19, a member of the rescue party sent by Brigham Young gave Emily Hill, age 20, an onion because she looked starved. Instead of eating it, she gave it to a man who lay on the ground close to death. The man later said this kindness saved his life. These and other heroic sacrifices offer threads of devotion and courage that have enriched the tapestry of spiritual triumph for generations to follow.
To illuminate the Willie Company's daily experiences, Paul D. Lyman includes portions of journals, personal histories, newspapers, maps, and other historical documents. He also has compiled 89 new, detailed maps that show the company's daily path and campsites. These maps contain modern driving routes and directions for those hardy enough to experience the Saints' journey firsthand.
The Worlds of Joseph Smith: A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress
Here are the papers presented at the international academic conference held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in recognition of the bicentennial of Joseph Smith’s birth. These remarkable articles aim to elucidate Joseph’s life and mission by positioning him—to the degree possible—within the larger framework of American spirituality and world religions.
These papers examine the worlds of Joseph Smith, past, present, and future. Session 1 explores the early-nineteenth-century world of his day. Session 2 examines the ancient worlds with which he interacted. Session 3 introduces readers to Joseph Smith at a personal level, showing the breadth of his influence, the depths of his relationships, and the heights of his revelations. Session 4 explains the theological world that his revelations challenged, both temporally and spiritually. Session 5 develops issues relating to the future and his efforts to build up the kingdom of God and establish Zion throughout the world.
Presenters included Latter-day Saint and other Christian scholars from Brigham Young University, Columbia University, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pepperdine University, Roanoke College, the University of Richmond in Virginia, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, and the University of Durham in England.
This book was also published as BYU Studies 44, no. 4. It is available for free online here.
To Make True Latter-day Saints: Mormon Recreation in the Progressive Era
Historians have used a variety of touchstones to describe the Mormon experience—polygamy, communal associations, and corporatization among others—but none has provided a long-term, large-scale interpretation of Mormon leisure and recreation. Focusing on the period from 1890 to 1940, Richard Ian Kimball describes the most significant changes that occurred in Latter-day Saint recreation practices and ideology. Following the contours of recreation thought in progressive America between 1890 and 1940, leaders and member of the Church employed recreation as a tool to socialize adolescents into the faith. Concerned with the problems posed by rapid urbanization and industrialization, Mormons attempted to ameliorate the problems of the city by inculcating morals and values through sports and recreation programs. The effects of these programs are still visible in the Church today. This dissertation represents a pioneering work in early twentieth--century Mormon social history.
Turning Freud Upside Down 2: More Gospel Perspectives on Psychotherapy’s Fundamental Problems
An increasing number of psychotherapists reject traditional psychology’s marginalization of religion. As in the original Turning Freud Upside Down, this second volume looks to Christ’s gospel for direction. With a gospel perspective, the authors have questioned some of psychotherapy’s standard assumptions and have proposed features that should be found in gospel-compatible psychotherapy.
“As I read these chapters, I was grateful for the thoughtful contributions of each of the authors. There was a genuine respect for the complexity inherent in trying to view therapy through a gospel lens. If you, like me, find yourself feeling inspired, uplifted, strengthened, and more committed to being true to gospel truths in the context of the relationships we engage in as therapists, then you have experienced the invitation to dialogue about significant issues in helping the clients that come to us. I offer deep appreciation for this opportunity to recalibrate my thinking and actions as a therapist. I wholeheartedly endorse this book in the spirit living the gospel and practicing it with others.” Vaughn E. Worthen, PhD Clinical Professor of Counseling Psychology at Brigham Young University
Turning Freud Upside Down is not child’s play. However, I recommend any serious believer who is trained to heal troubled minds to examine this volume. It ably strives to seal clinical psychological thoughts with principles available to us as Saints of the latter days. Unchanging eternal gospel principles fit very nicely into this new examination of old theories. Turning Freud Upside Down really is Turning Truth Right Side Up.” Joseph Cramer, MD Pediatrician for over thirty-five years, past president of the Utah Medical Association
Turning Freud Upside Down: Gospel Perspectives on Psychotherapy’s Fundamental Problems
Latter-day Saints often worry about psychotherapy negatively affecting their souls-for good reason. Even religious therapists may promote anti-gospel principles. This hazard is particularly extreme when therapists are unaware of their practicing assumptions. Now counselors-and their clients-can go to Turning Freud Upside Down for a gospel corrective to that problem.
No mere Freud basher; this book indicts basic concepts riddling much of traditional psychotherapy.
If you want to think about psychotherapy in dramatically new ways, read Turning Freud Upside Down. As its title suggests, this book upends traditional psychological dogma. Far more important it also advances alternative, gospel-based views of human behavior and personality. Latter-day Saint and other Christian clinicians who feel lost in the trenches will find this book an indispensable map for moving further away from secular assumptions and techniques to a more spiritual base. I eagerly await the forthcoming volumes in this series.
—Godfrey J. Ellis, PhD Director of the Master’s Program in Counseling Psychology St. martin’s University
Voyages of Faith: Explorations in Mormon Pacific History
Accounts of the pioneers' trek across the plains have inspired Latter-day Saints of different lands and cultures for generations. But as the Church becomes more global, there are other histories to tell. Voyages of Faith is a new book that tells one of those histories. The first compilation of its kind, Voyages brings together scholarly research, personal reminiscences and stories of inspiration and faith of Latter-day Saints in the Pacific Islands over the last 150 years. Contributors to the book include native Pacific Islanders, notably Chieko N. Okazaki, the first non-Caucasian called to the Relief Society, Young Women's and Primary general boards.
While some chapters are scholarly in focus, others give insight into the emotions and experiences of contemporary Polynesian Latter-day Saints. Voyages chronicles early LDS Church life in the pacific, missionary work and pacific temples. There is even an account written by a surviving Church member from the Kalaupapa leper colony. The content is drawn from presentations made during the last 20 years to the Mormon Pacific Historical Society, an organization dedicated to gathering, recording and publishing LDS history of the Pacific area.
Grant Underwood, BYU historian and editor of Voyages, said although the stories within the volume are about Pacific Islanders, they will inspire all who read them. This book relates wonderful accounts of ordinary people receiving extraordinary blessings, said Underwood. It's inspirational for readers to know that God has been dealing with his children all over the world.
Underwood said the publication of Voyages illustrates the worldwide nature of the Church. Stories of faith and courage can come from any culture and inspire any culture, he said. Polynesians have had many wonderful spiritual experiences that can hearten Saints everywhere.
Voyages of Faith is the second volume in the Studies in Latter-day Saint History series published by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University
Walking in the Sand: A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ghana
When the priesthood was extended to blacks in 1978, faithful followers rejoiced and a new day dawned in Africa. Senior missionary couples soon arrived in Ghana, and within a year four hundred people were baptized, many coming from congregations that were patterned after the Church and that had operated unofficially for more than a decade.
With Church growth came persecution. Rumors spread that both the organization and the missionaries were American spies. In June 1989, the Ghanaian government instituted an eighteen-month “Freeze,” forcing all Church activities to cease. The Freeze was lifted in 1991. The number of stakes has now multiplied, with a temple dedicated in 2004.
“Walking in the sand,” a Ghanaian expression meaning “alive and well,” aptly describes the Latter-day Saints in Ghana.
Wayward Saints: The Social and Religious Protests of the Godbeites against Brigham Young
A story that includes spiritualist séances, conspiracy, and an important church trial, Wayward Saints chronicles the 1870s challenge of a group of British Mormon intellectuals to Brigham Young's leadership and authority. William S. Godbe and his associates protested against Young because they disliked his demanding community and resented what they perceived to be Young's intrusion into matters of personal choice.
Excommunicated from the Church, they established the "New Movement," which eventually faltered. Both a study in intellectual history and an investigation of religious dissent, Wayward Saints explores nineteenth-century American spiritualism as well as the ideas and intellectual structure of first- and second-generation Mormonism.
A compelling story, and the author has a compelling way of drawing the reader into it. I recommend it.
—Klaus Hansen, author of Mormonism and the American Experience
Yet to Be Revealed: Open Questions in Latter-day Saint Theology
An important part of discipleship is knowing what questions to ask—and which ones have not yet been adequately answered. From the beginning to recent times, prophets have reminded the Saints that the Restoration is ongoing, not an event. Our purpose in assembling this collection of essays is simple: we wish to celebrate the miracle of continuing revelation, and the promise of more to come, that God will “yet reveal many great and important things.” This means that the essays selected for inclusion represent only a few of the hundreds of possible subjects.
Ours is an effort to clarify some of the hazy borders of orthodoxy and to honor the dynamism, the richness, and the possibilities of a Restoration still very much in process of unfolding. Joseph Smith taught, “By proving contraries truth is manifest.” A fuller understanding of truth can come by keeping multiple perspectives in mind and letting them work themselves out in patience and God’s own time, like fruitful leaven.
Topics include:
- What is the nature of God’s progress?
- Where did Book of Mormon events take place?
- What is women’s relationship to priesthood?
- Is God subject to or the creator of eternal law?
- Will things get better or worse before the Second Coming?
- Was Jesus married?
- Is the Song of Solomon scripture?
- How was the Book of Mormon translated?
“We as Latter-day Saints have too often felt sure about things the prophets haven’t actually decided, and about things God seems to have left open for us to reflect on humbly. This breathtakingly honest collection of essays does excellent work to make clear just how much we in fact don’t know. That there’s so much to learn is wonderful news, however. We’ll have to bring all of our minds, and not just all of our hearts, to the task of being earnest disciples.”
—Joseph Spencer, author of 1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction
“This much-needed engagement with . . . interesting theological questions is long overdue.”
—Blake T. Ostler, Esq., author of the four-volume Exploring Mormon Thought book series on Latter-day Saint theology
