Download or read book People of Paradox written by Terryl L. Givens and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-08-29 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In People of Paradox, Terryl Givens traces the rise and development of Mormon culture from the days of Joseph Smith in upstate New York, through Brigham Young's founding of the Territory of Deseret on the shores of Great Salt Lake, to the spread of the Latter-Day Saints around the globe. Throughout the last century and a half, Givens notes, distinctive traditions have emerged among the Latter-Day Saints, shaped by dynamic tensions--or paradoxes--that give Mormon cultural expression much of its vitality. Here is a religion shaped by a rigid authoritarian hierarchy and radical individualism; by prophetic certainty and a celebration of learning and intellectual investigation; by existence in exile and a yearning for integration and acceptance by the larger world. Givens divides Mormon history into two periods, separated by the renunciation of polygamy in 1890. In each, he explores the life of the mind, the emphasis on education, the importance of architecture and urban planning (so apparent in Salt Lake City and Mormon temples around the world), and Mormon accomplishments in music and dance, theater, film, literature, and the visual arts. He situates such cultural practices in the context of the society of the larger nation and, in more recent years, the world. Today, he observes, only fourteen percent of Mormon believers live in the United States. Mormonism has never been more prominent in public life. But there is a rich inner life beneath the public surface, one deftly captured in this sympathetic, nuanced account by a leading authority on Mormon history and thought.

Download or read book Mormon s Codex written by John L. Sorenson and published by Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship Deseret Book. This book was released on 2013 with total page 826 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author demonstrates that the Book of Mormon is a native Mesoamerican book (or codex) that exhibits what one would expect of a historical document produced in the context of ancient Mesoamerican civilization. He also shows that scholars' discoveries about Mesoamerica and the contents of the Nephite record are clearly related, listing more than 400 points where the Book of Mormon text corresponds to characteristic Mesoamerican situations, statements, allusions, and history.

Download or read book The Joseph Smith Papers written by Royal Skousen and published by . This book was released on 2021-11 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Eugene England written by Kristine L. Haglund and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eugene England championed an optimistic Mormon faith open to liberalizing ideas from American culture. At the same time, he remained devoted to a conservative Mormonism that he saw as a vehicle for progress even as it narrowed the range of acceptable belief. Kristine L. Haglund views England’s writing through the tensions produced by his often-opposed intellectual and spiritual commitments. Though labeled a liberal, England had a traditional Latter-day Saint background and always sought to address fundamental questions in Mormon terms. His intellectually adventurous essays sometimes put him at odds with Church authorities and fellow believers. But he also influenced a generation of thinkers and cofounded Dialogue, a Mormon academic and literary journal acclaimed for the broad range of its thought. A fascinating portrait of a Mormon intellectual and his times, Eugene England reveals a believing scholar who emerged from the lived experiences of his faith to engage with the changes roiling Mormonism in the twentieth century.

Download or read book Wandering Realities written by Steven L. Peck and published by Zarahemla Books. This book was released on with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wandering Realities gathers together much of the Mormon-themed short fiction of perhaps Mormondom's best living writer," says Michael Austin. "The collection is strange, wonderful, eye opening and amazing. It is a book of revelations and spiritual gifts from an immensely talented author to his religious community, which has long needed somebody to show us how strange and wonderful (and strange) we can actually be." "Wandering Realities is perfectly satisfying, a treat from beginning to end," says Steven Evans. "It is alternatively touching and funny and poignant, with horrors and wonders. Steven Peck is a gift to Mormon literature, and any opportunity to read his stories is not to be missed." "This collection is one of the freshest, most engaging, and most entertaining contributions to Mormon literature that I've seen in a long while," says Jonathan Langford. "Steve Peck is an alien. . . . That's the only explanation I can come up with for how, in this set of 16 stories, he so consistently manages to provide such startlingly different, yet at the same time deeply insightful, perspectives on the culture and religion he has adopted for his own." Peck's highly imaginative stories run the gamut from Mormons reverting to a medieval society on Mars to a bishop who is killing the neighborhood dogs. These stories not only entertain and delight, but they challenge and provoke as well. This collection includes several award-winning stories, including: • "Two-Dog Dose"—best short story of 2014, Association for Mormon Letters • "A Strange Report from the Church Archives"—second place, Irreantum fiction contest • "Avek, Who Is Distributed"—first place, Four Centuries of Mormon Fiction Contest 2012 • "When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs"—second place, Four Centuries of Mormon Fiction Contest 2012 "Every story Steven L. Peck writes seems to lead Mormon fiction in exciting and innovative new directions," says Scott Hales. "I hate hyperbole, but Peck might be the Moses of Mormon letters in the twenty-first century." Wandering Realities "may be the book of the year," says Andrew Hall. Peck is "perhaps the most interesting contemporary author of Mormon fiction." "Peck is the best LDS science fiction writer currently out there," says Steven Evans. "Wandering Realities is an immensely enjoyable and powerful collection of short fiction, one that highlights both the possibilities and inevitabilities of Mormonism."

Download or read book Joseph Smith written by Richard Lyman Bushman and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-03-13 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.

Download or read book CES Letter written by Jeremy Runnells and published by . This book was released on 2017-04-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CES Letter is one Latter-Day Saint's honest quest to get official answers from the LDS Church (Mormon) on its troubling origins, history, and practices. Jeremy Runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the Church Educational System (CES) and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. After reading Jeremy's letter, the director promised him a response.No response ever came.

Download or read book New Perspectives in Mormon Studies written by Quincy D. Newell and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-03-18 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholarship in Mormon studies has often focused on a few key events and individuals in Mormon history. The essays collected by Quincy D. Newell and Eric F. Mason in this interdisciplinary volume expand the conversation. One of the main purposes of this volume is to define and cross boundaries. Part 1 addresses internal boundaries—walls that divide some Mormons from others. One chapter examines Joseph Smith’s writings on economic matters and argues that he sought to make social distinctions irrelevant. Another considers Jane James, an African American Latter-day Saint, and her experiences at the intersection of religious and racial identity In part 2, contributors consider Mormonism's influence on Pentecostal leader John Alexander Dowie and relationships between Mormonism and other religious movements, including Methodism and Presbyterianism. Other chapters compare Mormonism and Islam and examine the group Ex-Mormons for Jesus/Saints Alive in Jesus. Part 3 deals with Mormonism in the academy and the ongoing evolution of Mormon studies. Written by contributors from a variety of backgrounds, these essays will spark scholarly dialogue across the disciplines.

Download or read book 2010 Novel Short Story Writer s Market written by Alice Pope and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-07-23 with total page 817 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BEST RESOURCE AVAILABLE FOR GETTING YOUR FICTION PUBLISHED For three decades, fiction writers have turned to Novel & Short Story Writer's Market to keep them up-to-date on the industry and help them get published. Whatever your genre or form, the 2010 edition of Novel & Short Story Writer's Market tells you who to contact and what to send them. In this edition you'll find: • Complete, up-to-date contact information for 1,200 book publishers, magazines and journals, literary agents, contests and conferences. • News with novelists such as Gregory Frost, Jonathan Mayberry, Carolyn Hart, Chelsea Cain, Mary Rosenblum, Brian Evenson and Patricia Briggs, plus interviews with four debut authors who share their stories and offer advice. • Nearly 200 pages of informative and inspirational articles on the craft and business of fiction, including pieces on a writing humor, satire, unsympathetic characters, and genre fiction; tips from editors and authors on how to get published; exercises to improve your craft; and more. • Features devoted to genre writing including romance, mystery, and speculative fiction. • And new this year: access to all Novel & Short Story Writer's Market listings in a searchable online database!

Download or read book The Glovemaker written by Ann Weisgarber and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: **Finalist for the Western Writers of America’s 2020 Spur Awards for Historical Novel** **Finalist for the 2019 Association for Mormon Letters Awards for Novel** “Compelling historical fiction…. Part love story, part religious explication, part mystery….A journey you won’t forget.”—Houston Chronicle In the inhospitable lands of the Utah Territory, during the winter of 1888, thirty-seven-year-old Deborah Tyler waits for her husband, Samuel, to return home from his travels as a wheelwright. It is now the depths of winter, Samuel is weeks overdue, and Deborah is getting worried. Deborah lives in Junction, a tiny town of seven Mormon families scattered along the floor of a canyon, and she earns her living by tending orchards and making work gloves. Isolated by the red-rock cliffs that surround the town, she and her neighbors live apart from the outside world, even regarded with suspicion by the Mormon faithful who question the depth of their belief. When a desperate stranger who is pursued by a Federal Marshal shows up on her doorstep seeking refuge, it sets in motion a chain of events that will turn her life upside down. The man, a devout Mormon, is on the run from the US government, which has ruled the practice of polygamy to be a felony. Although Deborah is not devout and doesn’t subscribe to polygamy, she is distrustful of non-Mormons with their long tradition of persecuting believers of her wider faith. But all is not what it seems, and when the Marshal is critically injured, Deborah and her husband’s best friend, Nels Anderson, are faced with life and death decisions that question their faith, humanity, and both of their futures.

Download or read book The Glass Looker written by Mark Elwood and published by . This book was released on 2021-09 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Glass Looker follows an ordinary American farm boy named Joseph Smith who discovers he possesses the magical ability for seeing in stones. Learn the origin story of the American boy-prophet through illustrated accounts collected from Joseph, his family, neighbors and enemies.

Download or read book Mormonism and the Movies written by Chris Wei and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Tending the Garden written by Lavina Fielding Anderson and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of LDS letters has blossomed over the past few decades. Critical attention is one indication, though a particularly important one, of the increasing maturity of Mormon writing. Where authors once could not expect to be reviewed, they are now included in the most prestigious literary journals and occasionally featured in the national press. Increasingly they find that their audience includes people outside the LDS faith. Contributors to this collection are experts with specialty interests. They discuss trends beginning with Parley P. Pratt's autobiography to more recent works by Levi Peterson and Terry Tempest Williams. They address Mormon aesthetics, summarize the historical development of LDS writing, and explore contributions by specific authors. A recurring question is what has been gained from all this effort -- whether readers are better for it -- and whether literature reflects or influences life. For some, this discussion provides food for thought. Others value the recommendations about what to read. Whether one is looking for literary criticism or entertainment, this collection has something for anyone who appreciates good writing.

Download or read book Without the Mask written by Charles Bird and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spencer Kimball s Record Collection Essays on Mormon Music written by Michael Hicks and published by . This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At times jubilant, at times elegiac, this set of ten essays by music historian Michael Hicks navigates topics that range from the inner musical life of Joseph Smith to the Mormon love of blackface musicals, from endless wrangling over hymnbooks to the compiling of Mormon folk and exotica albums in the 1960s. It also offers a brief memoir of what happened to LDS Church President Spencer Kimball's record collection and a lengthy, brooding piece on the elegant strife it takes to write about Mormon musical history in the first place. There are surprises and provocations, of course, alongside judicious sifting of sources and weighing of evidence. The prose is fresh, the research smart, and the result a welcome mixture of the careful and the carefree from Mormonism's best-known scholar of musical life.

Download or read book Bamboozled by the CES Letter written by Michael Ash and published by . This book was released on 2016-04-21 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In April 2013 Jeremy T. Runnells published a PDF booklet entitled, "Letter to a CES Director." This booklet, which is now typically referred to as the "CES Letter," catalogs Runnells' concerns and reason why he left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Runnells has worked hard to make his booklet available to people everywhere (and in several languages) and has, unfortunately, been the agent for leading at least a few other believers out of Mormonism. Sadly, most of those who have been bamboozled by the "CES Letter" are Latter-day Saints who were blind-sided by scholarly-sounding interpretations of challenging data. In my opinion, however, the "CES Letter" creates a caricature of Mormonism. The arguments are fundamentally flawed and do not accurately represent either Mormonism or the only logical interpretations of the data. Unfortunately, the reason the "CES Letter" has enjoyed any success is that most Latter-day Saints have never been exposed to some of the more complex matters in early Mormon history. On average, the typical Latter-day Saint has never needed to think outside of the box on Mormon-related philosophical, historical, or scholarly issues. "Bamboozled by the 'CES Letter'" explains why these controversial issues need not kill a testimony. Interpretation matters. Many lay members, as well as educated Mormon scholars, are fully aware of every topic discussed in the "CES Letter" but continue strong in their faith because they recognize that there are logical interpretations which can be integrated with their belief in Mormonism. There are answers to the concerns raised by the "CES Letter," and those answers can be supported by current scholarship as well as harmonized with the acceptance of Mormon truth claims.

Download or read book The Gift and Power written by Brant Gardner and published by Greg Kofford Books, Incorporated. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Book length treatment of the wide spectrum of questions about the Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon. Includes discussion about the role of folk magic, how the English text replicates the original plate text, and the use of seer stones.