Denominations of American origin Books

Book SynopsisMormonism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. For those who have wondered in what specific ways Mormonism differs from the Christian faith, Mormonism 101 provides definitive answers, examining the major tenets of Mormon theology and comparing them with orthodox Christian beliefs. Perfect for students of religion and anyone who wants to have answers when Mormons come calling.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Race, Religion, and Sport Collide tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team to illustrate the thorny intersection of religion, race, and sport at BYU and beyond. Author Darron T. Smith analyzes the athletes dismissed through BYU's honor code violations and suggests that they are disproportionately African American, which has troubling implications. He ties these dismissals to the complicated history of negative views towards African Americans in the LDS faith. These honor code dismissals elucidate the challenges facing black athletes at predominantly white institutions. Weaving together the history of the black athlete in America and the experience of blackness in Mormon theology, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide offers a timely and powerful analysis of the challenges facing African American athletes in the NCAA today.Trade ReviewArguing that the close and complex relationship between race and religion can be uncovered through sports, Smith does a masterful job of weaving together critical race theory, US religious history, and sports to examine institutionalized racism in intercollegiate athletics. Specifically, Smith examines the realm of the sacred through the uneasy relationship between black student athletes and Mormonism’s larger theological constructions of race. Smith points out that within the Mormon Church blackness, especially in regard to black male athletes, is in tension with the notions of freedom, justice, and equality. However, Brigham Young University is not very different from other primarily white schools where, when it comes to sports, big money commands more interest than does the need of athletes. Black student athletes are especially under attack from the systemic white racism of the NCAA sports world. Perhaps most interesting here is Smith’s attention to how change can occur both within Mormon circles and in the sporting world at large. This book is timely, excellent, and worth a very close read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. * CHOICE *I want to highlight this amazing book . . . [It] is a really fascinating read . . . I can’t plug this book enough and tell everybody they need to read it. * Mormon Stories *The intersecting of race, religion and sport (or perhaps in the author’s words, the ‘collision’ of the three) is a rare feat in the world of scholarship…. An analysis of their association is certainly warranted. Darron T. Smith does just this by wading into the waters of the sports programmes at the flagship university of the Mormon Church. His thesis, that long-standing tenets of Mormon theology have unduly served to punish black athletes at Brigham Young University, extends beyond the expected descriptive account of race, religion and sport converging. Smith bravely aims to expose the racist underbelly of BYU and other similar predominantly white institutions with sport acting as the prism through which to inspect. Hence, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide stands as a critique of the kind of theologized institutionalized racism that hides within the ranks of big-time college athletics. More to the point, racism and its effects are unique and likely more ingrained and pernicious at religious schools – institutions that should be leading the charge in the opposite direction…. When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a respectable gambit into the literature that deals both with race and sport, as well as with sport and religion. Indeed the three are tightly intertwined forming a rope that can pull us out of our shameful racist past but also continue to pull us down into long-standing racist histories with nothing less than the force of God. * Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics *When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide: Black Athletes at BYU and Beyond takes us well past the Davies dismissal to consider the nexus of race, religion, sport, and economic inequality in American society writ large, using BYU as an exemplar of the nation’s colleges and universities…. Smith should be commended for taking on the herculean task of trying to unravel the complex intertwining of race, sports, inequality, and religion. * Mormon Studies Review *When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a forceful, insightful, and powerful book built around the Brandon Davies honor code violation, which took place during Davies’s sophomore year, while he played for Brigham Young University’s successful basketball team. Here, Smith has connected the dots between sports, race, and religion in such a way that the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in sports and societal issues. This book is a tour de force; a must-read! -- Earl Smith, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University, author of Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives Are Surveilled and How to Work for Change.Using the athletic department at Brigham Young University as a case study, Darron Smith explores the complicated and shifting intersections between sport, race, and religion in contemporary American society. With an eye on the historical evolution of the relationship between race and the lucrative world of sports, Smith exposes the ways that black bodies are commodified and racialized for white consumption. Mix a sometimes inconsistently applied honor code with religious justifications for historically excluding black bodies from full participation in Mormon priesthood and temples, and the setting is ripe for a complex set of dynamics to haunt the experiences of black athletes at BYU. When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide not only offers a candid assessment of those dynamics at play but proposes insightful solutions as well. -- W. Paul Reeve, University of Utah; author of Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Struggle for WhitenessIn this book, Darron T. Smith demands that we move beyond box scores, beyond wins and losses, beyond March Madness and bowl season, and beyond the cheers to reflect on the intersecting histories of religion, race, and sport. Offering a powerful discussion of college sports, blackness, and whiteness, Smith chronicles the story of black students at BYU. Using sports as a staging ground, despite claims of post-raciality and colorblindness, Smith offers a powerful discussion of race within and beyond the sporting fields. Interdisciplinary at its core, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide brings together discussions of race and Mormonism, the revolt of the black athlete, contemporary college sports, and new racism. An important work for scholars of religion, sports, and race, this work is timely. -- David J. Leonard, Professor of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, Washington State UniversityIn When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide, Darron Smith has the keen insight to examine the intersection of race and religion and how these categories intersect sports. The study uncovers the ways that whiteness structures BYU’s and the Mormon (LDS) Church’s response to Black athletes in the context of presumed colorblindness. Smith shows how such post-racial colorblindness is untenable and unhealthful, and he offers constructive tenets for the Mormon Church that have relevance beyond LDS academic institutions. This book should be added to the corpus of scholars who are interested in the murky terrain of collegiate sports scholarship and to the growing work in Mormon studies, race studies, and sports. -- Stephen C. Finley, Louisiana State UniversityIn this provocative new study, Darron T. Smith examines the connection between blackness and Mormonism using Brigham Young University's honor code as a case study. His book bristles with new insights, demonstrating the ways in which Mormon racial theology has affected the lives of black athletes at the church owned-and-operated school. This book is a welcome voice to the growing body of literature on Mormon race relations. It is a superb achievement. -- Matthew L. Harris, Colorado State University–Pueblo; coauthor of The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary HistoryDarron Smith's study of institutionalized racism as informed by religious doctrine is an important, thought-provoking work. Smith asks hard questions and does not settle for easy answers. Whether readers agree or disagree with his analysis, observations, and conclusions, they will not leave his stimulating book unchanged. -- Gary James Bergera, coauthor of Brigham Young University: A House of FaithWhen Race, Religion, and Sport Collide is a thoughtful and unique examination of the sociocultural issues at play within intercollegiate athletics. Dr. Smith’s work sheds light on larger social and structural issues by focusing on a truly interesting case study that will benefit students, administrators, faculty, and other personnel in both athletics and education. -- Mark Vermillion, chair, Department of Sport Management; executive director of Partnership for the Advancement of Sport Management, Wichita State UniversityThis book is a revealing examination of race in sports and religion with a unique focus—the treatment of black athletes at BYU. Darron Smith uses football, basketball, and other sports to explain a deep-seated prejudice at the heart of Mormonism. Anyone surprised to learn that Brigham Young was a racist should read this book. -- Luke O'Brien, PoliticoThis is a story of young black men used, abused, and too easily discarded under the guise of amateurism and faith. As he explores the crushing subtleties of racism in a respected college athletics program, Darron Smith reminds us that conscience is no defense for the indefensible. An important read. -- Chad Nielsen, sportswriterTable of ContentsIntroduction 1.The Meaning of Sport in the Popular Imagination: The Collision of Race, Religion and Sport 2.The Origins of Racism and Framing: Setting the Stage for the History of Blacks in Sport 3.The White Racial Framing of Blacks in Mormon Theology 4.Black Student Revolts and Political Uprising in the Late Sixties and Early Seventies: Fanning the Flame of Black Student-Athlete Revolts 5.Mormon Attitudes toward Civil Rights: It’s God’s Law, We’re Not Racist! 6.No Honor in the Honor Code: The Suspension of Brandon Davies and the Incompatibility Nexus between Blackness and Mormonism 7.Colorblindness and the Health Consequences to Black Male Student-Athletes through the Illusion of a Free Education 8.Pipeline to a Pipedream: The Elusiveness of Change in the Era of “Black Lives Matter” Notes

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Baring Witness, Holly Welker and thirty-six Mormon women write about devotion and love and luck, about the wonder of discovery, and about the journeys, both thorny and magical, to humor, grace, and contentment. They speak to a diversity of life experiences: what happens when one partner rejects Church teachings; marrying outside one's faith; the pain of divorce and widowhood; the horrors of spousal abuse; the hard journey from visions of an idealized marriage to the everyday truth; sexuality within Mormon marriage; how the pressure to find a husband shapes young women's actions and sense of self; and the ways Mormon belief and culture can influence second marriages and same-sex unions. The result is an unflinching look at the earthly realities of an institution central to Mormon life.Trade ReviewHonorable Mention in Creative Non-Fiction, Association for Mormon Letters, 2017 "Reading this collection of intimate, intelligent, and terribly interesting essays is an exercise in empathy that truly ought to be considered required reading to the 21st century Latter-day Saint seeking to truly mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Baring Witness broadcasts voices of Mormon women that are all too often quietly dismissed in the broader aspects of our culture. In the end, these stories consist of sacred narratives—not so much a record of God’s dealing with people but of people’s dealing with God.”--Association for Mormon Letters"The stories are fresh, raw, filled with riveting, sometimes shocking details — and impossible to predict the end from the beginning. They are both universal and uniquely LDS.”—The Salt Lake Tribune, Peggy Fletcher Stack"If you enjoy reading stories about LDS women, about both the hard times and the good times, this book is definitely for you." --Exponent"Welker has facilitated a range of lived experiences on how Mormon women negotiate secular expectations of equality and religious patriarchy. She is creating conversations between Mormon congregations, Non-Mormon communities, and Mormon scholarship by informing us how Mormon women rebel, respond and reproduce gender inequality through marriage and expectations of relationships. Therefore, these essays are concrete examples of the contested territory that Mormon women encounter, as they simultaneously re-entrench and assimilate between secular values and faith beliefs in a religion that situates its marriage as being of divine design."--Religion and Gender"Lively and fascinating." --Novo Religio"Illuminating and heartfelt, frequently moving and sometimes hilarious, these essays explore moments of failure and fulfilment, laying bare the all too often unspoken confinements, complications and comforts of love, sex, and marriage."--Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issy Bradley"One need not be Mormon to savor this collection of bold and varied essays about the joys and conflicts, the highs and lows, the complexities and contradictions of being a smart Mormon woman today. Beautifully written and impeccably edited, Baring Witness provides not just a wealth of information and experience, but also a truly great read."—Cathi Hanauer, author of Gone and editor of The Bitch Is Back

Read more less

Trade Review"A very important work. This travel journal tells the story of a great man's baptism into other worlds of culture, language, nationhood, and appreciation for peoples outside of his purview. The more one knows about David O. McKay, the more one recognizes that this international experience changed the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."--R. Lanier Britsch, author of Moramona: The Mormons in Hawai'i"A well-researched and well-written narrative that places McKay's journey in historical context and prepares the reader to plumb its forward-looking significance. It will take its place in the extensive documentary history of the most important figure in twentieth-century Mormonism."--Gregory A. Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

Read more less

Book SynopsisEugene 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 roilTrade Review"Haglund's analysis truly shines when she places England in context with other thinkers. . . The most powerful parts of Haglund's work are when she demonstrates how England lived during a transition moment for Mormonism." --By Common Consent"Haglund's brief, elegant study brings back the restless personality of the late Eugene England, one of Mormonism's most energetic thinkers and intellectuals, wrestling with the tensions between independent thought and loyal belief. This book illuminates an entire era in Mormon intellectual history."--Claudia L. Bushman, author of Contemporary Mormonism: Latter-day Saints in Modern America"Eugene England was the most gifted Latter-day Saint essayist of the late twentieth century, influencing an entire generation of thinkers and strivers. In Kristine Haglund’s deft handling, we also come to appreciate England as embodying the paradoxes and tensions of modern religion: liberal and conservative, faith and reason, individual and community, autonomy and authority. This book will enable a whole new generation to rediscover the wisdom and wrestle of one of twentieth-century Mormonism’s most remarkable souls and intellects."--Patrick Q. Mason, Utah State University

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Michael Austin has produced an admirable introduction to the life and work of Vardis Fisher, arguably the most prominent (and prolific!) novelist to emerge from the Intermountain region in the twentieth century." --Journal of Mormon History"A remarkably well-written, engaging, and informative read." --Mormon Studies Review“Vardis Fisher was a key founder of both American Western and Mormon literatures, a master storyteller with a remarkable life, ‘an unbeliever who was Mormon to his core’. Michael Austin, Mormon literature’s leading scholar, reintroduces Fisher and lovingly reinterprets these remarkable novels for a new generation.”--Andrew Hall, Association for Mormon Letters

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Restless Pilgrim: Andrew Jenson's Quest for Latter-day Saint History provides a fast-paced walk through the life of this seminal Latter-day Saint historian, and his relentless thirst to gather as much history of the early Saints as possible." --Journal of Mormon HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ixPrologue 11 Danish American Emigrant 72 Entrepreneurial Chronicler 293 Historian’s Office Affiliate 504 Itinerant World Traveler 795 Assistant Church Historian 1046 Elder and Emissary 1217 Scandinavian Mission President 1408 Modern Record Keeper 1659 Explorer of Latin America 18310 Public Commemorator 20311 Twilight Church Historian 221Epilogue 240Notes 247Bibliography 293Index 309

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Revising Eternity indeed revises any misguided notions we might have of uniformity in the Latter-day Saint experience, boldly and candidly opening to view the sometimes intense, sometimes joyous, sometimes sorrowful lives of a wide variety of writers, and with its myriad perspectives the book invites us to more deeply know and thus achieve greater empathy with one another."--Patrick Madden, author of Disparates: Essays"This is a fascinating compilation, detailing as it does what happens when an exigent definition of righteousness and propriety meets the reality of human nature--a work at once sad, sobering, heartening, and above all enlightening. Highly recommended."--Levi S. Peterson, author of A Rascal by Nature, a Christian by Yearning: A Mormon AutobiographyTable of ContentsForeword: Mormon American Masculinities, Ideal and Actual Patrick Q. Mason xiAcknowledgments xvIntroduction: Personal, Contingent, and Incomplete Views on Eternal Marriage Holly Welker 1Part I. Revised Expectations Transgressors Stephen Carter 19A husband considers the ways his happymarriage violates the ideal praised by theProclamation on the FamilyBy the Drinking Fountain Eric Robeck 25A couple’s relationship seems like a Latter-dayfairy tale—until he loses his faithMy One and Only Clyde Kunz 31A gay man considers the way Latter-day Saints’expectations for straight marriage affect his ownsearch for a relationshipThere’s Something about Mary Kim Siever 37A husband learns to love his wife more deeply bystudying the example of her love for himFor Jess, after Eighteen Years of Marriage: Seven Fragments on Love; Or, Some Things I Carry Tyler Chadwick 42In a love letter to his wife, a husband lists someof the familiar mysteries he cherishes in theirmarriageAn Apology I’ve Been Working on for a While Joey Franklin 44A husband reflects on the division of labor inhis marriage and how it affects his and his wife’ssenses of selfNever Good Enough Michael Carpenter 52A lifetime of failing to meet Latter-day Saintideals exacts a tragic costMormon AF Nicholas Don Smith 58A stand-up comic from American Fork, Utah,reflects on what it means to be Mormon andsingleLiken the Scriptures Andrew Spriggs 63A young husband realizes that his gay marriageis the most Mormon thing about his lifeThe Care Package Kevin Barnwell 71A husband who has left the church works to findthe perfect anniversary gift for his still devout wifePart II. Sex and Its Consequences Fertility Theric Jepson 77After the birth of their fourth child, a husbandundergoes a vasectomy to spare his wife anymore worry about fertilityOpposites Robert Raleigh 82Newlyweds discover that their intense physicalattraction is not a strong enough basis for ahappy marriage—or even a satisfying sex lifeEternity in an Hour Boyd Jay Petersen 92On the eve of a trip abroad, a husband learnsthat his wife of thirty-three years is gay, afterwhich they negotiate a respectful separationPie Month Scott Russell Morris 105A young couple agrees to eat pie every day duringthe month of March 2014 while they also try toconceive a childThe Highest T. Kay Browning 119A young man determined to marry early learnsto be the man of integrity his marriage requiresof him, especially as he reckons with what the#MeToo movement means for menBeing Jane John Doe 129A bisexual cross-dresser and his wife learn tohave a mutually fulfilling sex life while honoringtheir temple covenants to one anotherSoul Mates Scott Blanding 133A gay man and a straight woman navigate amarriage both believe they committed to before birthHiding in Plain Sight David Nicolay 141A husband’s ability to connect to his wife isundermined by decades of sexual shame overmasturbation7:06 A.M. Kelland Coleman 151A lonely husband briefly attains the intimacy hehas longed for with his wife when she admits toherself and to him that she is gayUnsealed Dan Smith 160A husband learns that trying to practicepolygamy to please his wife does not heal theirtroubled marriagePart III. In Sickness and in Health Fear and Trepanation Ted Smith 171A midlife crisis helps a husband understandhow valuable his marriage is, just before it isthreatened by a dire medical crisisI’m Not Who I Thought You Married John B. Dahl 180A young husband is forced to confront his ownmisconceptions about mental illness when he isdiagnosed with depression—and discovers thatdoing so strengthens instead of harms his marriageHolding On and Letting Go Joseph Broom 190After decades in a straight marriage, a gay mandiscovers happiness with the love of his life—onlyto lose him to cancer after a short marriageDisability Check Caleb Scoville 198A young man reckons with the way his bipolardisease wreaks havoc on his marriageThe House of Infinite Regret Scot Denhalter 207Addiction to prescription narcotics destroys a life,a marriage, and a familyFrom Patriarchy to Matriarchy: A Marital and Spiritual Journey Thomas W Murphy 218A young man from an abusive household vows tocreate a family free of violence and coercion withhis wife, after which they learn about alternativeforms of strength and leadership—and aboutaspects of their own backgrounds—when theirwork leads them to Indigenous communitiesThe Marriage Bed: An Essay and Three Poems Robert A. Rees 231A widower reflects on his happy marriage andthe joy of sharing a bed with his belovedGlossary 239Discussion Questions 243Bibliography 245Contributors 249

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"An interesting and convincing read." --Association for Mormon Letters"Highly original, extremely interesting, and richly documented. The collection analyzed here is remarkable. A book that is superbly satisfying in terms of intellectual stimulation (because of its high erudition and in-depth analysis of how politics will impact cultural products), aesthetic curiosity, and humorous entertainment."--Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, author of La Religion des MormonsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Chronology of Key Publications and EventsChapter 1. “Ils ont lâché le fou!”: Unleashing the Mormon JesterChapter 2. “La Loi nouvelle”: Mormonism and the Social Question in FranceChapter 3. Mormonism, Masculinity, and the Woman Question in Second Empire FranceChapter 4. Between Man and God: Mormons, Spiritualism, and the OccultChapter 5. From Page to Stage: Mormonism and the Woman Question in the Early Third RepublicChapter 6. “Ces mœurs sont bien les nôtres!” Mormons, Marriage, and the Divorce DebateChapter 7. Exotic Mormons and the French Colonial ProjectChapter 8. “La Fin du Mormonisme”Notes BibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Focusing on the agency of a single institution, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Feller takes us beyond simple assumptions about representation and ideology to show us in finely grained detail how exactly Mormon theology, cosmological vision, community, bureaucratic authority, and public image work together--and sometimes, against one another--in an ongoing history of innovation, strategic management, struggle, and imagination. At each step, Eternity in the Ether sheds light on a remarkable terrain of creative energies, practical demands, and political possibilities, inviting us to see Mormonism in new ways, and by extension, to revisit many assumptions about how media work in the world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between religion and media.”--Jeremy Stolow, author of Deus in Machina: Religion, Technology, and the Things in Between"Gavin Feller's Eternity in the Ether: A Mormon Media History is an interesting book that brings together various academic disciplines and fields together -- weaving communication studies, religion, and history into one manuscript." --Association of Mormon LettersTable of ContentsPreface AcknowledgmentsIntroduction Sacred Cities, Stubborn People Voices in the West God Is Wireless Ethical Dilemmas and Technical Obstacles: Navigating Early Television Distance and Discipline: Television, Home, and Family Boundaries and Borders: Zion Online Community Here, Community Hereafter Conclusion: Control and Compromise NotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Engaging and utterly original in its conception, this study of the Mormon faith in Ireland provides a fascinating lens for understanding the effects of globalization and secularization on religious faith. This deep dive into local congregational life demonstrates how the study of a historically marginalized faith sheds light on broader political and cultural patterns.”--Laurie Maffly-Kipp, coeditor of Proclamation to the People: Nineteenth Century Mormonism and the Pacific Basin FrontierTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Religion in Contemporary Ireland The Challenges of Belonging in Modern Mormonism They All Seem Very Nice but It’s a Bit Weird Isn’t It? Their Ancestors Are Watching Them Irish-Irish and Mormon-Irish We Preach That Culture Conclusion: Reflections for the Future Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHonorable Mention in Creative Non-Fiction, Association for Mormon Letters, 2017 "Reading this collection of intimate, intelligent, and terribly interesting essays is an exercise in empathy that truly ought to be considered required reading to the 21st century Latter-day Saint seeking to truly mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Baring Witness broadcasts voices of Mormon women that are all too often quietly dismissed in the broader aspects of our culture. In the end, these stories consist of sacred narratives—not so much a record of God’s dealing with people but of people’s dealing with God.”--Association for Mormon Letters"The stories are fresh, raw, filled with riveting, sometimes shocking details — and impossible to predict the end from the beginning. They are both universal and uniquely LDS.”—The Salt Lake Tribune, Peggy Fletcher Stack"If you enjoy reading stories about LDS women, about both the hard times and the good times, this book is definitely for you." --Exponent"Welker has facilitated a range of lived experiences on how Mormon women negotiate secular expectations of equality and religious patriarchy. She is creating conversations between Mormon congregations, Non-Mormon communities, and Mormon scholarship by informing us how Mormon women rebel, respond and reproduce gender inequality through marriage and expectations of relationships. Therefore, these essays are concrete examples of the contested territory that Mormon women encounter, as they simultaneously re-entrench and assimilate between secular values and faith beliefs in a religion that situates its marriage as being of divine design."--Religion and Gender"Lively and fascinating." --Novo Religio"Illuminating and heartfelt, frequently moving and sometimes hilarious, these essays explore moments of failure and fulfilment, laying bare the all too often unspoken confinements, complications and comforts of love, sex, and marriage."--Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issy Bradley"One need not be Mormon to savor this collection of bold and varied essays about the joys and conflicts, the highs and lows, the complexities and contradictions of being a smart Mormon woman today. Beautifully written and impeccably edited, Baring Witness provides not just a wealth of information and experience, but also a truly great read."—Cathi Hanauer, author of Gone and editor of The Bitch Is Back

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A very important work. This travel journal tells the story of a great man's baptism into other worlds of culture, language, nationhood, and appreciation for peoples outside of his purview. The more one knows about David O. McKay, the more one recognizes that this international experience changed the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."--R. Lanier Britsch, author of Moramona: The Mormons in Hawai'i"A well-researched and well-written narrative that places McKay's journey in historical context and prepares the reader to plumb its forward-looking significance. It will take its place in the extensive documentary history of the most important figure in twentieth-century Mormonism."--Gregory A. Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Michael Austin has produced an admirable introduction to the life and work of Vardis Fisher, arguably the most prominent (and prolific!) novelist to emerge from the Intermountain region in the twentieth century." --Journal of Mormon History"A remarkably well-written, engaging, and informative read." --Mormon Studies Review“Vardis Fisher was a key founder of both American Western and Mormon literatures, a master storyteller with a remarkable life, ‘an unbeliever who was Mormon to his core’. Michael Austin, Mormon literature’s leading scholar, reintroduces Fisher and lovingly reinterprets these remarkable novels for a new generation.”--Andrew Hall, Association for Mormon Letters

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Restless Pilgrim: Andrew Jenson's Quest for Latter-day Saint History provides a fast-paced walk through the life of this seminal Latter-day Saint historian, and his relentless thirst to gather as much history of the early Saints as possible." --Journal of Mormon HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ixPrologue 11 Danish American Emigrant 72 Entrepreneurial Chronicler 293 Historian’s Office Affiliate 504 Itinerant World Traveler 795 Assistant Church Historian 1046 Elder and Emissary 1217 Scandinavian Mission President 1408 Modern Record Keeper 1659 Explorer of Latin America 18310 Public Commemorator 20311 Twilight Church Historian 221Epilogue 240Notes 247Bibliography 293Index 309

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Revising Eternity indeed revises any misguided notions we might have of uniformity in the Latter-day Saint experience, boldly and candidly opening to view the sometimes intense, sometimes joyous, sometimes sorrowful lives of a wide variety of writers, and with its myriad perspectives the book invites us to more deeply know and thus achieve greater empathy with one another."--Patrick Madden, author of Disparates: Essays"This is a fascinating compilation, detailing as it does what happens when an exigent definition of righteousness and propriety meets the reality of human nature--a work at once sad, sobering, heartening, and above all enlightening. Highly recommended."--Levi S. Peterson, author of A Rascal by Nature, a Christian by Yearning: A Mormon AutobiographyTable of ContentsForeword: Mormon American Masculinities, Ideal and Actual Patrick Q. Mason xiAcknowledgments xvIntroduction: Personal, Contingent, and Incomplete Views on Eternal Marriage Holly Welker 1Part I. Revised Expectations Transgressors Stephen Carter 19A husband considers the ways his happymarriage violates the ideal praised by theProclamation on the FamilyBy the Drinking Fountain Eric Robeck 25A couple’s relationship seems like a Latter-dayfairy tale—until he loses his faithMy One and Only Clyde Kunz 31A gay man considers the way Latter-day Saints’expectations for straight marriage affect his ownsearch for a relationshipThere’s Something about Mary Kim Siever 37A husband learns to love his wife more deeply bystudying the example of her love for himFor Jess, after Eighteen Years of Marriage: Seven Fragments on Love; Or, Some Things I Carry Tyler Chadwick 42In a love letter to his wife, a husband lists someof the familiar mysteries he cherishes in theirmarriageAn Apology I’ve Been Working on for a While Joey Franklin 44A husband reflects on the division of labor inhis marriage and how it affects his and his wife’ssenses of selfNever Good Enough Michael Carpenter 52A lifetime of failing to meet Latter-day Saintideals exacts a tragic costMormon AF Nicholas Don Smith 58A stand-up comic from American Fork, Utah,reflects on what it means to be Mormon andsingleLiken the Scriptures Andrew Spriggs 63A young husband realizes that his gay marriageis the most Mormon thing about his lifeThe Care Package Kevin Barnwell 71A husband who has left the church works to findthe perfect anniversary gift for his still devout wifePart II. Sex and Its Consequences Fertility Theric Jepson 77After the birth of their fourth child, a husbandundergoes a vasectomy to spare his wife anymore worry about fertilityOpposites Robert Raleigh 82Newlyweds discover that their intense physicalattraction is not a strong enough basis for ahappy marriage—or even a satisfying sex lifeEternity in an Hour Boyd Jay Petersen 92On the eve of a trip abroad, a husband learnsthat his wife of thirty-three years is gay, afterwhich they negotiate a respectful separationPie Month Scott Russell Morris 105A young couple agrees to eat pie every day duringthe month of March 2014 while they also try toconceive a childThe Highest T. Kay Browning 119A young man determined to marry early learnsto be the man of integrity his marriage requiresof him, especially as he reckons with what the#MeToo movement means for menBeing Jane John Doe 129A bisexual cross-dresser and his wife learn tohave a mutually fulfilling sex life while honoringtheir temple covenants to one anotherSoul Mates Scott Blanding 133A gay man and a straight woman navigate amarriage both believe they committed to before birthHiding in Plain Sight David Nicolay 141A husband’s ability to connect to his wife isundermined by decades of sexual shame overmasturbation7:06 A.M. Kelland Coleman 151A lonely husband briefly attains the intimacy hehas longed for with his wife when she admits toherself and to him that she is gayUnsealed Dan Smith 160A husband learns that trying to practicepolygamy to please his wife does not heal theirtroubled marriagePart III. In Sickness and in Health Fear and Trepanation Ted Smith 171A midlife crisis helps a husband understandhow valuable his marriage is, just before it isthreatened by a dire medical crisisI’m Not Who I Thought You Married John B. Dahl 180A young husband is forced to confront his ownmisconceptions about mental illness when he isdiagnosed with depression—and discovers thatdoing so strengthens instead of harms his marriageHolding On and Letting Go Joseph Broom 190After decades in a straight marriage, a gay mandiscovers happiness with the love of his life—onlyto lose him to cancer after a short marriageDisability Check Caleb Scoville 198A young man reckons with the way his bipolardisease wreaks havoc on his marriageThe House of Infinite Regret Scot Denhalter 207Addiction to prescription narcotics destroys a life,a marriage, and a familyFrom Patriarchy to Matriarchy: A Marital and Spiritual Journey Thomas W Murphy 218A young man from an abusive household vows tocreate a family free of violence and coercion withhis wife, after which they learn about alternativeforms of strength and leadership—and aboutaspects of their own backgrounds—when theirwork leads them to Indigenous communitiesThe Marriage Bed: An Essay and Three Poems Robert A. Rees 231A widower reflects on his happy marriage andthe joy of sharing a bed with his belovedGlossary 239Discussion Questions 243Bibliography 245Contributors 249

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the nineteenth century, a fascination with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made Mormons and Mormonism a common trope in French journalism, art, literature, politics, and popular culture. Heather Belnap, Corry Cropper, and Daryl Lee bring to light French representations of Mormonism from the 1830s to 1914, arguing that these portrayals often critiqued and parodied French society. Mormonism became a pretext for reconsidering issues such as gender, colonialism, the family, and church-state relations while providing artists and authors with a means for working through the possibilities of their own evolving national identity. Surprising and innovative, Marianne Meets the Mormons looks at how nineteenth-century French observers engaged with the idea of Mormonism in order to reframe their own cultural preoccupations.Trade Review"An interesting and convincing read." --Association for Mormon Letters"Highly original, extremely interesting, and richly documented. The collection analyzed here is remarkable. A book that is superbly satisfying in terms of intellectual stimulation (because of its high erudition and in-depth analysis of how politics will impact cultural products), aesthetic curiosity, and humorous entertainment."--Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, author of La Religion des Mormons"Belnap, Cropper, and Lee teach the reader much about French debates during the nineteenth century and how Mormonism highlighted those heated conversations. The authors deserve praise for writing such an interesting book about Mormonism outside of America." --Journal of Mormon HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Chronology of Key Publications and EventsChapter 1. “Ils ont lâché le fou!”: Unleashing the Mormon JesterChapter 2. “La Loi nouvelle”: Mormonism and the Social Question in FranceChapter 3. Mormonism, Masculinity, and the Woman Question in Second Empire FranceChapter 4. Between Man and God: Mormons, Spiritualism, and the OccultChapter 5. From Page to Stage: Mormonism and the Woman Question in the Early Third RepublicChapter 6. “Ces mœurs sont bien les nôtres!” Mormons, Marriage, and the Divorce DebateChapter 7. Exotic Mormons and the French Colonial ProjectChapter 8. “La Fin du Mormonisme”Notes BibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisMass media and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints evolved alongside each other, and communications technology became a fundamental part of the Church's institutions and communities. Gavin Feller investigates the impact of radio, television, and the internet on Mormonism and what it tells us about new media's integration into American life. The Church wrestled with the promise of new media to help implement its vision of Zion. But it also had to contend with threat that media posed to the family and other important facets of the Latter-day Saint faith. Inevitably, media technologies forced the leadership and lay alike to reconsider organizational values and ethical commitments. As Feller shows, the conflicts they faced illuminate the fundamental forces of control and compromise that enmesh an emerging medium in American social and cultural life. Intriguing and original, Eternity in the Ether blends communications history with a religious perspective to examine the crossroadTrade Review“Focusing on the agency of a single institution, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Feller takes us beyond simple assumptions about representation and ideology to show us in finely grained detail how exactly Mormon theology, cosmological vision, community, bureaucratic authority, and public image work together--and sometimes, against one another--in an ongoing history of innovation, strategic management, struggle, and imagination. At each step, Eternity in the Ether sheds light on a remarkable terrain of creative energies, practical demands, and political possibilities, inviting us to see Mormonism in new ways, and by extension, to revisit many assumptions about how media work in the world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between religion and media.”--Jeremy Stolow, author of Deus in Machina: Religion, Technology, and the Things in Between"Gavin Feller's Eternity in the Ether: A Mormon Media History is an interesting book that brings together various academic disciplines and fields together -- weaving communication studies, religion, and history into one manuscript." --Association of Mormon LettersTable of ContentsPreface AcknowledgmentsIntroduction Sacred Cities, Stubborn People Voices in the West God Is Wireless Ethical Dilemmas and Technical Obstacles: Navigating Early Television Distance and Discipline: Television, Home, and Family Boundaries and Borders: Zion Online Community Here, Community Hereafter Conclusion: Control and Compromise NotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the international religions that have arrived from abroad to find adherents in Ireland. Drawing on fieldwork in two LDS communities, Hazel O'Brien explores how these adherents experience the Church in Ireland against the backdrop of the country's increasingly complex religious identity. Irish Latter-day Saints live on the margins of the nation's religious life and the worldwide LDS movement. Nonetheless, they create a sense of belonging for themselves by drawing on collective memories of both their Irishness and their faith. As O'Brien shows, Irish Latter-day Saints work to shift the understanding of Ireland's religious landscape away from a predominant focus on Roman Catholicism. They also challenge Utah-based constructions of Mormonism in order to ensure their place in the Church's powerful religious and cultural lineage. Examining the Latter-day Saint experience against one nation's rapid social and religious changes, Irish Trade Review“Engaging and utterly original in its conception, this study of the Mormon faith in Ireland provides a fascinating lens for understanding the effects of globalization and secularization on religious faith. This deep dive into local congregational life demonstrates how the study of a historically marginalized faith sheds light on broader political and cultural patterns.”--Laurie Maffly-Kipp, coeditor of Proclamation to the People: Nineteenth Century Mormonism and the Pacific Basin Frontier“A very insightful look at globalization, colonialism, religious identity, and building communal memory, all through the lens of contemporary Ireland." --Association of Mormon LettersTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Religion in Contemporary Ireland The Challenges of Belonging in Modern Mormonism They All Seem Very Nice but It’s a Bit Weird Isn’t It? Their Ancestors Are Watching Them Irish-Irish and Mormon-Irish We Preach That Culture Conclusion: Reflections for the Future Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhere others saw only sage, a salt lake, and a great desert, the Mormons saw their "lovely Deseret," a land of lilacs, honeycombs, poplars, and fruit trees. Unwelcome in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, they migrated to the dry lands between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada to establish Mormon country, a wasteland made green.Trade Review“Stegner’s book makes excellent reading and is also solidly based. . . . His residence of fifteen years in the region he is describing allows him to mingle ease with authority.”—New York Times“Stegner combines a great amount of information and lively comment with fine description of one of the most beautiful and least known regions of the United States.”—Boston Globe

Read more less