Mormon Life - Joseph Smith tag

Joseph Smith is in 'the pantheon of the prophets'

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:48:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

In considering the character of the Prophet Joseph Smith, it is good "to transfer what we know into how we act," Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy said May 12.

Elder Jensen, recently released as Church Historian and Recorder, was the evening dinner speaker for the National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers Annual Symposium held in Salt Lake City. Other presentations from the symposium, which was themed "Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration," will be reported later in the Church News. All of the speakers have been involved with the Joseph Smith Papers Project currently being undertaken and published by the Church History Department.

Defending the Faith: A simple explanation works best for the Restoration

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:19:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

We left off last week with the notion that the Book of Mormon was plagiarized from a manuscript written by Solomon Spalding, who had died in 1816. Sidney Rigdon, so the story goes, stole the work from Spalding's family and, for whatever reason, used it to set the young farmer Joseph Smith up as a prophet.

Though lacking any real historical support, this was the dominant non-Mormon theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon for more than a century. In recent decades, though, it's fallen on hard times.

It didn't help, probably, that, when Spalding's lost manuscript was found, it was also found to bear no significant resemblance to the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith's account of the Restoration is difficult to counter

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:23:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

As I see it, the single most persuasive secular argument for the authenticity of the founding events of the Restoration isn't actually a single argument or line of evidence at all. It's the fact that no counterexplanation yet proposed for those events accounts for all the relevant data nearly as well as Joseph Smith's own story does.

If his claims aren't true, the fundamental question to be asked regarding Joseph is whether he thought they were or knew they weren't. In other words, was he in some sense "crazy" or was he consciously deceptive?

Let's take those two options in that order.

Defending the Faith: If beginning is true, all else follows

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:16:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Years ago, my colleague and friend Louis Midgley drew my attention to an anecdote related by the eminent Protestant church historian Martin Marty.

It conveys an important lesson.

Marie de Vichy-Chamrond (d. 1780), the Marquise du Deffand, was a famous 18th-century French hostess, as well as a friend of Voltaire, Montesquieu and other leading intellectuals of the day. She was also a notable cynic and skeptic.

Mormon Media Observer: It always comes back to Joseph Smith

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:02:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormon Life says: In a Pew study, more people knew that Joseph Smith was Mormon than could identify the first four books of the New Testament. It might come as a shock to MSNBC commentator Lawrence O'Donell, but many Latter-day Saints might well see O'Donell's mean-spirited remarks late last week about the Prophet Joseph Smith as evidence, ironically, that Joseph was a prophet.

In "The History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet," published in the late 1830s, Joseph wrote that Angel Moroni appeared to him and said "that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people."

Anti-Mormon bigotry repeated by MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:34:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: He would have been fired had he said this about Islam or any other religion. When Sen. Orrin Hatch proclaimed Tuesday afternoon that President Barack Obama's re-election campaign would "throw the Mormon church at" Mitt Romney, Democrats were quick to reaffirm "attacking a candidate's religion is out of bounds" and dismiss the senator's opinions as "utter nonsense."

Apparently MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell missed the religious-attacks-aren't-cool memo, because on the very same day as Hatch's controversial comments O'Donnell blatantly attacked Romney's religion by making inflammatory and inaccurate statements about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its founder, Joseph Smith, during political programming intended to offer analysis of Tuesday's presidential primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Mormon scholar presents golden plates research at USU

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:24:00 -0600

source: hjnews.townnews.com

A renowned scholar of Mormon history visited Utah State University on Thursday, giving students and community members an exclusive presentation on his latest historical research.

Richard Bushman is most well-known for his historical biography, “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling,” on Mormonism's founder. A Latter-day Saint himself, Bushman has been nationally recognized for his scholarly work on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph Smith Papers Project releases new book

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:16:00 -0600

source: news.lds.org

As part of a continuing effort to collect, preserve, and share Church history, Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories, 1832–1844, the latest publication of the Joseph Smith Papers project, will become available for purchase starting Monday, March 19, 2012. Like other volumes, this publication will be available in English only.

The suggested retail price of the book is US $54.95, and it will be available both online and in bookstores. The volume will also be accessible from many research libraries around the world.

Bloggernacle Back Bench: What's new in history and international art

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:10:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Let’s delve into some history and art this week since I attended both a blogger news conference on the new "The Joseph Smith Papers: Histories, Volume 1" and the Church History Library’s 9th International Art Competition opening.

Sharing stories from family history: Robert Crookston's testimony of the Prophet

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:32:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Growing up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I knew of the church's pioneer legacy and had some idea of my own pioneer ancestry, although I wasn't sure on a lot of the specifics.

During family trips to Salt Lake City or church history sites in Missouri and Illinois, and later Ohio and New York, we would pass by a place and my parents were ready to share "you know you had an ancestor who …. "

Scholar Terryl Givens explains Mormon concept of 'Restoration'

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:52:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormons may think they understand the Restoration, but in 19th century America, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not just another restoriationist religion.

Scholar Terryl Givens explained at the “Exploring Mormon Conceptions of the Apostasy” conference on Friday afternoon at BYU: “It is historically misleading in one important regard to consider Mormonism another variety of restorationism. Parley P. Pratt made this seemingly obvious point, ‘We can never understand precisely what is meant by restoration until we understand what was taken away.’”

New Documents Available on Joseph Smith Papers Website

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:55:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Following the release of the second volume of the manuscript history of the Church online, the Joseph Smith Papers website has now added to its collection a dozen new documents relating to early Latter-day Saint history and Joseph Smith’s personal life.

The new documents, dated from 1829 to 1838, are owned by Community of Christ, which made the document images available under a licensing agreement with the project.

N.J. man seeks to have Vermont land used as Mormon center

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:24:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

A man who tried for seven years to build a gift shop and delicatessen near the Vermont birthplace of Joseph Smith now wants to sell the land to a Mormon historical society that would build a museum and hospitality center.

John Lefgren said his unsuccessful effort to open the business on his land in Royalton went through several government agencies and courts, a dozen lawyers and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

The Restoration stands up to history

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:37:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

Decades ago, I attended a gathering where the late Stanley Kimball, a professor of history at Southern Illinois University and president of the Mormon History Association, spoke. His remarks have stuck in my mind ever since. (If anybody out there knows where a written version of the speech can be found, I would be delighted to see it.)

Kimball explained what he called the "three levels" of Mormon history, which he termed Levels A, B, and C. (Given my own background in philosophy, I might have chosen Hegel's terminology instead: "thesis," "antithesis" and "synthesis.")

Joseph Smith Papers website updated

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:20:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Hundreds of pages of documents from the early years of Latter-day Saint history as well as helpful reference material have been added to the Joseph Smith Papers website to enable casual readers and serious scholars to read and better understand the papers of Joseph Smith.

Teachings of George Albert Smith Lesson 4: The Prophet Joseph Smith: God's Instrument in Restoring Truth

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:03:00 -0700

source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: "Through Joseph Smith have been restored all the powers, keys, teachings, and ordinances necessary for salvation and exaltation." - Tad R. Callister

Note: As the Church has said, the manual has been prepared as the primary source of lesson material. This supplement, from a general conference address, is only meant as a complement to your study on this lesson's topic.

Excerpt from "Joseph Smith - Prophet of the Restoration" by Elder Tad R. Callister, October 2009 General Conference:

Suppose for a moment someone told you these three facts about a New Testament personality and nothing more: first, the Savior said of this man, “O thou of little faith” (Matthew 14:31); second, this man, in a moment of anger, cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant; and third, this man denied knowing who the Savior was on three occasions, even though he had walked with Him daily. If that is all you knew or focused upon, you might have thought this man a scoundrel or a no-good, but in the process you would have failed to come to know one of the greatest men who ever walked the earth: Peter the Apostle.

Similarly, attempts have been made by some to focus upon or magnify some minor weaknesses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but in that process they too have missed the mark, the man, and his mission. Joseph Smith was the Lord’s anointed to restore Christ’s Church to the earth. When he emerged from the grove of trees, he eventually learned four fundamental truths not then taught by the majority of the contemporary Christian world.

First, he learned that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate, distinct beings. The Bible confirms Joseph Smith’s discovery. It tells us that the Son submitted His will to the Father (see Matthew 26:42). We are moved by the Savior’s submission and find strength in His example to do likewise, but what would have been the depth and passion of Christ’s submission or the motivational power of that example if the Father and the Son were the same being and in reality the Son was merely following His own will under a different name?

To read the full talk, click here.

Defending the Faith: John Whitmer left church, but kept testimony of Book of Mormon

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:36:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

John Whitmer may be my favorite official witness to the Book of Mormon.

With the rest of the Eight Witnesses, he claimed to have "seen," "handled" and "hefted" the golden plates in June 1829. Seven years later, he again wrote forcefully of that experience:

"I desire to testify to all that will come to the knowledge of this address, that I have most assuredly seen the plates from whence the Book of Mormon is translated, and that I have handled these plates, and know of a surety that Joseph Smith, Jr., has translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. And in this thing the wisdom of the wise most assuredly has perished. Therefore, know ye, O ye inhabitants of the earth, wherever this address may come, that I have in this thing freed my garments of your blood, whether you believe or disbelieve."

Podcast: The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:22:00 -0700

source: fairblog.org

Brant Gardner is interviewed on KTKK Radio and on KSL Radio regarding his new book, The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon (available for purchase at the FAIR Bookstore) He talks about seer stones, the Spaulding manuscript, stylometrics, various theories on Book of Mormon translation and the Book of Mormon in the context of Mesoamerican culture.

Brant Gardner’s academic background includes work towards a Ph.D. in Mesoamerican Ethnohistory at the State University of New York, Albany. His published works on Mesoamerica include an analysis of classical Nahuatl kinship terminology, an ethnohistoric investigation into the identification of the use of Coxoh to designate a people and language in Southern Mexico, and an examination of the Aztec Legend of the Suns.

Prophets of the Restoration

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:40:00 -0700

source: lds.org

Mormon Life - Joseph Smith tag

Joseph Smith is in 'the pantheon of the prophets'

Defending the Faith: A simple explanation works best for the Restoration

Joseph Smith's account of the Restoration is difficult to counter

Defending the Faith: If beginning is true, all else follows

Mormon Media Observer: It always comes back to Joseph Smith

Anti-Mormon bigotry repeated by MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell

Mormon scholar presents golden plates research at USU

Joseph Smith Papers Project releases new book

Bloggernacle Back Bench: What's new in history and international art

Sharing stories from family history: Robert Crookston's testimony of the Prophet

SPONSORED: Joseph Smith Papers project releases first Histories volume

Scholar Terryl Givens explains Mormon concept of 'Restoration'

New Documents Available on Joseph Smith Papers Website

N.J. man seeks to have Vermont land used as Mormon center

The Restoration stands up to history

Joseph Smith Papers website updated

Teachings of George Albert Smith Lesson 4: The Prophet Joseph Smith: God's Instrument in Restoring Truth

Defending the Faith: John Whitmer left church, but kept testimony of Book of Mormon

Podcast: The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon

Prophets of the Restoration