A new Melchizedek Priesthood/Relief Society lesson manual is available on lds.org: Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. I skimmed through it and didn’t find anything unusual. For example, it only mentions the 1838 account of the first vision and avoids discussion of Joseph’s polygamous marriages. It’s more of…
Category: LDS History
Interview with documentary film-maker Brian F. Patrick
Brian F. Patrick is the director of the award-winning documentary Burying the Past, which will be shown at the Flood Street Theater in St. George at 7 p.m. September 9, and at 7 p.m. at the Tower Theater in Salt Lake City on September 11. Main Street Plaza: Is your…
The double-standard of evidence in the trial of Jesus
If you spend a lot of time over on the exmo side of the Internet, you’ve probably heard all sorts unflattering stories about Joseph Smith, and you probably have a good idea of what kind of evidence these stories have to back them up. (My own most famous family history…
Hannah Arendt and the Mormon Experience
Although it may be more troubling than soothing but as a German, I can relate to Mormons who have to confront the dark aspects of their family history. My sympathies to J. Stapley. Growing up in Germany, I enjoyed the dubious pleasure of meeting Nazis and Bolshevics. Pretty much every…
A Review of September Dawn
I saw an advance screening of the much anticipated September Dawn on Wednesday night. I’ve spent the week at the Kirtland Temple and the local theater invited all the staff here to a free screening. (I wonder if they issued a similar invitation to the LDS Mormons down on the…
When Good Stuff Hurts
My sympathy to the bishops who have to deal with the anxieties of members who watched the Frontline documentary The Mormons. But lets face it, it’s going to get a lot worse during the presidential campaign. However painful, Helen Whitney’s work is affording Mormons a soft landing.
Ancestry I’m not so proud of…
Like many multi-generational mormons and former mormons, I have mixed feelings about my ancestry. Because of the obsession with genealogy, I actually have an extensive knowledge about just who my ancestors were. Hueffenhardt’s post about genealogy got me thinking. I have many ancestors that I’m proud of. Some who crossed…
My Pilgrimage to Zion
Although my graduate work was in Medieval European history, I’ve also always had a fascination with my own family history, which, by extension, includes Mormon history. Since we got together ten years ago, my partner Mike and I have done a lot of research in Mormon history. We also do…