MAKING WITNESSES: THE Book of Mormon'S
SECULAR STRENGTH
DON BRADLEY, historian, freelance writer and editor; author,
“The Grand Fundamental Principles of Mormonism: Joseph
Smith’s Unfinished Reformation” (SUNSTONE, April 2006)
Cardboard characters. Improbable plots. Simulated
Elizabethan syntax. If, as asserted by many readers and
literary critics, these terms accurately characterize the Book
of Mormon, how do we account for its remarkable power to
regenerate lives and foster the development of a dynamic
community? Inquiring into its literary, rather than supernatural,
facets, I argue that much of the Book of Mormon’s power
derives from its ability to mold its actual readers into its ideal
readers—and thereby transform them from readers into
witnesses.
Respondent—MARK D. THOMAS, manager, M.D. Thomas
Consulting; author, Digging in Cumorah: Reclaiming Book of
Mormon Narratives
JOSEPH SMITH’S KIRTLAND EGYPTIAN PAPERS:
HIEROGLYPHS, THE SACERDOTAL GENEALOGY,
AND THE ANTIDOTE TO BABEL
SAMUEL BROWN, M.D., fellow in pulmonary and critical care
medicine, University of Utah
The Kirtland Egyptian Papers (KEP) have occasioned
considerable controversy but have largely evaded substantive
analysis. When properly understood in their historical context,
the KEP present a pictographic hermeneutics of primal
language (the one spoken in Eden), while they disclose
an expanded view of priestly and familial lineage as an
organizing principle for the cosmos in Joseph Smith’s
distinctive reflex of the Great Chain of Being. The vision of
the KEP, consistent with contemporary Mormon theology,
unites celestial, priestly, and family hierarchies to connect
time, space, and human creation in Smith’s stunning and
comprehensive view of the afterlife.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES AS THE BASIS FOR BELIEF
AND COMMITMENT
BLAKE OSTLER, attorney; author, Exploring Mormon
Thought: The Attributes of Godand Exploring Mormon
Thought: The Problems of Theism and the Love of God
The heart of Mormon commitment is the a "testimony"
based upon spiritual experiences. I look at the status of
spiritual experience as the ground of commitment for one's
life—its epistemic status and its spiritual significance. I argue
that attacks that such experiences are not trustworthy
because they are merely ephemeral emotions are based
on a caricature and unjustified reduction. In the hands of
evangelicals, these critiques are self-refuting, incoherent,
and contrary to scripture. The same attack from a secular
perspective is also unjustifiably reductive and self-defeating,
but for different reasons. Religious experiences entail both
cognitive and affective dimensions that, when synergistically
joined, are a sound basis of commitment.There is a peculiar
genius and beauty in religious commitment that is won by
God one heart at a time.
Respondent—BILL HEERSINK, D.Min, professor, theological
and intercultural studies, Salt Lake Theological Seminary,
who for the past several months has been serving as its
interim president
“WHAT KIND OF A BEING IS GOD?” EMBODIMENT AND
THE KING FOLLETT DISCOURSE
JANICE M. ALLRED, writer and speaker on theological
topics, author of God the Mother and Other Theological
Essays
The LDS doctrine of deity differs radically from the traditional
Christian concept of the Trinity, and this difference is a major
point of contention between Mormons and other Christians.
But LDS scriptures themselves present many points of conflict
with the Church’s official doctrine of deity, which gives priority
to the Pearl of Great Price account of the First Vision and
the King Follett Discourse. I will analyze the notion of
embodiment and use it as a way of bringing the various
concepts of God into dialogue, exploring the question,
“What kind of a being is God?”
Respondent—NADINE R. HANSEN, semi-retired attorney,
Cedar City, Utah; member, Sunstone board of directors
THE Book of Mormon’S VIEW OF GODHEAD:
NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE
LANE J. WOLFLEY, J.D., retired attorney, Port Angeles,
Washington; former LDS bishop who has also served in many
other leadership capacities
An understanding of the theological framework and substance
of the Book of Mormon has been frustrated over time
because of the Church’s shifting doctrines concerning the
Godhead. This situation has led many Latter-day Saints to
interpret Book of Mormon Trinitarian language in light of
current doctrine—a project that yields unsatisfying results. A
key to interpreting the Book of Mormon’s theology of God is
in Ethan Smith’s A Treatise on the Character of Jesus Christ,
and on the Trinity in Unity of the Godhead(1814). The
treatise offers fascinating insights for those of us who have
never found explanations of the Book of Mormon’s views on
the Godhead to make much sense.
“CURSED BE HE THAT MOVES MY BONES:” MYSTERY,
CONTROVERSY, AND THE “CURSE” OF JOSEPH
SMITH’S BONES
HUGO OLAIZ, M.A., linguistics; webmaster for several LDS
organizations; SUNSTONE news editor
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never
assigned much importance to Joseph Smith’s grave in
Nauvoo. Is this silence inspired by jealousy over the fact that
the Community of Christ owns the grave, or does it arise from
deeper motivations? In this illustrated essay, I follow the
tortuous history of Joseph Smith’s bones—secret burials,
exhumations, family feuds, and even the speculation that
Smith has already been resurrected. I also explore what those
bones could mean for a church that continues to recreate and
aggrandize the Prophet’s life but seems no longer to be able
to stomach his death.
Respondent—WILLIAM D. RUSSELL, professor, American
history and government, Graceland University
NOT BIRDS OF A FEATHER: UNRAVELING THE MYTH OF
THE FEATHERED SERPENT AS A MEMORY OF JESUS
CHRIST
BRANT GARDNER, M.A., anthropology, SUNY, Albany,
emphasizing Mesoamerican ethnohistory; author of the book,
Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on
the Book of Mormon(forthcoming from Greg Kofford Books)
President John Taylor stated that “The story of the life of the
Mexican divinity, Quetzalcoatl, closely resembles that of the
Savior; so closely, indeed, that we can come to no other
conclusion than that Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same
being.” He has been followed by numerous writers attempting
to demonstrate that thesis. The Quetzalcoatl mythology is
very complex and has undergone multiple transformations in
the hands of those who have heard it and repeated it, a
process that began with the early Spanish recorders of the
myth and has its most recent elaboration in the Quetzalcoatl /
Christ stories. This paper examines the documentary,
iconographic, and archaeological evidence for the native
Quetzalcoatl mythology and analyzes it against the possibility
that it might have some connection to the Book of Mormon.
Respondent—Audience discussion
CRITICAL VISION: THE RESEARCH AND WRITINGS OF
JERALD AND SANDRA TANNER
Raised LDS, as teenagers and prior to meeting each other,
both Jerald and Sandra Tanner began to examine their LDS
faith. Soon after they were introduced to each other, they
began to research Mormonism in earnest, and, in their words,
left the LDS church to “become Christians.” They became
prominent critics and together published more than forty
books comparing Mormon teachings and those of traditional
Christianity, distributing their works through their nonprofit
organization, Utah Lighthouse Ministry. Following Jerald’s
death this past October, Sandra has continued to operate
the ministry. Panelists in this session will examine the many
contributions to Mormon studies made by these
knowledgeable critics who, for the past few decades, have
been pushing Latter-day Saint scholars and Church members
to address important aspects of their faith and history.
Moderator—CAROLYN CAMPBELL
LAWRENCE FOSTER, Ph.D., professor, American history,
Georgia Institute of Technology; former president, Mormon
History Association and Communal Studies Association
RONALD V. HUGGINS, Th.D., assistant professor,
theological and historical studies, director of the master of
arts in theological studies program, Salt Lake Theological
Seminary
WILL BAGLEY, historian, author or editor of more than a
dozen books on Western and Mormon history, including
Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at
the Mountain Meadows
ALLEN ROBERTS, architect, president of Copper Roberts
Simonsen Associates, a Salt Lake City architectural firm
specializing in green/sustainable architecture and historic
building restoration; co-author, Salamander: The Story of the
Mormon Forgery Murders
EMPTYING THE FULLNESS OF THE PRIESTHOOD
PAUL TOSCANO, attorney, Salt Lake City; author, The
Sacrament of Doubt (forthcoming ,Signature Books)
This presentation focuses on the historical example of Joseph
Smith’s inclusion of Mormon women in priesthood fullness
and LDS church governance during the short period
preceding his death. I examine evidence showing that,
contrary to Smith’s practice and shortly after his murder, LDS
women were denied continued participation in the highest
quorum of the church, were no longer anointed priestesses
unto God, and were deprived of the Relief Society as a
female priesthood organization. I explore how these blows to
women’s claim to priesthood theologically resulted in the
vitiation of the doctrine of the fullness of the priesthood as
the basis for the Quorum of the Twelve’s claim to succeed
Joseph Smith as successor, as well as the negative impact
that the denial of priesthood fulness to women has had on the
LDS church and the male priesthood contingent.
Respondent—Audience discussion
Take good notes and share your newfound wisdom with me when you return.
-CK