Few Latter-day Saints, I think, know that May 4 is a significant day in LDS liturgical history. (This is reposted from last year.) Continue reading
Category: LDS Church History
New book (and new essays!) on the Church, science, and evolution
For several years, I have been one of several co-editors nursing a book on Latter-day Saints, faith, and evolution through the production stage. I’m pleased to announce it’s now available. Free. Continue reading
Joseph Fielding Smith, 2 Nephi 2:22, and “Death Before the Fall” in Church History
As many of my readers may know, President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) considered evolution not just incorrect, but devilish; he believed scripture taught a young earth, with no death of any kind anywhere before the fall of Adam c. 4000 BC. His key scriptural evidence was 2 Nephi 2:22-25, which he cited dozens of times in books, articles, and private letters. I want to explore and document a few related questions here.
- Does Smith’s understanding of this passage represent a clear and historically consistent Church position?
- Does Smith, in essence, overclaim?
The New “Answering Gospel Questions,” Part 2: Historical Background
To understand why some of us see these new guidelines as so significant, we need to cover some intellectual and religious history which will allow you to “read between the lines” more. And please note, I’m under time constraints and very much in stark “historian mode” here; I have not taken the time to render this more devotional; suffice to say, one can— as I do— believe fully in biblical and LDS prophets while rejecting the fundamentalist constructs often attached to them.
Almost from the beginning, Latter-day Saints have operated on two loose competing paradigms of knowledge and “the world.” (I wrote a well-received paper on this for a conference in 2017; see here for more details, including the unrevised draft.)
The New “Answering Gospel Questions,” Part 1: Introduction
On Dec 18, the Church announced a new section, “Guiding Principles to Help Answer Gospel Questions.” This goes along with the updated “Topics and Questions” which include both the longer and older “Gospel Topics Essays” and the much shorter “Gospel Topics.” This is quite interesting.
The Power of Good Historiography: Or, How Joseph Fielding Smith Unwittingly Undermined Joseph Fielding Smith
I’m deep in my third (and final, I hope) dissertation chapter, covering the period 1960-1980. My research has always included archival work, interviews, and just generally pulling on every thread I can until the sweater unravels.
History is not merely what happened, but the stories we tell about what happened and how we tell them. Better understanding of the past can change our perception of the present, change our choices and understandings. Better history seems to have been a factor leading up to the 1978 revelation re: the priesthood/temple ban, for example. (See the long version of the Kimball biography.)
It’s also definitely the case with the Church and biological evolution. Joseph Fielding Smith told the story of evolution in the Church in the first half century in a particular way. And funny enough, it is Joseph Fielding Smith who ultimately undermines the very story he tells, leaving us instead a history that allowing much more theological openness to evolution. Continue reading
“But I Have Better Grounds”: Joseph Fielding Smith and Creationist Claims to Scientific Authority (video and notes)
I’ve linked below to the video of my recent talk at the University of Utah, and further reading for those interested.
Tales from the Archive: Edwin S. Hinckley and the Cross
I’ve been devoting the vast majority of my time to the dissertation, and haven’t posted much. But here’s a fun little tidbit.
Oftentimes in the archive, something grabs your attention. And as you acquire more and more of these things that have grabbed, you start making connections between them.
Edwin S. Hinckley was a BYU science professor at the turn of the 19th century, back when BYU was very small. He was also the favorite uncle of a young boy named Gordon B. Hinckley.
Rough Stone Rolling: Daniel 2, The Church, and Joseph Smith
Today we focus on Daniel 2, a vision. The story goes like this.
In King Nebuchadnezzar’s 2nd year, he has a dream. According to Daniel 1:1-2, Daniel and friends don’t get carried off until Neb’s third year, although they’re present here. Either Neb can’t remember what it was (like many of us with our dreams) or he’s being unreasonable. Either way, he demands all his wise men tell him both the dream itself, and the interpretation. When they can’t, he wants them all killed for incompetence. Daniel hears about this and offers to interpret (like Joseph in Egypt), which he does, thus saving everyone.
The content of the dream involves a statue representing various political/national entities, and a stone cut out of the mountain, which smashes them all.
Easy enough, right?
As it turns out, the books written just on Daniel 2 could fill an entire library, arguing over what exactly it’s referring to. Continue reading
Evolution and the Gospel
I was recently asked, is evolution compatible with the Gospel?
So let’s talk about it. But first things first; to be productive, any good conversation needs to start with clear definitions.
Recent Comments