Fascinating new research regarding the Book of Abraham has been published in the most recent edition of the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. The two articles are by Egyptologists Kerry Muhlestein (PhD, UCLA) and John Gee (PhD, Yale). [Read more…] about New Research on the Book of Abraham
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FAIR Examination 9: Joseph Smith’s Polygamy-Responding to the Tough Questions
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When people first learn that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage, many jump to the conclusion that this is another example of someone who used religion for power and sex. In this podcast interview with Dr. Brian Hales, author of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Dr. Greg Smith asks Dr. Hales some of the most difficult questions that are ever posed regarding polygamy. Smith asks, what do we know about why plural marriage was instituted? What did Emma know, and when did she know it? What was her reaction to plural marriage? How can we begin to understand polyandry, or instances in which Joseph married women who were married to other men? Is it possible that polyandrous marriages were not consummated? Even though there’s no good evidence for consummation of polyandrous relationships, what do we know about sexuality in the other marriages to single women? How can we begin to understand why Joseph married several women who were under the age of eighteen, including two brides that were likely 14 years old? Did Joseph send men on missions to “steal their wives” or marry them? Did Joseph threaten or manipulate women into being married to him? Could and did women refuse him? What were the consequences of doing so?
In addition to his three-volume work entitled Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Dr. Brian C. Hales is the author of Setting the Record Straight: Mormon Fundamentalism and also Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto, which received the “Best Book of 2007 Award” from the John Whitmer Historical Association. In addition he co-authored the 1992 publication The Priesthood of Modern Polygamy: An LDS Perspective, and is webmaster of mormonfundamentalism.com. Brian works as an anesthesiologist at the Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, Utah, where he serves as Secretary of the Medical Staff. He also served as President of the Davis County Medical Society in 2009.
An active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dr. Hales has fulfilled many Church callings and is a former full-time missionary. He has presented at the Mormon History Association meetings, Sunstone Symposiums, and the John Whitmer Historical Association meetings on polygamy-related topics. His articles have also been published in Mormon Historical Studies, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and the Journal of Mormon History. In addition to his historical works, Brian has authored three books on doctrinal themes entitled The Veil (Cedar Fort, 2000), Trials (Cedar Fort, 2002), and Light (Cedar Fort, 2004).
Dr. Hales has a website on Joseph’s plural marriages here. His material on Mormon “Fundamentalism” is available here.
Dr. Greg Smith studied physiology and English at the University of Alberta. After medical school, he did his medical residency in Montréal, Québec, learning all the medical vocabulary and all the French Canadian slang that he didn’t learn during his LDS mission to Paris, France. He is now an old-style country doctor in rural Alberta with interests in internal medicine and psychiatry. A clinical preceptor for residents and medical students, he has been repeatedly honored for excellence in clinical teaching.
A member of FAIR since 2005, Greg helps manage the FAIR wiki. Due to his research interest in plural marriage, he has spoken to the Miller-Eccles study group and been published in the FARMS Review on this and other topics. With twelve years of classical piano training, he is a life-long audiophile and owns far too many MP3 files. He lives happily with his one indulgent wife, three children, and four cats.
The talk about Dr. Smith’s own experience is available at: Gregory L. Smith, “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Plural Marriage (*But Were Afraid to Ask),” FAIR Conference presentation (7 August 2009). The audio version of this presentation can be heard here. You can also hear an interview with Dr. Smith at FAIR Podcast, Episode 1: Gregory L. Smith.
Additional materials from the FairMormon wiki and elsewhere are provided below, as well as cross-references to Hales’ books for readers who wish to study his evidence in more detail.
- Regarding the types of evidence that exist for studying Joseph’s plural marriages: See Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 1:6–21.
- On fiction written about the Mormons rather than history or even journalism: See Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 1:23, 27–29
- Regarding Joseph’s behavior and character:
- Early womanizer?
- Lustful motives?
- Youthful struggle with unchastity?
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 1:23–26, 31–84.
- On the Introduction of eternal marriage
- On Fanny Alger and Willaim McLellin
- Regarding the reports of Joseph telling people about an angel commanding him to implement plural marriage.
- See Brian C. Hales, “Encouraging Joseph Smith to Practice Plural Marriage – The Accounts of the Angel with a Drawn Sword,” Mormon Historical Studies 11/2 (Fall 2012): 55–71.
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 1:105, 122, 187, 192–198, 219–20, 425–46, 614–15n64; 2:214, 219–20.
- On Polyandry
- On the case of Sylvia Sessions Lyon.
- See Brian C. Hales, “The Joseph Smith-Sylvia Sessions Plural Sealing: Polyandry or Polygyny?” Mormon Historical Studies 9/1 (Spring 2008): 41–57.
- See also Brain C. Hales, “A Response to D. Michael Quinn’s ‘The Evidence for the Sexual Side of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy‘,” (25 August 2012)
- Further information can be found here and in Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 1, 349–376.
- Regarding other marriages to single women?
- See Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 1, 277–302.
- A more dated analysis is also available in Smith, “George D. Smith’s Nauvoo Polygamy,” 108–112.
- Regarding children
- See the FairMormon Wiki article here.
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 1, 277–302.
- With respect to marriages to young women
- See the FairMormon Wiki article here and here.
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 2:286–300, and Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster eds., The Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy (Independence, John Whitmer Books Press 2010), 152–183. Keller also explores some of the data discussed in this article on-line here and here.
- A summary of the Temple Lot case, with citations from Hales’ volume is available here. See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, 1:404–407.
- With respect to whether Joseph sent men on missions to marry their wives
- Did Joseph threaten or manipulate women into being married to him? Could and did women refuse him? What were the consequences of doing so?
- With respect to Emma’s reaction to plural marriage
- See the FairMormon Wiki article here.
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 2, 33–138.
- Regarding the unique dilemma in which Emma was placed by plural marriage
- See the FairMormon Wiki entry here
- See also Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 2, 113–138.
- For views on why was plural marriage instituted
- See Valerie Hudson Cassler, “Polygamy,” SquareTwo 3/1 (Spring 2010), Valerie Hudson Cassler, “A Reconciliation of Polygamy,” FAIR conference address (2011), and FAIR Examination 9: Polygamy as an Abrahamic Sacrifice–Dr. Valerie
Hudson. - See also the FairMormon Wiki articles found here, here and here.
- Finally, Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 3 is entirely dedicated to answering this question.
- See Valerie Hudson Cassler, “Polygamy,” SquareTwo 3/1 (Spring 2010), Valerie Hudson Cassler, “A Reconciliation of Polygamy,” FAIR conference address (2011), and FAIR Examination 9: Polygamy as an Abrahamic Sacrifice–Dr. Valerie
The opinions expressed in this podcast and in the referenced books, presentations, podcasts and articles do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or of FairMormon.
A Book of Abraham Bullseye
Middle Bronze Age autobiographies from Syria are, in the words of A. L. Oppenheim, “without parallel in texts of this type from Mesopotamia and Egypt.” They are very distinct in form and features. They also differ considerably from the same kinds of texts from the same area from a later date. As it turns out, however, those distinct features appear in the Book of Abraham which depicts Abraham as coming from Middle Bronze Age Syria.
I explore the connections in an article, which just appeared on Friday. The article is:
John Gee, “Abraham and Idrimi,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 22/1 (2013): 34-39.
I do not know that it has appeared in electronic form, but it has appeared in print. (Interested parties can find the reference for the Oppenheim quote in the article.)
So here is the problem. The Book of Abraham was published by Joseph Smith in 1842. The first Middle Bronze Age Syrian autobiography was published in 1949. If Joseph Smith had made up the Book of Abraham, he would have had to compose an autobiography set in a certain time and place and use the correct literary features and publish it a hundred years before anyone else would publish one from an archaeological dig. The process by which he may or may not have done it is simply irrelevant. None of the proposed processes can account for the literary parallels.
*This was cross-posted from Forn Spoll Fira.
Recap of the 2013 FAIR Conference
The 2013 FAIR Conference came to a close on Friday, August 2nd.
We were very pleased to hear fourteen presentations on a variety of topics, including Book of Mormon geography, the role of women in the Church, and the stories of those who have been challenged by doubt and those who left the Church and have returned.
Blair Hodges of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU attended most of the sessions and wrote recaps of the presentations. (He types quickly!) Although his comments do not always reflect exactly what was said at the conference, we’re grateful for his attendance and coverage, and we encourage all to review the written remarks when made available:
Blair’s notes from Thursday, August 1st
Blair’s notes from Friday, August 2nd
We set a new record for attendance this year (425 tickets issued, up from 402 last year), and we received very positive feedback from the conference attendees on our move to the Utah Valley Convention Center.
Several announcements were made at the conference, including:
FAIR is going through an extensive rebranding process. Beginning soon, we will be known as FairMormon, and our two current web sites (fairlds.org and fairmormon.org) will be rolled into a single site with a consistent look and feel.
Daniel C. Peterson announced the upcoming roll-out of The World Table, a new social platform that will allow individuals of different faiths to interact with mutual respect. The site is not active yet, but you can sign up to be notified when it’s open by visiting theworldtable.org.
Hales Swift and Neal Rappleye were given the John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award for their excellent work on the Scripture Study Aids. Outgoing vice president Allen Wyatt was recognized for his many years of service to FAIR, and Steve Densley, Jr. was named as the new vice president.
We’re grateful for all who attended this year, and especially for those who supported FAIR though generous donations and purchases at the conference bookstore. We’d also like to thank our sponsors who helped make this conference possible:
Bonneville Communications
The next FAIR Conference will be held on August 7 & 8, 2014. Mark your calendars—we look forward to seeing you next year!
Please join us for the FAIR Conference tomorrow!
Although you can no longer buy tickets online, they may be purchased at the door for $64.95 for the full conference (both days) or $39.95 for a single day. (Lunch will not be included.)
If you can’t make it in person, we have video streaming available for $25. Watch it on your Roku box, your PC or Mac, or your tablet. At least a 1.5 Mbps connection will be needed for smooth streaming. And if you can’t actually watch during the conference, a video archive will be available for later viewing as part of your streaming purchase.
Either way, we hope you’ll join us!
Mormon FAIR-Cast 160b: Don Bradley and Dan Peterson Taking Questions
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Joseph Smith Scholar Don Bradley and Dr. Dan Peterson take calls on K-Talk radio and answer a wide variety of questions in this interview that took place on July 25, 2013 on Drive Time Live with Mills Crenshaw.
This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This is the second of a two-part interview.
Mormon FAIR-Cast 160a: Don Bradley and Dan Peterson Taking Questions
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Why do people leave the Church? What was in the missing 116 pages of the Book of Mormon? How do we explain the appearance of horses in the Book of Mormon? Did Joseph Smith make up the story of the first vision long after it was supposed to have occurred? Is there any evidence that supports the authenticity for the Book of Abraham? Does the mention of grains in the Book of Mormon provide evidence of its truthfulness?
Joseph Smith Scholar Don Bradley and Dr. Dan Peterson take calls on K-Talk radio and answer a wide variety of questions in this interview that took place on July 25, 2013 on Drive Time Live with Mills Crenshaw.
Don Bradley is a writer, editor, and researcher specializing in early Mormon history. Don recently performed an internship with the Joseph Smith Papers Project and is completing his thesis, on the earliest Mormon conceptions of the New Jerusalem, toward an M.A. in History at Utah State University. He has published on the translation of the Book of Mormon, plural marriage before Nauvoo, and Joseph Smith’s “grand fundamental principles of Mormonism” and plans to publish an extensive analysis, co-authored with Mark Ashurst-McGee, on the Kinderhook plates. Don’s first book, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Missing Contents of the Book of Mormon, is slated to be published by Greg Kofford Books.
A native of southern California, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, where he has taught Arabic language and literature at all levels, Islamic philosophy, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic religion, the Qur’an, the introductory and senior “capstone” courses for Middle Eastern Studies majors, and various other occasional specialized classes. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics–including a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007)—and has lectured across the United States, in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and at various Islamic universities in the Near East and Asia. He served in the Switzerland Zürich Mission (1972-1974), and, for approximately eight years, on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also presided for a time as the bishop of a singles ward adjacent to Utah Valley University. Dr. Peterson is married to the former Deborah Stephens, of Lakewood, Colorado, and they are the parents of three sons.
This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This is the first of a two-part interview.
A Gathering of Study and Faith
“…as all have not faith,” the Lord told the members of the early Restored Church, “seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118).
In the early 1980s I struggled for a brief time with my own personal testimony, brought on by exposure to LDS-critical material for which I had no answers. I was stunned, confused, and anxious. In my search for answers I stumbled upon the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)—a newly formed (1979) organization of LDS scholars. The handful of writings and reprints produced by this LDS scholarly group was exactly what my fledging testimony needed.
I joined their mailing-list, purchased every publication they had, and became aware of other sources for academic studies of LDS issues—sources such as BYU Studies,Sunstone, Dialogue, and the writings of Hugh Nibley. I bought used back-copies of everything I could get my hands on to feed my craving for learning more.
In the FARMS newsletters I would occasionally get invitations to attend a lecture or other event hosted by the scholars who contributed to LDS studies. These were always held in Utah, but I was a young family-man in Colorado without the means to travel these events. In 1985 BYU hosted the first Ramses II exhibit and in my FARMS newsletter I received an invitation to attend a tour of the exhibit with Hugh Nibley as the guide. Since Dr. Nibley was my hero at that stage in my life, I was devastated that I was unable to attend.
My wife and I were convinced that we needed to move to Utah, in part, so I could be closer the Mecca of LDS scholarship. Once we settled in Ogden (north of Salt Lake City) I attended virtually every event the FARMS offered. In 1999 the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) was created.
Like the original FARMS (now-defunct and replaced by BYU’s Maxwell Institute) FAIR was organized by a group of grass-roots Latter-day Saint volunteers who were interested in LDS studies. FAIR, however, was dedicated to educative apologetics (“apologetics” means to defend one’s beliefs). With a policy of non-confrontation (they didn’t want to engage in “Bible-bashing”) FAIR’s goal was to apply scholarly research and answers to the anti-LDS accusations of the Church’s critics.
Since its inception as a non-profit organization, FAIR has grown into a multi-national organization of volunteers who draw upon the best latest scholarship, and has produced books (such as my Shaken Faith Syndrome), DVDs, YouTube Videos, podcasts, a Wiki, and hundreds of articles. In 1999 FAIR held its first conference in California. In 2000 the venue was moved to Utah where it has remained ever. I attended the first Utah FAIR Conference and haven’t missed one since.
There are a few annual events I eagerly anticipate—Christmas with my family, Halloween, 4th of July, and the annual FAIR Conference. Some of the brightest LDS scholars have spoken on some of the most interesting topics ranging from such issues as Egyptology, DNA, Race Issues, Women’s Issues, the First Vision, Same-Sex Attraction, Plural Marriage, and more. The FAIR Conferences are consistently one of the highlights of my year.
This year, the 15th annual FAIR Conference will be held August 1 and 2 and promises to continue the standard of interest and excellence that has drawn increasingly larger crowds. The first FAIR Utah Conference was held in Alta. The next few years were held in Provo to provide for a greater number of attendees. For the past several years the FAIR Conference was moved to a venue in Sandy, and this year (because FAIR has outgrown the Sandy venue) it is being moved back to Provo to the Utah Valley Convention Center.
The list of speakers this year is fantastic. This year’s line of up scholars includes Ronald Barney of the LDS Church historical department who will speak on “Joseph Smith’s Visions.” Morris Thurston will present the “Kidnapping” at Palestine Grove: Missouri’s Final Attempt to Extradite Joseph Smith. Don Bradley will speak on The Original Context of the First Vision Narrative: 1820s or 1830s.
Salt Lake Tribune humor columnist, Robert Kirby will present, Why It is Important to Laugh at Ourselves, and Lynne Wilson’s topic will be, Was Joseph a Product of the Second Great Awakening? Dr. Mark Alan Wright, a specialist in Mesoamerian Archaeology will present, Heartland as Hinterland: The Mesoamerican Core and North American Periphery of Book of Mormon Geography. Rosalynde Welch will discuss “Disenchanted Mormonism,” and Seth Payne will speak on “Why Mormonism Matters: Pastoral Apologetics and the LDS Doubter.”
Ralph Hancock will reflect on “Mormonism and the New Liberalism: The Inescapability of Political Apologetics,” Maxine Hanks will present, “Working With the Church: Another Narrative,” and Daniel Peterson (a perennial favorite) will address, “Toward a More Effective Apologetics.”
In addition to this awesome list of speakers and subjects, the FAIR Conference will host two panel discussions: Charity Never Faileth: Seeking Sisterhood Amid Different Perspectives on Mormon Feminism, with Neylan McBain, Valerie Hudson, Wendy Ulrich, Kris Fredrickson, and Maxine Hanks.
The second panel is entitled, The Loss and Rekindling of Faith, and will include panelists, Bill Reel, Don Bradley, Janet L. Eyring, and Maxine Hanks.
Anyone interested in Mormon studies should attend. Early-bird discounts are still available until July 28 but even if you miss the discount, the “study and faith” you’ll gain from this assemblage of speakers will be worth far more than the price of the ticket. You can get all the info here, and I hope to see you there.
*This article was also published in Meridian.
Best of FAIR 16: A Joseph Smith Miscellany
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Richard Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, discusses the issues that loomed in his mind as he wrote his books on Joseph Smith. One conclusion he has reached is that “we will not always be able to give satisfactory answers to our critics. We will never placate our critics completely and we should not seek to do so. If we placate them completely we are making our gospel, our history, conform to their sense of what life should be and what the path should be. In a sense, we’re caving in if we become too pleasing to those around them. We have to state it as we see it and recognize that there will be differences from what our critics expect of us and of what actually happened to our people.”
The text of his presentation can be found here. The video can be seen here.
Richard Bushman is the and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is currently the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University. He also serves as one of three general editors of the Joseph Smith Papers.
The opinions expressed in this address do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or of FAIR.
To purchase tickets to the 2013 FAIR Conference, visit this page. This short video clip also provides more information: FAIR Conference video clip.
Maxwell Institute Interview with Terry and Fiona Givens
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The Maxwell Institute has started a podcast and subscribers to the FAIR Blog will especially enjoy this interview with Fiona and Terryl Givens. They talk about their recent book, The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, and also discuss their recent string of firesides and symposia discussing the navigation of faith crises. Former Mormon FAIR-Cast host, Blair Hodges, conducts the interview as they cover subjects like the character of God, the pre-earth life and human agency, the balance between faith and the intellect, individuality and Mormon culture, and many other topics.
This recording is used here by permission of the Maxwell Institute and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.
