Latter-day Saint Perspectives

The Interview: Bruce A. Van Orden, emeritus professor of church history and doctrine at BYU, has completed a comprehensive biography of one of the most interesting converts to early Mormonism.  We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps chronicles the vast contributions of Phelps to early Mormonism and the attempts to build Zion. Phelps’s activities went far beyond composing his noteworthy hymns. To date, the Joseph Smith Papers Project has published seventeen volumes. These books demonstrate the pivotal roles Phelps played in the early days of the LDS Church, often at the side of Joseph Smith himself. Van Orden drew extensively from the Joseph Smith Papers volumes and online resources. He also researched thoroughly Phelps’s writings in newspapers and almanacs he edited or co-edited such as the Evening and the Morning Star, the Upper Missouri Advertiser, the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, the Northern Times, the Times and Seasons, The Wasp, the Nauvoo Neighbor, the Deseret N

The Interview: In this episode of the LDS Perspectives podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Dan Belnap about wisdom literature in the Bible and the ancient Near East. Belnap explains that the books of the Bible are of various genres. Some, like the books of Kings, share historical narratives, while Isaiah is theological in nature. Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job are categorized as wisdom literature. We do not engage with wisdom literature the same way we do with historical or theological texts, so they are often placed on a lower level by readers, compared to other biblical writings. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth studying. They actually give sound, practical advice for living a good life. We don’t know who the individuals are within Israelite wisdom tales. There’s a father. There’s a son. There’s a mother. There are these individuals. They’re just anonymous Israelite figures, literary figures. The literary figures have a different relationship with deity than you see among Egyptian literary wis

The Interview: In this episode of LDS Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Dr. Dana M. Pike on Israel’s united and divided monarchies. The Old Testament prepares us for the United Monarchy, telling of Joshua marching Israel into the Promised Land, conquering virtually every city in their path. Joshua then allots land to each of the tribes of Israel. After Joshua, came the reign of the Judges. Their history, Pike notes, only has two judges that actually make decisions, at least according to the Bible: Deborah and Samuel. All of the others are regional leaders, who seek to liberate the local tribes from foreign rule. This system is problematic, as individual tribes are often too weak to protect themselves from foreign invaders. The people ask Samuel for a king, so they can be like the other nations and defend themselves. As seen in the Bible, this worked out to be both a blessing and a curse. Pike throws greater light on these books of the Old Testament, explaining that Samuel and Kings were w

  The Interview: In mid-July 1831, Joseph Smith and a few Mormon missionaries visited Independence, Missouri. After arriving, the Prophet received a revelation designating Independence as the "center place" of the future city of Zion or the New Jerusalem. On Wednesday, August 3, 1831, Joseph and several associates dedicated a special plot of land “upon a lot not far from the court-house” for a future temple. This wasn’t to be just any temple, but the Millennial Temple to which Jesus would return. Before the Saints could construct a House of the Lord, they were driven north in 1833 and then five years later, they were chased out of the entire state leaving behind their dreams of Zion and temple-building. But as the main body of Saints moved to Nauvoo and then to the West, what happened to the expectations of their Independence temple? Join Jean Addams as he explains that as Brigham Young and his followers headed to the Rocky Mountains, the property was sold by the family of LDS Church Bishop Edward Partrid

The Interview:  As Joseph Smith reported his visions and revelations designed to restore the New Testament church, another preacher living nearby sought the same goals, but through very different means. Despite the fact that both were Restorationists, each viewed the other as in error. RoseAnn Benson, author of Alexander Campbell and Joseph Smith: 19th-Century Restorationsists explains the similarities and contrasts between Joseph Smith and Alexander Campbell. Joseph reported an open heaven with divine communications and angelic visitations restoring knowledge and priesthood powers. Campbell claims the heavens were closed and only through a strict reading of the New Testament could Christ's church be reestablished in the nineteenth-century. Shortly after the Book of Mormon was printed, critics raised their denunciations, but among them, it appears Alexander Campbell was the first to actually read the volume and write a book review, titling it “Delusions.” Calling Joseph Smith “as ignorant and impudent a kn

The Interview: This week we have a little fun as we take a lighthearted look at Joseph Smith's loyal companion, friend, and pet—Old Major. Dr. Alexander L. Baugh shares the tenuous nature of historical sleuthing. Often disparate references are all that scholars have to reconstruct the past. In this case, they include a library collection found, a newspaper clipping remembered, a memoir referenced, and letters written, coupled with Dr. Baugh’s expert knowledge of the Missouri period. Each item provides an important piece of the puzzle. Dr. Baugh hopes his work uncovering the footprints of Old Major will help listeners gain insight into the personality of Joseph Smith and his time in Liberty Jail with his loyal companion. The story of Joseph’s English Mastiff paints a relatable human picture of the Prophet that we don’t often hear, read, or talk about. This podcast is the first episode in our special Triplecast in remembrance of the Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. If you like what we are doing at LDS Pe

The Interview: The Old Testament is filled with grisly tales, which are understandably offensive to modern eyes. Some of the most shocking are found within the conquest narratives of the Deuteronomistic History. In Deuteronomy 7, the Israelites were instructed to smite, destroy, and consume the inhabitants of Canaan, an act that Joshua initiates at the city of Jericho. The text is incredibly violent, bloody, and gruesome, and leaves readers scratching their heads as to why anyone would ever carry out any of these actions. But could Joshua be getting a bad rap? In this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Dr. George Pierce, a specialist in ancient Near East archaeology and anthropology, about just what these chapters might be telling us. Dr. George Pierce maintains that if we view the conquest narratives through the lenses that ancient Israel would have understood them, then we may gain a better appreciation for their contents. Situated in Deuteronomy, Samuel, Judges, and K

The Interview: The balance between the LDS Church’s operation of its non-profit and for-profit endeavors has always come with both benefits and repercussions. Censure of the City Creek building project reignited this divisive topic as critics contended that more funds should be directed toward humanitarian pursuits and less towards financial ones. It’s an ongoing discussion layered with complexities as the church decides how best to generate the funds necessary to fulfill the mission of the church. The example of the Utah–Idaho Sugar Company is a micro study in the costs and benefits of for-profit ventures. Historian Matthew C. Godfrey is an expert on the church’s involvement in the sugar industry. In this episode, he discusses with Laura Harris Hales some of the challenges that face the church when it becomes involved in business.  The sugar business in Utah began in earnest in the late 1880s when there was interest on the part of some individuals to produce sugar from beets. Needing capital in order to fi

The Interview:  Tune in as Laura Harris Hales interviews Sharalyn D. Howcroft on Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources, a new book that carefully analyzes essential texts that are repeatedly used by historians as they reconstruct Mormonism’s founding era. Scholars have frequently mined early Mormon historical sources for the information that they contain, though with little attention to source criticism. A noteworthy exception is the work of Dean C. Jessee. Jessee’s examination of The History of the Church showed that unlike the subtitle of its first six volumes—Period I: History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, by Himself—the history was written by a dozen different scribes and clerks, not Smith. Although Smith started the history, his office staff quickly assumed most of the burden of production, barely half of it was completed at the time of Smith’s death in 1844, and it took many more years before it was finished. Jessee’s scholarship showed the necessity of understanding authorshi

“Divinity is always growing, always self-surpassing. However great God is in any moment has been surpassed in the next moment. Human beings are the same way. And it is precisely the religious person, it is precisely the devoted person, the person whose heart is fully committed, who will seek with every faculty available to be with God, to understand, if you will, and to more fully grasp what it is that we’re called to be.”                                                                             Blake T. Ostler   The Interview: Have you ever noticed that sometimes we spend the least amount of time discussing the most crucial topics? If questioned, could you describe the nature of God and what it means to be God-like and embrace divinity? One central tenet of the gospel is that righteous followers can become Gods. This bold affirmation while commonplace to Mormons often seems blasphemous to those of the broader Christian tradition. In fact, it is one of the major tension points between the LDS Church and o

Christopher James Blythe is a volume editor of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers. He completed a PhD in American religious history from Florida State University, an MA in history from Utah State University, and BA degrees in religious studies and anthropology from Utah State University and Texas A&M University respectively. He is currently revising his dissertation, “Vernacular Mormonism: The Development of Christian Apocalyptic among Latter-day Saints,” into a book manuscript. In this episode, Laura Harris Hales interviews Christopher about important documents from the early Nauvoo period.

Scott Livingston is an independent scholar whose gospel studies have been largely fueled by his ecclesiastical ministry. He is currently a Stake President, and many of the recurring concerns that surface as he counsels with individuals and couples led him to write the book Beauty for Ashes: Learning from Christ How to Endure Life's Greatest Pains, Sufferings, and Sorrows.  Scott studied theater, film, and screenwriting, and though he has spent the majority of his career in marketing and sales, he continues to write. He currently has a screenplay in production. He and his wife, Ginger, have four children.

Jared W. Ludlow gives a crash course on Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In this episode, Laura Harris Hales speaks with Jared Ludlow about the ancient Near East and its peoples as part of our ongoing series on the Old Testament. They also discuss A Bible Reader’s History of the Ancient World, a textbook used at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Jared Ludlow has taught in the Ancient Scripture Department at BYU since 2006. Before that, he taught at BYU-Hawaii.  Jared received his bachelor's degree from BYU in Near Eastern Studies, his master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in Biblical Hebrew, and his PhD in Near Eastern Religions from UC-Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union. His primary research interests are in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. He enjoys teaching Bible courses, the Book of Mormon, world religions, and history.  Jared served a LDS mission to Campinas Brazil and has also lived in Germany and Israel, including teaching at the BYU Jerusalem Center.  He

Laura Harris Hales interviews Shon Hopkin about different aspects of the Abinadi narrative in the Book of Mormon. Shon D. Hopkin is an associate professor of ancient scripture at BYU. He has published and presented papers on the Jewish concept of a premortal life and the Jewish longing for Zion, the Dead Sea Scrolls and Psalm 22, ordinance and ritual in the law of Moses and in the book of Isaiah, and the connections between Jewish and LDS beliefs and viewpoints. Shon is the editor of Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise, a new release from the BYU Religious Studies Center.

Joshua Matson is a PhD student in religions of western antiquity at Florida State University and a teacher at the Tallahassee Institute of Religion. Josh received his bachelor's degree in Ancient Near Eastern studies with university honors from Brigham Young University in 2013. In 2015 he received his master's degree in biblical studies from Trinity Western University, where he assisted in authoring publications facilitated by the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute. His research interests, presentations, and publications center on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the formation of scriptural canons, the Hebrew Bible minor prophets, the use of extra-canonical texts in Jewish and Christian communities, the interaction between physical space and religion, and new religious movements based upon ancient traditions and texts. In addition to his academic pursuits, Josh currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Student Advisory Board for the Society of Biblical Literature. While Josh loves his research and work in the academy, his fav

Download Transcript In this episode Brian Hales interviews Don Bradley about his decades-long research into missing parts of Book of Mormon narrative. Ever since he was a youngster, Don’s wondered about the content of the 116 pages of the Book of Lehi transcript that Martin Harris lost in 1828. Most Primary children know the story of how the Lord said “no” three times, but then relented and someone subsequently stole the pages from Martin. God told Joseph not to retranslate that portion of the golden plates so the stories and teachings scribed onto those pages remain lost forever . . . or are they? Martin Harris initially thought that his wife, Lucy, had taken the manuscript, but unlike a popular rumor, he didn’t think she burned or destroyed it. Then on her deathbed in 1836, she absolutely denied having anything to do with the manuscript theft. She was a devout Quaker— who are supposed to be absolutely honest. It appears Lucy Harris’s deathbed testimony convinced Martin that she had nothing to do with the

The authors of the Old Testament told very few "stories" for a story's sake. Scriptural accounts were meant to illustrate a point usually having to do with Israel's relationship to God. Authors carefully chose how they presented their messages, often fashioning the way they presented history in order to emphasize continuing themes. Those looking at the Bible as a strictly scientific, literally precise, and historically exact record often become frustrated when they come to stories that don't fit in well with what is known from secular studies. One of the accounts that falls into this category is that of Noah and the Flood. Many theories abound as to interpretation, but few hold water when evaluated scientifically, literally, or historically. Instead of concentrating on the discrepancies between secular theories and traditional interpretations, warns retired BYU Professor Paul Hoskisson, readers would get further by concentrating on looking for what is being taught. The literal meaning and the metaphorical mea

LDS Perspectives is pleased to announce a new podcast interview with David W. Grua, a historian and documentary editor with the Joseph Smith Papers. David holds a Ph.D. in American History from Texas Christian University and an M.A. and B.A. from Brigham Young University. He is the author of Surviving Wounded Knee: The Lakotas and the Politics of Memory (Oxford, 2016), which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title and was awarded the Robert M. Utley Prize from the Western History Association. David worked five years as a research assistant for the Joseph Smith Papers while a student at BYU and has spent the last four and a half years as a volume editor. In David’s work for the project, he specializes in the Mormon experience in Missouri, Mormon-Indian relations, and Joseph Smith’s legal papers. In this episode, LDS Perspectives podcaster Taunalyn Rutherford interviews David about the latest volume in the Joseph Smith Papers—Documents, Volume 6—which covers February 1838–August 1839. This was a tumult

Benjamin T. Spackman graduated from BYU in Near Eastern studies. He then received an MA and did further PhD work in Near Eastern languages and civilizations (Comparative Semitics) at the University of Chicago, during which time he was a Hugh Nibley Fellow. He has taught part-time at BYU and served as a volunteer Institute teacher for over ten years. Currently, he is authoring a book on how we read Genesis 1 and the parallel LDS accounts, tentatively titled Reading Scripture, Reading Creation: The Ancient Context of Genesis 1. He blogs at Times & Seasons, and writes Gospel Doctrine background posts at Benjamin the Scribe. In this episode, he discusses what many scholars believe the priestly scribes were writing about in the book of Genesis. Download Transcript

Dr. Cory Crawford teaches Classics and World Religions at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 2009, he received a PhD from Harvard University in Near Eastern languages and civilizations. He specialized in Hebrew Bible, ancient Near Eastern iconography and archaeology, and religion, material culture, and rituals. Among his many publications is a chapter in the book Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy entitled “Competing Histories in the Hebrew Bible and in the Latter-day Saint Tradition.” Dr. Crawford introduces us to the questions that led nineteenth-century theologians to develop the documentary hypothesis and introduces the major components of the school of thought. Download Transcript