AuthorCast #61: Exploring Mormon Thought, episode 15 July 12 2017

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 15: The Attributes of God Ch 9 - Denying That God's Past Knowledge is Fixed
By Corey Ostler

We talk about arguments that try to attack God's past knowledge/beliefs as fixed. We talk about the idea that a timeless God is exempt from past necessity, and even go over universal possibilism and the multiverse theory.

Topics Discussed:
• Distinguishing Logical and Theological Fatalism
• Argument D
• Hard Facts As Intrinsic Properties of Past Events
• Does The Doctrine of Timelessness Resolve the Incompatibility?
• Multiple Past Compatibilists

Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought.

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AuthorCast #40: This Month in Mormon Studies March 01 2017

Join co-hosts Brian Whitney (Greg Kofford Books) and Brandt Malone (Mormon News Report) in this lively look at the latest happenings in the field of Mormon studies, including news, blogs, new book releases, and events from the past month.

In the News

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich on NPR's Fresh Air

Neylan McBaine, “As potters at the wheel, let us shape Utah from inside and outside” in SL Trib

Henry J. Eyring named president of BYU-Idaho

Updates to Joseph Smith Papers website

On the Blogs

“More Thoughts on Mormons and Muslims” by Paul Reeve

“The Modern Mormon Athletic Image” by Ben Park

“The Complexities of History in The Ensign” by Ben Spackman

“The Dance of Discourse” by Hannah Jung

Profile on Greg Kofford Books at AML by Andrew Hall

“Canon as Context: Insights from the Bible Wars” by Mike Austin

Recent Book Releases

Scott Hales, The Garden of Enid: Adventures of a Weird Mormon Girl, Part Two (Greg Kofford Books)

Devery S. Anderson, Ed., Salt Lake School of the Prophets, 1867-1883 (Signature Books)

Reid L. Neilson and Nathan N. Waite, eds., Settling the Valley: Proclaiming the Gospel: The General Epistles of the Mormon First Presidency (Oxford University Press)

Jennifer Reeder and Kate Holbrook, eds., At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women (Church Historian's Press)

Book Reviews by Brandt

Ann Taves, Revelatory Events: Three Case Studies of the Emergence of New Spiritual Paths (Princeton University Press)

Events

Faith and Knowledge Conference

Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology

UVU Mormon Studies Conference

Kate Holbrook speaking at Tabernacle

Call for Papers/Applications

Joseph Smith Papers Conference

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AuthorCast #34 — This Month in Mormon Studies, September 2016 November 11 2016

Join co-hosts Brian Whitney (Greg Kofford Books) and Brandt Malone (Mormon News Report) in this lively look at the latest happenings in the field of Mormon studies, including news, blogs, new book releases, and events!

Music by Starflyer 59 from their record SLOW.

In the News

Postdoctoral fellow and lecturer position at The University of Virginia

Maxwell Institute Executive Committee and Advisory Board

On the Blogs

The Beleagured Progress of LDS Women

SMPT Annual Meeting notes here, here, and here

The Sacrament: a (somewhat speculative) liturgical genealogy

Michael MacKay on changing views that seemed set in stone

On the Dating of Moroni 8-9

If Not 1890, What Year Did Mormonism Change the Most?

The JST at the JSP

Recent Book Releases

Foundations of the Restoration: 45th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium , edited by Craig James Ostler

Joseph M. Spencer, The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's Record

Richard S. Van Wagoner, Natural Born Seer: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1805-1830

At Sword's Point, Part 2: A Documentary History of the Utah War, 1858-1859, edited by William P. MacKinnon

Recent and Upcoming Events

The Intellectual Life of Mormonism, Lecture 3

David F. Holland lecture at Maxwell Institute (video)

Roundtable Discussion for The Vision of All (video)

Sunstone Northwest 2016

Call for Papers

Mormon Scholars in the Humanities 2017 conference

Mormon Theology Seminar 2017

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AuthorCast #33 — Conversation with Joseph M. Spencer, author of The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's Record October 27 2016

In this episode, we bring Joseph M. Spencer back for a conversation about his newest book, The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's Record, part of the Contemporary Studies in Scripture series published by Greg Kofford Books.

About the book:

In The Vision of All, Joseph Spencer draws on the best of biblical and Latter-day Saint scholarship to make sense of the so-called “Isaiah chapters” in the first two books of the Book of Mormon. Arguing that Isaiah lies at the very heart of Nephi’s project, Spencer insists on demystifying the writings of Isaiah while nonetheless refusing to pretend that Isaiah is in any way easy to grasp. Presented as a series of down-to-earth lectures, The Vision of All outlines a comprehensive answer to the question of why Nephi was interested in Isaiah in the first place. Along the way, the book presents both a general approach to reading Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and a set of specific tactics for making sense of Isaiah's writings. For anyone interested in understanding what Isaiah is doing in the Book of Mormon, this is the place to start.

Preview the volume here.

Join us on Thursday, October 27th for a special author round table event at Writ & Vision in Provo, UT with Joseph Spencer, Adam Miller, Sharon Harris, and Nicholas Frederick. The discussion starts at 7:00 pm and is free to the public. For those who aren't able to make it in person, Greg Kofford Books will be livestreaming the discussion on our Facebook page.

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AuthorCast #31 — Interview with Julie M. Smith, editor of As Iron Sharpens Iron August 12 2016

In this episode, we bring back Julie M. Smith to discuss her latest release, As Iron Sharpens Iron: Listening to the Various Voices of Scripture, available now!

In this unique volume, fictionalized dialogues between the various voices of scripture illustrate how differences and disagreements are not flaws of the texts but are rather essential features of the canon. These creative dialogues include Abraham and Job debating the utility of suffering and our submission to God, Alma and Abinidi disagreeing on the place of justice in the Atonement, and the authors Mark and Luke discussing the role of women in Jesus’s ministry. It is by examining and embracing the different perspectives within the canon that readers are able to discover just how rich and invigorating the scriptures can be.

“A model for a new, Jewish-informed way of reading scriptures with rich potential for Latter-day Saint audiences. One that embraces complexity rather than fleeing from it; an approach that values nuance and richness over simplicity and closure. Highly recommended.” — Fiona Givens, co-author of The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections On the Quest for Faith and The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life

Preview the volume here.

Read a Q&A with Julie M. Smith.

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AuthorCast #30 — This Month in Mormon Studies, July 2016 August 05 2016

Join co-hosts Brian Whitney (Greg Kofford Books) and Brandt Malone (Mormon News Report) in this lively look at the latest happenings in the field of Mormon studies, including news, blogs, new book releases, and events! Our special guest this month is Brittany Mangleson from Project Zion Podcast.

Music by Starflyer 59 from their record SLOW.

In the News

Radio West interview with Greg Prince

BYU Mormon Studies conversation group

Passing of Linda Hunter Adams

Internship with Church Historic Sites

On the Blogs

Jana Reiss, "Can Mormon women be witness to priesthood ordinances?"

Margaret Blair Young, "Race and Mormonism–2016 Edition (the less coy version)"

Aaron Brown, "Does the LDS Church Believe the Priesthood Ban was of Divine Origin or Not?"

Ardis Parshall, "A Stealthy Return to Bad Practices of the Past"

David G., "Heavenly Ledgers and Ghostly Specters: Two Recent Articles"

Blair Hodges, "For the church in Russia, sustaining doesn't mean agreeing"

Emily Grover, "Sister Wives of the Traveling Pants: Confronting My Polygamous Ancestry"

Joseph Stuart, "Death and the Historian's Empathy"

Recent Book Releases

Michael Austin and Ardis E. Parshall, eds., Boadicea; The Mormon Wife: Life-Scenes in Utah

Julie M. Smith, ed., Apocalypse: Reading Revelation 21-22

Stephen L. Prince, Hosea Stout: Lawman, Legislator, Mormon Defender

Scholarly Journals

Journal of Mormon History, Vol 42, No. 3 (July 2016)

Recent and Upcoming Events

Richard Bushman Colloquium now available online

2016 Science & Mormonism Symposium videos

2016 Sunstone SLC Summer Symposium

Latter-day Seekers

Daniel Stone's forthcoming biography William Bickerton

Wheatley Summer Seminar

BYU New Testament Commentary Conference

Upcoming Events and Call for Papers

2016 FairMormon Conference

2017 Mormon History Association Conference, call for papers

2016 Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology Seminar

2016 John Whitmer Historical Association Conference

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Authorcast #23 - Joseph M. Spencer May 27 2016

An interview with Joseph Spencer, author of For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope.

What is hope? What is Zion? And what does it mean to hope for Zion? In this insightful book, Joseph Spencer explores these questions through the scriptures of two continents separated by nearly two millennia. In the first half, Spencer engages in a rich study of Paul's letter to the Roman to better understand how the apostle understood hope and what it means to have it. In the second half of the book, Spencer jumps to the early years of the Restoration and the various revelations on consecration to understand how Latter-day Saints are expected to strive for Zion. Between these halves is an interlude examining the hoped-for Zion that both thrived in the Book of Mormon and was hoped to be established again.

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Preview the volume here.

Read a Q&A with the author.

Authorcast #16 - Interview with Michael Austin December 30 2015

In our latest episode, we interview Michael Austin, author of Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem; the second book in the Contemporary Studies in Scripture series.

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Preview Re-Reading Job

Be sure to check out the forthcoming series The Mormon Image in Literature, edited and annotated by Michael Austin and Ardis E. Parshall. The first book in the series, The Mormoness, is scheduled to be published January 26, 2016. Pre-order your copy today!