Kofford Authors at MHA June 01 2015

Greg Kofford Books authors have long been well-represented as speakers and panel chairs at annual conferences of the Mormon History Association, and the 2015 Conference at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah, June 4-7, is no exception! Check out the titles of their presentations and panels below: 

Russell Stevenson, author of For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013 will present, "We Aren't Africa: Mormonism in Nigeria, 1960-1964."

Joseph Spencer, author of For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope will present, "Canon and History: On the Revelation to Emma Smith."

Boyd Petersen, author of Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life and Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family will chair theTheology and History panel. 

Claudia Bushman, co-editor (with Caroline Kline) ofMormon Women Have Their Say: Essays from the Claremont Oral History Collection will present "Early Decisions," as part of the Exponent II: Present at the Creation panel.

Lavina Fielding Anderson and Newell Bringhurst, editors of Excavating Mormon Pasts: The New Historiography of the Last Half Century will chair a panel and present a paper, respectively. Lavina will chair the Mormon History Journals Editors panel, and Newell will present "President David O. McKay's 1954 Encounter with the LDS Church's Black Priesthood Ban: An Important but Forgotten Episode."

Thomas Alexander, author of Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930, 3rd ed. will speak as part of the Culture of the Early Mormon History Association roundtable. 

Todd Compton, author (with Leland H. Gentry) ofFire and Sword: A History of the Latter-Days Saints in Northern Missouri, 1836-39 will present "Ganado Mucho, Navajo Headman, and the Mormons."

Don Bradley, author of the forthcoming The Lost 116 Pages: Rediscovering the Book of Lehi will present, "From Cumorah's 'Ark' to Joseph's Hat: Sacred and Mundane Objects in the Emergence of the Book of Mormon."

Christine and Christopher Blythe, editors of the forthcoming Mormonisms: A Documentary History, 1844-1860 will chair panels and present papers. Christine will present, " 'Presiding at Birth:' The Creation of Folk Theologies among Latter-day Saint Women," and she will chair the Mormonism and Material Culture panel. Christopher will present, "Martyrdom Canes and Vernacular Mormonism" in that same panel.

Stuart Parker, author of the forthcoming History through Seer Stones: A Hundred Years of Mormon Pasts will present, "Margarita Bautista's 'Eternal Mexico:' A Revolutionary Mormon proto-Chicanismo."

Q&A with William B. Smith Author Kyle Walker May 20 2015

Q&A with Even unto Bloodshed author Duane Boyce May 19 2015

Even unto Bloodshed: An LDS Perspective on War

by Duane Boyce

322 pages

Paperback $29.95 (ISBN 978-1-58958-630-7)

Available May 26th in print and e-book

Pre-order your copy today

 Preview Even unto Bloodshed here. 

Q: What prompted you to begin writing this book? 

Duane:  Nothing is sadder than war, and yet nothing seems more common. Although it is tempting to just sit back and hope conflict will go away, there is really no hope for this. And that means disciples of Christ, in particular, must be extremely thoughtful on the subject. Is war ever permitted? If not, why not? And if it is, under what circumstances? What can possibly justify the devastation and human misery entailed by military conflict?

It is not difficult to find a multitude of mortals’ opinions on such matters, but for followers of Christ this is far from the main concern. Ultimately, to whatever degree we can discover it, we want to know the Lord’s own disposition toward violence and to embrace that. And that means we want to search the scriptures with care and to bring to bear every relevant consideration. We cannot assume that the matter is simple and that it can be settled with a quick verse or two. It seems to me that the issues are more complicated and subtle than that. That’s why my study led to a book rather than to an essay.

Q: A broad readership is always the most desirable, but is there also an intended audience for this book? And what do you hope they get out of it?

Duane:  At some point, almost everyone becomes intensely interested in the moral evaluation of war. It’s hard to say when that will happen, but I think most people face it at some point. This book is for anyone who decides it’s time to consider the matter comprehensively, from a gospel point of view. Comprehensiveness seems important to me. After all, it’s not hard to have a couple of passages in mind that seem to settle the question of war, but the problem is that others can have a different set of passages in mind that, to them, settle the question in a different way. I think many would find it helpful to read a book that tries to approach the matter more comprehensively than that.

In my view, all the relevant scriptural passages cohere in a unified framework about war. They actually don’t compete but genuinely synchronize in their collective illumination of this gospel topic. Anyone interested in how this is possible will be interested in this book. Or so it seems to me, at any rate.

Q: In this book you argue that the position of the pacifist is not tenable, either on secular or scriptural grounds. Why might a Christian be drawn to pacifism, and, conversely, why might another Christian be drawn to non-pacifism? 

Duane:  All disciples detest violence. It is in the DNA of Christian embrace. And that gives pacifism a natural gravitational force: its appeal is both intrinsic and compelling. But an equally intrinsic and compelling influence in Christian DNA is the love of our families, and of our brothers and sisters in general, and the obligation we feel to protect them from being brutalized and murdered.

The love of peace and the love of our brothers and sisters are both genuine and both exert a natural influence on disciples of Christ. People end up leaning one way or the other, but I think everyone actually feels the pull of both. Given the set of choices, the result is a genuine psychological and spiritual tension. Who doesn’t feel it?

Q: You spend a good deal of time in the book outlining "Just War Theory," a concept first articulated in the Christian tradition by St. Augustine as an attempt to describe the criteria that must be present in order for Christians to morally participate in war. Can you briefly explain how this might or might not intersect with LDS beliefs? Do LDS need Just War Theory in order to understand how to engage in war in the present time? 

Duane:  Just-war theory is valuable for two reasons. First, in any comprehensive look at war, it is important to consider secular arguments as well as spiritual ones. Just-war theory is a natural starting place because, as far as it goes, it captures most people’s intuitions, and is very helpful. Second, because its origins are Christian, its principles are not uncongenial to a Christian point of view and therefore the theory is relevant to any consideration of an LDS approach. To the degree it is possible to create an LDS framework about war, just-war theory can help in thinking about it. 

Q: Where do you see this book being positioned with regard to the ongoing conversation concerning LDS perspectives on war and peace? What original contribution does this book make to that conversation? 

Duane:  Given the tension identified previously, it is only natural that positions will coalesce around one pole or the other. The focus will be either on the evil of violence or on the necessity of defending human beings from brutality and murder. Both are legitimate, of course, so the real question is how to address both matters within a single conceptual frame. What point of view can give full weight to both considerations and simultaneously remove the tension between them? Creating that kind of frame is the purpose of this book.

Q: If a person holds non-pacifist beliefs regarding war, does that mean such a person is "pro-war?" What are some of the elements of your position that you think pacifists misconstrue or misunderstand? Can the same be said for non-pacifists' understandings of pacifism? 

Duane:  As to the first question: Stated this broadly, it seems to me impossible for a disciple to be “pro-war.” A fundamental hatred of violence is a property of discipleship, and this means the proper default position is always one of vigorously resisting war as a solution to problems.

As to the second and third questions: I think mutual misunderstanding is unavoidable given the tension between detesting violence and loving those suffering from aggression. Whichever way we lean, it is easy to conclude that those on the other end just don’t appreciate what we appreciate. That’s why people with different views can be impatient with each other. It’s easy to see others as blind to what really matters. In my view, both really matter and no approach to war can be satisfactory if it does not give full weight to both. 

Q: Having devoted a lot of time to thinking about war and peace with regard to Christian discipleship, what would you say is the problem most difficult for Latter-day Saints to wrestle with? 

Duane: The most difficult problem is the tension I’ve mentioned. It occurs not only in our hearts, but in the scriptures themselves, which at times seem to prohibit violence and at other times to promote it. This seems contradictory. Are the scriptures themselves disconnected? It can seem as if they are, and, if so, we then seem doomed either to flip-flop between the competing views or to settle permanently for one but at the cost of minimizing the other. None of this seems satisfactory. Disconnected scriptures? Spiritual flip-flopping? Permanent underestimation of a legitimate scriptural perspective?

Fortunately, I think all of this unnecessary. In my view, the tension actually rests on a mistake. When we frame the issue more carefully it turns out that scriptural teachings about war fit together perfectly and they do so without minimizing anything. Appreciating the gospel message at a deeper level, the tension at the surface evaporates. To me the reasons for all of this are both fascinating and highly illuminating. It takes a book to show it (at least if we want to attempt anything close to comprehensive), but if I am right that the result is the removal of a common spiritual tension, the effort has been worth it.   

Pre-order your copy here.

Preview William B. Smith: In the Shadow of a Prophet May 07 2015

William B. Smith: In the Shadow of a Prophet

Recent Reviews of Kofford Books Titles April 30 2015

Kofford titles continue to receive major accolades in the Mormon academic community. A few highlights from the past couple months:

For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope, by Joseph M. Spencer 

• “It deserves to be read widely, and the message of consecration deserves discussion in Mormon sacrament meetings, Sunday schools, and General Conferences” —Association for Mormon Letters
• “Those interested in and familiar with Mormon theology will find this a refreshing read...Spencer’s book adds freshness and credibility to the literature, and his contribution to this topic is noteworthy.” —BYU Studies
• "What Spencer’s book drives home (and is all the reason for reading this remarkable book) is the invaluable insight that our hope in the future transformation of the world is made most evident in our loving answerability for its present circumstances." --BYU Professor of Humanities George Handley

• "I think this is now the primary scholarly treatment of the LDS race and priesthood history." — Times and Seasons
• "Stevenson should be commended writing the best resource for Latter-day Saints to learn more about the experience of Mormon blacks in settings both American and international...For the Cause of Righteousness is the best one-volume history of blacks and Mormonism available anywhere." — Juvenile Instructor: A Mormon History Blog
• “For the Cause of Righteousness” is an indispensable and long overdue volume — not only for its content, but also in the way it presents Mormon history. Stevenson’s book crucially shifts away from both the typical top-down leadership narrative, and the “outsider’s” perspective of Mormon racism. Exploring the priesthood ban in the framework of a global community better explains the interaction between blacks and Mormons. Significantly, this work illuminates the average Latter-day Saints’ role in shaping the faith—not as submissive sheep, but as movers and shakers." -- Association for Mormon Letters

• "Toward a Better Understanding" is warmly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about Joseph’s plural marriages but particularly to those just venturing into its sometimes choppy waters. Were I not vulnerable to the sin of envy, I’d wish I had written it." -- Gregory L. Smith, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture
• "I enjoyed this book and found it very helpful...The book allowed me to understand the relationships between events more clearly than I have before. I found the book to be faith-affirming and a further testimony of Joseph Smith’s life as a prophet of God. I would recommend it for those struggling with the topic as well as those who want to know more so they can be prepared for questions from others." --Suzanne Long Foster, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture
• "Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding is an excellent and essential volume that will not only answer questions and offer solace to “truth seekers [who] may encounter details that are uncomfortable when studying early polygamy” but will also be a useful and interesting volume for those who have spent years studying the subject. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all." --Craig L. Foster, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture

Re-Reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem, by Michael Austin

Michael Austin received  the 2014 Award for Best Religious Nonfiction from the Association for Mormon Letters, for his book, Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem. -- Association for Mormon Letters

Preview Even unto Bloodshed: An LDS Perspective on War April 29 2015

Even unto Bloodshed: An LDS Perspective on War

Preview Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding April 09 2015

Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding

Q&A with Joseph Smith's Polygamy authors Laura Hales and Brian Hales April 06 2015

Joseph Smith's Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding

by Brian C. Hales and Laura H. Hales

223 pages

Paperback $19.95 (ISBN 978-1-58958-723-6)

Available April 14th in print and e-book

Pre-order your copy today.

Q: The last few years we've been inundated with new information concerning Mormon polygamy, from podcasts about polygamy, to the Church posting an essay on the subject, to Brian's 3 volume set on the history and theology of polygamy in early Mormonism. How does Joseph Smith's Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding fit into that landscape and contribute to this ongoing conversation?

Laura: The Gospel Topics essay on early polygamy gave as good of a basic introduction to the subject as it could in ten pages. Brian’s book was 1500 pages. This book expands on the information in the essay by using the research used to write the trilogy. The first third of the book provides a theological framework for the unfolding of Nauvoo plural marriage; the second third provides the history; and the third contains short biographies of 35 of Joseph’s possible plural wives who agreed to participate in this strange practice.

Brian: Even though this volume is short, no major topic has been avoided. All the controversies have been presented. This volume fills an important niche to help inquirers who want more information than that found in the LDS.org essay, but don’t have the time or interest to dive into 1500+ pages of my trilogy, which deals more with the various opinions regarding the controversies.

Q: Like most authors, you would probably like as many people as possible to read your book. Is there an intended audience for this volume?

Laura: Absolutely. This book differs from the first three volumes in the series in that it was written specifically for Latter-day Saint members curious about Joseph Smith and his many plural wives, or who wonder about the meaning of Doctrine and Covenants 132. Whether the reader has a basic or a more comprehensive knowledge of the topic, they will benefit from the information in this volume.

Q: What do you hope they get from it?

Laura: Our hope is that readers will gain some reassurance. Often in the past, aspects of the practice have been exploited or sensationalized by authors less concerned about accuracy than promoting their opinion of Joseph Smith or for their distaste for the practice of plural marriage.

There may be things that are surprising and possibly discomforting about what occurred during the time period, but when contextualized, they are easier to understand. The early polygamists were just as skeptical as us about the restoration of the practice. Their actions (including the behaviors of Joseph and Emma) are better understood when historical and theological information is provided.

We would also hope that readers will gain just a little bit of sympathy for Joseph Smith as they learn of the difficult choices he had to make. Perhaps readers will also feel admiration for the plural wives whose faith, courage, and tenacity enabled them to have the bravery to embrace this commandment.

Q: Books about controversial subjects invite all kinds of commentary and criticism. As you have thought about what you would like reviewers to write about the book, what would top your wish list?

Laura: We did our best to present the story in the words of the participants without overly opining on motivations for behaviors, leaving the reader to ponder the evidence. At times, we probably could have provided more context, but we really wanted the reader to be able to look at the scant evidence and realize that much that has been previously published has included a fair amount of guess work. There is so much that we simply do not know. Hopefully we have conveyed the nebulous nature of the historical record, so the reader will be wary of any author that proclaims to know for surety what happened in any given situation.

If readers and reviewers could leave the book with an open mind, pondering what they have read, and searching on their own to answer their questions through further research, then I would be pleased. I have done this myself, studying the history of these people, how they interacted socially, and why Joseph would choose to be sealed to certain women. Some of my questions have been answered, but it takes time, patience, and study on the part of the seeker. Having reviewers laud us for leaving the door open instead of evaluating the merits of the book on their preconceived notions of what occurred, would be great.

Brian: Because polygamy involves sex and religion, it is immensely controversial. It appears that the greatest factor in determining a person’s reaction to plural marriage (or a book about it) involves their a priori beliefs. Because of the ambiguities and contradictions in the historical record, multiple interpretations can be advanced. Unbelievers seem to disagree with any explanation that does not depict Joseph as an adulterer motivated by libido. Believers, on the other hand, may join with us in seeing that while questions exist, there is no credible evidence Joseph was involved in sexual immorality and much documentation to support he was sincere and felt compelled by God to establish the practice.

This book is not an attempt to increase testimony, but instead to tell the story as accurately as we can, believing that historical truth will support belief better than any alternative. Accordingly, the best we may be able to hope for is for reviewers to conclude that we have presented the evidences with clarity and in a balanced way allowing individuals to understand our interpretations, even if they do not agree with them. 

Q: Laura, tell us a little about your own journey in co-authoring this volume with Brian. Where were you at personally about the subject matter when you began the project, and where did you end up?

Laura: My journey began before I married Brian. I attended an author-meets-critic session at the Sunstone Symposium where Brian’s trilogy was being critiqued. I hadn’t read the book, so I had no idea if the criticisms were valid. So I read the books over the next six weeks, expecting not to learn much new about early polygamy. After I finished the last page of the book, I found myself asking what had happened to the Joseph Smith I knew.

After thinking, writing, and studying about Joseph Smith and his practice of polygamy for the last eighteen months, I think I have found him again. He isn’t the sanitized prophet that I grew up with, but he is much more real to me. Over time I have been able to feel sympathy for him, which was elusive for me for a long time. The Joseph I know now is so much more multi-dimensional, and I feel like I have been able to get a small glimpse into his character from those who knew him. Hopefully over the years that view will broaden with even more study because I still have unanswered questions. 

Q: What were the most enjoyable and least enjoyable aspects of writing Joseph Smith's Polygamy?

Laura: The most enjoyable part of writing a book with a co-author is the synergy that happens—working together on an idea, completing each other’s sentences, and suggesting that elusive word to express a common thought. The least enjoyable aspect of writing this book were the spirited conversations that occurred when we disagreed on how to present a specific concept. I had to keep reminding Brian that he had already written “that book” and this one was for a different purpose and audience. I’m sure this was frustrating for him as well because this it is the first time he has collaborated on a writing project.

Pre-order your copy here.

Q&A between volume and series editors of Perspectives on Mormon Theology: Scriptural Theology February 19 2015

For this Q&A, Perspectives series co-editor Loyd Isao Ericson discusses the inaugural volume
with editors James E. Faulconer and Joseph M. Spencer.

Loyd: While we would love to say that we initially planned it this way, it is fortuitous that the first volume for the Perspectives series is on scriptural theology. How would you describe scriptural theology? What is the relationship between scripture and theology?

James: We have borrowed the term from Protestant theology, where it means theological studies in which one tries to understand how God reveals himself in scripture, without imposing a theological system onto the biblical text. It is not necessarily opposed to historical, sociological, ideological or other kinds of interpretation. However, it does not look for what history or culture is behind the text, as does much biblical criticism. Nor does it look for how our own ideas are reflected in the text, as does ideological critique. Instead, scriptural theology tries to understand the Bible as the word of God, a text about God and human relationships with God.

Joseph: As anyone terribly serious about scripture knows, it's difficult to find a clearly consistent message in the canon. This scriptural voice clashes with that scriptural voice, this style of presentation differs fundamentally from that style of presentation, this book privileges a theme entirely distinct from the one privileged by that book, and so on. One might respond to such tensions and inconsistencies in, very broadly speaking, one of two ways. On the one hand, one can hope to release undesired tensions, to reconcile inconsistencies, to find a largely unified voice that's to be given greater weight than competing voices. This can be accomplished in several ways: reading quite imaginatively, scuttling inconvenient passages, translating away problems, ignoring scripture entirely. On the other hand, however, one can hope to learn from tensions, to be fascinated by inconsistencies, to welcome an irreducible chorus of voices that all together present God's word and will to humankind. This latter approach is something like what we have in mind when we speak of scriptural theology.

In a formula: we theologize because scripture is messy and complex, and we do so scripturally when we struggle to let the messiness and complexity of scripture guide our reflections.

Loyd: Is all theology scriptural? And, conversely, is all scripture reading an act of theologizing to some degree?

James: The answer to both questions is yes, in a qualified sense in the first case and an unqualified sense in the second.

In the sense that, presumably, all Christian theologies advert eventually to scripture, all of it is scriptural. But sometimes theology uses scripture as, more or less, a proof text for the ideas that it wants to hang on scripture. The point of scriptural theology is to focus on the text and see what things arise from it. The line between scriptural theology and other theologies, though, is not bright.

On the other hand, if a person reads scripture and talks about it, gives explanations, relates on thing to another, that person is theologizing. So all scripture reading and discussion is a kind of scriptural theology. In both cases, what would make something scriptural theology in our sense would be (1) how explicitly they were about doing theology and (2) how closely what they say is tied to the scriptural text.

Joseph: To the extent that scripture, as scripture, motivates theological reflection in the first place, all theology could be said to be scriptural. In the sense reviewed above, however, not all theology is scriptural. Any theology that pretends to do its work while oversimplifying scripture distances itself from scripture—and to that extent, it could be said to cease to be scriptural. Of course, no theological reflection avoids oversimplifying scripture. So perhaps it's best to say that all theology is scriptural to a certain degree, but no theology is or even could be perfectly scriptural. One of the tasks of the scriptural theologian is to do all she can to work against the inevitable tendency to move away from scripture, to avoid its complexities and difficulties, to embrace something cleaner and more definitive than the word God's given her to work with.

And it's certainly the case that all scripture reading amounts to a theological exercise—at least whenever the reader attempts, even if only halfheartedly, to understand scripture. Every understanding of scripture, even if it's terribly misinformed historically or naive philosophically, requires a certain theoretical investment and an attempt at deciding what in scripture matters or doesn't matter. That investment and that attempt lie at the heart of every theology. In the end, we're all theologians; we're just more or less conscious of the fact, more or less conscientious about the fact, more or less arrogant about our theological speculations.

Loyd: One of the primary goals of the Perspectives series is to highlight the many ways in which Mormon theology can be understood and explored. Given that all Latter-day Saints share a single set of canonized scripture, why is it that so many varied perspectives exist?

James: Isn’t that a bit like asking “Why is it that so many varied Latter-day Saints exist?” More seriously: if I believe in continuing revelation, then I believe that God can and will continue to reveal. That implies differences in the revelations. Subaltern to that idea is that to believe that revelations will between differ people. I would say that there are different perspectives because the Holy Spirit continues to teach us.

Joseph: Perspectives are internal to the canon itself. One might think here of some of the prophecies Mormons associate most often with Malachi. They were produced originally in Hebrew. Over the centuries following their original production and textual arrangement, they were translated into a variety of languages used by Jews scattered all over the ancient world: various renderings in Greek, in Aramaic, in Syriac, and so on. Those translations in all their variety affected the reception and popular understandings of those prophecies, which were then reflected in certain early Christian renderings and uses of the prophecies—some of which were eventually canonized in the New Testament. In the meanwhile, the resurrected Christ visited Israel in the New World and quoted the Malachi prophecies in some other form or language, a form that would nonetheless be rendered in English to match the King James Version of the Hebrew text passed down by scribes—though other passages in the Book of Mormon borrow the language of those same prophecies in creative and inventive ways. When the angel Moroni came to visit Joseph Smith, however, he quoted from the same prophecies, but with some inventive and theologically significant variations—variations that would be canonized in both the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants at different points in Mormon history. And yet then again, in letters written during the Nauvoo period, canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants several decades before Moroni's version, Joseph quoted the passage from Malachi and noted that it was sufficiently clear for his purposes.Here we have a single prophetic text that, internal to the canon itself, is subjected to all sorts of perspectives and project, differing interpretive programs and communicating with distinct audiences.

Yet all of them end up within the covers of a single set of canonized scripture. That we as readers of scripture mirror the variety and multiplicity already on display in the scriptures themselves is only to be expected.

Loyd: What challenges exist in Mormonism between engaging in scriptural theology and having authoritative prophets leading the LDS Church? How do your authors respond to these challenges?

James: I read and study scripture to learn from it. There isn’t any in-principle difficulty between doing that and believing that there are those who can speak authoritatively for God, especially not if I believe in continuing revelation, that the scriptures are not closed.

Perhaps this isn’t completely relevant, but it raises a pet peeve of mine, our discussions of authority. Authority is a very complicated matter about which we almost always think too simplistically. It’s too big a question to deal with well here, but let me say something briefly: Without knowing that we do, we use the language of Kant’s essay “What is Enlightenment?” and talk as if it is possible to reject all authority. But it doesn’t take much to know that can’t be.

The question isn’t whether to accept authority, but which ones and how. And those questions cannot be answered independent of my ceding authority to the authorities I recognize. So real authority, as opposed to despotism, is something that cannot exist without the agreement and support of those whom it governs. (Want to know more, read Gadamer’s Truth and Method.)

Joseph: Adam Miller has suggested drawing a distinction between theology and doctrine, understanding the latter term to refer to institutionally normative ideas—the kinds of things one must or should believe to adhere to a certain shared faith. There's virtue in that suggestion, since it allows one to set aside as the work of theology to reflect in a way that neither distressingly confronts nor unthinkingly follows institutionally authoritative statements issued by those positioned to govern the Church. It's also helpful that the Church has never really established any officially binding interpretations of the scriptures, simply affirming their truth and encouraging the Saints to read them with real intent and an eye single to God's glory. In short, it's possible to deny, in certain ways at least, that there are any terribly substantive challenges along the lines suggested by this question.

But in other ways, there are real challenges, of course. Scriptural theologians have to get used to hearing objections like, "Well, I've never heard that in General Conference!" or, "If that kind of thing mattered, then the Brethren would be talking about it!" It's too easy to retort to such objections that Church leaders urge close study of the scriptures, or to dismiss such objectors by suggesting that they're simply not curious enough about scripture. The best response is probably to see in such objections reason to ask oneself whether one's questions have indeed gotten too far afield, or why one's reflections don't seem relevant to the average Latter-day Saint.

How do our authors respond to these challenges? It's hard to say without reading through all the essays afresh with that question in mind. It's certain that they're all quite aware of the difficulties, that they're all used to hearing the kinds of objections mentioned above. And it's certain that they therefore attempt to position themselves rhetorically so as to be as non-threatening, as open-mindedly reasonable, and as faithfully committed to the Restoration and its core institution as they can possibly be. It's to be hoped that they succeed in doing so. And there's reason to think that, for the most part, they do.

Pre-order your copy here.

Preview the Scriptural Theology volume from the forthcoming Perspectives on Mormon Theology series. February 16 2015

Perspectives on Mormon Theology: Scriptural Theology

Q&A with Mr. Mustard Plaster author Mary Bradford January 26 2015

Q: What was the drive behind republishing these essays?

A: My daughter and I went to hear Joanna Brooks--author Book of Mormon Girl-- speak to our study group in DC. She claimed that Mitt's presidential campaign had created a Mormon Moment that writers should respond to. My daughter said, "Why not update your essay collection--Leaving Home?" I therefore contacted my publishing guru, Brent Corcoran, formerly Dialogue's production editor, who worked with me in 2009 when I published my poetry collection. Not only is he a poet himself, but he had convinced me to keep a digital file of my essays. He then took it upon himself to organize an omnibus collection of these essays, with the help of MHA artist, Thayne Whiting. I thought it made sense to rename the new incarnation with a catchier title. "Mr. Mustard Plaster" dealt with one of the themes of the book: "You can take the girl out of Utah but you can't take Utah out of the girl." I like Thayne's design of the humble mustard seed that grows into a flourishing plant--much like the personal essay The cover's botanical print, the book's layout and typeface also evoke my "Art Deco Childhood" essay. Taken together I hope it symbolizes the closest I can come to a memoir or autobiography.

Q: What motivated you to write essays in the first place?

A: Writing clarifies my life. I was a bookish child who found the best way of relating my inner world to the outer world was through literature. This naturally leads to writing--and editing. Mormons as a people practice the personal essay. We bear testimony, preach sermons, keep journals, record personal histories--even scrapbooks. Early Mormons were too busy surviving to afford the luxury of this peculiar and particular genre. As Mormonism matured, the seeds of this genre found a remarkable and welcoming soil. You might say that I took to it by nature and by nurture.   

When Dialogue came along in 1966, one of its founders, Gene England, an accomplished practitioner of the essay (and a poet) asked me to contribute to the section, Personal Voices. Later as Dialogue's third editor, I kept the flame alive, actively cultivating the personal essay. At the same time I contributed  regular columns, "One Woman's Perspective" to Exponent II under its creative editor, Sue Booth-Forbes. These became longer essays in my book.

Q: You have described the personal essay as "the quintessential Mormon genre." Could you elaborate on that?

A: I think I got that idea from the writings of Parley A.Christensen, professor of English at BYU. When I went there to teach in the fifties, I read his "All in a Teacher's Day?". His calm and witty dedication to the humanities was inspiring to a young neophyte. When, as wife and mother, I joined Dialogue's staff, I saw, with Gene, the personal essay as an extension of the testimony. Now in my dotage, I see it as a good way to leave a mark on the world. It seems easier to serve your life in tasty chunks instead of indigestible meals.

Q: What were some of Virginia A. Sorensen's qualities that led you to follow her so closely?

A: Virginia Sorensen, Mormon novelist of the 40's 50's and 60's, was introduced to me by my thesis chair, Dr. William Mulder at the University of Utah. As an English major and a Mormon, I naturally believed the Book of Mormon would be a good subject for poetry, and so proposed a selection of my poems as a MA thesis. I took courage from the few poems I had showed to a visiting poet who said  he envied my "built-in mythology." The U's poetry professor was not convinced and so rejected it. I turned to Dr. Mulder who said, "If you are interested in a living, working Mormon writer, why not choose Virginia Sorensen," a personal friend of his. Thus began a friendship that lasted until her death in 1991. Through Virginia I became friends with her cousin, Esther Petersen, a towering example of caring public service.

In my 1956 thesis, I wrote: "Virginia writes of her grandparents, her parents, and herself that preserves something of every Western Mormon's personal history. In her works we have a special innocence, part of the fading murals historians rush to save before zealous whitewashers have rubbed them away. . . That many have not read her because of her penchant for reproducing people who suffer, bleed and die seems nothing short of blind anachronism." Virginia's stories of her childhood, indeed her children's novels that won The Child Study Award and the Newbery Medal, echoed my experience in ways that inspired my own writing. For years she lived near my home in Virginia where she urged me to write her biography. That I have been unable to do so is a major, guilty disappointment.

Q: You mention the name of Lowell Bennion quite often in your essays.  Why? Who else has had a lasting influence on you and your writing?

A: I entered Lowell Bennion's Institute of Religion at the University of Utah as an eager student seeking knowledge and faith. I found in his stimulating classes and in his co-ed fraternity (Lambda Delta Sigma) a safe place to study, to question, to grow. His teaching was geared toward the student. We actually believed that he was learning from us, that he needed to hear from us. How refreshing for those of us so used to the "What am I thinking?" method of teaching. The wholesome social, recreational, service-oriented plan of this Home Away from Home caused me to think, "This is a charmed time  I want to write about it." Little did I know then that I would be given the task of writing  the biography of "Brother B-"as his students called him. His own personal essays were not life transformed into art  or life transformed by art, but bits and pieces of himself collected for inspection. It can almost be said that his life and work were one, all of the piece, created out of whole cloth.  He dedicated his life to  helping his students reconcile the two worlds of university and church, the life of the mind and of the spirit. Through his teaching and writing. I caught a glimpse of my place in the scheme  of things. Even today the voice of my conscience sounds remarkably like his voice.

In my long life I am constantly refreshed by minds that have not aged, in the church and out of it--The list is too long to record here, and it must include my deceased husband, so courageous and so supportive, my three children and my twelve grandchildren--always ready to champion my causes and to lift up their aging relative.

Q: Are these essays the work of a Mormon feminist?

A: I think I can call myself feminist in that I believe in equal rights for women and I give thanks for the women in my life who have unselfishly marked the path for me: my mother, grandmother, aunts, my daughter and sister, my teachers and leaders, professors, and friends. Not all have followed the same path--some have followed it out of the church--some out of their assigned roles. For better or worse I seem to occupy a middle ground. I accept the fact that  the Church is part of my body and I part of the Church's body. I think the Church belongs as much to me as to anyone. I cling to the faith that some day its leaders will find a way to sit down with their sisters and work out a sharing plan. I don't claim to understand fully either myself nor my Mormon sisters, but my journey continues. It is an exciting one.

Pre-order your copy here.

Mary Bradford's Mr. Mustard Plaster and Other Mormon Essays available January 27th! January 20 2015

by Mary Lythgoe Bradford

• “I love Mary Bradford’s essays. They are a delicious combination of personal reflections and family history! Everything I read of hers makes me hungry for more.”
  — Lavina Fielding Anderson, editor of Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir
   
• “Mary Bradford believes that the distinctive nature of the personal essay originates from what she calls the three “I’s” (“I’s,” eyes, ayes)—the authors’ first-person perspective, their clear and rich vision, and their honest and affirming testimonies of life. Mary’s own essays are true to form: her essays are vibrant portraits of a kind and loving soul, a rich and unique perspective, and a life well-lived and deeply loved.”
  — Boyd Jay Petersen, author of Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family
   
• “For nearly half a century Mary Bradford has perfected the personal essay, that most under-appreciated of literary genres. . . . Bradford has expanded our vision through the unique perspective of her poetic, feminine, and Mormon voice—a voice of grace, beauty, and deep meaning.”
  — Robert A. Rees, author of The Cost of Discipleship: The Dimensions of a Mature Mormon Faith
   
• “Mary Lythgoe Bradford offers her autobiography in personal essay—revealing a lifetime that bridged generations and pioneered the power of essay in Mormon literature. Since the first issue of Dialogue in 1966, Mary's wisdom and presence as an editor, writer, poet and biographer have linked us together, reaching back to women like Virginia Sorensen and moving us forward into feminism. Today at 84, Mary is still helping ‘Mormon women speak.’”
  — Maxine Hanks, editor of Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism

Mary Lythgoe Bradford is past editor of

Preview Mary Bradford’s “Mr. Mustard Plaster and Other Mormon Essays” January 15 2015

Mr. Mustard Plaster and Other Mormon Essays

2015: A Preview January 01 2015

2015: A Preview

• Beverly Campbell's Eve's Choice: The Greater Law
   
• Bill Smith's Textual Studies of the Doctrine and Covenants: The 1843 Revelation on Marriage  
   
• James Holt's Toward a Latter-day Saint Theology of Religions
   
• Duane Boyce's Even Unto Bloodshed: A Latter-day Saint Perspective on War
   
• Kyle Walker's William B. Smith: In the Shadow of a Prophet
   
• Brant Gardner's Traditions of the Fathers: the Book of Mormon as History
   
• David Bokovoy's Authoring the Old Testament: The Prophets
   

2014: A Retrospective December 31 2014

2014: Year in Review

• David Bokovoy's Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis - Deuteronomy
• Michael Austin's Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem
• Bradley Kramer's Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon
• Julie Smith's Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels

• Neylan McBaine's thoughtful look at women in the LDS Church
• Russell Stevenson's documentary history of blacks and Mormonism
• Richard Davis's insightful exploration of the relationship between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and progressive politics
• Joe Spencer's rich analysis of the relationship between Paul's letters on hope and early LDS revelations on consecration and Zion
• Marjorie Newton's history of the LDS Church in New Zealand and exploration of the tensions between Maori and Mormon culture

Q&A with Julie Smith, author of Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels December 12 2014

Q: This book has a most unusual format. With the exception of the introductory materials and essays in the appendices, it's just a series of hundreds of questions. Can you talk about why you opted for such an unconventional approach?

A: I wanted to introduce readers to new ideas without necessarily advocating for those ideas. It was more important to me to have the reader do her own thinking about it than for me to let her know what I think. And, frankly, I'm not entirely sure of the best answers to a lot of these questions! I also have a really strong belief in the idea that the moment when you are genuinely pondering the potential answer to a question is the moment when you are making it easiest for personal inspiration to come, and so I wanted to facilitate that process.

Q: Mormon readers are often cautious or downright suspicious of academic biblical studies. Should we be?

A: A lot of that suspicion comes from statements from earlier leaders, especially Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who expressed skepticism about biblical studies. I actually agree with Elder McConkie to some extent: when he spoke, much of what was done in the academy was neither ultimately productive (in an academic sense) nor devotionally useful. However, that is most emphatically not the case today! Since about 1980, a variety of literary approaches to the New Testament have been ascendant in the academy and have shown to be very useful devotionally. So modern academic biblical studies is well worth engaging. Of course, everyone should still maintain a healthy suspicion--there is enough disagreement within the field that no one outside of it should feel obligated to believe everything that he reads. But that's a suspicion that should prompt thoughtful engagement, not avoidance.

Q: This is a second edition, which Kofford Books is including in its Contemporary Studies in Scripture Series. What revisions have you made, and why republish it?

A: The revisions include minor changes to the body of the text---including the addition of a number of new questions---and the inclusion of three new essays. Kofford Books approached me about revising and republishing it for inclusion in their new Contemporary Studies in Scripture series and encouraged me to include some of what I've worked on and published since doing the first edition. The editors told me they were especially interested in my book, despite its having been previously published, because they felt like it so directly and immediately facilitated the kind of close, careful reading of scriptural texts the series is meant to encourage.

Q: What audience did you have in mind in writing and revising the book? Is it the kind of book that a rank-and-file Sundayschool instructor could benefit from?

A: The audience includes people studying the NT on their own or teaching it to adults (or older youth). I think a rank-and-file teacher would definitely benefit because the questions are designed to provide useful background information and then prompt discussion. For example, for Matthew 5:13 ("ye are the salt of the earth"), I offer many different options for the symbolism of salt common to Jesus' time (incidentally, our modern idiom "salt of the earth" is not one of them!) and then ask which ones make sense in this context.

Q: Does a "Mormon reading" of the New Testament exist? What are the shortcomings of how we read---and how we teach---the New Testament?

A: Let me tell you a story: when my youngest son was about two, he'd normally come and get me as soon as he woke up ("Open your eyes! Talk to me!"), but one day, he didn't. I awoke well after him and found him in the kitchen; he hadn't noticed I was there so I watched him for a few minutes. He'd somehow managed to open a new box of raisin bran. He would dump a mound of it on the table, pick out the raisins and eat them, and then use his little arm to brush all of the flakes onto the floor. And then he'd do it again. I think that's sometimes how we read the scriptures: picking out the familiar, easy bits and making a mess of the rest! As a result, our lessons can often have a rote and wooden feel to them. I can't tell you how much this saddens me--because there are immense treasures of fascinating ideas in the scriptures and we sometimes don't recognize it! 

Q: What new projects are you currently at work on that we can look forward to?

A: I'm working on the volume on the Gospel of Mark for the BYU New Testament Commentary.

Pre-order your copy here.

“Mormonism and Torture: Paradoxes and First Principles” -- Excerpt from Boyd Petersen’s Dead Wood and Rushing Water December 10 2014

From Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family:

“Mormon scripture offers paradox rather than surety. Should we in all places and times “renounce war and proclaim peace,” or should we adopt the view that it is better that “one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief ”? Both sides can be supported with Mormon scripture. And Latter-day Saints have found themselves, with tragic consequences, on both sides of this moral debate.”

Read the full chapter below:

Q&A with For the Cause of Righteousness Author, Russell W. Stevenson December 08 2014

For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013

by Russell W. Stevenson

437 pages
Paperback $32.95 (ISBN 978-1-58958-529-4)
Hardcover $66.95 (ISBN 978-1-58958-530-0)

Available December 17th in print and ebook.
Pre-order your copy today.

Q: Your book tackles one of the most controversial aspects of LDS history, one that Latter-day Saints often struggle to discuss with those both outside and within their faith community. What will your book do to further the conversation?

Too often, discussions about Mormonism and race focus on the upper echelons of Church leadership, as though the history could be reduced to a series of proclamations, statements, and official correspondence. We think of it in some of the same ways the diplomatic historians of a former age considered global politics. But the study of race in any contexts begs for more than that. It demands that we understand the relationship as it was lived and breathed on the ground.

Latter-day Saints will find that the story of this relationship reveals not merely a compendium of circulars but an intimate portrait of a people’s journey through the American landscape. W.E.B. DuBois observed that the color line cuts through the heart of the American experience, and it was a line that all classes of Mormon society had to engage: from the Prophet Joseph Smith to the South African tailor, William P. Daniels, to the Payson day laborer, N.B. Johnson.

Q: Several scholarly works have tackled the very questions your book has poised itself to address: Margaret Young and Darius Gray’s Standing on the Promises series, Newell Bringhurst’s Saints, Slaves, and Blacks, Armand L Mauss’s All Abraham’s Children, and, of course, Lester Bush’s seminal article: “Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview.” What does your book offer that their works does not?

The novels of Margaret Young and Darius Gray were instrumental in normalizing the black Mormon experience for the Mormon community. While stories of Elijah Ables and Jane Manning James had been long known—Andrew Jenson included Elijah in his LDS Biographical Encyclopedia as the “only colored priesthood holder”—they remained alienated from mainstream Mormon thought. Newell G. Bringhurst became one of the first scholars to trace the particulars of the Mormon community’s engagement with the black population, and Armand L. Mauss performed the seminal service of presenting a sociological profile of the Mormon community’s racial views.

I seek to build on this discussion by situating Mormonism’s interaction with the black community against a global backdrop, including the accounts of the much storied Ghanaian and Nigerian Mormons. The story becomes more layered and complex, a Weberian web of meanings spun across time and space. The black Mormon experience is not merely the Genesis Group, not merely Helvecio Martins, nor is it the rise of Ghanaian Mormonism; it is an intersection of these communities to craft a global narrative that defined the Latter-day Saints’ relationship with the global community for generations.

Q: The book is named, For the Cause of Righteousness, a strangely optimistic title for a topic that forces people to ask such hard questions of themselves. What was the inspiration for this title?

The title comes from priesthood certificate of Elijah Ables, where he is commended with possessing a zeal “for the cause of righteousness.” Styled in the same language as every other Melchizedek Priesthood holder’s priesthood certificate, the document requires that we see the fundamental contradiction that defined early Mormon views on race. Elijah felt at home in Mormonism, even as he faced down what looked like every other white denomination in America. How could a man such as Elijah Ables, likely a runaway slave, continue to affiliate with such a faith? As the priesthood restriction settled into the LDS community, Elijah increasingly became a relic of a forgotten day.

And righteousness is an interesting word—does it mean right action? The state of being correct? Elijah’s story demands that we ask the question of what the Mormon project all about. Joseph Smith hoped that “every man might speak in the name of God, the Lord.” Mormonism’s foundational text, the Book of Mormon, declares that “all are alike unto God, both black and white, bond and free.” Whether one accepts the Book of Mormon as representative of historical events or as a fanciful frontier tale woven from within Joseph Smith’s mind, this text seems to transcend its own textual surroundings—a book beset by ethnic wars, talk of racial cursings, and a massive destruction of a cataclysmic order. The text of Elijah’s priesthood certificate reminds us that there was a time when blacks and whites could enjoy common fellowship in “the cause of righteousness.”

Q: What perhaps less well-known historical figures play prominent roles in your history of Blacks and Mormonism?

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie declared that there are real “dangers” in embracing a “single story” of Africa, let alone blacks worldwide. As a white author with a notably white background (my grandfather was a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department in the years leading up to the Watts riot), I do no pretend to “give voice” to black figures; they already have a voice that has been, both intentionally and ignorantly, silenced by various white structures of power. Anthropologist Ferdinand Coronil has said of the postcolonial Other that scholars should be careful of efforts to represent it; instead, they should “create conditions that would enable it to represent itself.” It is tempting to sustain particular narratives about black Mormons: humble, faithful, suffering, but devoted, or restless, defiant, and theologically innovative. But no matter the context, we find that Nigeria, Ghanaian, South African, or African-American Mormons exhibit a variety of characteristics.

In addition to the well-known black Mormons such as Elijah Ables and Jane Manning James, I have endeavored to highlight modern black Mormons both in the United States and abroad. William P. Daniels, the branch president over an official Church branch in Mowbray, Capetown, South Africa, enjoyed such a position of respect with white Mormon leaders that they recognized his family as an official unit of the Church and set him apart to be the branch president. I tell the story of the strivings of Igbo Mormons in Nigeria, such as Charles Udo-Ete, in his struggles to establish Mormonism years before the American Church hierarchy would acknowledge their existence. I highlight the pivotal role of Lilian Clark, the English Sufi mystic and visionary, who gave the Ghanaian schoolmaster, Raphael Abraham F. Mensah, some LDS literature, thus starting in motion the events that would lead to the development of Ghanaian Mormonism in the 1960s.

I also endeavor to tell the stories of well-known white Mormon figures, but through the lens of their efforts to grapple with Mormon views on race. I share the story of Sonia Johnson, who was an American housewife in Nigeria long before she became an Equal Rights Amendment activist; her time in Africa compelled her to see race as the defining question of her generation of Mormonism. And we learn to see James E. Faust, once a John F. Kennedy appointee for civil rights action, not merely as one of “the Brethren” but as a man committed to maintaining his faith in Mormonism even while his political views push up against the accepted wisdom of his ecclesiastical colleagues.

Q: Hasn’t the LDS community moved beyond race? Why focus on old wounds?

Racial thinking works in complicated ways; we fool ourselves if we think that racism fits neatly under a single description. While, as Armand L Mauss has demonstrated, the LDS community is no more likely to embrace racial thinking than other religious groups, the Mormon community’s troubled relationship with the black community has bequeathed modern Mormons a host of consequences. But likely out of a fear of feeling guilty or culpable for past racial sins, we tend to shy away from sustained analysis. For some, they simply don’t feel the need to do so; their neighborhoods, friends, and family members are white, after all. Why bring up controversy?

Because our ignoring it does not make it disappear; and believing that we can is only a comforting (and expensive) mythology, at best—and one that is only available to white people who can enjoy the luxury of racial self-isolation. For others, we might share a few stories about Jane Manning James, but even then, we do so without fully recognizing that her story presents a case of a woman of color being denied the full blessings of the gospel based not on her personal actions but the color of her skin. (And her correspondence reveals that she had not been taught the “less valiant in premortality” explanation that had just become de rigueur.) For people of African descent, pretending as though the priesthood restriction never happened is an act of monumental denial. Doing so would raise as many eyebrows as “forgetting” that there was a trans-Atlantic slave trade, that there was systemic segregation in most of America throughout the better part of its history, and that American Mormonism kept African Saints at arm’s length even while other missionary societies were eager (perhaps too eager) to bring Christianity to the continent.

Q: In a recent essay the LDS Church has “disavowed” past statements that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor; does your book address these statements and how does it address this recent disavowal?

In the Documents portion of the volume, I provide an excerpt from the famed “Race and the Priesthood” statement, as well from the March 2013 preface to Official Declaration #2. I cast the disavowal as a part of a longstanding struggle to come to grips with a practice that most leaders felt the need to justify, sometimes through rather innovative theological methods. As Sterling M. McMurrin said, from the beginning, the explanations for the priesthood restriction have been “shot through with ambiguity”; even Spencer W. Kimball expressed frustration at what he felt had been the Lord’s lack of instructions on the matter. The disavowal marked the happy end of generations of failed explanations, theological gymnastics, and deficient teachings.

Q: The second half of this book consists of an anthology of primary source documents—which will make it a first in this area of research. Tell us about the process you used to select and contextualize the documents.

At times, it is easy to fixate on speeches made at the Tabernacle, comments made in the halls of the Church Office Building, or an address given by a white Church leader to an overwhelmingly white congregation. Important as these comments may be, they make up a story of White Mormons Talking About Black Mormons. This tendency only perpetuates the problem of representation, that is, of failing to create conditions in which black Mormons are able to express themselves.

More precisely, I hope to show that there was more—much more—to the black-Mormon relationship than the priesthood restriction, as central as that is to the narrative. So I sought to select documents that spoke to the relationships found within these two communities. One document, a letter with Elijah Ables’s signature, reveals experiences traveling on the Overland trail westward. Racial difference is not discussed in the letter, which in itself reveals something about the black Mormon experience: sometimes they experienced extraordinary things with no immediate pertinence to their racial experience. Other documents give voice to the Church’s ambivalence to the “civil rights movement” (though Ezra Taft Benson would distinguish this from the idea of “civil rights”). And to the extent possible, I endeavored to give voice to African Mormonism (primarily in Nigeria and Ghana) by presenting the voice of the “African Saints Without Baptism,” as E. Dale LeBaron styled them. How did they make Mormonism without the influence of a Church that was becoming increasingly structured and “correlated” in its ideas of orthodoxy? With each document, I hoped to re-create the world that the author of the document experienced, to show the kinds of forces that forged the environment in which they considered their words to be necessary or welcome.

Q: Why include both a narrative and a documentary history? What advantage does that offer to the reader?

The narrative offers people the opportunity to read a story, cover to cover, filled with people who are both heroes and villains (sometimes, at the same time). Through the narrative, I can at least hope to portray the story as the story of rising, falling, and sometimes coasting along in the Doldrums. It enabled me to cast the picture from a wide-angle lens; I did not need to bind myself to the stories included in a specific document.

But I wanted to include a documents section so that people could stare this thing in the face. I have heard several parents complain that high school history teachers do not make an effort to use original sources in teaching their students, and I agree with the critique. We need to see these words for themselves; we will never be able to stare our racial past in the face without them. Particularly when something questions your prior assumptions, it becomes too easy to dismiss it out of hand as exaggerated, or out-of-context. While concerns fabrication, exaggeration, and contextualization all should remain at the front of our minds in consuming any historical account, such responses are often used to validate our desire not to engage the tough realities.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has cautioned Latter-day Saints about “drifting aimlessly on an ocean of conflicting information, stranded on a raft we have poorly pieced together from our own biases.”  While there is much research to be done on this topic—research I intend to continue over the coming years—I hope that this book will bring us one step closer to recognizing that we don’t need to settle for flimsy wood when we navigate this, the most tumultuous topic in the study of LDS history.

Pre-order your copy here.

Preview Julie Smith’s “Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels” December 04 2014

Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels

Available December 17, 2014 in paperback, hardcover, and ebook

Check out Julie Smith's unique approach to studying the first five chapters of the Gospel of Mark,
and then pre-order your copy today:

Special Cyber-Monday discounts from Greg Kofford Books! November 28 2014

• Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life
• Exploring Mormon Thought: Volume 1, the Attributes of God
• "This is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology

• Women at Church
• Mormon Women Have Their Say: Essays from the Claremont Oral History Collection
• Joseph Smith's Polygamy
• Common Ground—Different Opinions: Latter-day Saints and Contemporary Issues
• Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family
• For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope
• The Liberal Soul: Applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Politics

• Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis–Deuteronomy
• Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem
• Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon

Preview Russell Stevenson’s “For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013” November 25 2014

For the Cause of Righteousness:
A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013

Available December 17, 2014 in paperback, hardcover, and ebook

Pre-order your copy today!

Q&A with Beholding the Tree of Life author Bradley J. Kramer November 05 2014

Q: In a nutshell, what is a rabbinic approach?

A: In a peanut shell, a rabbinic approach involves reading scripture as a God-given work of literature, scrutinizing it closely, considering it broadly, all in order to gain from it spiritual enlightenment and practical application. In a larger shell, it means employing a number of specific interpretive techniques and principles used by Talmudic and post-Talumidic rabbis in order to experience the divine by seeing and appreciating the Scriptures’ more subtle messages in concert with other readers. In Beholding the Tree of Life, I have tried to describe a few of these techniques and principles and to show how they can be applied to the Book of Mormon.

Q: Is a rabbinic approach synonymous with a Jewish approach? I mean, do all Jews read their scriptures this way?

A: No. Jews are an extremely intellectually diverse people, especially when it comes to how they approach scripture. There are non-religious Jews, of course, who, if they read the Hebrew Scriptures at all, read them as interesting folklore or as entertaining fiction. But even religious Jews, those who do read the Hebrew Scriptures as scripture, do not do so uniformly. Orthodox and Ultra-orthodox Jews, for the most part, consider the five books of Moses, the Torah, to be dictated directly by God and therefore hang on its every word and scrutinize its every possible nuance. Conservative Jews tend to consider the biblical books as inspired by God but not necessarily wholly divine. They consequently take the scriptures seriously but, since these scriptures were put together by mortals living in distant times and writing to distant audiences, do not always consider their ideas to be relevant to or binding on them. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews frequently take the Conservative position further and think of the Bible as an important work that contains much wisdom, but it is still a product of the human mind and spirit. They therefore often pick and choose passages from their scriptures that coincide with their life experience and their view of the world. Nonetheless, despite this great diversity, many Jews, especially the religious ones, still consider the interpretations and interpretive approach used in the Talmud and other rabbinic sources to be worth knowing and to some degree emulating.

Q: You mentioned the Talmud. What is it?

A: The Talmud is essentially a compilation of ancient conversations about Jewish law. It consists of two parts: the Mishnah and the Gemara. The Mishnah was compiled around 200 C.E. by Judah the Prince and is a relatively compact and well-organized presentation of the traditions concerning prayers, blessings, Jewish festivals, marriage, divorce, disputes with other Jews, and other issues that had been preserved orally up until that time.

The Gemara is a later commentary on the Mishnah and is organized much like the Mishnah, using the same basic organization and tractate names only vastly expanded. After the Mishnah was published, it was discussed extensively for generations in rabbinic academies. There rabbis continued the oral tradition by building upon what had gone before—by discussing new considerations, incorporating additional circumstances, adding material not previously included, and generally expanding, deepening, and complicating the ideas and policies covered by the Mishnah. Eventually, these wide-ranging, often freely-associated discussions were written down, edited, and joined with the Mishnah to form the Talmud—actually two Talmuds, one compiled in Palestine and one in Babylonia. Because it was compiled later and is larger and more thorough that the Palestinian Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud is studied and used more frequently. It is also the Talmud I refer to in my book.

Q: If the Talmud is mostly commentary on Jewish law, what is its connection to scriptural interpretation?

A: Well, because the Talmudic rabbis were attempting to translate biblical principles and laws into practice, they naturally referred to scripture frequently, as a matter of course. Many of the examples they use come from the Hebrew Scriptures as do the evidence they cite, the stories they tell, and the concepts they relate. Consequently, not only are their interpretations of scripture studied by rabbinic Jews but so is how they arrived at those interpretations.

In addition, these same rabbis, as well as their successors, wrote extensive commentaries on the Torah and other biblical works and provided explicit advice and counsel as to how to study scripture and approach it constructively.

Q: So, if the rabbinic approach is as intimately connected, as you say, to the Hebrew Scriptures why use it on the Book of Mormon? Are you saying that Nephi and Mormon and Moroni knew about this approach and employed it purposely?

A: No. Rabbinical Judaism began around 70 c.e. when the Second Temple was destroyed and the emphasis in Jewish worship began to turn from sacrifice to prayer and scripture study. Separated from these first rabbis by great distances in time and space, Nephi, Mormon, and the other Book of Mormon writers knew no more about rabbinic thought than did Moses, Isaiah, or Ezra. However, for the same reasons that the rabbinic approach works for the Hebrew Scriptures, it also works for the Book of Mormon. Both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Book of Mormon contain extended narratives, stories that are meant to convey messages about and from God. Consequently, an understanding the interaction of character, plot, setting, description, and other, sometimes subtle, literary elements is vital to an appreciation of both of these books. As I try to show in my book, using rabbinic techniques attunes readers to these literary elements and greatly enhances their experience with the Book of Mormon religiously as well as intellectually.

Q: But don’t serious readers of the Book of Mormon do this already?

A: To some degree, certainly. I mean, the Book of Mormon contains such interesting narratives, with compelling characters, complex plots, and though-provoking situations, that few readers can avoid approaching it, at least a little, as a literary work. In addition, the fact that a sizable portion of the Book of Mormon is told by first-person narrators, who relate their stories personally, letting readers into their thoughts and after-thoughts, also encourages readers to approach it as a well-told story. My book is intended to reinforce this impulse and to “super-charge” it, in a sense, by providing helpful examples from the works of people who have studied scriptural narratives for centuries and have found seemingly limitless meaning in them. In this way, I hope to encourage all serious readers of the Book of Mormon to similarly find more meaning in it, by reading it closely, in levels, with others. I also hope to help these readers appreciate the close connection the Book of Mormon has with the Hebrew Scriptures—not just in how the two are studied but in the way the issues, ideas, characters, and plots resonate with each other and support and enhance each other.

Q: How did you get interested in this approach?

A: That is a very long story. Suffice it so say that my feelings about and understanding of Mormonism has, at least since my teenage years, been intertwined with my feelings about and understanding of Judaism. Growing up as a Mormon in Cincinnati, I was a member of a very small minority. There were only two wards in Cincinnati at the time and I was frequently the lone Mormon in my schools. As a result, I often felt that there was something about me that others did not understand and I, with my meager knowledge of Mormonism, could not explain. Consequently, when in high school I came across the novels of Chaim Potok, which describe Hasidic Jews growing up with similar minority feelings, I immediately connected with them. Danny and Reuben and Asher and David became my close friends and by their example they encouraged me to embrace my religion more openly and to engage it more deeply and rigorously.

Later, as a freshman at BYU, I took classes in the Book of Mormon, but I also took classes in Hebrew, an approach that seemed to complement both subjects. On my mission in southern Florida, I attended lots of LDS meetings and conferences, but I also occasionally attended Jewish services as well. Because of my interest in Judaism, my mission president encouraged me to do this. Obviously, he wanted me to teach Jews (something I was not very successful at), but he also wanted me to learn about Jews as well. This I did, reading books on Judaism and taking every opportunity to talk to Jews, and attempting to study the Book of Mormon from a Jewish perspective.

It was there then, on my mission, that I first began to see how the Book of Mormon was written for Jews and how it opened up when approached from a Jewish viewpoint. My view of such things expanded greatly when I went to graduate school and studied English Literature with Richard D. Rust. In addition to educating me about the literary qualities of The Scarlet Letter and Moby-Dick, Professor Rust, during personal tutorial sessions, opened my mind to the literary qualities of the Book of Mormon in glimpses, qualities he later wrote about in his landmark book Feasting on the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon.

As Dr. Rust explained his ideas, naturally my mind went back to what I had learned about Jews on my mission, and I began building upon Dr. Rust’s work in my own way—expanding my knowledge of Hebrew, acquiring a vast library of Jewish books, reading rabbinic works, attending Jewish services and events, participating in Torah and Talmud classes, and discussing my ideas with my Jewish friends. I started writing down what I found as I applied these ideas to the Book of Mormon. One thing led to another, and in the short space of just two decades, I found that I had produced a book.

Q: Who is your targeted audience?

A: I wrote this book for anyone interested in enhancing her or his experience with the Book of Mormon. I did not write it for specialists in Jewish thought or scholars of ancient scripture, although I hope this book would interest them. I mainly attempted to give serious readers of the Book of Mormon more tools to use to explore it and encouragement to delve into it more deeply. As I mention in the book, I hope readers will use these tools and techniques to eclipse my own insides. Beholding the Tree of Life is intended as the beginning of a discussion, not the last word.

Q: What do you hope will come of this book?

A: I hope the LDS appreciation of the Book of Mormon will grow and deepen. I hope the principles and techniques described in this book will open the eyes of readers of the Book of Mormon and will help them see better both the beauty and the depth of the Book of Mormon. I hope that it will encourage readers to slow down, to step back, and to contemplate the Book of Mormon more thoroughly and that they will discuss it with others more appreciatively and feel closer to God. I also hope that Mormons will have a better understanding of Jews and appreciate the way they approach scripture. This makes for a tall order, I know, and it asks a lot of one little book. However, the Book of Mormon is different from other books. I believe it is up to the task once it is opened up properly. My book just twists the door knob. I am confident that the Book of Mormon will do the rest.

Q: Are you working on any future projects?

A: Yes, as a matter of fact, I have nearly finished another book and hope to have it out next year. As I have studied the Book of Mormon closely, approaching it rabbinically, in a literary way, I have noticed how the Book of Mormon not only affirms a Jewish way of reading scripture but confirms their value to God and their continuing place in his covenant. This is significant because ever since the Holocaust, most mainstream Christian churches have attempted to purge themselves of anti-Jewish, supersessionist ideas, which could have contributed to this catastrophe. These efforts have been limited, however, by their commitment to the New Testament, a scripture which, as beautiful and inspiring as it is, frequently seems to condemn Jews in subtle, literary ways. As a result, many churches advocate presenting certain passages from the New Testament, if at all, very carefully, with lengthy explanations or modifications.

The Book of Mormon, however, attacks this problem head-on and on its own terms. Using powerful and pervasive pro-Judaic literary elements, it effectively counters the New Testament’s anti-Jewish literary elements and does so respectfully, without undermining the New Testament’s authority or spiritual dependability. Much as the gospels, though different, join together as equals to create a more complete portrait of Jesus, so the Book of Mormon unites with the New Testament as its scriptural peer to offer a more complete and more positive view of Jews. In this way, the text of the New Testament is not altered, but its meaning with respect to Jews is modified. Its anti-Judaic criticism becomes less universal, more limited to a certain time and place, and certainly less final.

Pre-Order you copy of this title here!

*Note: Bradley J. Kramer (author of Beholding the Tree of Life) and Brad Kramer (publicist for Kofford Books) are entirely separate persons.

Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon, Available November 12th! October 24 2014

by Bradley J. Kramer

247 Pages

Paperback: $21.95 (ISBN 978-1-58958-701-4)
Hardcover: $50.00 (ISBN978-1-58958-702-1)
(This title will also be available in e-book)

Greg Kofford Books is pleased to announce the release on November 12th of the newest title in our Contemporary Studies in Scripture series, Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon. Too often readers approach the Book of Mormon simply as a collection of quotations, an inspired anthology to be scanned quickly and routinely recited. In Beholding the Tree of Life author Bradley J. Kramer encourages readers to slow down, to step back, and to contemplate the literary qualities of this book of scripture using interpretive techniques developed by Talmudic and post-Talmudic rabbis.

Pre-order your copy here

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Bradley J. Kramer holds an MA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA in English from Brigham Young University with a minor in Near Eastern Studies. As the son of an LDS mother and a non-LDS father, he has had a life-long interest in interfaith dialogue. For the last several years, he has been a regular participant in Torah and Talmud classes at a local synagogue in Durham, North Carolina, and has helped arrange joint Mormon-Jewish study sessions and other educational exchanges. He has also given several presentations to local and regional groups on the affinities between Mormons and Jews and is a regular speaker at comparative religion classes. Bradley has worked professionally as a writer and editor and is married to the former Nancy Lubeck. They have three children and three grandchildren.

Joseph Smith's Polygamy heavily cited in new LDS.org essay on early Mormon plural marriage October 23 2014

by Brian Hales
Hardcover, 638 pages*
$36.95
ISBN 978-1-58958-189-0

LDS.org just published a new essay on the origins of polygamy in the LDS Church and Joseph Smith's implementation of the practice. The essay is exceptionally candid and forthright in dealing with the difficult questions surrounding the origins of LDS plural marriage, and routinely cites Brian Hales's groundbreaking research and thorough analysis of the subject, contained in his 3-volume Joseph Smith's Polygamy. 

For those interested in Hales's work but who might prefer to engage it in more abbreviated form, Kofford Books is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of a single-volume paperback, summarizing the research of the three volumes, co-authored by Hales and his wife Laura: Joseph Smith and Nauvoo Polygamy: Separating Fact from Fiction.

*This title is also available in ebook for the Amazon Kindle (Part A, Part B), Barnes and Noble Nook (Part A, Part B), Apple iDevices (Part A,Part B), and Kobo eReader (Part A, Part B).
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