BYU Studies Quarterly

Transcription

1 BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 37 Issue 4 Article Brief Notices Jed L. Woodworth Gary L. Hatch Beth Hamilton John W. Welch Cynthia Doxey Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation Woodworth, Jed L.; Hatch, Gary L.; Hamilton, Beth; Welch, John W.; and Doxey, Cynthia (1997) "Brief Notices," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 37 : Iss. 4, Article 19. Available at: This Notice is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact scholarsarchive@byu.edu, ellen_amatangelo@byu.edu.

2 Woodworth et al.: Brief Notices brief notices prophet of thejubilee translated garnishes his numerous doctrinal and edited by ronald D dennis treatises with occasional fiction religious studies center brigham and poetry excerpts translated from the millennial star the neigh- young university 1997 boring LDS periodical in england in july 1846 in rhydybont car and portions of articles on religious marthenshire wales dan jones topics taken from european and published the first issue of a U S newspapers monthly LDS periodical in the A brief summary of each article welsh language on a press owned is provided at the beginning of the by john jones dans brother who book but after that the reader is was an ordained congregational left to plod through the text without annotations while pagination minister the periodical kroph proph ayd wyd y jubeli jubili prophet of the is sure to confuse some readers jubilee ran monthly thereafter prophet of the jubilee opens up through december 1848 joness LDS historical documents that have great great grandson ronald dennis been inaccessible to most english has presented what he calls a speaking readers for 150 years facsimile translation xxix of the here is a mass of interesting cul- complete series retaining original tural and doctrinal history as well fonts layout and pagination slightly as the voice of dan jones himself enlarging font size for readability one of the most prolific and persistent missionaries in the history text and index are over seven hun- of dred pages and geraint bowen the church former archdruid of wales offers a superb introduction many articles in prophet of the jubilee rebut arguments of local jed L woodworth book ofmormon authors their anti mormons cormons or apostates articles words and messages by roger R entitled the hater of deceit proving himself a false prophet again brigham young university 1996 keller religious studies center and the rev W R davies from dowlais Dowlais and his cruel and shameful persecution again again mormon texts is a well traveled the statistical study of book of give a glimpse of the intense feelings between early welsh saints and ship however in book of mor- road in book of mormon scholar- their religious adversaries jones mon authors roger keller shows 199 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive,

3 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, Iss. 4 [1997], Art BYU byvstudies byustudies Studies that there is still valuable work to certain key terms related to major be done themes and then identifies which keller acknowledges a great debt authors use which terms he then to previous statistical studies the interprets the differences in terminology among book of mormon most famous of these is wayne A larsen and alvin C renchers Renchers ranchers authors each chapter of his book who wrote the book of mormon includes a section entitled theological implications in which keller an analysis of wordprints Word published in book of mormon au- connects his interpretation of book thorship new light on ancient of mormon terms to LDS theology origins ed noel B reynolds after discussing the general dif- provo utah religious studies ferences among book of mormon center brigham young university authors keller delineates five 1982 in this ground breaking major themes or clusters of terms study larsen and rencher use that appear in the book of mor- wordprints patterns of language mon laws and commandments using numerous function words church and churches earth israel to establish the authenticity of various land and lands within each authors larsen and rencher section he provides a helpful argue that because wordprints are table that lists the terms he identified primarily set through function as part of the cluster and the words it would be very difficult incidence of this term for each for one author to imitate or emulate another authors woodprint wordprint who are not as interested in the book of mormon author readers thus a woodprint wordprint becomes a kind details of kellers methodology of linguistic fingerprint may want to skim through this keller builds his analysis on the section of each chapter and move woodprint wordprint studies of the book of directly to the interpretation and mormon and takes as a given the theological implications kellers division of authors established by most useful contribution to book larsen and rencher and others of mormon studies kellers work then extends previous because of his theological train- statistical studies of the book ing keller has a real ability to dis- of mormon by moving from description to interpretation instead of mormon terms his analysis intinguish shades of meaning in book of focusing on function words troduces a number of new and keller cataloguer catalogues patterns of content words in the book of mormon of mormon authors and provocative interpretations of book presents to identify major themes important theological principles although keller is not trained as keller unabashedly uses his study a statistician he is very careful of the book of mormon to build about his methodology and works faith in his predominately LDS closely with other scholars who audience but he is also careful to have conducted statistical textual explain that his testimony of the studies keller uses a kind of cius cluster analysis in which he identifies from scientific book of mormon does not come studies 2

4 Woodworth et al.: Brief Notices brief brienotices Brie 201 previous statistical studies of the missionary effort but also motivated book of mormon may have been nonmembers to learn leam more about too technical for many lay readers the church consequently church but roger kellers book of mormon authors has greater appeal during his presidency membership rose dramatically and should inform and inspire both because the book is written for a casual and serious scholars keller non LDS academic audience it also admits that his work is not finished and he encourages others to importance of general conference includes chapters explaining the undertake similar studies particularly studies of how book of mor- latter day saints fit into the christ- to church membership and how mon authors use synonyms for the ian community terms he identifies such a study of all readers will appreciate the synonyms would lead readers into positive effect president mckays i exceptional rhetorical skills even more nuances of meaning inm had on the churche churchs public image and growing church membership but their reading of this ancient text gary L hatch latter the rhetoric of david 0 mckay by richard N armstrong peter lang 1993 day saints will also finish the book with the conviction that the lord calls his leaders when their talents are most needed beth hamilton the church of jesus christ of voices of old testament prophets latter day saints experienced exceptional worldwide growth and symposium compiled by the the 26tb 26th annual sidney B sperry public recognition during the presidency of david 0 mckay this committee deseret book sidney sperry symposium book by an assistant professor at wichita state university is a study the 26th annual sperry symposium centered on various old test- of president mckays rhetorical appeal to both members and non ament prophets especially the members and a look at the role he little known figures and obscure played in creating a positive public events in their lives fives ilves hives interesting details and analyses are included image of the church the author suggests that president mckays timely messages circles for example on the men often for the first time in LDS such as no other success can compensate for failure in the home korah the stability of the prophets toring of jethro the rebellion of filled the needs of many people in the exile the saviors referred to members and nonmembers alike by obadiah the hopeful stories his clarion call every member a of habakkuk and abigail and the missionary not only inspired the blessings of the temple in the ministry of haggai more familiar LDS community to accelerate their themes Published by BYU ScholarsArchive,

5 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, Iss. 4 [1997], Art byustudies BYU Studies deal with isaiahs isaials Isaiahs indictments the nomic social and spiritual activities of women in utah during the millennium the priesthood and the eternal nature of the gospel nineteenth century womens spiritual gifts their roles in education the organizers have succeeded in bringing several new scholars to medicine polygamy and in the publication some of their names political sphere of promoting will be as unfamiliar to most readers as are the names of the prophhood one of the books strengths womens suffrage and utahs stateets of whom they write readers is that the chapters focus on what should enjoy getting to know average women did and how them all they coped with their situations john W welch while there is some discussion of famous utah women leaders I1 especially appreciated the examination of typical womens mormon sisters women in early lives fives ilves hives their struggles and joys utah edited by claudia L bushman utah state university press understanding of these women and that leaves us with a much greater 1997 allows us to feel a closer kinship with them mormon sisters is a new edition since this is a reprint of a previous book some comparison with of a book first published in 1976 by emmeline press limited in cambridge massachusetts when the of the most obvious changes to this the first edition is warranted some original work was published it edition are an additional preface by was considered to be a pioneering study of early mormon history introduction by anne firor scott claudia L bushman and a new because prior to that time much the book also provides a reading of the focus of history had been list of books related to mormon on the male leaders of the church women that have been published of jesus christ of latter day since the previous edition this saints the book brought to the list along with the reading list published in the first edition are help- foreground many important issues about the lives of mormon women ful resources to readers interested in nineteenth century utah since in furthering their study of womens lives and issues in mormon the time of its first publication many of the books contributors culture other changes in this new have become prominent scholars edition include nine different historical the book published in 1976 represents photographs and an update some of the earliest work by on the lives and careers of the these now widely published and books contributors well accepted historians the content of the essays has the topics chosen for the essays not been changed or updated in the book include biographical since the first edition since the sketches as well as essays dealing essays focus on women in utah with some of the political eco- during the nineteenth century the 4

6 Woodworth et al.: Brief Notices brief brienotices Brie 203 original research and the essays written in the 1970s would not have been outdated unless new evidence had come to light which negated the previous findings in the case of these essays in mormon sisters updating was not par- ticularly necessary and a couple of changes that were needed are mentioned in scotts introduction although the book would be different if it were written today the authors were desirous of simply reprinting their essays without changes to allow a new generation of students and scholars to learn leam from their early work the essays found in mormon sisters are interesting and informative for both the serious student and the reader without much knowledge of the history of women in early utah the book is an excellent overview of womens activities concerns and everyday lives and should be recommended reading for anyone desirous of gaining a broader understanding of mormon womens experiences in nineteenth century utah cynthia doxey Published by BYU ScholarsArchive,

7 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, Iss. 4 [1997], Art. 19 V call for short studies ll 11 wee lek a BYU studies invites you our readers to teach AN XN one another the good news is you dont have to spend a year researching and writing a lengthy article in this issue is an example of christ healing a blind man a short study of what can be done BYU studies has published similar brief notes in the past they are just a few pages long but they report a significant idea or discovery we encourage you to write and submit similar short studies do you have a scholarly insight into a scripture would you like to share a study of a puzzling word or phrase have you uncovered something new about a cultural detail or historical event of interest to LDS readers write it up and send it in As nephi reminds us by small means the lord can bring about great things 1 ne 1629 your short study may be just what someone is looking for 6