Missing Persons
April 19, 2018I know where the bodies are buried
in my house and can whistle past
indefinitely before I must dig and sift.
DiaBLOGue
“The Fullness of the Priesthood”: The Second Anointing in Latter-day Saint Theology and Practice
April 19, 2018There is no exaltation in the kingdom of God without the fulness of the priesthood. . . . Every man who is faithful and will receive these [temple] ordinances and blessings obtains a fulness of…
A Stab at Self-Consciousness | William A. Wilson, On Being Human: The Folklore of Mormon Missionaries
April 19, 2018Criticizing the publication of William A. Wilson’s 18 November 1981 Honor Lecture in the Humanities would be equivalent to rudely refusing to applaud a virtuoso folklore performance. Although claiming to play the role of a…
Skulduggery, Passion, and Everyday Women | Cathy Luchetti and Carol Olwell, Women of the West
April 19, 2018Women of the West is a compelling tribute to the “everyday women of history,” as the jacket copy puts it. “Lively stories of courtship, love, inventiveness, humor, skulduggery, [and] passion” are told in the words of…
Scripture Reviewed | The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; containing revelations given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with some additions by his successors in the presidency of the church
April 19, 2018The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to be congratulated for its latest edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. My personal copy of this volume—happily, a gift from Dr. Robert J. Matthews of…
Voices from the Dust: Women in Zion | Kenneth W. Godfrey, Audrey M. Godfrey, and Jill Mulvay Derr, Women’s Voices: An Untold History of the Latter-day Saints 1830-1900
April 19, 2018The subtitle of this book indicates its primary shortcoming. This is, indeed, one more history of the Mormons. The chapter headings could be those of any similar work giving a general overview of the growth…
Feisty Lee—Still Enigmatic | Dennis L. Lythgoe, Let ‘Em Holler: A Political Biography of J. Bracken Lee
April 19, 2018In the fall of 1971, Mayor J. Bracken Lee announced his retirement from public office. He said he was “sick and tired of politics and sick and tired of politicians.” Such a statement seems out…
Creative Speculation on the Creation | William Lee Stokes, The Creation Scriptures: A Witness for God in the Scientific Age
April 19, 2018Whether or not one agrees with all of the ideas presented by William Lee Stokes, it is not possible to read his little book The Creation Scriptures without being stimulated, entertained, and enlightened. Its bite-sized…
A Taste of Southern Utah | Juanita Brooks, Quicksand and Cactus
April 19, 2018In a letter to Bernard DeVoto dated 5 August 1944, Dale Morgan described a manuscript which would be published thirty-eight years later in 1982 as Quick sand and Cactus. Morgan, who had become a particularly…
Investigating the Investigation | Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses
April 19, 2018With over-generous portions of direct quotations, Richard Lloyd Anderson presents the reader with statements made by the wit nesses to the Book of Mormon, and statements made by others affirming their good character and the…