Mormon Identities in Transition

by Davies, Douglas

• ISBN13: 9781474281300
• ISBN10: 1474281303
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-10-06
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

This collection of interdisciplinary essays explores the prime concern of Mormon Studies – the relationship between knowledge and spirituality – and how that relationship has been defined and reinterpreted over time. Beginning with an examination of the international prospects for Mormonism at the turn of the century, the volume's overarching theme, from sociological, anthropological and theological approaches, is the examination of changing Mormon identities.

The contributors review the expansion of Mormonism, the emotional and social contexts of its historic and contemporary manifestations, the distinction between 'Utah' Mormons and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and issues in Mormon feminism, concluding with a valuable review of the sources and documents available for studying Mormonism.

Author Biography

Douglas J. Davies is Professor in the Study of Religion and Director of Centre for Death and Life Studies at Durham University, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Scholars, Saints and Mormonism Douglas J. Davies
Part I – Dimensions of Identity
1. Identity and Boundary Maintenance: International Prospects for Mormonism at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Armand L. Mauss
2. Modernity, History and Latter-Day Saint Faith L. C. Midgley
3. The Book of Mormon Wars: A Non-Mormon Perspective Massimo Introvigne
4. Coffee, Tea and the Ultra-Protestant and Jewish Nature of the Boundaries of Mormonism Christie Davies
5. Latter-Day Saint Exceptionalism and Membership Growth James T. Duke
6. Neither Mormon Nor Protestant? The Reorganized Church and the Challenge of Identity Roger D. Launius
Part II – The Expansion of Mormonism
7. Ethnic American Mormons: The Development of a Community Jessie L. Embry
8. Mormonism in Chile David Clark Knowlton
9. Mormonism in Black Africa E. Dale LeBaron
10. India: A Synopsis of Cultural Challenges Roger R. Keller
Part III – Emotional and Social Life
11. Childhood in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain Reflected in Some Latter-Day Sources Malcolm R. Thorp
12. Guilt, Fear, Anxiety and Love: Disciplinary Councils Among Latter-Day Saints Today Melvyn Hammarberg
13. An Overview of Mormonism and Mental Health Daniel K. Judd
14. Commitment Making: Mate Selection Process Among Active Mormon American Couples Thomas B. Holman
Part IV – Early Mormonism
15. Mormons and the Millennial World-View Grant Underwood
16. Magic and Mormon Religion Douglas J. Davies
17. 'Companions and Forerunners': English Romantics and the Restauration Gordon K. Thomas I
Part V – Female Factors
18. Issues in Contemporary Mormon Feminism Lynn Matthews Anderson
19. 'Choose ye this day whom ye will serve': Latter-Day Saint Mothers' Reaction To A Church Leader's Instruction to Remain in the Home Bruce A. Chadwick and H. Dean Garrett
Part VI – Mormon Scripture and Theology
20. Does the Book of Mormon Support 'My Country Right or Wrong,' Just War or Pacifism? Andrew Bolton
21. The Death/Rebirth Mytheme in the Book of Mormon Seth D. Kunin
22. Must God Be Incorporeal? David L. Paulsen
Part VII – The Future of Mormon Studies
23. Mormon Studies: Progress and Prospects David J. Whittaker
24. Views of an International Religion Douglas J. Davies
Bibliography
Index