The MILLER ECCLES Study Group

June 21-22, 2013 — Armand L. Mauss

Posted by MAT at 8:34 am

Jan 012013

SHIFTING BORDERS AND A TATTERED PASSPORT

The Intellectual Journey of a Mormon Academic

DATES: June 21 (Villa Park) and June 22 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that our June 2013 Miller Eccles presentation will feature our own Armand L. Mauss, emeritus professor or sociology and religious studies at Washington State University and author of several books and a great many articles on a variety of Mormon issues, including his seminal The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation (1994). In a change from our usual format, this session will feature a panel of readers posing questions to Armand relating to his recently-published memoir, Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic. Miller Eccles is fortunate to have so renowned and venerated a scholar as Armand on its board of directors. The unique format and spectacular subject make this a presentation not to be missed.

THE TOPIC:

Richard Bushman wrote, “[Armand] Mauss’s contribution to Mormon scholarship and to sociological theory was to argue that over time Mormonism had adjusted the degree of strain with the rest of the world. This ongoing adjustment phenomenon had not been recognized by sociologists before Mauss discovered it in Mormonism. Now it has become a significant corollary to the theory of new religious movements. Mauss always stood at the shifting border between the university and the church, ready to step across onto the church side whenever he could make a difference.”

Levi Peterson, one of Mormonism’s greatest creative writers, wrote that Armand’s new memoir “provides a fascinating look into both Mauss’s writings and his personality. It will appeal to professional sociologists, to lay readers interested in understanding the discipline of sociology better, and to multitudes of Mormon readers who wish to understand the intellectual implications of their religion.”

Our panel’s questions will be designed to bring out Armand’s fascinating life and his many contributions to Mormon thought.

THE SPEAKER:

A lifelong member of the LDS Church, honoree Armand Mauss earned his B.A. from Sophia University (a distinguished Jesuit institution) in Tokyo, where his father had served as mission president. He then received his both his M.A. in history and his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a longtime professor at Washington State University and has been a visiting professor at a number of universities.

Armand has been the editor of the nationally recognized Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. He has also been a key player in the rise and survival of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, serving for twenty years on its editorial or advisory boards, and then for ten years on Dialogue Foundation’s Board of Directors. He was also intimately involved in the formation of the Claremont Mormon Studies program and was a visiting professor there.

Professor Mauss has written several books and scores of academic articles and has received a number of awards from the Mormon History Association and from Dialogue for writings. One of his most well-known books is The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation, published in 1994. He also authored All Abraham’s Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage, one of the best sources for the history of the gradual change in Church teachings on race. Several months ago, Armand published his memoir, titled Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic.

Armand served a mission to the New England States and has served as a professional consultant to the Presiding Bishops Office and the Research Information Division of the Church. He is married to the former Ruth (Hathaway) Mauss and they are the parents of six sons and two daughters.

Posted by Morris Thurston

July 19-20, 2013 — Joseph and Marilyn Bentley

Posted by MAT at 8:33 am

Jan 012013

MORMONS AND THE HOLY LAND

DATES: July 19 (Villa Park) and July 20 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to have as our July 2013 Miller Eccles speakers, Joseph and Marilyn Bentley. The Bentleys recently returned from serving in the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, where they lived for eighteen months.

THE TOPIC:

Mormons have a long history of interaction with the Holy Land, beginning with Orson Hyde’s dedication for the gathering of the Jews in 1841, and continuing through numerous re-dedications by a variety of LDS apostles in later years. Many of us do not know that there were some fifty years of organized missionary efforts by the Church in the Holy Land, or that there was an attempt to establish an LDS colony there in the nineteenth century. The Bentleys will discuss this interesting history and the fascinating story of how the BYU Jerusalem center came to be. They will also report on the current state of Church activities there.

THE SPEAKERS:

Joseph Bentley is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where he became acquainted with Dallin Oaks, then a law professor. Out of this relationship grew several scholarly articles on the steamship “Nauvoo” and its relationship to Joseph Smith’s bankruptcy. After graduating from law school, Joe became a member of the real estate department of the global law firm of Latham & Watkins, and in due course a partner in the firm, where he practiced for thirty-five years until retiring in 2003. During that time he served as a bishop, stake president, and director of public relations for Orange County. After retiring from the active practice of law, Joe served as a legal consultant to the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

Marilyn Bentley received her BA from BYU with a double major in piano performance and theory and has served the Church in many musical callings through the years. Many of the Bentleys’ friends have attended the wonderful four-piano recitals she has given in her home with some of her fellow pianists through the years. Marilyn has also served as ward and stake relief society president in the Newport Beach area, accomplishing all this while raising five children and her husband.

The Bentleys now are the proud grandparents of fourteen grandchildren.

Posted by Morris Thurston

September 20-21, 2013 — Reid L. Neilson

Posted by MAT at 8:32 am

Jan 012013

EXHIBITING MORMONISM

The Latter-day Saints and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

DATES: September 20 (Villa Park) and September 21 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that our September 2013 Miller Eccles speaker will be Dr. Reid L. Neilson, currently Managing Director of the Church History Department and formerly Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU. A prolific author and editor, Reid will address a little-known, but extremely important chapter in Church history and public relations—the Church’s presence at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

THE TOPIC:

“The 1893 The 1893 Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, presented the Latter-day Saints with their first opportunity to exhibit the best of Mormonism for a national and an international audience after the abolishment of polygamy in 1890. The Columbian Exposition also marked the dramatic reengagement of the LDS Church with the non-Mormon world after decades of seclusion in the Great Basin.

“Between May and October 1893, over seven thousand Latter-day Saints from Utah attended the international spectacle popularly described as the ”White City.” While many traveled as tourists, oblivious to the opportunities to ”exhibit” Mormonism, others actively participated to improve their church’s public image. Hundreds of congregants helped create, manage, and staff their territory’s impressive exhibit hall; most believed their besieged religion would benefit from Utah’s increased national profile. Moreover, a good number of Latter-day Saint women represented the female interests and achievements of both Utah and its dominant religion. These women hoped to use the Chicago World’s Fair as a platform to improve the social status of their gender and their religion. Additionally, two hundred and fifty of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s best singers competed in a Welsh eiseddfodd, a musical competition held in conjunction with the Chicago World’s Fair, and Mormon apologist Brigham H. Roberts sought to gain LDS representation at the affiliated Parliament of Religions.” [From the dust jacket of Exhibiting Mormonism.]

“The 1893 Columbian Exposition was Mormonism’s coming out party. It launched the now massive public relations effort to make friends for the Church as well as converts. After suffering from isolation and ignominy for half a century, Mormons at last had a place in the sun. Reid Neilson tells in fascinating detail how much the Exposition meant to Mormons and the impact their participation had on visitors. This is a critical part of Mormonism’s transition to American citizenship.” [Richard Bushman, Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University]

THE SPEAKER:

Reid L. Neilson grew up in Orange County. He received a BA in international relations, an MA in history and an MBA in business administration from BYU, and a PhD in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After teaching at BYU for several years, Reid was named Managing Director of the Church History Department in Salt Lake City. He is the author of a number of books, including Strangers in a Strange Land: Early Mormon Missionary Explorations and Realities in East Asia (University of Utah Press, forthcoming), and the editor or coeditor of more than a dozen academic books, including Joseph Smith: Reappraisals after Two Centuries (Oxford University Press), The Rise of Mormonism (Columbia University Press), The Mormon History Association’s Tanner Lectures: The First Twenty Years (University of Illinois Press), Believing History: Latter-day Saint Essays (Columbia University Press).

Reid served a full-time mission in the Japan Sapporo Mission. He and his wife, Shelly, are the parents of three children.

Posted by Morris Thurston

Posts About Completed Programs Below —–

Miller Eccles Presentation Comments Off

Jan 012013

May 17-18, 2013 — Eric A. Eliason

Posted by MAT at 7:03 am

Jan 012013

J. GOLDEN KIMBALL STORIES

DATES: May 17 (Villa Park) and May 18 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that our May 2013 Miller Eccles speaker will be Eric A. Eliason, professor of folklore at Brigham Young University. Professor Eliason is an expert in, and has published on, a variety of cultural traditions, ranging from Mormonism to Russian to Afghan to English, to name just a few. One of his areas of expertise is that most colorful of all LDS general authorities, J. Golden Kimball. In this entertaining lecture, Eric will share some of those stories with us.

THE TOPIC:

Elder J. Golden Kimball is one of the best-loved historical figures in the Mormon West, known not just to Latter-day Saints, but also to folklore scholars around the country. In the BYU and USU Folklore Archives, which house stories collected from regular Mormons through the years, Kimball eclipses even Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Porter Rockwell as the most storified Mormon folk hero. His legacy continues in the stories and jokes we still tell about this tall, gaunt former cowboy.

Drawing from his book, The J. Golden Kimball Stories—the first scholarly analysis of J. Golden Kimball stories in their cultural, psychological, and historical context—professor Eric A. Eliason will share and elucidate old favorites, as well as some little known but quite delightful “Uncle Golden” yarns.

He will also discuss how the folklore we pass on tells us much about our heritage. Orally transmitted narratives illuminate popular attitudes about cultural trends and important historical events faced by the Mormon people—such as the end of polygamy, the increased emphasis on the Word of Wisdom, technological developments, and the transition of Mormondom from a pioneer to a modern society.

THE SPEAKER:

Eric A. Eliason is professor of folklore at Brigham Young University. He has published on Mormon, Caribbean, Russian, English, Afghan, American, Mexican, military, hunting, and biblical cultural traditions. His books include: The J. Golden Kimball Stories; Wild Games: Hunting and Fishing Traditions in North America with Dennis Cutchins; Black Velvet Art; Warrior Ways: Explorations in Modern Military Folklore with Tad Tuleja; and the forthcoming Latter-day Lore: A Handbook of Mormon Folklore Studies with Tom Mould; and the folklore chapter for the Oxford Companion to Mormonism.

From 2002 to 2008 Eric served as chaplain for the 1^st Battalion, 19^th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the Utah Army National Guard. He served in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and at Arlington National Cemetery. He developed the first training program for Afghan Security Forces chaplains and worked closely with Afghan religious and community leaders on reconstruction projects. He has served in the bishopric, as a gospel doctrine and youth Sunday school teacher, and as the Inter-Faith Relations Specialist for the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area. He lives in Springville, Utah, with his wife and four children.

Posted by Morris Thurston

April 12-13, 2013 — Fiona and Terryl Givens

Posted by MAT at 7:02 am

Jan 012013

MORMONISM—CULTURE, THEOLOGY, PRACTICE

What Writing The God Who Weeps Taught Us

DATES: April 12 (Villa Park) and April 13 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are excited to announce that our April 2013 Miller Eccles speakers will be Fiona and Terryl Givens, co-authors of the acclaimed new book titled The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life (a bestseller at Deseret Book). Richard J. Mouw, one of our nations’ most acclaimed evangelical theologians (president of Fuller Theological Seminary) said: “I read this fine book in order better to understand what Mormons believe about divine compassion, and it certainly gave me that. But more important: I received in reading it some deeply personal lessons about the tears of God.” David Campbell, co-author of American Grace (and a Miller Eccles speaker last fall), said: “Reading this book is like experiencing Mormonism in high definition. Whether you know a lot or a little about Latter-day Saint doctrine, this book will both educate and inspire you.”

THE TOPIC:

The writing, production, and responses associated with The God Who Weeps reveal something of the multiplicity of “Mormonisms.” Terryl and Fiona will discuss some of the ways in which we construct our faith identity, and how we might rethink the interconnections of Mormonism as an institution, a community, a belief structure, and a devotional template.

THE SPEAKERS:

Terryl Givens did graduate work at Cornell University in intellectual history and UNC Chapel Hill where he received his PhD in comparative literature. He holds the James A. Bostwick chair of English, and is Professor of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond, where he teaches courses in 19^th century studies, and the Bible’s influence on western literature. As a commentator on Mormon religion and culture, he has appeared on PBS, NPR, and CNN. Givens’ other recent books include When Souls had Wings, a history of the idea of premortal life in western thought, Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism (with Matt Grow), and a two- volume history of Mormon theology underway for Oxford University Press.

Fiona Givens, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, was educated at a boarding school in England and was introduced to the LDS Church when she was 19 and living in Germany. After she was baptized, she attended BYU, where she met her husband, Terryl, in a comparative literature class. She went on to receive her masters’ degree in European history from the University of Richland and has worked extensively in the field of communications and translation. Fiona has collaborated in many of Terryl’s previous books, but this is the first she has co-authored. She is the Gospel Doctrine teacher in their ward.

Fiona and Terryl are the parents of six children.

Posted by Morris Thurston

March 15-16, 2013 — Claremont Conference Honoring Armand Mauss

Posted by MAT at 7:01 am

Jan 012013

We will not hold any Miller Eccles meetings in March, but instead encourage all our study group members to attend a special conference to be sponsored by the Claremont Mormon Studies program on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16. The conference will honor the sterling career of Armand Mauss, a member of the Miller Eccles Board of Directors and a regular attender of the Orange County Miller Eccles Study Group.

THE PROGRAM: Patrick Mason, who heads the Claremont Mormon Studies Program, has gathered an all-star cast of speakers. All conference sessions will be in the Albrecht Auditorium, 925 N. Dartmouth Ave. The meals will be free but they will require an RSVP to Lisa Maldonado at lisa.maldonado@cgu.edu. Of course, any donations to support student fellowships at CGU will be welcome. Here is a preliminary schedule:

Friday, March 15:

10:00 Welcome and opening comments – Patrick Mason.

10:30 Session 1 – Revisiting The Angel and the Beehive: Mormonism in the 20^th century.

Jan Shipps: [To be announced.]

Matt Bowman: “Zion: The Progressive Roots of Mormon Correlation.”

12:00 Lunch

2:00 Session 2 – Theoretical models in the study of Mormonism.

Michael McBride: “Authority in Mormonism: Lessons from an Economic Approach”

Richard Bushman: “Theory and Interpretation in Mormon Studies”

4:00 Session 3 – Using autobiography and memoir to understand Mormon history and culture.

Levi Peterson: “Which ‘Persona’ Is in Charge? the Multiple Perspectives of Wayne Booth’s Autobiography”

Jana Riess: [To be announced.]

6:00 Dinner: Glanville Room, Mallott Commons, Scripps College, 345 E. 9th St. (NE corner of 9th and Columbia) – A celebration of the legacy of Armand Mauss. Molly Bennion and Armand Mauss.

Saturday, March 16:

9:00 Session 4 – All alike unto God? Race and culture in the Mormon experience.

Paul Reeve: “That white folks, and not Mormons, shall possess that goodly land”: Race, Whiteness, and the Assault on Mormon ‘Anglo-Saxon Triumphalism’”

Max Mueller: “A Contracting Covenant: Redefining the Sacred Mormon Community, 1830-1840”

11:00 Session 5 – World religion, American church, or new ethnicity?

Wilfried Decoo: “Expanding Research for the Expanding International Church”

Walter Van Beek: “Challenges for a (Truly) Internationalizing Church: A View from across the Sahara”

12:30 Closing lunch (President Deborah Freund’s house, 709 N. Harvard Ave.)

Claudia Bushman: Concluding remarks.

ARMAND MAUSS: Honoree Armand Mauss, a lifelong member of the LDS Church, earned his B.A. from Sophia University (a distinguished Jesuit institution) in Tokyo, where his father had served as mission president. He then received his both his M.A. in history and his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a longtime professor at Washington State University and has been a visiting professor at a number of universities.

Armand was a key player in the rise and survival of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, serving for twenty years on its editorial or advisory boards, and then for ten years on Dialogue Foundation’s Board of Directors. He was also intimately involved in the formation of the Claremont Mormon Studies program and was a visiting professor there.

Ruth and Armand Mauss 14668

Professor Mauss has written several books and scores of academic articles and has received a number of awards from the Mormon History Association and from Dialogue for his writings. One of his most well-known books is The Angel and the Beehive: The Mormon Struggle with Assimilation, published in 1994. He also authored All Abraham’s Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage, one of the best sources for the history of the gradual change in Church teachings on race. Several months ago, Armand published his memoir, titled Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic.

For more about Armand and an upcoming Miller Eccles program featuring a panel discussion of his recently-published memoir, see the entry below for June 21-22, 2013.

Posted by Morris A. Thurston

February 22-23, 2013 — Sarah Barringer Gordon

Posted by MAT at 7:00 am

Jan 012013

THE LEGALIZATION OF UTAH FOR STATEHOOD

DATES: February 22 (Villa Park) and February 23 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that our February 2013 Miller Eccles presenter will be Sarah Barringer Gordon, professor of Constitutional Law and History at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Professor Gordon is a widely recognized scholar and commentator on religion in American public life and the law of church and state who has published widely on Mormon topics. Her presentation will focus on how the law was used throughout the history of the Church and especially how it paved the way to statehood for Utah in 1896.

THE TOPIC:

War is sometimes called “politics by other means.” The reverse, however, can also be true—law is politics by other means. Lawyers are often tacticians, who battle through courts and legal arguments to accomplish political objectives. Joseph Smith once said, “Don’t employ lawyers, or pay them money for their knowledge.” Nevertheless, Joseph, Brigham Young, and Mormon leaders who followed, continued to retain some of the brightest lawyers available to help them achieve their objectives.

Professor Gordon will discuss how lawyers functioned in Mormon history. In the end, the development of a talented legal community made a difference to the history of Utah Territory and of the Mormon Church. It was lawyers who negotiated the settlement that led to statehood for Utah, and then they settled in to run the state, just as they did across America.

THE SPEAKER:

Professor Sally Gordon is a widely recognized scholar and commentator on religion in American public life and the law of church and state. Her first book, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America, won the Mormon History Association’s and the Utah Historical Society’s best book awards in 2003. Her second book, The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern America (Harvard, 2010), explored the world of church and state in the 20th century. She is currently working on a third book, tentatively titled The Place of Faith, about religion and property across American national history. In addition, she has authored a wide variety of scholarly articles and book chapters, many of them having to do with Mormon topics.

Professor Gordon has a distinguished academic pedigree, having graduated with a B.A. from Vassar, a J.D. from Yale, an M.A.R. in religious ethics from Yale, and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton.

Posted by Morris Thurston

January 18-19, 2013 — S. Kent Brown

Posted by MAT at 3:45 pm

Nov 132012

ON THE ROAD WITH LEHI AND SARIAH

Behind the Scenes of the Documentary Film “Journey of Faith”

DATES: January 18 (Villa Park) and January 19 (La Canada – Flintridge).

TIME: 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that our January 2013 Miller Eccles presenter will be S. Kent Brown, emeritus professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. Professor Brown has published widely on the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. He was also the executive producer of the documentary film “Journey of Faith,” a fascinating look at the most likely route taken by Lehi and his family as they left Jerusalem and made their way to the Arabian Sea. In this presentation, Professor Brown will take us behind the scenes of the making of this film.

THE TOPIC:

“Stark in its appearance, grand in its sweep, the Arabian desert rolls out a carpet of contrasts as far as the eye can see—mountains of sand, valleys scooped out by the wind, seasonal pools of water brought to life by brief rains, dark igneous mountains muscling above the parched soil, spindly plants extending their roots for dozens of meters in search of moisture, rocks blackened by millennia of blazing sun. All of these were the changeless, sleepless companions of Lehi, Sariah, and their party of travelers for eight years in the wilderness. Their passing, it seems, drew only occasional attention–and the constant eye of god.” From the dust jacket of the book Journey of Faith: From Jerusalem to the Promised Land.

THE SPEAKER:

Professor S. Kent Brown received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in Classical Greek and Near Eastern Studies, then went on to receive his Ph.D. from Brown University. He has taught at Brigham Young University since 1971, interrupted for stints as a fellow of the American Research Center in Egypt and director of the BYU Jerusalem Center. He served as a contributing editor of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and the Historical Atlas of Mormonism, and has written many books and articles dealing with the Book of Mormon, the New Testament and the Pearl of Great Price. In the field of documentary filmmaking, he has served as executive producer for “Journey of Faith,” “Journey of Faith: The New World,” and “Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God.”

Brother Brown has served the Church in many positions, including as president of the BYU Thirteenth Stake and president of the Israel District. He is married to the former Gayle Oblad; they have five children and twenty-five grandchildren.

Posted by Morris Thurston