scholarly journals Future-Day Saints: Abrahamic Astronomy, Anthropological Futures, and Speculative Religion

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 612
Author(s):  
Jon Bialecki
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Speculative Fiction ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Church

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is an intense interest in creating “speculative fiction”, including speculative fiction about outer space. This article ties this interest to a broader tradition of “speculative religion” by discussing the Mormon Transhumanist Association. An interest in outer space is linked to nineteenth and twentieth-century speculation by Mormon intellectuals and Church leaders regarding “Abrahamic Astronomy”. The article suggests that there is a Mormon view of the future as informed by a fractal or recursive past that social science in general, and anthropology in particular, could use in “thinking the future”.

Epilogue

2018 ◽  
pp. 142-150
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
The Future ◽  
Community Of Christ ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The Church

This chapter explores the future for faith and community relations in Nauvoo as a result of the city’s twentieth-century restoration boom. It examines the directions taken by the various constituents, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ), and local residents unaffiliated with either faith. Additionally, it explores how Nauvoo acts as a case study for the bargains made by a community when it selects, or has selected for it, a tourism-based economy. Finally, it opines regarding ways the parties involved can work together for the good of Nauvoo.

Aftermath

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-206
Author(s):  
Spencer W. McBride
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
The United States ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
The Church

This chapter describes the aftermath of the assassination of Joseph Smith. This aftermath includes mourning and a funeral in Nauvoo, debates over who should succeed Smith as the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who the Mormons should vote for in the election, and the decision to leave the United States altogether. The Mormons were contemplating leaving the United States before Smith’s murder, but the violent act seemed to make this departure the only way forward in the minds of many church leaders. They had come to realize that without significant reform, the United States was incapable of protecting them. This chapter also considers the result of the presidential election of 1844 and what became of each of the candidates in the years that followed.

Nauvoo Restoration Incorporated and a Formal Latter-day Saint Presence in Nauvoo

2018 ◽  
pp. 76-101
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
World War ◽  
Post World War Ii ◽  
The Road ◽  
Colonial Williamsburg ◽  
Restoration Work ◽  
The Church

During the second half of the twentieth century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) returned in a formal and dramatic way to Nauvoo, Illinois. This chapter discusses that return, beginning with the restoration work of J. LeRoy Kimball and the organization he headed, Nauvoo Restoration Incorporated. Over a period a several decades, Kimball led a team of renowned archaeologists and historians to restore Nauvoo into a Midwestern version of Colonial Williamsburg. Eventually, however, tensions between the historical and the religious led to a shift in emphasis for the site, as those directing Nauvoo Restoration embraced the proselytizing potential among the thousands who took to the road in the post-World War II tourism boom, visiting sites like Nauvoo.

Latter-day Saint Re-Interest in Nauvoo

2018 ◽  
pp. 50-75
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
American West ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Church

While the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints utilized the Smith family properties in Nauvoo, Illinois, their religious siblings in the American West, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), maintained a fascination of their own with their former home. This chapter examines the Mormons’ slow return to the area in the early twentieth century, first as visitors to familial sites and later through the acquisition of significant properties, including the nearby Carthage Jail and the Nauvoo temple lot. It examines initial forays into commemoration, including cooperation with the Reorganized Church in the building of a memorial, but the conflict that eventually ensued over rival interpretations, especially as rumors circulated regarding the reconstruction of Nauvoo’s temple.

The Reconstructed Nauvoo Temple

2018 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

At the end of the twentieth century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) embarked on the most ambitious project in the history of Nauvoo’s restoration, the reconstruction of the famed Nauvoo temple. While the branches of Mormonism had settled their differences and established their separate paths in the years leading up to the temple reconstruction, the project opened new wounds within the greater Nauvoo community. This chapter examines the construction of the Nauvoo temple and the resulting reaction by the residents of Nauvoo. It explores the changes the project brought to the city and the contest that developed for the legacy of Nauvoo.

“Come After Us”

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Westward Expansion ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Colonial Williamsburg ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

This chapter introduces the religious tensions created in Nauvoo, Illinois, by the return of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) to the region in the twentieth century and their historical restoration of the city that was once their headquarters. It places the restoration project, patterned after the historical recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, within the larger trend of memorials that swept across America in the twentieth century. Overviewing other studies, it positions historic Nauvoo as a case study in historical tourism and pilgrimage. Finally, it examines how Mormonism used restored Nauvoo as a staging ground for celebrating American westward expansion to position the faith within a larger national narrative.

Pacific Apostle

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David O. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Presence ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
The Church

The year-long fact-finding mission of Mormon apostle David O. McKay and his traveling companion Hugh J. Cannon to the colonies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of the most significant moments of the twentieth century for Mormonism. Although the contemporary church has grown to become a global presence, the early decades of the last century found missionaries struggling to gain converts abroad. For the church’s leadership, it was a pioneering endeavor to visit, observe, and fellowship with the church’s expanding global constituency in the Pacific. Other general authorities had visited individual church missions at various times—especially across Europe. None, however, had ever circumnavigated the globe, using the Pacific as a focal point of travel. In today’s information age, where such visits occur almost weekly for many senior church leaders, the significance of such an expedition is easy to overlook. When McKay was called in October 1920, no one knew the tour would eventually form many of the most important initiatives he had undertaken when he became church president three decades later. McKay’s rich and vivid account of his and Cannon’s 61,646-mile around-the-world journey illustrates the roots of Mormonism’s globalization. His diary account is without doubt one of the more significant texts in the historical cannon of global Mormon studies.

Utilizing Brief Spiritual Assessments with Clients who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 30-44
Author(s):  
Gordon Limb ◽  
David Hodge ◽  
Richard Alboroto
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Church Culture ◽  
Spiritual Assessment ◽  
Mental Health Settings ◽  
Consistency Strengths ◽  
Growing Churches ◽  
The Church

 In recent years social work has increasingly focused on spirituality and religion as key elements of cultural competency.  The Joint Commission—the nation's largest health care accrediting organization—as well as many other accrediting bodies require spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings. Consequently, specific intervention strategies have been fostered in order to provide the most appropriate interventions for religious clients. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest and one of the faster growing churches in the United States.  In an effort to facilitate cultural competence with clients who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, a brief spiritual assessment instrument was developed.  This mixed-method study asked experts in Church culture (N = 100) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the brief spiritual assessment instrument. Results indicate that the framework is consistent with Church culture and a number of practice-oriented implications are offered.

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