Mormons have a strange relationship with the cross.  We don’t like to show the cross. It is one of the reasons why many say that Mormons aren’t Christian.  When I attended the MHA meetings last year in Independence, I was surprised to see a cross on both the outside and inside of Independence Temple.  Most Mormons find displays of the cross to be distasteful.  On my mission, I remember being asked why Mormons don’t show the cross.  My standard response was that if Christ had been killed by a knife, gun, or electric chair, would we hang one of those weapons around our neck in remembrance.  The cross was a very gruesome, tortured way to die.

But the sign of the cross dates back thousands of years.  Constantine had a dream in which he saw a cross on the sun, and felt this was a sign that he should merge with Christianity.  He outfitted his army with the cross in a major battle, and won the empire.  Christianity became the official religion of the empire.  The cross is synonymous with traditional Christianity.  Mormons rejection of the cross causes other Christians to question our Christianity.

But since the atheists are attacking the cross, Mormons are coming down on the side of the cross.  LDS member and state Senator Carl Wimmer of Herriman, Utah plans to introduce a bill to allow the crosses to stay.  It should be noted that the Supreme Court seems to have had some conflicting opinions on whether crosses constitute a state-sponsored form of religious preference.

Quoting from the Deseret News article,

Past high court rulings on the issue have “confounded the lower courts and rendered the constitutionality of displays of religious imagery on government property anyone’s guess,” [Justice Clarence Thomas] wrote.

Thomas suggested the case would have been a good vehicle for a major review and revision of Establishment Clause jurisprudence. “It is hard to imagine an area of the law more in need of clarity,” he wrote. The court “should not now abdicate our responsibility to clean up our mess.”

[Utah Attorney General Mark] Shurtleff agrees.

“I’m upset at our Supreme Court for not taking the case,” he said. “They clearly need to resolve a question that differs depending on where you live in the country.”

The appeals court decision, he said, applies to the six states in the 10th circuit — Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah — making crosses illegal in those states, but permissible in every other state.

But Barnard [attorney representing the atheist group] said the case is limited to Utah.

“There are no similar government approved displays or memorial programs for law enforcement officers in other states,” he said. No other states allow similar large crosses with state emblems in front of the state offices.”

I know that the Community of Christ has a cross on their temple, and I know most Mormons don’t like the cross on their temple, feeling they are too cozy with Protestantism.  I also wonder if representative Wimmer’s response is more against the atheists, than it is in support of the cross.  What’s your take?

Robert Rees

Sunstone has had a recurring theme over the past 25 years or so titled Why I Stay.  Robert Rees collected essays from 20 people that have answered this question over the years.  As I thought of the question, I think my answer would mirror Claudia Bushman.  From page 31,

Claudia Bushman

I don’t want to explore why I stay in the Church.  I just don’t like that question.  Of course I have some pretty horrific experiences that would have persuaded many to leave.  I could give a very salty talk about putdowns I have experienced and insults I have borne.  I have been publicly and privately humiliated on several occasions….But I have forgiven those perpetrators.  I cannot say that I have forgiven the slights.  Instead I have adopted the style of various Church leaders I have known.  They may forgive, but they never forget.

Armaund Mauss says on page 39,

Armaund Mauss

I find the question of why I stay with the Church to be peculiar.  No one asks me why I stay with my family or with my nation, both of which are periodically stressful and no less voluntary than my relationship to the church.

There are some fantastic stories in this book.  Greg Prince says that the data is there for him to stay, and he shared some interesting perspectives: sometimes “Revelation Flows Up.”  From page 97,

Greg Prince

Trickle-up revelation is arguably the most important force of revelation shaping the day-to-day church in which we live.  If you doubt that statement, consider the Relief Society, Mutual Improvement, Sunday School, Primary, Welfare, Genealogy (Family History), and Young Adult programs all began as grass-roots initiatives on the part of Church members, and were then embraced by the central Church.  This means that phrases such as “magnifying one’s calling”, “Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness”, and “be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a good work.  And out of small things proceedeth forth that which is great”, are not platitudes, but a real call to action.  I have been a first-hand witness and participant in the birth of the Young Adult program in Southern California in the mid-1970’s and a first-hand witness of Lester Bush’s landmark on blacks and the priesthood in the mid-1970s.  A Church that not only allows, but expects its members to assist in continual transformation by placing their unique gifts at the altar has my vote.

Speaking of “trickle-up revelation”, I really enjoyed the only non-LDS essay in the book by William Russell, titled “Staying in the Community of Christ.”  From page 119,

William Russell

In 1970, five of us at Graceland [College] began publishing a quarterly journal titled Courage: A Journal of History, Thought, and Action which was consciously modeled after Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. I wrote an editorial in Saints’ Herald when the first issue of Dialogue came out, praising it and especially applauding an article by Francis Lee Menlove called “The Challenge of Honesty.”  In Courage we took positions which seemed radical at the time but later became the positions of the Church.  In 1970 Courage endorsed the ordination of women, a position the Church adopted in 1984.  In 1971 we endorsed open communion, which the Church adopted in 1994.  We criticized our method of succession in the presidency, arguing that our lineal succession was as bad as the LDS tradition wherein the senior apostle becomes prophet.  In the 1996 World Conference, Wallace B. Smith called W. Grant McMurray to lead the Church and thus ended our lineal descent in the office of Church president.

Russell seems to have been quite a radical.  While LDS members may remember that Ezra Taft Benson believed the Civil Rights Movement was a Communist conspiracy, many in the RLDS Church held similar views.  Following editorials in the Kansas City Star and Independence Examiner, (from page 117)

I was picketed for three days at our Herald House editorial offices and our 1966 World Conference.  The signs read, “The commies just love Wm. D. Russell.”  My pastor was equally convinced that I was a Communist…..(page 117)  About that time I learned from a reliable source that President Smith had compared me to the Reverend Martin Luther King, which I thought put me in good company!  But he thought we were Communists.”

Over the years, the Community of Christ has changed, making it more comfortable for Russell.  He finishes the essay with this gem.

“Therefore, I suspect I will remain in the Community of Christ until the undertaker arrives.  At my funeral, please don’t assign me to heaven.  I have no idea whether such a nice fuzzy place exists. I just hope I can muddle through this place without screwing up too much.  I leave the rest in God’s hands.”

Finally, I wanted to share the story of Lavinia Fielding Anderson.  She is a real enigma to me.  She is one of the September Six excommunicated in 1993.  Despite this, she has continued to attend her ward faithfully every week.  She shares a unique perspective of “Why I Stay”.  From pages 84-91,

Lavinia Fielding Anderson

In spite of being excommunicated, there are six reasons why I keep going to ward meetings month after month, year after year.  The first is for my family.  The gospel was everything to my parents…they both served missions…my father served as bishop in two wards…I’m proud of that heritage and one reason I kept going was that I wanted our son Christian to be proud of it….

The second reason I stay connected to the Church is that Paul and I met, courted, married, and have lived as Mormons.  I didn’t want my relationship with the Church to come between us and our marriage.  Our temple sealing and the covenants we made at marriage are significant to us.  Paul wanted a Mormon wife, and I felt that he deserved one, just as I wanted and felt I deserved a Mormon husband…

The third reason I stay is that I love Mormonism.  I was moved by the Book of Mormon and gained a testimony of it before I knew what to think about Joseph Smith.  The Book of Mormon has continued to speak to me as scripture….

Fourth, I love Mormon theology.  I love its emphasis on grace and works.  I love its open canon.  I love the presence of a Mother in Heaven even though we aren’t supposed to talk about her at present…

Fifth, I love the Mormon community….we can count on the Primary kids to sing for special programs with enthusiasm if not tunefulness, and that the bishop will wear a funny tie at least a couple of times a month.

Parts of it aren’t always comfortable. I am not happy with the fact that sacrament speakers, including visiting high counselors, are now asked to base their talks on a general conference talk from the Ensign magazine.  Usually Paul sits on the aisle so he can take the sacrament and then indicate to the deacon to go on so that I don’t have to personally refuse it.  A few weeks ago when I was sitting on the aisle, an elderly high priest made a big deal of stretching way past me to hand the tray of bread to Paul.  Maybe he was just being tactful.  Maybe he thought I’d contaminate the tray if I touched it.  But when he came around with the water, I grabbed it from him, glared, and passed it to Paul, then back to him. Then I got the giggles….

I need to say that the sixth most important reason for me to stay in the Church is that I not only love the Church, but in some ways it loves me back.  I feel loved within the Church—not by the stake president and various officials, particularly, but by my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother and truly by Jesus.  I can’t help loving them in return.  I want to love them more deeply, in part by keeping the promises I made at baptism and in the temple.  Those promises are important to me.

I have to say that I really loved this book.  I’ve given excerpts from just 5 of the 20 contributors.  I loved Lavinia’s testimony—she is a remarkable woman.  I loved Greg’s “trickle up revelation.”  I loved the personal accounts.  Finally, I want to ask, “Why do you stay?”

Kirtland Temple

There was a fascinating interview about the Kirtland Temple over at Mormon Expression.  It was so interesting, that I decided to transcribe it here.  John Larsen interviews historian John Hamer, and Barbara Walden, former Executive Director of the Kirtland Temple.  Both Barbara and John Hamer give some really cool information about the Kirtland Temple, and I wanted to share this with you all.

John Larsen

John Larsen, “Welcome back to another edition of Mormon Expression.  I’m your host John Larsen.  One of the things that is most requested for a podcast topic is to discuss the temple: a lot of questions on its historical context, how it evolved, and how it grew and what it’s all about.   Well the biggest problem is that topic is much too big to cover in one podcast, and I don’t even know how to bite it off.  So, we decided to start at the beginning with the Kirtland Temple, and I have two fabulous guests with me tonight, who are going to help walk us through the history and the context of the Kirtland Temple up to today.  First of all we have our old friend, John Hamer.  Hey John, how are you doing?”

John Hamer, “Hey John, it’s great to be back.”

JL, “Welcome back.  We have another special guest tonight, Barbara Walden.  Hi Barbara.”

Barbara, “Hello. Thank you for having me.”

JL, “Now Barbara, you’re connected with the temple.  Why don’t you give us a little bit of you background?”

Barbara Walden

BW, “I’d be happy to.  I’m currently the Executive Director of the Community of Christ  Historic Sites Foundation.  We’re a foundation that supports preservation and maintenance of all Community of Christ historic sites.  There is 7 total scattered throughout the Midwest, from Jospeh Smith III’s Liberty Hall to Joseph and Emma Smith’s Mansion House and homestead, and the Kirtland Temple.  The Kirtland Temple just happens to be one of my favorite sites.

Before I became associated with the Historic Sites Foundation, I acted as the Executive Director of the Kirtland Temple.  It’s a wonderful site.  We had between 35-40,000 visitors that would come from all over the world.  It seems that you could stand still and meet people from all over the world.  I can think of very few places where you can do that.  While I was there I helped train the historical interpreters and worked with the volunteers, and had the privilege of being there when the new visitor’s center was constructed and dedicated in 2007.  That’s just a little bit about myself.”

JL, “Wow, well once again, welcome.  Our old friend John, historian extraordinaire and mapmaker extraordinaire, anything else you want to add to that?”

John Hamer

JH, “I’m kind of here along for the ride in terms of the Kirtland Temple since Barb is by far the expert.  But I have mentioned that it’s been a very special place for me.  I went for the first time 10 years ago, and that’s where I actually was introduced to the Community of Christ.  I’ve been a cultural Mormon, I wasn’t a member of any of the churches since childhood.  But the welcome I received there got me into the Mormon history community, and Mormon historians community, and ultimately led to my fellowshipping with and joining Community of Christ.  I go back all the time.  It’s a special place.  With Barb we wrote a book, or I illustrated and she wrote a book called House of the Lord: the Story of the Kirtland Temple We’ve also collaborated on a book called ‘Community of Christ: an Illustrated History.’  Barb’s been a partner in crime for all these things, and just a wonderful collaborator.”

JL, “Alright.  The Kirtland Temple for most people who grew up in the Salt Lake branch of the church is sort of a black hole of information.  Everybody knows that it’s there, and most people know it doesn’t belong to the church any more, but it gets sort of foggy.  Most of the listeners to this podcast come from the Salt Lake branch, so I thought I’d start at the beginning.  I’m going to throw a curve ball at you.  Wilford Wood, the famed Mormon artifact–the Indiana Jones of Mormonism–in one of his books he wrote about the temple, or at least the idea of a temple in New York.  Now as far as you know, is Kirtland really the first attempt for the Mormon Temple?”

BW, “The actual construction and dedication you mean, or just the thought of building a temple?”

JL, “Yes, is this the first one that Joseph really attempted?”

BW, “Well, one would say that the idea or the concept of the temple in Independence was happening.  You also have the revelation that happens for the Kirtland Temple in December of 1832.  So you can certainly say that factually that the Kirtland Temple is the first Temple that the latter-day saints construct and dedicate during Joseph’s lifetime.”

JH, “Obviously there is the concept of multiple temples, because really the commandment is happening almost simultaneously to build in Independence, but that temple of course doesn’t get off the ground because of the saints getting driven out in Jackson County.  But in terms of New York, I’m not aware of a temple even breaking ground or anything like that.  I’ve never heard that.  If Wilfred Wood found something, that would be interesting.

JL, “I’ve never heard anything about it it either, except that Wilford Wood has a picture that he claims is the cornerstone of the New York temple, so I was just wondering if either of you had heard about that.  I think it might be more fanciful imaginings from Wilfred Wood, but there you go.”

BW, “Well, it’s certainly fascinating.  I’d love to hear more of it.  This is the first I’ve heard.”

JL, “I’ll send you a copy of the picture I’m referring to.  The Kirtland Temple–what was the revelation that got the whole thing started?”

BW, “I would say that in December of 1832 there was a revelation to build a school for the church’s ministers.  In combination you had an impoverished community living there in Kirtland who desperately needed a meetinghouse.  So that original revelation was about building a place where it would be a house of education or a house of learning, if you will.  By 1833, they began breaking ground for a house of the Lord.

Where the Kirtland Temple is located, I really encourage you to visit the site, right behind where the Kirtland Temple stands today, the early latter-day saints built a schoolhouse/print shop.  It was a two story building where the first floor, they used as a schoolhouse, and the second floor was a print shop where they printed their first church hymnal, they printed there Doctrine and Covenants in 1835, and the second edition to the Book of Mormon in 1837.  So they used that as a meetinghouse while they constructed the house of the Lord, what we would know today as the Kirtland Temple.  That really all begins in 1833.  They finally dedicate a temple by 1836.

What I think is amazing about the construction itself is the small group of impoverished people, living in hobbles and shanties, as one person in 1836 described their homes, and yet they’re constructing a 13,000 square foot house of worship, one of the largest houses of worship certainly within their region.  So it’s just amazing to see a small group of impoverished people constructing such an enormous house of worship.”

JL, “So why don’t we start with a little description of the temple for those of use who haven’t been there?  What does it sort of look like?”

Kirtland Temple

BW, “Well, it’s a three story building.  It’s a mixture of gothic revival and federal style of architecture, a little bit of georgian architecture.  I once had an architect on tour who said, ‘My this is a hodge podge of architectural styles.’  It really is.  I think in many ways it is a metaphor for the latter-day saint community itself, which was a hodge podge of believers there in Kirtland.

As I mentioned before, it was a 13,000 square foot building.  One of the unique aspects architecturally of the building are the upper and lower court:  two large rooms in the temple, which are about 55 x 65 feet that are stacked one on top of the other. Most houses of worship at the time would have a first floor sanctuary and a balcony that would house worshipers to look over into the sanctuary.  But in Kirtland, the revelation that Joseph Smith shared with the faith community was that two areas, an upper court and a lower court.  That lower court would be devoted to worship, while the upper court was more or less that house of learning that was devoted to education.  There was accounts of 900-1000 people literally packing in to the lower court for the dedication service.  It was an enormous sanctuary.  Your average Methodist meetinghouse at this time could fit inside the lower court alone.  In fact you could turn it sideways, your average Methodist meetinghouse, and it would still fit inside the lower court.  So the temple was wider than most houses of worship at this time were long.  It’s just an enormous building.

Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits in Kirtland Temple

So on that first floor, you have tiered pulpits.  There are about 18 pulpits total there on the lower court, a set of nine on the east side of the room, and a set of nine on the west side of the room and they represented the Aaronic Priesthood who were assigned to sit on the east side of the room, while the Melchizedek priesthood would set on the west side of the room.  These pulpits, I think for many people are the elements (the material culture of the temple) that really stand out.  It’s certainly a unique part of the temple.  While in the upper court you had decks versus pew boxes, and the idea of the upper court was that’s where the school of the Apostles would take place.  It’s where they would train missionaries who would launch out of Kirtland and carry the gospel throughout the world.

Well, on the very third floor, you have five rooms that are exactly alike, long thin rooms.  They were used for continuing education.  The Kirtland High School used the third floor for reading, writing, and arithmetic, the basics.  You also had the Kirtland, Ohio Theological Institution, the church’s first seminary. They used the third floor to learn Hebrew Grammar from Joshua Satius, who was a renown Hebrew scholar.  You also had the third floor–one room set aside as Joseph Smith, Jr’s private study study.  That’s where the headquarters of the church would have been from 1836 until many of the saints left Kirtland by 1839.  So I could talk about the Kirtland Temple forever.  I think I’ll stop right now though.”

Nauvoo Temple

JH, “One thing on the size that I ought to mention, maybe some of the listeners haven’t been to the temple but they see–I don’t know if you have these, but books of remembrance or whatever, a sheet that has all these pictures of the temples, maybe the first picture will be of the Kirtland Temple and it looks like a really little building compared to some of the later temples because it looks kind of like a New England church, a little New England church–it looks like a little two-story building.  But it’s deceiving when you just see a picture of it.  It’s kind of built like a little building architecturally, but it’s blown up, it’s scaled up.  If you actually see a cross-section of it, next to the Nauvoo Temple, you realize that this building is actually a lot bigger than it kind of looks.  If you see an early picture of it next to–there used to be (when it was built) a Methodist meetinghouse that was next door to it.  When you see a little two-story church next to this building you see how much bigger than just a little building that it is than it is.

Box Elder Tabernacle (in Brigham City)

JL, “I’m glad you bring that up because that’s the way I perceived it.  I always thought of it more like say the Brigham City or the Logan Tabernacles.  They have the same sort of vibe, at least on the outside, but you say it’s much, much bigger.  I didn’t realize it was that big. ”

JH, “I guess I don’t know how big the Brigham City Tabernacle is.  So obviously later, there were more members and they were able to build a large tabernacles.  But I guess I would say, if you take a cross-section of the Nauvoo Temple, and you put that against the St. George Temple, you realize that the Nauvoo Temple was really quite large.  And the Kirtland Temple, if you put it against it, you would imagine that it would be much, much smaller, but in fact, it’s smaller, but in fact it’s a very substantial building compared to what you’d imagine it.”

Logan Tabernacle

JL, “Which is phenomenal because of the poverty of the time.  I think Barbara, you mentioned that, but there wasn’t a lot of money in Kirtland.  So the fact that they could do that so quickly at the time is simply amazing.”

BW, “I agree.”

JH, “Everyone absolutely sacrificed to build–all their labor and everything like that to put everything into it.  There’s no doubt about that.  At the same time, the church absolutely went bankrupt to make it.  They went on credit, they did everything they could to have enough money to build it, and in the end, the economy in Kirtland wasn’t able to sustain that.”

BW, “I think often times the Kirtland Temple is a symbol of the ultimate sacrifices of the early latter-day saints.  I had mentioned there was a gentleman observing the latter-day saints in 1836 as they were getting ready to dedicate the temple, and he has this incredible quote, his name is Truman Coe, and he was a minister from another church living there in Kirtland, and he was just fascinated with the latter-day saints.  He said that the women especially were giving up even the necessaries of life to build the temple.  He said they were living in hubbles and shanties.  Few of their home were fit for human habitation, and yet they’re constructing this incredible house of worhhip.

At the time they described the neccaries of life that the women were sacrificing as clothing and shelter, giving up food.  There are great accounts of the women inviting people into their homes, and multiple families living in a single dwelling, sacrificing the food of their family members to feed the workers who were building the temple, or clothing the workers.  I mean just incredible stories that I think are symbolized in this first temple.”

JL, “Now I think that one thing that’s really key about the temple is, and we sort of hinted at this, you know today in the Salt Lake branch of the church, after a temple is dedicated, it is sealed off to all but the most dedicated who have a temple recommend.  That was never the case with Kirtland.  Kirtland, as you mentioned, was always sort of an open house of worship and other function, right?”

Barbara Walden, “That’s right.  It was intended to be the center of community life.  As I mentioned, they had a high school that met up on the third floor.  There are great accounts of them inviting ministers of other churches to use the pulpits to preach.  On one account of a Unitarian minister, taking advantage of that and preaching from the pulpit.  I think it was a hope for the Latter-day Saints that if we invite you into our house of worship to allow you to preach, perhaps you too would allow us into your house of worship to preach as well.  It’s almost the beginning of some ecumenical work there in Kirtland.

Joseph Smith, Sr.

They were also giving tours of the temple, I should point that out.  Joseph Smith Sr, was a pretty good guide.  Warren Parrish was another tour guide at the Kirtland Temple.  So they’re recognizing that the building is kind of a curiosity if you will, and people were dying to get inside to take a look.  So there is evidence that they were charging admission for the tours, and one of the highlights of the tours–for one man he paid to go back a second time–was to see the mummies that were on exhibit on the third floor.

John Larsen:  “Later those were in somebody’s basement, but they were at the Kirtland Temple, right?

BW, “They were up on the third floor, yes.  There were accounts of them on exhibit over at Joseph and Emma Smith’s house, and Frederick Granger’s house.  It seems like they have their own tour of the Kirtland area as well.”

[chuckles]

JL, “I do know that in the Nauvoo Temple, Brigham liked to dance, so they would clear the floors and do dances.  Were there any more secular activities like that in Kirtland?”

BW, “I can’t say that we ever had a dance in Kirtland in the 1830′s.”

John Hamer, “There’s later accounts of dances on the second floor.”

BW, “That’s true.”

JH, “But not in the 1830′s time.  But that even shows that the Nauvoo Temple also has different uses and a different feeling for people in Nauvoo in the 1840′s than what LDS people are used to with the temples today.  So the Nauvoo Temple, when it’s built, it’s built in a way that’s based on the Kirtland model.  So again, the major portions of space in Nauvoo are these upper and lower courts.  The interiors are designed to look like the interiors of the Kirtland temple with these multiple sets of pulpits, and ultimately, some of the LDS temples:  The Salt Lake Temple, the Washington DC Temple, some of the other temples have preserved a court that have these pulpit systems inside them, but this is the major portion of space in the first two temples.

Nauvoo Temple Baptismal Font

And unlike in Kirtland, in Nauvoo now there starts to be this new kind of temple worship that gets added into it.  But for the Nauvoo temple, it’s reserved essentially for the basement and the attic space, so in the basement is now the baptismal font for baptisms for the dead.  There is no font at all in Kirtland–that’s not part of temple worship in the Kirtland period.  And the same thing, this idea of the ritual endowment is very different from the Kirtland endowment.  The Nauvoo endowment which is relegated to the attic, the third floor, under the roofspace in the Nauvoo Temple.  Later, in LDS practice the central spaces of the temple get eliminated and essentially the attic and the basement spaces become the temple.

JL, “Ok, that’s a great segue into the worship.  So the Kirtland Temple actually predates the restoration of baptisms for the dead, at least inside the building.  Is that right?”

BW, “That’s correct!”

JH, “At all.”

JL, “So often times, the things we most associate with the temple: baptisms for the dead and the endowment of the mysteries, like Salt Lake does, come way after the concept of a temple came into Kirtland.”

JH, “That’s exactly right, so neither of those practices exist in Kirtland when they build the temple, and they wouldn’t be associated with temple worship for the earliest saints.  So in fact they talk about a great endowment coming upon the saints when they complete the Kirtland Temple.  It is a promise that happens, and then it happens in the course of the dedication, but this kind of temple endowment is not a ceremony.  It’s not a ritual or a mystery or a secret.  It’s essentially an outpouring of spirit.  It’s a promise that a gift will happen.  The original idea is that you will be endowed with a gift is the original meaning of that.  When we speak of a Kirtland endowment, it’s a very different thing from the Nauvoo endowment.

BW, “And that’s very difficult for those who are giving tours of the Kirtland Temple today when a visitor asks ‘were there any endowments that took place here?’  It’s difficult because the word ‘endowment’, as John has said, is used throughout the 1830′s, but they’re talking about something different than what later happens in later Nauvoo.  They’re talking about this spiritual empowerment for missionary work.  Now they did do annointings on third floor, and there was feet washings that were taking place; there were patriarchal blessings that were taking place in there, but not any of the endowments that we often connect to with the Nauvoo Temple.

JL, “So we do have annointings and feet washings.  How formalized was that?  Was it as ritualized as later temple ceremonies were, or was it still sort of loose at that time?”

JH, “Well I would say that it would have to be way looser than at later times, because it becomes a system, and it becomes a tradition, and it becomes a process.  Initially, it’s something that they are still feeling out, ‘how are we going to’–they want to restore all things.   One of the kinds of sacraments that you can maybe assume from reading the New Testament in addition to the sacraments of the Lord’s supper or Communion–that’s one of the things that Jesus does in one of the other gospels–instead of having a supper, he washes the disciples’ feet.  So feet washing becomes something that the saints also want to restore, so that is something that is restored in Kirtland.

Some of the different traditions still maintain that.  So, for example, the Bickertonite church, which is the church that descends from Sidney Rigdon’s people, headquartered in Pennsylvania, that still remains one of their sacramental practices–feetwashing.  They do it kind of based on a revival of feetwashing that happened in Kirtland.”

JL, “Others have made the argument that current second anointing sort of evolved out of the feet washing.  What’s your thoughts on that John?”

JH, “I am not a real expert on LDS temple practices.  I’ve heard that.  I really haven’t gone through and studied that because this isn’t something that LDS people are real forthright with wanting to talk about it, so I’ve generally respected that.  I’ve never been involved in the LDS temple practices in terms of the endowment and everything like that.  I’ve read a certain amount of it, but I don’t know all the details.”

Inside the Salt Lake Temple

JL, “Fair enough.  Now we talk about the pulpits, the 18 pulpits that were on either side, and I think John you mentioned actually that’s still a central architectural element of the Salt Lake Temple, and I encourage anybody who is on Temple Square to go see that new model of that temple that they’ve built there. You can really get a feel for how important that grand hall, or whatever it is, inside the Salt Lake Temple.

Growing up, I always heard about the veil that would lower down over the assembly hall down there.  What was that all about?”

BW, “Well if you can imagine sitting in a sanctuary that has boxed in pews where during some of these Sunday worship services you could have anywhere from 500-1000 people meeting in the lower court and the early Latter-day Saint community encouraged people to participate in the worship services.  They believed in services being led by the spirit.  If you had 500 people all in one room wanting to share a prayer or a testimony, you can imagine how long some of these services would be.

They installed veils, or what we would consider curtains, that hung from the lower court ceiling and the plan was to have those same curtains or veils hanging from the upper court ceiling as well.  These heavy canvas curtains–one visitor described them as the sails of a ship that were painted heavenly white on both sides.  You had a curtain rod that was installed at the base of a curtain that would roll up with the curtain.  So above your head, you could have a big, bulky curtain, or they could lower those curtains to divide the room into quarters: a set of curtains going right through the center of the room, and then another set of curtains dissecting that in half.  During Wednesday Prayer and Testimony meetings, which Joseph Smith Senior, the Patriarch of the Church would preside over these services, he would send a priesthood member to every corner of the lower court to lead, more or less, their own prayer and testimony meeting.  And that would allow more people to participate in worship.

You also had the same heavy, canvas curtain hanging above the pulpit on both sides of the room.  And these curtains could be lowered through cranks that were located at each level of the pulpit.  So priesthood members could raise and lower the curtains as they wished, just like members out in the pew boxes could.  But these curtains would come down and divide off each level of the pulpit to give privacy to each level of the priesthood.  There are a number of accounts of private meetings taking place in the pulpits, of people kneeling down for prayer.

I think one of the most well-known, or famous accounts comes right after the dedication when Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith kneel down for a time of private prayer.  As they begin to rise from prayer, they see the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit before them–a remarkable account that was recorded in Joseph Smith Jr’s journal.  For many of our visitors, it is the sole reason they come to the Kirtland Temple–to see the pulpits where that event took place.

JL, “Yeah, in the Salt Lake Doctrine and Covenants, that’s section 110 I believe, where they saw Moses, Elias, and Elijah right there on  the pulpit.

BW, “That’s right.”

JL, “So they are heavier than the sort of thin veil that you might see in the temples today–at least in the Salt Lake branch temples.”

BW, “Right”

JH, “In fact, you would almost think of it as the origin–a sort of utilitarian–you could divide it off for different meetings.  The thing that has survived in a meetinghouse, dividing the gym off from the chapel–whatever those walls that accordian out like that.”

[chuckles]

JL, “I think this is another one of those points of confusion, like the word ‘endowment’.  They talk about the veil in the Kirtland Temple, but it was more of a room divider than it served as the veil in say the Salt Lake Temple.

JH, “Exactly.”

JL, “We mentioned a little bit about the debt.  It is my understanding that alot of the debt issues that they got involved in were directly related to, or at least fed by the building of the temple.  Of course they started the Kirtland Anti-Banking Society.  Then Joseph sort of high tails it out of town in the winter of 1837-8.  Let’s pick up the story then, because Joseph never returns to Kirtland.  What happens with the temple?  A lot of people are disillusioned but they’re still there. What’s going on in the town at that time?”

BW, “It’s really a fascinating story.  You have in 1838 while the saints are still headquartered there in Kirtland, over 2000 members living in Kirtland.  But in 1839, considering the troubles they are having with the bank, and the debt, and the pressure from old members, or former members of the church and those who were living around the community.  By 1839, there were only 100 Latter-day saints remaining in Kirtland.  You can imagine just the sacrifice to build the temple–maintaining a 13,000 square foot building is not an easy job for 100 people.  Heating it alone was very difficult.

So in August of 1838, there is evidence that they begin renting the second and third floors of the temple to the Western Reserve Teacher’s Seminary.  It was a place to train teachers.  They used the second floor for training.  You more or less graduated from the second floor to the third floor where these new teachers were practicing their teaching techniques on local students.  So it’s neat to see that the temple continued to be used as a ‘house of learning’, even after many of the saints had left.  Those 100 that remained behind, continued to try to care and maintain the temple.  Martin Harris was one who stuck around there in Kirtland.

By the 1840′s, there’s evidence that the membership grew to about 500 by 1842.  But by 1844 when Joseph Smith and Hyrum were killed in Carthage, the membership of the church was back down to a hundred.  Then it appeared from 1844 to the 1860′s, whatever latter-day saint group had keys to the temple was using the temple.  After Joseph was killed, a number of people in church leadership contended for leadership of the church and some of these groups returned to Kirtland, remembering that as a significant part of their church experience.  Some of them were Zaddock Brook’s Church of Christ, James Colin Brewster’s group was there for a while, even Sidney Rigdon returned to Kirtland in 1846. There is a great account of him preaching from the pulpit to a standing crowd.

So from 1844-1860′s, a variety of different latter-day saint groups go in and out of Kirtland, using the temple.  Some of those groups leaving, and others arriving, it was a peaceful transition.  Other times it was not so peaceful and the sheriff was called in to throw a group out while another group claimed to have ownership.  By the 1860′s, there is evidence of a Community of Christ group worshiping in the temple, and by the 1880′s there is a congregation that was established there, and began restoring the temple back to its’ original splendor is what they say.

An 1883 conference, the Community of Christ decides that they’re going to invest heavily, financially on restoring the original splendor back to the temple.  Some of that was theologically reinforced.  They believe that they were the original church, the true church, and they felt that if they were going to worship in the temple, that true church ought to have the temple looking exactly the way it was dedicated in 1836.

Although the theology has changed much from the way the Community of Christ was in the 1880′s and that fight to be the ‘true church’ to where the Community of Christ is now, I as a curator, am thankful that it was so important to them to have the temple looking exactly like it did.  Some of the people alive in the 1830′s could give accounts as to what the pulpits looked like, or what those veils looked like.  Thankfully they did go back to that 1830′s look, 50 years after that temple was dedicated.  Does that answer your question?”

JL, “Yeah.  I know that there came a time, especially when the Brighamites were getting ready to head west, that Brigham was trying to sell the Nauvoo Temple, and they were divesting themselves of other properties, ostensibly to raise money for the migration, was there ever an attempt to claim ownership of the Kirtland Temple by Young and sell it or do anything else with it?”

BW, “Well there are accounts of Brigham Young–or his church, the Twelve–trying to sell the Kirtland Temple, but unfortunately they couldn’t obtain a clear title, and it is difficult to sell a piece of property that you’re not in possession of, or don’t have a clear title to.  So they weren’t very successful in trying to sell the temple.

There’s another account of Joseph Smith III in the 1860′s attempting to sell the temple as well.  It is interesting that even his mother encouraged him to sell the temple in the 1860′s, but he came across the same problem.  He didn’t have a clear title to the temple, and as he was working out the clear title, fellow church leaders convinced him that it wasn’t his personal property, but rather should be the property of the church, and that really all happened throughout the 1870′s.”

JL, “So I guess my question now is–I know there have been several insertions by the Salt Lake church to gather in the lost saints, like when Brigham sent (I can’t remember if it was Joseph F Smith or whatever), to try to bring in Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery.  I know  they tried to collect some of the old artifacts.  I guess my question is, was there ever an attempt to really circle in and get the Kirtland  Temple back?  I can just imagine that the Twelve in Salt Lake, the fact that they didn’t have it all those years, sort of bothered them.”

JH, “You know, I don’t think there was any attempt from them to get it back.  For one thing, for a whole long period of time, all the way up to almost near World War II, not quite that long, but into the 20th century, the LDS church didn’t have a lot of presence outside of the Great Basin in the rest of the U.S.  So owning the temple, which is quite a big thing, big building to keep up and everything like that would actually be costly without a lot of point to it for people who aren’t living there.  So actually, I don’t think that there was an attempt to get it back in terms of getting other people gathered in.

So the guy who goes and gets Martin Harris I think it’s almost a private venture.  He’s just met Martin Harris, he isn’t living well and isn’t able to pay his way to Utah and he ends up living with relatives for the rest of his life.  But I don’t think in a lot of ways, there isn’t an ability to gather a lot of the Midwestern saints because the people in the Midwest, the people who have stayed there are so opposed to polygamy, and so this has been an irreconcilable point of difference in the 19th century between the Midwestern and the western Mormons.

BW, “I agree with John, I’m not aware of any accounts of the Mormon church trying to buy the temple back in the late 19th century.  There are accounts of them visiting the temple and having a tour.  Some of these were very contentious tours where theology was debated back and forth, and that went into the mid 20th century.  It’s also very difficult to buy a building that’s not for sale frankly.”

[chuckles]

Joseph F. Smith

JL, “Yeah, especially around the turn of the century, there’s a lot of bad blood.  I’m thinking of the letters between Joseph F. Smith and R.C. Evans.  There were papers published under the blood atonement and the origins of plural marriage.  It seems like there was a heated cold war going on between the two.  At least that’s the way the Salt Lake people saw it.”

BW, “Absolutely.”

Joseph Smith III

JH, “That was from both sides.  There’s this moment when Joseph F. Smith is the president of the LDS church, and his first cousin, Joseph Smith III is the president of the RLDS church, and they do not get along well.  When Joseph III had earlier gone out to Utah to preach to dissenting Mormons there, he didn’t feel that he was well-treated, and that Joseph F. Smith (he felt) was assigned to kind of dog him around and preach against him, and specifically also to preach against his mother.  So lots of things were said about Emma being a terrible woman and a liar and all kinds of things like that, and that made it even a personal, family relationship.  But in this case it was a personal family where the family members, the cousins, are in fact the presidents of the two churches, and so it’s kind of a family feud that is also a church feud, and there were a lot of hurt feelings at the time.

JL, “Yeah, I can imagine.  So we got up to the 1880′s talking about the temple.  So does the temple stay in continuous operation all the way up to the present day, or does it fall into disrepair?”

BW, “Well in the 1880′s there was a great effort in restoring the temple, as well as preserving it–a great maintenance effort took place by the community of Christ, at the time known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The congregation that began meeting there in the 1880′s continued to use the temple as the house of worship and the place that they gathered weekly until the 1950s.  In the 1950′s, they constructed a meeting house or a chapel across the street from the temple and that’s where their regular activities would take place, the Wednesday night services, the potlucks, recreational activities as well as worship activities.

In doing that they recognized that the temple was a historic house of worship and should be used on special occasions.  The leadership of the church not only for the congregation, but for the world church, the whole community of Christ, strongly encouraged the congregation to move out of the temple.  By using it on a regular basis, they were adding to the wear and tear.  When they moved out in the 1950s, another wave of restoration efforts took place: to re-stucco the temple, to re-plaster, to better maintain the temple on a long term basis.  So that begins in the 1950′s and today the temple is still a very significant house of worship for the Community of Christ, where they hold special worship services.

Congregations coming in out of town will reserve the lower court for a special worship service or communion service.  In the 1990′s, we also opened up the temple for other latter-day saint groups who were traveling through Kirtland.  They would have the opportunity to reserve the temple like we’d allow Community of Christ groups for all these years, then we opened it up to all our latter-day saint cousins.  So members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often times their leaders will contact the site director there in Kirtland and reserve the lower court for a sacrament meeting.  We’ve had a Relief Society worship services take place there, as well as groups that come from the Strangite Church, or the Restoration branches.  Even the Remnant Church, which has headquarters in Independence, Missouri, has worshiped there.

It’s really wonderful to see all these different latter-day saint groups, although they differ theologically, to see them appreciating the history that we all share and to worship in the lower court.  We have 50-60 worship services, that take place there in the lower court every year.  I’d say only about 30-35 are Community of Christ groups.”

JH, “I was there just last month and it was for the Remnant Church.  The Remnant Church was having a semi-annual conference and they were having their preisthood meeting in the temple as a retreat.  In fact all the leadership of the church was there and they had spent 30 days trying to prepare themselves for this kind of special endowment–where we’re talking a Kirtland endowment where they would be endowed with power in order to further the work of the Remnant Church in terms of their reorganizing efforts and rebuilding efforts.”

BW, “I should also add that the community of Kirtland has a great tradition of having an ecumenical Thanksgiving service in the Kirtland Temple every year.  It’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving where the Kirtland Ministerial alliance which is a collection of civic and religious leaders get together.  They get together every month, but in November of every year they have an ecumenical worship service where the high school sings from the historic choir loft.  The new minister from the Kirtland area preaches from the pulpit.  So it’s just a ‘Norman Rockwell’ experience.

You’re sort of sitting there in a pew box.  One year it’s the new Catholic priest preaching.  Another year it’s the Universalist minister peraching.  You’ll have the Kirtland school superintendent offering the invocation for the worship service, and the director of the LDS historic Kirtland giving the benediction.  It’s really an incredible experience and reminds me of in the 1830′s how the latter-day saints would invite ministers of other Christian denominations to worship or preach in the temple.  In many ways, you feel like you’re returning to that 1830′s period.”

JL, “I think the Kirtland Temple is really such a stark reminder of the theological shift that happened between that Kirtland period for Joseph Smith, and then what later came in Nauvoo and in the early days in Salt Lake City.  Joseph was very much less secretive and more open with the belief in the church.  I think those two temples, comparing the Salt Lake Temple with the Kirtland Temple, and how starkly different they are really speaks to that theological shift.”

JH, “Absolutely.  I mean there obviously was major changes going throughout the entire early period.  So people like David Whitmer, who joined before the Book of Mormon was even published, there was a very different Mormonism that he was attracted to  than anybody who would have joined in 1844, where now suddenly the church had grown and changed.  All kinds of new things had been restored, and there had been changes in the practices.

Salt Lake Temple

In the Salt Lake Temple you mentioned how there are things that are remembered from Kirtland that still are there like the inner courts that have the pulpits.  The other interesting thing that I just love about the Salt Lake Temple is the interesting features of it is the exterior towers where there are these 6 towers, each of them multi-tiered where they each have 3 tiers, each of them are on the east side and the west side.  That is an external representation of the pulpit arrangement.  So you take the pulpits, the most interesting feature of the Kirtland Temple, and now that’s put on the outside.  So in a way, the Salt Lake Temple has that homage to Kirtland.”

JL, “That’s really interesting, and it’s interesting to hear you all talk about the architectural mish mash, because that’s what the Salt Lake Temple is often accused of with the battlements and the towers and the stone, it’s just everywhere on the board.  So it’s interesting to hear that’s a long-running theme.”

JH, “Between Kirtland and Nauvoo there is the idea of not just restoring the priesthood, which is the first thing that gets restored, and then restoring the church, but then a later development in Nauvoo is the restoration of the Kingdom.  That again is done in a secret way so the kingdom of God on earth is in the secret Council of Fifty.  But then this imagery of the restored kingdom appears.  So it probably wouldn’t have made a lot of sense in the Kirtland time period  to have done something that looks like a castle.  But then when you get out to Utah, after you’ve restored the kingdom and you have this major kingdom metaphor going, then the temples have crenelations, they have all these aspects to them that are reminiscent of European castles.

JL, “On that note, one thing I find fascinating especially in the early days of the church is the tension that it has with the protestant world around it, and also the idea that it’s the only true church.  It’s the restoration, and it’s a separation from that same protestant movement.  But you get things like the Kirtland temple that look very much the way things are set up, they borrow quite a bit from American worship service, but then they take up their own with all of the multiplicity of pulpits.”

JH, “Yeah, interestingly, the Kirtland Temple has so many things like the pulpits that are different.  But then what I love to do when I get to go to Kirtland, we drive around the little towns all around.  If you go to see other churches from the 1820s-1830s, it’s surprising how many churches are around there that are so reminiscent of the Kirtland Temple.  You described it as an architectural mishmash.  Well everyone was building vernacular stuff out of pattern books and other ways.  They wanted to have revivals and everything like that of old architectures, but they aren’t architects.  Everybody is building buildings like this even if they’re smaller.  But there’s so many different elements that you’ll see all around.  They are very aware of what other people are building, and that’s where they’re getting the ideas from.

BW, “Absolutely, I think you can walk the lower court of the Kirtland Temple and if you have in your hand an Asher Benjamin book from 1806 or from the 1830s, you can point out all of the patterns from Asher Benjamin, who was like the 19th century Bob Vila, that are right there in the temple.  They’re more than happy to take a plan and pattern book.  In the same way that they’re more than happy to take the traditional hymns from the Methodist church and change some of the wording around to match the theology of the latter-day saint church.  What they do with their architecture, they’re also in many ways what they’re doing with their hymnity, their theology, and they’re very much a part of their context.

JL, “Well, I guess that’s one of the strengths of Mormonism, especially from Joseph Smith, has always been that willingness to create a mashup, to take what he sees and what he enjoys.  He runs into freemasonry in Nauvoo and he brings it right in.  I really think that’s been a strength of the theology and one of the reasons it’s been able to survive.”

BW, “Right.  It makes it so fascinating too.”

JL, “So Barbara, having spent so much time in the temple, what is your favorite aspect of the temple?”

BW, “That is a tough question.  If I must confess, one of the things that I enjoy doing the most, especially when I was the site director there in Kirtland, is in the early hours of the morning, or even sometimes at sunset, to go into the Kirtland Temple all by myself and just sit in the lower court.  To open up one of the pew boxes, and go inside and sit down and just breathe in that lower court.  To look around and look at the decorate artwork, or decorative woodwork, the arch that goes above the Melchizedek pulpit and the theoches, the travelling decorative artwork that goes around the pulpits, all the intricate detail, and just think about all the people who have been through the temple and who have left their stories there for us.

I think about Brigham Young and some of those early carpenters like Jacob Bump and Truman Angel, and the amount of work that they put into constructing the temple.  But it also makes me think of William Kelly and E.L. Kelly and the workers of 1880s who worked in many ways just as hard to preserve it.  You can’t help but think of what takes place there now–congregations that travel all over the world to hold a worship service there in the lower court, and to sing ‘The Spirit of God.”  After 8 years on Kirtland, I am not tired of that hymn in the least.  That is one of my favorite hymns.

To think of the Catholic priest who preached from the pulpit in 2002, or think about the high school choir singing from the choir loft last fall, there’s just so many powerful stories that are within those walls, not only of the people of the 1830s and their sacrifice, but also the people who come, who feel a sense of calling to be within its walls, who still feel like it’s sacred space.  I think for the Community of Christ today they take the stewardship of that building very seriously, not only because it is a beautiful building architecturally, and it’s a national historic landmark, but also paying respect to the people who sacrificed to make the building what it is today, not only out of respect to Joseph Smith and Emma Smith, but also the people that traveled thousands of miles, to really appreciate the story of the house of the lord.  My sermon’s over!  Thank you for listening.”

[chuckles]

JL, “It’s such a physical connection to the early church where much of it was lost, what they built up in Missouri, much of Nauvoo was destroyed.  It’s just a physical sign that is still there.  One of my ancestors was Vincent Knight who was one of Joseph Smith’s confidants at that time.  There’s a family story, I don’t know if it’s real or not–maybe you can confirm at least one detail of it.  During one of the meetings they were having there in the temple when the Kirtland bank was going bad, people would get up and start yelling and screaming, and accusing.  According to his daughter’s journal, Vincent picked somebody up and threw him out the window.  Is that even possible?  Can you throw them out the window of the Kirtland Temple?

BW, “There’s a lot of windows, so [garbled dialogue and chuckling]”

JH, “Those were heated times!”

JL, “Good old Vincent helped smuggle him out when they left in January.  So maybe the last thing I’d like to sort of cover is because of the way the temple service has been shaped in the Salt Lake branch of the church, I think a lot of Salt Lake Mormons are confused about the role of the temple, and how the Community of Christ thinks about the temple.  Maybe what I’d like to do is sort of close out with framing that.  How does the Community of Christ view the temple, and what is the role of the temple in general for the Kirtland Temple in their theological beliefs today?”

BW, “John, how would you like to field the theology part of that question, and I can field how it’s used today?”

JH, “Yeah, I  would say, like we’ve kind of talked about, early Mormonism was a moving target, and there’s a lot of things in that wonderful theological grab bag of those first 14 years.  Different churches, there’s a couple hundred different latter-day saint tradition churches and different ones emphasize different parts of that tradition and they pull different things out, so I wouldn’t even say–nobody can do it all, and different people emphasize different things.  In the same way that there’s multiple things going on in early Mormonism, there were multiple ideas of temple worship at different times in early Mormonism.

Independence Temple (Community of Christ)

So for Community of Christ, probably because of the possession of Kirtland Temple, the stewardship of Kirtland Temple, having general conferences in the Kirtland Temple, there’s always been that connection with the Kirtland form of temple worship.  When the revelation came in the 1970′s and 80′s to build–well there were preparatory revelations in the revelations in the 80′s to build the temple in Independence finally, to finally build the temple in Jackson Country–the theological idea of it was to look more towards the Kirtland example.  So from that early revelation that’s in both D&C’s (the LDS D&C as well), the temple is going to be a house of worship, a house of learning, a house of order.  In the same way the temple in Independence is viewed in those ways where it’s a place where there are very special worship services where the whole community can gather together, build community, commune with the creater, and then it’s also a house of learning.  So the archives, the library, and temple schools, and other kinds of seminars and conferences, training conferences are all held in the temple in Independence.

Also, just like in Kirtland, the Kirtland Temple in ther headquarters of the church.  The Indpendence Temple is the headquarters of the Community of Christ.  This is where we take this house of order where the leadership meets, where special conferences are held again.  So what I’d say for all those things, the Independence Temple builds upon that part of the early latter-day saint model of temple worship.

The other thing in the revelation in the 80′s, that we end up building the temple in Independence will be specially dedicated to peace.  There is a long-standing tradition in Community of Christ where we look back on our heritage and all of the problems we had with the gentiles with neighors, the Mormon War in Missouri, the Mormon War in Illinois, getting driven out–there has been an attempt to, instead of where we arm ourselves and we march on Zion’s Camp and we take everything back by force, there’s an attempt instead to embrace peace, make peace with our neighbors, and so the temple is specially dedicated to peace and so every day, also one of the things that’s done in the temple in Independence is there’s a daily prayer for peace where a candle is lit and a special place is designated, either a country or an indigenous people that isn’t able to be free in it’s own country, or something like that where a special prayer is said for peace in the world,”

JL, “Wow, interesting.  Barbara, the temple today?”

BW, “I think the temple today is just as John described about the Independence Temple.  We reach back into our past and try to have the Kirtland Temple be that center  of community life, and a house of worship, a house of learning, a house of prayer.  Some of the events that have taken place there as a house of learning: we’ve hosted  the Mormon History Association in 2003, and the John Whitmer History Association in 2007 which was a great gathering of history enthusiasts.  But also in 2007 they hosted the Communal Studies Association, which is a group of scholars that enjoy studying 19th century utopian experiments as well as 20 and 21st century experiments.

To be in the lower court, and John Hamer was there, to be in the lower court where over 200 people were packed inside, about 40 of those were a group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were on a tour from Vermont all the way through Ohio with Carl Anderson.  To have this group of 200, along with this group of small group of LDS members singing in a hymn festival where they sang Shaker hymns, and Harmonist hymns and we ended the hymn festival with ‘Redeemer of Israel’, and ‘The Spirit of God’, just incredible experiences in worship, as well as a celebration of history.

The third floor in the 1830′s was used as a place for church leadership to meet on a weekly basis.  It wasn’t too long ago that the Community of Christ Presidents of Seventies also met on the third floor for a  time of leadership and concern for the church, and for their positions individually.  It continues to be used as that place of learning and prayer and fasting, just like it was in the 1830s where we invite all different latter-day saint groups shared history.  As we mentioned before there have been divisions and confrontational moments there in the Kirtland Temple between the latter-day saint groups.  It’s so nice to know that those times are no longer.  We much rather celebrate what we have in common, rather than what divides us.  It’s really a place that memorializes the early saints, as well as where we are today.  I really encourage all of your listeners to go and visit the Kirtland Temple or visit any of the Community of Christ sites in Nauvoo or Lamoni, or even in Independence.  They’re always welcome there and we recognize that we have a wonderful shared history.”

JL, “Yeah definitely.  The one experience I’ve had is with the temple in Missouri and the tour guides there were intelligent and welcoming and I had wonderful experience there.  I haven’t made it out to Kirtland yet, but I intend to.”

BW, “Well if I can put one plug in for you as a Vincent Knight descendant, right around the corner from the Kirtland Temple, the Vincent Knight house still stands, right on the corner of Joseph Street and Cowdery Street.”

JL,”Yes, my mom has told me that.  I really need to get out there.  I really would like to.  And John, every time you come on, you almost convert me to the Community of Christ.”

[chuckles]

JH, “I’m going to get you!”

JL, “Last time you were on, I had several people send me emails that had actually gone to services.  You’re doing the Lord’s work I guess. [chuckles]  I have to ask one last thing or all my ex-mormon friends will poke me in the ribs.  So there is almost an ex-mormon mythos during that second Mormon Pentecost when there was that blessing of the temple and a lot of people described that same rushing of wind like you hear it described in Acts.  People describe that they saw angels and all that.

There’s an ex-mormon mythos that everybody had been fasting and drinking a lot and it was sort of an alcohol-infused mass hysteria.  I actually have no idea.  I’ve never read anything to suggest that.  I want to hear both of your takes on that.”

BW, “They were fasting.  It wasn’t uncommon for the early saints to fast on Sunday, and they were encouraged to give to the church where they would usually give for food and other necessaries for life in Kirtland.  All sorts of accounts  come out of that period.  One of the early saints used to like to say, ‘well you remember that in the New Testament, the same accusations of drinking were said of Jesus and his disciples.”

JL, “That’s true.”

BW, “So I’m not eager to believe any accounts like that.  I think they were genuine.  I think they were praying and fasting and expecting empowerment from on high.  I really admire that.”

JL, “Well Barbara, I tend to agree.  I’m pretty secular in my views.  One thing I do believe is that most people sincerely believe their own religious experiences, and that they’re meaningful and real to them.  I’m not inclined to take that away from the early saints either.”

JH, “I will say that one of those accounts is actually from people in my family.  So my great-great-great-great uncle is one of the ones who make that accusation.  So there are people who said that, but anyway, I agree with what has been said.”

JL, “Alright, wonderful.  So those of us who don’t know, it’s just outside of Cincinnati, is that right?”

BW, “No, it’s about 6 hours from Cincinnati.”

JL, “Ok, where?”

JH, “Cleveland.”

JL, “Ok, a couple hours from the center of Cleveland, right?”

BW, “Well it’s about 25 miles east of Cleveland.”

JL, “See, I don’t even know where it is, so don’t listen to me.  Isn’t that Amish country?”

BW, “Oh yes.  There’s an Amish community just south of Kirtland.”

JH, “The largest Amish community in the country.  We were just driving around the Amish countryside last month and we were behind half a dozen buggies, so it was incredible the number.  It was a Friday night and there were young Amish guys out on the town, against the watering hole, watching the cars go by.”

[chuckles]

JL, “Alright wonderful.  Barbara, John, thanks!  It’s been a great enlightening experience for me and I’m going to have to put it in my plans to get out there.”

BW, “Oh yes.  Well thank you again for the invitation. This has been quite enjoyable, and I look forward to doing it again.”

JL, “Alright, as always, the discussion continues on the website, you can find us at MormonExpression.com or you call us at the number that I don’t remember.”

Angel Moroni

A few months ago, I attended several family reunions.  At the time, I was reading John Hamer’s book, Scattering of the Saints.  I was absolutely fascinated with all the accounts of Mormon schismatic groups.  I was especially interested in Strangism and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message.  As I told the story of their founding, the reaction of my relatives was incredibly interesting to me.

Jesus and God the Father appear to Joseph Smith

As Mormons, we all take the visits of Moroni, Jesus, God the Father, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John as pretty much fact.  In order to be a Mormon, you pretty much have to believe these things happened.

Angel Gabriel appears to Mary

We take it as a fact that Moses received the 10 Commandments carved by the finger of God, Mary saw the Angel Gabriel, and many other heavenly angels visited mortals on earth.

10 Commandments carved by finger of the Lord

But if it’s not in the Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, or Pearl of Great Price, we just don’t take angelic visitations seriously.  We don’t know what to think about non-biblical angels.  For example, we  don’t accept it as fact that the Angel Gabriel visited Mohammed, or that Joan of Arc had a heavenly visit, or the Virgin Mary has appeared to numerous Catholics, or that Jesus appeared to Ann Lee (founder of the Shakers), or anybody else.  When we hear these stories, we say, “Yeah, whatever.”  As Mormons, you’d think we’d be more open to the idea, but we’re not.

Joan of Arc

Mohammad and the Angel Gabriel

I’ve discussed Strangism previously, but I want to share a little more about James Strang’s “First Vision”  (for lack of a better word.)  Robin Jensen details the beginning of the Strangite movement in Hamer’s book, Scattering of the Saints.  The title of his chapter is called “Mormons Seeking Mormonism.”  James Strang joined the church in February 1844 (baptized by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo), just a few months prior to Joseph’s death.  A few days after his baptism, he was ordained an elder, and Smith sent Strang back to his home in Wisconsin with the idea that it could be a possible future home of the saints.  Strang wrote a glowing letter praising Wisconsin.  Strang claims that he received a letter from Joseph Smith, appointing Strang as the next prophet of the church, known by Strangites as the “Letter of Appointment”.  Quoting from page 117,

Ann Lee, Founder of the Shakers

On the same day that Smith is supposed to have written the letter, Strang reported that he received a vision: a future Mormon city called Voree—spectacularly built up near Burlington as a gathering place for the Latter Day Saints.⁹ Ten days later, on the fateful day of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith—but weeks before Strang would have received the Letter of Appointment—Strang reported that he experienced a second vision.  This time an angel appeared to him, anointed his head, gave him instructions concerning his mission, and prophesied about the future.¹⁰ The followers of Strang would argue that the Letter of Appointment and the two visitations authenticated Strang’s succession to the leadership of the Latter Day Saint movement.¹¹

As you can imagine, there was controversy from the beginning about whether the letter was authentic, and whether Strang had really received an angelic visit.  I remember relating this story to a relative, and his reaction was “Yeah, Whatever.”  I will mention that Strang convinced Joseph’s brother, William to join his movement for a time (William later left for the RLDS church), and convinced Martin Harris to go on a mission for the Strangite church.  The official name of the Strangite Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; it has different punctuation than the Mormon church’s official name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I spoke with Robin Jensen at the MHA conference and learned that one of his ancestors served a mission with Martin Harris for the Strangite church.  In the 1840’s-50’s, the Strangite church rivaled the Brigham Young church in size.  It was definitely a force to be reckoned with until the death of James Strang.

James Strang, prophet (Strangites)

But that’s not the only angelic ministration of a Mormon group.  (I’m sure there are many more that I am not highlighting here.)  I’d like to discuss a visit to Granville Hedrick next.  R Jean Addams discusses “The Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Its Emergence, Struggles and Early Schisms.”  After Joseph’s death 4 Illinois branches (Eagle Creek, Half Moon Prairie, Crow Creek, and Bloomington) and another in Indiana (Vermillion) consolidated together, forming an organization originally known as the “Church of Christ (Of Latter Day Saints).”  They soon changed the name back to the original name given to Joseph Smith in 1830: “Church of Christ.”  (Sometimes the Hedrickites are referred to as “Temple Lot Mormons.”)  Addams describes a bit more history on page 207.

At a conference of the newly merged church held on 1863, John E. Page, an apostle in Joseph Smith’s Council of the Twelve and, since 1862, a member of the Crow Creek Branch,⁶ ordained Granville Hedrick an apostle.  Hedrick was a local farmer and an elder in the early Mormon church who was generally accepted as the leader of the Crow Creek Branch.  In addition to Hedrick, Page ordained three other local members as apostles, “thus forming a quorum of five apostles in the Church of Christ” (including John E. Page himself.)⁷ Page later ordained Granville Hedrick on 19 July 1863 “to the office of the First Presidency of the Church, to preside over the High Priesthood and to be a prophet, seer, revelator and translator to the Church of Christ.”⁸

In 1864, Granville Hedrick, now a prophet of the church, received a revelation which was almost immediately published in the first edition of his church’s newspaper, the Truth Teller.⁹ Hedrick reported that he was visited by an angel, who instructed his church “gather together upon the consecrated land which I have appointed and dedicated by My servant Joseph Smith…in Jackson County, state of Missouri.”  They were specifically told to: “be ready against the appointed time which I have set and prepared for you, that you may return in the year AD 1867, which time the Lord, by your prayers and faithfulness in all things, will open and prepare a way before you that you may begin to gather at that time.”¹⁰ Thus, the time was set for a gathering of these people in 1867 to return and reclaim the center place of Zion or, more specifically, the temple lot—thus fulfilling the revelation given to Joseph Smith in July 1831.”

The Hedrickite group returned to Missouri and purchased the actual spot where Joseph Smith said the temple (or temples—actually there were supposed to be 24—12 Aaronic and 12 Melchizedek temples) was supposed to stand.  Addams details a few of the legal battles between the Hedrickite group and the RLDS church for ownership of the land.  The RLDS felt they were the rightful heirs of the temple lot, and originally won a court battle, but on appeal, the Hedrickite group won the court case.  The case nearly bankrupted the Hedrickites.  At the time of the court battle, Addams says the official membership in 1896 for the Hedrickites was 55; the RLDS church had 25,368 members.  Jason R Smith in the next chapter of “Scattering of the Hedrickites” notes on page 229 that

“the LDS church decided to throw its weight behind the Church of Christ in order to weaken the RLDS church’s case.  A number of prominent LDS members testified in the suit, including LDS presidents Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow, and three women who claimed to have been sealed to Joseph Smith in marriage.”²⁶

I want to turn to another story involving the Hedrickites and angelic visitations.  There have been several attempts of reconciliation between the Hedrickites and RLDS church.  In the 1920’s, the two churches signed (from page 219)

Agreements of Working Harmony, a new level of cooperation and compatibility…One of the points agreed to in the articles provided for the transfer of membership records between the organizations.  Specifically, Article 7 states ”Agreed that we believe that there are individuals in the difference factions who hold the priesthood,” while Article 24 reads: “therefore, be it mutually agreed, that each recognize the standing of the other as representing Christ, the Master, and the priesthood of each as legally binding before God, when done in accordance with the law.”⁶³ As a direct result of this article of agreement and the onset of approximately 3,000 individuals transferred from the RLDS church to the Church of Christ during the 1920’s.

Jason R. Smith said on page 231, (quotations below have been rearranged)

This rapid influx of new members had a tremendous impact on the Church of Christ.  Until this time, the Church of Christ had been a small organization consisting of only a handful of families.  The crisis and the resulting surge it gave to the Church of Christ also allowed it to finally stand more on its own.

…

The Church of Christ made several changes in response to the new policies of the RLDS church.  At their October 1925 conference, it was decided to abolish the office of presiding elder and to organize the church under the direction of the apostles.  To this end, a committee of five men was established to lead the church until such time as it became evident who would serve in the new capacity.  The question was answered with a revelation at the church’s next April conference calling seven men to serve as apostles in the new quorum.  Seven apostles were selected at that conference:  Daniel McGregor, Hiram E. Moler, Samuel Wood, Clarence L. Wheaton, Frank F. Wipper, Otto Fetting, and Norris Headding.  With the exception of Wheaton, all were transferees from the RLDS church.  Within the next two years, six more former RLDS members were selected as apostles in the Church of Christ.⁴⁰

…

Otto Fetting, one of the former RLDS members ordained in the initial Council of Twelve Apostles, would exert an influence on the Church of Christ—one that can still be felt today.  As apostle, Fetting wrote and preached on the need to build up Zion, both spiritually and physically.  He also made this topic a matter of intense personal study and contemplation.⁴² According to Fetting, a wonderful event happened to him on 4 February 1927.  As he described the event:

A messenger appeared to me February 4, 1927, at my home, 801 Tenth Street, Port Huron, Michigan, at 5:20 a.m.  I got up at 5 a.m., fixed the furnace, washed and sat down in an easy rocker to wait for the fire to start up good so I could shut off the furnace.  I had turned off the light but the street light shining through the front door made it somewhat light in the room.  I was not thinking about the church at all at the time, but was about to doze a little when all at once someone gave me a slap on my shoulder.  He slapped me real hard and I looked up and saw the form of a man standing just a little way from me in the light of the door.  He was about six feet three inches, very fine built and about thirty or thirty-five years of age.  His hair was down to his coat collar.  He had a beard.  His voice was soft and his looks mild but much in earnest.⁴³

The Messenger gave Fetting several instructions to deliver to the membership, most notably that “the revelation that was given for the building of the temple was true and the temple soon will be started.”⁴⁴ Exactly one month later, the Messenger visited Fetting again, this time revealing his true identity as the resurrected John the Baptist.  Just as John had come in the spring of 1829 to bestow the Aaronic priesthood on Joseph Smith, he had now come to direct the Church of Christ through Fetting.

At first it appears that the Church of Christ enthusiastically accepted these visitations as genuine.  There was even a ground breaking ceremony (Smith shows a photo with Fetting preaching and a shovel preparing to break ground for the temple on 1929), but over time the Church of Christ distanced itself from Fetting.  The Twelfth message proved to be particularly divisive because (from page 235)

Fetting and Gates interpreted this instruction to mean that all of those who had transferred to the Church of Christ—which they themselves had done—must be re-baptized in order to please God.  Many church members, including a majority of the apostles, found this innovation unacceptable.

Smith says that following the October 1929 conference,

Fetting left the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and began holding his own meetings.  About 1,400 people—roughly one-third of the membership—left with him to establish another group, which was also called the Church of Christ.⁶⁰ Before his death in 1933, Otto Fetting received another fifteen messages from the Messenger.  The church he started has since splintered into many other groups which, all of which believe in the mission of the Messenger and that they are a faithful remnant of the church on the temple lot.

Paul Savage, Apostle for Church of Christ with the Elijah Message

At the MHA conference in May, I became acquainted with Apostle Paul Savage of the Church of Christ, one of these splintered groups.  Paul gave me some official church literature, and I note that they claim to be “The church with the Elijah Message”, or perhaps more accurately, “The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message.  Paul disputes some of the “official” history in Hamer’s book, so I sent him an email asking for corrections.  I have invited him to participate here.

He gave me a copy of the “Brief Historical Background of the Church of Christ ‘with the Elijah Message’.”  Quoting from the pamphlet,

The Church of Christ of Independence, Missouri derives its authority, and its existence, not alone from the visits of the Angel, John the Baptist, for it is a remnant of the church organized on April 6, 1830, at Fayette, N.Y., by Joseph Smith and his fellow workers in the great Restoration movement.  Therefore it is not a faction as are other restoration groups.  The angel, the Elias, the resurrected John the Baptist, in the regeneration process conferred a great authority by the touch of his hands upon our late brother Otto Fetting when he established the church anew in 1929.

…

The causes leading to the disruption of the church in 1844 were many.  When the church was organized in 1830, it was called The Church of Christ; and the Twelve Apostles were the highest officers provided for in the law.  But in 1832 a Quorum of First Presidency began to be formed, and by 1834 the Revelation which provided for Apostles first, were changed to admit a Presidency and other officers.

In this year also the name of the Church of Christ was dropped and a new name the “Church of the Latter Day Saints” adopted and in 1838 the name of the Church was again changed to: the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.”

The Revelation as originally given had been published in 1833 in the “Book of Commandments,” but in 1835 they were published in their changed form as the “Doctrine and Covenants.”  The corrupted Revelations wrought much evil in the church, confusing the minds of the people, and were largely responsible for the disruption that followed the death of Joseph Smith.

At the breaking up of the church, Brigham Young led the largest faction to Utah.  William B. Smith and J.J. Strang led a faction also.  Later Z.H. Gurley left Strang, and Jason W. Briggs left William B. Smith.  These two united and were the chief promoters in forming another organization in 1852 which they named the “New Organization.”  To this body Joseph Smith, the son of the slain prophet, came in 1860 and became its President, and its name was changed to the “Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.”  In 1925, this faction voted to give its President supreme directional control over the church, with the power of discipline.  This continues to cause much dissatisfaction…and many transferred their membership from that organization to the “Remnant” on the Temple Lot who were holding to the original name of the church and were seeking the old, old paths.  The Lord spoke to them that the time had come for the church to go forward and to choose out the new apostles, that the Lord would send his angels to direct.  Seven men were chosen to occupy; one of these men was Otto Fetting.

At the 1927 spring Conference, Brother Fetting announced that a heavenly Messenger had appeared to him twice and he read the two messages to the people and there was great rejoicing.  The Remnant has continued with the Message believers from that time onward.

W.A. Draves

After the Messenger who said that he was John the Baptist, the Elias that was for to come and restore all things, had brought Thirty (30) Messages Brother Fetting passed from this life.  Four (4) years later, the Messenger came again to continue his unfinished mission.  This time he came to a young Elder W. A. Draves.  To date, of this reprint, there are Ninety-Six Messages full of inspiration, instruction, warnings, and prophecy.  The Remnant continues with the Message believers.  His sheep know the Shepherd’s voice and there is safety in the Word of the Lord.  The Call goes out to all:  “Whomsoever will may come and partake of the water of life freely.”

The Church of Christ is not a faction, but a Remnant of the church of 1830, bearing the same name teaching the same doctrine, believing the same truths, practicing the same virtues, and enjoying the same Spirit and a new touch of the Angel’s hands—and his continued visits bring peace and directions from the Lord to prepare us for Christ’s soon coming.

In 1994, W. A. Draves passed away, and the church broke up into 4 smaller groups.  Paul gave me a copy of these Messages, and there are 120 Messages received between Draves and Fetting.  Jason R. Smith details on page 240 that some of Draves sons split with each other.  Leonard formed

the Church of Christ with Elijah Message, Inc.⁸⁴ Leonard’s group was not immune from dissension as he and other church officers were “removed from ministry and membership in [a] special called apostles’ meeting.” In July 2003⁸⁵ this action was upheld by a judge and Leonard formed the Church of Christ with Elijah Message, the Assured Way of the Lord, Inc. on February 2004.

Another young elder, Jared Smith, reported that he had begun receiving messages from John the Baptist in 1997.  He does not appear to have organized a following, but he has posted at least 10 of his messages on the Internet.  His claim is slightly different than Fetting and Draves, however, as he states he receives the messages by revelation rather than in face-to-face encounters with the angel.⁸⁷

When I met Paul this summer at the MHA conference, he said that there are some inaccuracies reported in the book.  I asked him to respond about these inaccuracies.  His main issue was that he did not believe that Jared Smith was credible.  Savage feels Jared Smith’s revelations are extremely suspect, and he hopes that nobody takes Smith’s revelations seriously.

John the Baptist

I have always found these visits by John the Baptist especially interesting.  First of all, Jesus said that “there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.”  Wikipedia has some information about a group called the Mandeans of Iran and Iraq.  They claim to have been founded by John the Baptist, and trace their roots to his life.  They also claim that Jesus is a false prophet.  Certainly there are some very interesting facts concerning this man that the Bible touches on so briefly.

So, what do you make of all these angelic visitations?  Why do you think Mormons are so quick to accept Joseph Smith’s visions, while discounting all of these others?

Each chapter in Scattering of the Saints is written by a different Mormon historian.  Just to give you a flavor of the book, I thought I would highlight the introduction today.  I’ll be highlighting a few of the essays from the book over the coming weeks.  In the introduction, Hamer and Bringhurst highlight a few of the lesser known schisms and unorthodox members as early as 1830, such as,  (all of these quote come from the introduction–the formatting is changed significantly, and quotes aren’t in the same order as the book.)

Black Pete—an African American convert—was active among Smith’s Kirtland followers as ‘a self-styled revelator’ or ‘chief man’ and ‘sometimes seized with strange vagaries and odd conceits.’

Laura Hubble, ‘professed to be a prophetess of the Lord’

Wycam Clark who formed his own Pure Church of Christ

the self-proclaimed prophet John Noah

Four years later, James Colin Brewster, a precocious ten-year-old child claimed direct communication with the Angel Moroni and proceeded to write his own works of scripture—all of which led to his disfellowship and ultimate excommunication.⁵

A more serious threat came in 1837 with the formation of the Church of Christ by Warren Parrish…Parrish brought into his organization a number of important dissidents, including three original members of Smith’s Council of the Twelve—specifically, brothers Luke S. and Lyman Johnson, along with John F. Boynton.

[George H. Hinkle], rejected Smith’s leadership, forming his own group “The Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife”—an organization that continued in existence over the next several years.⁸

A second group fromed as a direct result of the Missouri Mormon War was the Alston Church, formed by Isaac Russell, and English convert.  Russell sought support from dissident Mormons who desired to remain in Missouri contrary to Joseph Smith’s directive to leave the state and settle in Illinois.⁹

In March 1842, Olive H. Olney was disfellowshipped on charge of setting myself up “as a prophet. ”

Also in 1842, Francis Gladden Bishop asserted his own claims as a prophet

Two years later….William Law was joined by his brother, Wilson, along with [a group of others] set uo a rival church organization, the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and began publication of their own newspaper, The Nauvoo Expositor.

The pace of schism and fragmentation accelerated in the wake of Joseph Smith’s death…Other important Mormons asserting alternate claims to Latter Day Saint leadership

• Sidney Rigdon—last living member of the church’s First Presidency;
• Lyman Wight—a member of the Council of the Twelve;
• Alpheus Cutler—a close confidant to Smith and member of the secret Council of Fifty;
• William McLellin—a former member of the Twelve;
• Charles Blancher Thompson—an articulate early church pamphleteer;
• and James Strang—a gifted charismatic leader who claimed prophetic powers not unlike those asserted by Joseph Smith himself.¹⁴
• The period of exceptional fragmentation drew to a close in 1860 with the formation of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) under the leadership of Joseph Smith III.
• The Church of Jesus Christ, was organized in 1862 by William Bickerton—a former leader in the defunct Church of Christ that Sidney Rigdon had organized in 1844.  At present, the Church of Jesus Christ, with headquarters in Monongahela, Pennsylvania is generally recognized as the third largest Mormon group.
• A second denomination, now known as the church of Christ (Temple Lot), was organized in 1863 under the leadership of Granville Hedrick.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints or Church of the Firstborn was organized by Joseph Morris in 1861.
• The Church of Zion, was formed in 1868, by a group of dissident Mormon intellectuals under the leadership of William S. Godbe, Elias L.T. Harrison and former LDS apostle Amason Mason Lyman.  These “Godbeites” (as they become known) proclaimed “spiritual manifestations and revelations” in opposition to certain policies in the LDS church, which they felt resulted from a lack of checks on Brigham Young’s power and authority.²¹
• Fundamentalist Mormonism developed in direct opposition to official LDS efforts to phase out plural marriage commencing with the Manifesto of 1890.²²

Michael Quinn has calculated eight options or “legitimate methods of Mormon presidential succession” that emerged during this fragmentation period.¹⁵ As a result, “no fewer than fifteen important groups emerged” following Joseph Smith’s death.¹⁶

I quoted considerably from the introduction, and subsequent chapters deal with schisms within these groups already mentioned.  I found chapters on the Bickertonites, Strangites, and Fundamentalists especially interesting, and plan to highlight some more about them in future weeks.  I’ve discovered a number of break offs from the RLDS church as well, and there needs to be a term about “fundamentalist RLDS” groups that is distinct from Fundamentalist Mormons.  Did you have any idea there were so many groups?

The discovery of the relationship by Emma probably dates to the summer or fall of 1835.  Bradley recounted several people who have tried to pin down the date, and noted problems with each date.  Some authors have discussed an “embarrassing” incident of polygamy in August 1835.   Joseph left for Pontiac, Michigan possibly to avoid embarrassment for his role.  On Oct 14, 1835, Joseph describes “dealing with household issues”, possibly a reference to evict Fanny.  However, Mark Ashurst-Mcgee suggests this incident refers not to Fanny, but a problem with employees at the printing office.

Fanny left Kirtland in August or Sept 1836, so the incident must have occurred prior to that.  Bradley notes that dissenters condemned Joseph on July 24, and Joseph left for Salem, Massachusetts for a treasure trip the next day on July 25.  Bradley believes Joseph sent Fanny to Missouri at the same time.  William McLellin gave his famous quote about having “no confidence” in church leadership around this time as well.  Fanny soon married non-member Solomon Custer after just a 6 week courtship.  Bradley believes it may have been a cover of legitimacy if Fanny was indeed pregnant.

Following Bridget Jack Meyer’s wonderful presentation on Women priesthood holders in early Christianity earlier in the week, I thought Joshua Gillon’s presentation called “Mormon Women Had the Priesthood in 1843: Examining the Claims” might be interesting.  I was greatly disappointed.  Josh is a PhD candidate of philosophy at Princeton, having completed a BA at BYU.  His talk was nothing more than a rant against the church.  He mis-characterized Michael Quinn’s discussion of women and the priesthood.  He employed tedious grammar exercises to make his points, and finished off with an F-bomb to end his presentation.  It was definitely the worst presentation I have ever heard at Sunstone, though there was another terrible one later in the day.

I wasn’t very excited to go the the panel called “Glenn Beck: Likely Mormon or Unlikely Mormon”, but there wasn’t anything else that sounded interesting at that time.  As I reviewed the list of panelists, I was looking forward to hearing Joanna Brooks of Mormon Matters, and David King Landrith of Mormon Mentality.  (I had met him earlier in the week.) Kathryn Hemingway, Eric Samuelson, and Robert Rees weren’t nearly so interesting as Joanna and David, though they all made good points.  Rees was the moderator and not a fan of Beck.  Landrith and Hemingway were supporters of Beck, while Brooks and Samuelson were not.

I really enjoyed Landrith’s presentation.  Landrith showed that Beck’s rhetoric is very similar to political discourse over the past 200 years.  Early founding fathers often compared each other to monarchists, and spoke about each other more harshly than Beck does of his opponents.  I thought it was an interesting presentation.  Brooks really wasn’t that antagonistic toward Beck.  She basically said we should ignore Beck because his ratings are going down and he knows it.  There is no need to feed into the frenzy–Beck will go away on his own.

Following lunch, I attended a fantastic presentation by Apostle Susan Skoor of the Community of Christ.  She discussed her personal faith journey, showing how she has moved among Fowler’s stages of faith.  Her talk was titled “Faith in the Midst of the Difficulties of Life.”  Baptized at age 8 into the RLDS church, she discussed losing her testimony in her 30s, nearly falling into atheism.  Receiving a blessing, and asked “Do you want to believe?”, as Alma says, she let this desire work in her.  She discussed her new found faith as a stage 5 person, and said she knew she was too selfish to reach stage 6.  As I listened to her story, I marveled at how open she was about her life’s journey.  I don’t think an LDS apostle would admit to losing faith as she did, and I don’t think an LDS apostle would discuss spirituality in such as “secular” way as she discussed Fowlers Faith Stage theory.  I was truly moved.

Clair Barrus discussed “Oliver Cowdery’s Rod of Nature.”  It was a bit too technical for me, but I know others enjoyed it.  Finally, I listened to a panel discuss “Men and the Priesthood: Taking on the Feminine.”  Tom Kimball discussed being an unorthodox Mormon.  His previous bishop did not want to let him baptize or ordain his children.  As the bishop got to know Tom better, he decided to allow it.  Tom has previously discussed his story on Mormon Stories.  Tom’s new bishop has taken a more hard line approach, and Tom’s boys have not progressed in the priesthood.  Tom compared his situation to the idea that women can’t ordain daughters in the LDS church as well.

Robin Linkart, President of the 6th Quorum of Seventy for the Community of Christ spoke next.  She gave an excellent presentation and discussed the new revelation in 1984 allowing women to hold the priesthood.  Many in the RLDS church broke off (they lost nearly 1/4 of their membership.)  She discussed the challenges the RLDS church went through, and her personal journey in the priesthood.  It was excellent.

Holly Welker spoke next.  She gave a rant that the priesthood should be abolished in the LDS church.  During Tom’s, Lisa’s, and the Q&A session, she made faces of disbelief and disagreement.  Honestly I believe a 5th grader would have better behavior than she exhibited.  She was incredibly rude and unprofessional.  Her behavior was embarrassing.

Lisa Butterworth finished up the panel.  She started the blog at FeministMormonHousewives.  Being a feminist and an unorthodox Mormon, she was asked to speak in support of the idea of an all-male priesthood.  She did the best she could, but it was evident that she didn’t fully support the topic she was asked to address.

Overall, I enjoyed most of the sessions.  If you missed my first post on Sunstone, click here.  I’m not sure why I attended so many feminist presentations, but I guess they sounded the most interesting.  So what is your take on women and the priesthood?  Do you see it happening in the LDS church in the next 20-50 years?  Would you support or oppose such a move if the prophet received a revelation allowing women to hold the priesthood?

Apostle Paul Savage of the Church of Christ with Elijah Message

Sunstone has been going on since Wednesday here in Salt Lake City.  It ends tomorrow, and I thought I would give a few words about the conference.  I have been blogging at Mormon Matters for about a year and a half, and have never met any other bloggers here….until this week!  It has been nice to nice BiV and Stephen Marsh.  I hope to meet others tomorrow.  It was also nice to meet with a few apostles.

I met Paul Savage at the MHA convention in May.  Today at Sunstone he gave a presentation titled “Why Elijah (or John the Baptist) must come before Christ’s Return.  I wasn’t able to attend his presentation, but spoke with him for a few minutes.  I learned he is one of 6 apostles for his church, based in Independence, Missouri.  Their church believes apostles are the highest office in the church, and they believe that many people can be prophets.  He noted that the Ephesians 4:11 lists apostles before prophets, so apostles should be the top of the hierarchy.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

It was fun talking to him.  I’ve been reading Scattering of the Saints by John Hamer and Newell Bringhurst, and plan to talk more about Paul’s church in the future.  I also enjoyed meeting with Apostle Susan Skoor of the Community of Christ, formerly known as the RLDS church.  (I already have a photo of her on my previous post–click here.)  She is always extremely friendly, and a treat to meet.

CoC President Robin Linkart of the 6th Quorum of Seventy

She introduced me to Robin Linkart, the President of the 6th Quorum of Seventy.  She lives in Colorado, and is in charge of missionary efforts in the western United States from the Canadian border to Mexico.  (Sorry the photos are out of focus–I guess my $40 camera is only worth what I paid for it.)

Mark Scherer, is the historian for the Community of Christ.  He gave an interesting presentation on the latest revelation to be canonized in the Community of Christ, section 164 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  He said the revelation covers 4 main topics:  (1) open communion, (2) open baptism (don’t have to be rebaptized to join the RLDS church anymore), (3) moral and ethical behavior (allows countries to decide if they want to allow same sex marriage), and (4) the RLDS strives to collaborate more with evangelical Christians.

CoC Historian Mark Scherer

Bridget Jack Meyers, (aka “Jack”–she blogs at Clobberblog), gave a fascinating presentation called “Evidence for Women’s Priesthood in the Earliest Christianity.  She is a “never Mormon” that earned a BA degree from BYU and “seduced” (her words) a Mormon man there.  She is studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  She outlined various scriptures showing early women Christian leaders, including a woman by the name of Junia in Romans 16:7.  Jack says Junia was a female apostle, and quoted early Christian theologian John Chrysostum discussing her.  Early Christian theologian Origen discussed a female leader by the name of Phoebe.  Jack gave many other examples, and it certainly deserves a blog post or two to discuss her research.

Yesterday, I was able to attend Stephen Marsh‘s session called “How an Unpleasant Truth Can Be More Inspirational than a Pleasant Fiction.”  I learned that the session was based on his post from October, titled The Stories We Tell.  Briefly, Stephen told the true story about his daughter standing up for a disabled classmate.  Often stories such as this end with a happy ending where everyone realizes that they shouldn’t tease a disabled person, but in Stephen’s story, his daughter becomes ostracized.  Often, we don’t have happy endings, and sometimes it is hard to understand why God doesn’t bless us for doing the right thing.  I also learned that Stephen has 5 daughters, but 3 of them have died, despite his prayers to have them live.  It was an interesting presentation.  Often we learn more from our trials than our triumphs.

I’m excited to attend tomorrow.  If you’re in SLC, I encourage you to attend.  It’s at the Sheraton Hotel on 150 West 500 South.  If you attended, what sessions did you enjoy?  Do you have any questions about the sessions I attended?

CoC Independence Temple at Sunset

All trip long, I have been looking forward to attending the Community of Christ Devotional at the Independence Temple.  The meeting began at 8:30 AM, and was a wonderful hour of singing and spoken word.  Professor Alex Baugh of BYU, and Apostle Susan Skoor of the Community of Christ

CoC Apostle Susan Skoor

gave background on many hymns written or revised by WW Phelps.  It was a truly inspiring meeting.  I haven’t enjoyed singing that much since I was in the MTC!

Following the service, I went on a tour of the temple.  We visited the meditation chapel, as saw many beautiful sculptures inside the temple.  Unlike LDS temples, we were able to take photos everywhere except for the museum.  I was lucky enough to be led on a personal tour by Ron Romig, Director of the Kirtland Temple (Community of Christ.)

CoC Kirtland Temple Director Ron Romig

Displayed in the museum were actual copies of 1830, 1837, and 1840 copies of the Book of Mormon, along with facsimiles of the printer’s manuscript.  The famous oil painting of Joseph and Emma were also there, along with photos of the previous 6 or 7 prophet/presidents of the Community of Christ.  It was truly fascinating.

Following the tour, I wanted to visit some of the other Restoration churches.  There are quite a few Restoration churches in the vicinity.  When Joseph designed the city of Independence, he had allocated 63 acres for 24 temples to be erected on 3 city blocks.  The original plan called for 12 temples for the Melchizedek Priesthood, and 12 temples for the Aaronic Priesthood.  These temples apparently were supposed to serve a more administrative role than for worship.  As you can imagine, many followers of Joseph Smith, both inside and outside the LDS and RLDS churches have clamored for this land.

Temple Lot Church Building

A group calling itself the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) actually owns the location for the spot where Joseph Smith said a temple should reside, and they have a church on that location now.  The RLDS owns a portion o fthe temple lot, where the Independence Temple resides, and the LDS church owns a visitor’s center and a stake center on part of the temple lot.

I really would like to attend some of these other Restorationist branches, so it was difficult for me to choose where to go.  I attended part of the service for the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), also known as the Hedrickites.  The group was founded by a man by the name of Granville Hedrick.  There is an article in the Journal of Mormon History outlining many legal battles between the Hedrickites and the RLDS church, with the Hedrickites prevailing.  I attended about 20 minutes of the service.  During the service, a baby was blessed, and I heard references to both the Bible and Book of Mormon.  I was late for the service, but I did not see a sacrament table, so I’m not sure if that was part of the service.

Stone Church

Wanting to visit a few other churches, I attended the Stone Church—the oldest church in Independence. The RLDS church began construction in 1873 and it was dedicated in 1888.  I arrived just in time for the last song and prayer.  The church had a balcony, similar to the Salt Lake Tabernacle.  The congregation stood during the last song, and I was so tall that I had to duck into the aisle to see the organist.  There were old wooden benches there, but they had cushions.

You can see the balcony and benches

I asked if I could take photos, and they said I could.  There were 3 beautiful stained glass windows: one showing Moroni, Joseph Smith, and

Moroni with Gold Plates and Book of Mormon

the Golden Plates, another showing Moses, Jesus, and the resurrection, and a third symbolizing the Trinity.  The people were extremely friendly, and it was nice to have one of the members take me on a mini-tour.

view of Pipe Organ and podium in Stone Church

Following that service, I noticed another Community of Christ church a short distance away.  I was surprised to learn that they had a Jazz band playing.  I recorded a few minutes of their last song!  (I tried to post it, but the file is too big–I’ll try to condense it somehow.)  They mentioned that the neighborhood was full of drugs and gangs, and they were tyring to help citizens in the area avoid these problems.  They invited me back next week for a baby blessing, but I told them I had a plane to catch.

They have a Jazz band for church services

A friend told me that I really needed to attend the Cutlerite Church.  It was founded in 1853 by Alphaeus Cutler, who I believe is mentioned in the D&C.  On my way there, I mistakenly thought this was a Cutlerite church.

Not sure of origins, but I'm pretty sure it is Mormon--I may call the number to find out

I knocked on the door, but nobody answered.

Bigger view of this "Restored" church

Just a few houses down was the real Cutlerite church.  My friend told me that the Cutlerites are the only group that still maintains an Endowment Ceremony, and it is conducted in the upstairs portion of this church.

founded by Alphaeus Cutler 1853

Apparently they only have about 10-15 people meet on a weekly basis.  The MHA pre-conference tour flooded them with about 50 interested participants.

Cutlerite Chapel

Unfortunately, I arrived too late: the doors were locked.  Here are a few photos, and I stuck my camera up to the door to peer into the chapel.

Cutlerite Chapel

As I looked at my map, I decided to try to find Lilburn W Boggs house.  Unfortunately, I never found it, but I did find another interesting church: the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  They meet across the street from the Independence Temple in a converted high school (formerly Crisman High School.)  I walked around the building, and discovered a man.  Apparently, they hold luncheons for the needy and homeless.  Their freezer had broken, so he was loading food into his van.  I asked him if I might be able to tour the building, and he reluctantly agreed.  His name is Arlo Stevenson.

Arlo Stevenson of the House of Aaron

I learned that he is not a member of the Remnant Church, but his church has partnered with them to help out the needy.  The Remnant Church is a break-off from the RLDS church.  Arlo is a former member of the RLDS church, but has joined the House of Aaron, and I learned that this church has a branch about 50 miles west of Delta, Utah on the Utah/Nevada border.  Arlo showed me the Remnant Church offices, and then I learned that the Remnant Church has rented a room for the House of Aaron to hold meetings.  I purchased a “Sunday School” manual, and I hope to do a future post on the House of Aaron.

I also ran into some interesting people.  I had a nice chat on Saturday night with Paul Savage, Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Elijah message.  He is from Independence as well, and has a small congregation.  I had recently purchased Scattering of the Saints by John Hamerand Newell Bringhurst, and he pointed to the cover to his name.  I said, “Wow, I thought these were all dead people.”

“I’m not dead!” he exclaimed.  He was a really interesting person.  We didn’t have much time to chat, but I got his email address and hope to discuss this group further as I learn more.

I also took my picture with 2 apostles from the Community of Christ:  Andrew Bolton and Susan Skoor.  Here is Elder Marlin Jensen, Historian for the LDS church.  I was pleased to meet many authors including John Hamer, Newell Bringhurst, Kathy Daines, Rick Turley (asst LDS Church Historian), and Greg Prince.  It was a real blast—I remarked to some that Independence felt a bit like Mormon Disneyland to me.

She pointed out John Hamer to me.  John was part of the evening plenary session last night; he gave a fascinating presentation called “Latter-Day Saint Churches and the New Jerusalem in Missouri.”  I spoke with John after his presentation, and thanked him for participating on my blog here with the Interview with the Community of Christ.  He said that he blogs over at By Common Consent, and said he has had a request to comment on differences between LDS and RLDS.  He said that Mormon Heretic has already compiled a wonderful interview, and encouraged others to review that.  It was a pretty cool compliment.

I also spoke to Community of Christ prophet/president Stephen Veazey.  He discussed the recent revelation.  I told him I really admired the Community of Christ’s push to encourage a “prophetic people”, and I liked how the members contributed to the canonization of the recent section 164 of their version of the D&C.  I am really looking forward to attending the devotional on Sunday at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence.  I even asked him if he knew FireTag, and he said he did!  I am amazed at how intimate the membership seems to be in the CoC.

Jon Taylor gave an interesting presentation on the Harry Truman neighborhood, and the religious churches of the area.  The CoC and Baptist churches have received exemptions to tear down and expand in the neighborhood that was originally designated a historic district.  There have been some hard feelings by residents of the area that these 2 churches received exemptions.

I told Kathy Daines that I really enjoyed her book, More Wives than One.  Apparently she is working with Sarah Gordon on a new book that I am sure will be interesting.  I also have received a press release from Signature Books, but I promised not to say anything about it until tomorrow, so you’ll have to see my breaking news!  It’s been a fun conference so far, but I’m still suffering from lack of sleep due to my early morning flight yesterday.

This morning, I ate breakfast with Adam Jortner, a professor from Auburn University.  He is presenting “Families in Ancient America: Or, What the Spaulding Story Really Tells Us.”  I learned he is not a Mormon, but really has studied the Spaulding Theory; I told him Dale Broadhurst stopped by my blog when I discussed it earlier.  He told me he appreciated that Mormons don’t whitewash their history, like many other churches (such as Baptists) do.  I was surprised, because so many on the bloggernacle claim the opposite.

Roger took issue Brodie’s characterization that Spaulding’s manuscript was “devoid of religious material”, and made several references to religious writings in this comment.  So, if Roger is right, it seems there should be quite a few religious similarities between this Spaulding manuscript, and the Book of Mormon, right?

As the theory goes, Joseph wasn’t smart enough to write the Book of Mormon by himself.  Sidney Rigdon must have stolen a copy of Spaulding’s manuscript, secreted it away to Joseph Smith somehow, and then Sidney pretended to convert in Dec 1830.  According to the theory, both Rigdon and Spaulding lived in Pittsburgh, PA, so Sidney must have come across the manuscript at a printer’s office.

Spaulding’s manuscript was discovered by Doctor Hurlburt (Doctor is his first name–he is not a “real” doctor) in the home of Spaulding’s widow, Matilda Davison, who gave the manuscript to Hurlburt.  Spaulding died on Oct 20, 1816, so this document was written well before Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1820.  While there are some very general similarities, according to Brodie on page 144 of her book No Man Knows My History,

Now to his bitter chagrin he found that the long chase had been vain; for while the romance did concern the ancestors of the Indians, its resemblance to the Book of Mormon ended there.  None of the names found in one could be identified in the other;  the many battles which each described showed not the slightest similarity with those of the other, and Spaulding’s prose style, which aped the eighteenth-century British sentimental novelists, differed from the style of the Mormon Bible as much as Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded different from the New Testament.

LL Rice purchased the assets of the Painesville Telegraph in 1839-40.  In 1885 or so, he looked through the assets and discovered Spaulding’s Manuscript.  The manuscript was donated to Oberlin College after being discovered in Hawaii.  You may view the manuscript here.  Due to the obvious differences between the manuscript and the Book of Mormon, proponents of the theory have postulated that Spaulding must have another manuscript which is similar to the Book of Mormon.  Proponents think that perhaps Smith and Rigdon burned the manuscript after completing the Book of Mormon.

So, after hearing Roger talk about how much religion was in the book, I decided that I must read it.  I plan to review the introduction today, and in some future posts, I’ll outline the book, and offer my commentary on it.

Pages 3-11 tell how the document came into the hands of Oberlin College, and has letters to Joseph Smith III (Joseph’s son), who was ordained prophet of the RLDS church on April 6, 1860.  Apparently the RLDS church published the manuscript sometime around 1885.  Some interesting quotes from these pages start on page 5-6.  The document was discovered in Hawaii by Rice who was a friend Fairchild, president of Oberlin College in Ohio.  Many people wanted to claim the manuscript, but they felt it best to offer it to Joseph III, since he is the son of Joseph Smith.  I have underlined some points I find interesting.  Let me quote from pages 5-6,

“There seems to be no reason to doubt that this is the long-lost story.  Mr. Rice, myself, and others, compared it with the Book of Mormon, and could detect no resemblence between the two, in general or in detail.  There seems to be no name or incident common to the two.  The solemn style of the Book of Mormon, in imitation of the English Scriptures, does not appear in the manuscript.  The only resemblance is in the fact that both profess to set forth the history of the lost tribes.  Some other explanation of the origin of the Book of Mormon must be found, if any explanation is required.”

Signed, James H. Fairchild.

From page 7 is another interesting difference between the Book of Mormon and this Oberlin College Manuscript.  This is the second half of a letter written March 28, 1885 from LL Rice to Mr. Joseph Smith III.  Rice bought the assets of the Painesville Telegraph in 1839-40.  President Fairchild of Oberlin College thought there might be some interesting slavery documents in the Telegraph assets.  While searching through the assets, Rice discovered Spaulding’s Manuscript titled, “Manuscript Found.”   Rice states that he unknowingly had the document for over 40 years.  Rice describes the manuscript on page 7.

This manuscript does not purport to be “a story of the Indians formerly occupying this continent;” but is a history of the wars between the Indians of Ohio and Kentucky, and their progress in civilization, etc.  It is certain that this manuscript is not the origin of the Mormon Bible, whatever some other manuscript may have been.  The only similarity between them, is, in the manner in which each purports to have been found–one in a cave on Conneaut Creek–the other in a hill in Ontario County, New York.  There is no identity of names, of persons, or places; and there is no similarity of style between them. As I told Mr. Deming, I should as soon think the Book of Revelations was written by the author of Don Quixote, as that the write of this Manuscript was the author of the Book of Mormon.  Deming says Spaulding made three copies of “Manuscript Found,” one of which Sidney Rigdon stole from a printing-office in Pittsburg.  You can probably tell better than I can, what ground there is for such an allegation.

As to this Manuscript, I can not see that it can be of any use to any body, except the Mormons, to show that IT is not the original of the Mormon Bible.  But that would not settle the claim that some other manuscript of Spaulding was the original of it.  I propose to hold it in my own hands for a while, to see if it can not be put to some good use.  Deming and Howe inform me that its existence is exciting great interest in that region.  I am under a tacit, but not a positive pledge to President Fairchild, to deposit it eventually in the Library of Oberlin College.  I shall be free from that pledge, when I see an opportunity to put it to a better use.

Yours, etc.,

L.L. Rice

P.S.–Upon reflection, since writing the foregoing, I am of the opinion that no one who reads this Manuscript will give credit that Solomon Spaulding was in any wise the author of the Book of Mormon.  It is unlikely that any one who wrote so elaborate a work as the Mormon Bible, would spend his time in getting up so shallow a story as this, which at best is but a feebile imitation of the other.  Finally I am more that half convinced that this is his only writing of the sort, and that any pretence that Spaulding was in any sense the author of the other, is a sheer fabrication.  It was easy for anybody who may have seen this, or heard anything of its contents, to get up the story that they were identical.

L.L.R.

Another letter is found on page 8 dated May 14, 1885, also addressed to Joseph Smith III.

My opinion is, from all I have seen and learned, that this is the only writing of Spaulding, and there is no foundation for the statement of Deming and others, that Spaulding made another story, more elaborate, of which several copies were written, one of which Rigdon stole from a printing-office in Pittsburg, etc.  Of course I can not be certain of this, as of the other two points.  One theory is, that Rigdon, or some one else, saw this manuscript, or heard it read, and from the hints it conveyed, got up the other and more elaborate writing on which the Book of Mormon was founded.  Take that for what it is worth.  It don’t seem to me very likely.

Finally, Rice says on page 10,

It devolves upon their opponents to show that there are or were other writings of Spalding–since it is evident that the writing is not the original of the Mormon Bible.

So, that’s the introduction.  In the coming days, I’ll post some excerpts from the book, and you can see how similar/different it is to the Book of Mormon.  What do you think of Rice and Fairchild’s descriptions so far?