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Believing History: Latter-Day Saint Essays
By describing his own struggle to find a basis for belief in a skeptical world, Bushman poses the question of how scholars are to write about subjects in which they are personally invested. Does personal commitment make objectivity impossible? Bushman explicitly, and at points The eminent historian Richard Bushman here reflects on his faith and the history of his religion. Bushman explicitly, and at points confessionally, explains his own commitments and then explores Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from the standpoint of belief. Joseph Smith cannot be dismissed as a colorful fraud, Bushman argues, nor seen only as a restorer of religious truth.
Entangled in nineteenth-century Yankee culture--including the skeptical Enlightenment--Smith was nevertheless an original who cut his own path.
Believing History: Latter-Day Saint Essays by Richard L. Bushman
And while there are multiple contexts from which to draw an understanding of Joseph Smith including magic, seekers, the Second Great Awakening, communitarianism, restorationism, and more , Bushman suggests that Smith stood at the cusp of modernity and presented the possibility of belief in a time of growing skepticism. When examined carefully, the Book of Mormon is found to have intricate subplots and peculiar cultural twists. Bushman discusses the book's ambivalence toward republican government, explores the culture of the Lamanites the enemies of the favored people , and traces the book's fascination with records, translation, and history.
How do we situate Mormonism in American history? Is Mormonism relevant in the modern world?
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Believing History offers many surprises. Believers will learn that Joseph Smith is more than an icon, and non-believers will find that Mormonism cannot be summed up with a simple label. But wherever readers stand on Bushman's arguments, he provides us with a provocative and open look at a believing historian studying his own faith. Paperback , pages. Published February 1st by Columbia University Press first published To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
To ask other readers questions about Believing History , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 10, Kristen rated it it was amazing. Just about finished with this one. I've thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays of Bushman-spanning It was published shortly before Rough Stone Rolling was released.
I'm putting here a PDF of perhaps my favorite of the essays. Although I could say so much good about each one of them. Of personal interest to me was Bushman's personal storyhow he lost his faith as a young college student and then gradually regained it. I was surprised that Just about finished with this one.
I was surprised that his primary questions so long ago, were the same as my ownwhich are: Is there really a God at all? Are we all just fooling ourselves? He concludes that questions outside of religion and science can help us detetmine how to find truth--namely, the question of how we should live a life. The modern pursuit of truth doesn't give us answers on how to live a life Like Bushman, I have not felt bothered by the frailties, weaknesses, and heartbreaking aspects of past or present Church figures or members or history my problem is with our tradition of the sanitization of it all but rather, I absolutely agree with Bushman that we need more people who can mourn the failings of the Saints out of honor for God, we need people who can acknowledge and explore the human side of us without "believing that the whole enterprise was strictly human.
View all 3 comments. Dec 06, Trevor rated it liked it Shelves: Given that the biography was published in , several of these essays illuminate the seeds of Bushman's thought that would germinate in his magnum opus. The essays are divided into three categories: Readers should be aware that the primary focus of these essays is not to help those struggling with the historical challenges of Mormonism. In other words, these essays were not written with the intent to help those struggling through a faith crisis over historical issues though that is not to say that they can't help in that regard.
If that is what you are looking for, essays from the first section, "Belief," will probably be of most interest to you. Essays in the latter two sections are more scholarly in their focus. Personally, I liked the essays from the first section the best particularly "The Social Dimensions of Rationality," which I think is the most insightful essay in the book , but that is not to say the latter two sections are not without their fair share of gems. In this respect, I think he greatly succeeds. My only criticism would be that his prose can be a bit dry and boring at times.
A list of all the essays included in this compilation: Oct 06, John rated it really liked it. This little book of essays by Richard L. Bushman deals with Church meaning the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issues that one is unlikely to find anywhere else. Those essays are found in the last two of the three parts of the book.
The first part deals with Bushman's personal relationship to and thoughts about the Church and is, in my opinion, the more valuable part of the book. There are many memorable quotes I could cite, but I will content myself with just this one from page 43 This little book of essays by Richard L. There are many memorable quotes I could cite, but I will content myself with just this one from page Faith and repentance are wrapped up together. The goodness that I see in Mormon lives, and day after day in my own life when I construct myself as the scriptures direct, is every bit as real as the abstractions of scientific scholarship.
I can, if I wish, cast an aura of rationality over this belief in an effort to explain and justify myself to my academic colleagues. Our valiant apologists will go on defending the faith with scholarly evidence, to keep up our connection with the academic establishment.
But I hold to my beliefs not because of the evidence or the arguments but because I find our Mormon truth good and yearn to install it at the center of my life. That is well and good, and I'm glad there are people who have that kind of knowledge, but to me the real power of the gospel brought to light through Joseph Smith in these latter days is the goodness it produces in us when we "install it at the center of [our lives].
Jun 28, Lon rated it liked it. Of the many essays of "faithful" Mormon historian Richard Bushman collected here, two favorites were "Learning to Believe" and "My Belief," the latter being a frank and personal autobiography of belief and doubt. He says the essay has been "surprisingly useful. Many people wrestle with unbelief while remaining true to the Church. They are happy to know their uncertainties do not disqualify them.
The essay offers hope that resol Of the many essays of "faithful" Mormon historian Richard Bushman collected here, two favorites were "Learning to Believe" and "My Belief," the latter being a frank and personal autobiography of belief and doubt. The essay offers hope that resolution can come in time. Faith has to overcome doubt not by censoring, but by strengthening itself. This means we cannot shield students from conflicting opinions. We have to trust young people to find belief just as their teachers have done. Sheltering students in college only weakens them for the blasts they will encounter after graduation.
My rating reflects that some of the essays were more academic in tone and subject, and didn't do much for me. Feb 22, Jenifer rated it it was ok. This was quite scholarly for me. I had to take notes. It wasn't super fun. From the preface; "The essays were written in constant awareness of the doubt at the heart of our intellectual culture.
As we learn and change and become better, we This was quite scholarly for me. As we learn and change and become better, we are able to interpret history in more enlightened ways. The facts are more like block that each historian piles up as he or she chooses, which is why written history is always assuming new shapes. How the two contradictory cultures cohabit at BYU is a miracle in itself. How the writers introduce themselves as record-keepers and meticulously account for the plates and records in their care.
From; Joseph Smith and Skepticism "The power of the church comes not from a single incontrovertible miraculous event, such as the parting of the sea or the raising of the dead, which compels all to believe, the power lies in thousands of wholly subjective experiences, however subject to flaws and distortions wherein God has been known by one person.
A great series of essays by a believer and historian, who attempts to explain why he believes in some essays, and then establishes cultural biography for Joseph Smith, and also analyzes different parts of church history and Book of Mormon topics. Bushman's afterward was very interesting and illustrative for me to read, as he attempts to balance his perspective to both the believing and non-believing audience.
The crux of the issue, he says in one essay, has been weather the revelations and claim A great series of essays by a believer and historian, who attempts to explain why he believes in some essays, and then establishes cultural biography for Joseph Smith, and also analyzes different parts of church history and Book of Mormon topics. The crux of the issue, he says in one essay, has been weather the revelations and claims are to be believed or not. He then goes on to indicate there might be a third route, but will that be sufficient for either party believers and non-believers.
Oct 02, Aaron rated it it was amazing Shelves: An excellent collection of essays on various historical topics in which Bushman describes how a believing historian remains faithful to his beliefs and to his profession at the same time. Feb 01, Tanya rated it liked it Shelves: I chose to read this because I look for inspiration from academics who have faced all the intellectual depreciation for religion out there and still have strong testimonies.
I was a bit disappointed that this book was more "history" than "believing," but I still benefited from reading it. My favorite essays by far were the biographical "My Belief," and "Learning to Believe. Others, such as "Was Joseph Smith a Gentleman? The Rhetoric of Revelation" reminded me why I decided to get out of academic history. I'll end with my favorite paragraph in the whole collection: But contrary to the prevailing opinion, our faith is not at war with scholarship. In my experience, quite the opposite is true. If you decide like me that you are a believer, that you worship God and want to enjoy his spirit, you will love learning.
Your mind will clear. You will absorb and understand. You will work hard and enthusiastically. You will grow in intelligence. You will enter into your rightful intellectual heritage as Latter-day Saints. Dec 01, Lisa-Michele rated it it was amazing. I bought this book at the Mormon History Association conference last month and devoured it. It is a series of essays by the award-winning historian from Columbia, Harvard, and Claremont who usually writes on 18th century America.
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The guy has credentials. Each essay is a peek into how he reconciles his d I bought this book at the Mormon History Association conference last month and devoured it. Each essay is a peek into how he reconciles his devout religious beliefs with the fundamentally skeptical academic world in which he thrives. For someone like me, who is always working on some internal reconciliation project, this peek was breathtaking. Hey, you had me at believing! Oct 03, Erica rated it really liked it.
The best were from Part I: When examined carefully, the Book of Mormon is found to have intricate subplots and peculiar cultural twists. Bushman discusses the book's ambivalence toward republican government, explores the culture of the Lamanites the enemies of the favored people , and traces the book's fascination with records, translation, and history. How do we situate Mormonism in American history? Is Mormonism relevant in the modern world? Believing History offers many surprises. Believers will learn that Joseph Smith is more than an icon, and non-believers will find that Mormonism cannot be summed up with a simple label.
But wherever readers stand on Bushman's arguments, he provides us with a provocative and open look at a believing historian studying his own faith. Neilson is assistant professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. Pressing the Boundaries of Christianity Robert L. Jed Woodworth is a Ph.