I’ve often assumed there’s inherent tension between lived Mormonism and the marginal, intellectual offshoots that exist presumably either to bolster or critique the living tradition. Having recently returned from the Mormon Theology Seminar, I’m inclined to rethink this picture. It’s not that I became convinced one can successfully straddle the two worlds of faith and […]

The twentieth century was the century of Latter-day Saint history. The field of Mormon history transitioned from dueling polemics to a sophisticated scholarly conversation. Both Latter-day Saint and non-LDS historians came to appreciate and revel in the remarkable sources housed in archives in Salt Lake City and around the country. The institutions of modern Mormon […]

In June, I had the unique privilege of working with an inspiring group at this year’s Mormon Theology Seminar and came away with both a deeper knowledge of the Book of Mormon and a keener sense of just how singular Mormon theology really is. Our focus was Mosiah 4, a particularly formative influence on my […]

I recently attended a conference panel exploring interdisciplinary work. One of the participants talked about the difficulty of being invited as a humanist into the project of social science colleagues. As she highlighted the assumptions about similarities in method and approach her colleagues imposed on her, and mourned the lack of understanding of the gulf […]