Papers by Richard Bennett
The American Historical Review, 2013
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel, 2017
BYU Studies Quarterly, 2009
This article, originally a lecture given at Brigham Young University in 2009, was published as pa... more This article, originally a lecture given at Brigham Young University in 2009, was published as part of a special issue of BYU Studies featuring Thomas L. Kane. Although Kane was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was an advocate for the Mormon cause and a trusted friend of Mormon leaders for almost forty years. Bennett shows how documents from the Kane collection at Brigham Young University enhance, correct, or confirm our knowledge of the following: first, the attitudes of President James K. Polk and his cabinet and others close to him toward the fleeing Latter-day Saints; second, the federal government's request for a five-hundred-man Mormon Battalion; BYU Studies Quarterly
Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture
This paper probes the theories of the origin of the American Indian up to the time of the transla... more This paper probes the theories of the origin of the American Indian up to the time of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. It covers some three hundred years of development, looking at many different theories, including the predominant theory of the lost tribes of Israel, which was in decline among most leading scientific observers in the early nineteenth century. The paper covers new ground in showing that Professor Samuel L. Mitchill, formerly of Columbia College, had concluded that two main groups of people once dominated the Americas-the Tartars of northern Asia and the Australasians of the Polynesian islands. Furthermore, they fought one another for many years, culminating in great battles of extermination in what later became upstate New York.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
BYU Studies Quarterly, 1984
Those focusing only on Nauvoo difficulties and deliberations for the Mormon exodus to "Zion" have... more Those focusing only on Nauvoo difficulties and deliberations for the Mormon exodus to "Zion" have overlooked the intense planning sessions at Winter Quarters on the west side of the Missouri River during the winter of 1846-47. Nauvoo was left in haste long before the final details of the westward march had solidified. Due to the weather, disorganization, lack of preparation, and recurring arguments over leadership, the Mormon vanguard took more than four months to cross Iowa, only to be again delayed by the call for the Mormon Battalion. With the inevitable decision to winter at the Missouri in the Council Bluffs region, Church leaders found the time to catch their collective breath and more thoroughly prepare for the mountain trek. This article details the plans, arguments, and decisions of that winter of 1846-47. At stake was far more than mere route plans; rather, basic questions of leadership and authority were being tested.
Well known in both Canadian and Latter-day Saint history is the arrival of Charles Ora Card and h... more Well known in both Canadian and Latter-day Saint history is the arrival of Charles Ora Card and his faithful band of followers in southern Alberta in 1887. Less explored is the much earlier venture into Upper Canada (Ontario) of such prominent Mormon leaders as Joseph Smith,
The Western Historical Quarterly, 2011
The American Historical Review, 1990
BYU Studies Quarterly, 2013
St. George Utah Temple (c. 1876). As temples were completed and temple work was fully underway, t... more St. George Utah Temple (c. 1876). As temples were completed and temple work was fully underway, the fledgling Church in Utah territory was being compelled by the federal government to abandon polygamy. With mounting pressure, two choices became clear: either abandon the practice of plural marriage or abandon temple work for the dead. Courtesy LDS Church Archives.
Byu Studies, 2005
T he first endowments for the dead in Latter-day Saint history were performed on January 11, 1877... more T he first endowments for the dead in Latter-day Saint history were performed on January 11, 1877 in the St. George Temple (fig. 1). Seasoned Nauvoo Temple ordinance and Salt Lake City endowment worker, Alonzo H. Raleigh, wrote of the occasion: Endowments commenced in the [St. George] Temple and for the first time Endowments for the Dead in this Dispensation. 72 persons received their Endowments. I took the lead in the washing and anointing and instructions in the same. Washed, anointed and clothed the first person and took the general lead of the same, all through by promptings by the direction of President Brigham Young through Elder Woodruff. We were late getting through. It was the most responsible and complicated day's work I [have] ever done, as most of the workmen were new in the labor and the prompting devolved almost entirely on me for nearly all the parts. 1 Surprisingly, in the modern temple-building and temple-conscious era, little, if anything, has been said or written about the beginnings of the endowment for the dead, either by way of quiet celebration or academic explanation. More attention has centered on the companion temple ordinance of baptism for the dead, which commenced in Nauvoo. While it is certainly not the purpose of this article to trespass upon the sacred precincts of temple covenants and worship, the purpose is, however, to explore those several impulses that led to the beginnings of endowments for the dead that winter day in St. George, Utah, in 1877. Considering the fact that this ordinance rewrote the nature of temple worship and vastly multiplied reasons for temple attendance, it is a topic worthy of reverent consideration and appreciation. As much an invitation for increased work "Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept"
BYU STUDIES, 2007
described her goal in producing The Mormons as communicating "the defining ideas and themes and e... more described her goal in producing The Mormons as communicating "the defining ideas and themes and events in Mormon history that would help outsiders go inside the church." 1 The first half of the four-hour documentary discusses the prophetic calling and career of Joseph Smith; the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; the Latter-day Saint saga in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; and the exodus to Utah. These topics comprise just over half of the script for part 1. The balance of part 1 focuses exclusively upon two perennially fascinating facets of Mormon history: the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the origins, practice, and legacy of polygamy. Equally significant but less familiar aspects of Mormon history in the nineteenth-century West, including colonization and settlement, Mormon-Indian relations, and cooperative economic policies, are not discussed. Part 2 telescopes the Church's history in the twentieth century into a handful of vignettes, offering only glimpses of the Church's past one hundred years. The "Great Accommodation," or the Church's embrace of monogamy, political pluralism, capitalism, and American nationalism at the turn of the nineteenth century, is largely told through the lens of the Reed Smoot hearings. The Tabernacle Choir and clean-shaven David O. McKay in his white double-breasted suit are introduced briefly as additional emblems of the new Mormon image as assimilated Americans. The denial of the priesthood to blacks, the development of independent Mormon congregations in Ghana, and the June 1978 revelation on the priesthood are described in the context of the Church's continuing Americanization. The balance of part 2 focuses on elements of contemporary Mormonism and controversial issues facing the Church: humanitarian aid, missionary work, the family, the temple, and genealogy all receive 1 Cannon et al.: <em>The Mormons.</em> Produced by Helen Whitney.
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Papers by Richard Bennett