Comments on: Mormon History à la Grecque

By: bfwebster

bfwebster — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:57:59 +0000

Given the time and venue, I’d say it was remarkably accurate and generally sympathetic…more so that you’d find from a lot of 21st century Evangelist tracts. The “Holy City” references are interesting, but I think they may derive from the author running across the concepts of “Zion” and the “New Jerusalem”.

And, as you noted, Ardis, the author doesn’t sound like he’s either drawing directly from LDS sources or from what you would expect from non-LDS sources at that time. It might be interesting to check this against what was written in the then-current-edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. ..bruce..

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:05:30 +0000

I too keep wondering where the writer, whoever he was, got his information. Even while it doesn’t sound Mormon in its emphases, it certainly doesn’t sound like the exposes or sensational accounts that he could have relied on.

(By the way, I just noticed that the text as posted is a little scrambled, as happens sometimes when I draft with a word processor and then cut-and-paste into the blog editor. I’ll straighten it out.)

By: Michelle Glauser

Michelle Glauser — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:16:49 +0000

Hmmmm, I’m giving a presentation about English Immigrants to Utah in a class tomorrow. Somehow I don’t think I’ll use the info from this document.

By: BruceCrow

BruceCrow — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:06:41 +0000

Well, “driven away without pity” seems a bit understated. And the explanation of “Mount Mentos” is just too good not to share.

I see nothing mean spirited in this. Yes, there are some errors, but nothing that is calculated deliberately to misinform with the intent to bring harm.

Good catch on the translation of the “fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”. I agree with your assesment.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:40:08 +0000

It appears that the author was earnestly working at trying to convey the essence of the Church’s history. Also, I note the apparent sympathy in the author’s tone. I kept wondering what the author’s source(s) was/were.

And I liked all the detail, even if some terms of art are rendered in a more general fashion (e.g., perhaps the phrase “the completion of the Christian religion” is a bland translation of the phrase “fullness of the Gospel of the Jesus Christ”).

Also, I think it’s a good mix of Church doctrine and history. Too many times outsiders focus only on the history while missing the meat of the message, while others focus only on the peculiar beliefs without some historical context.

I can’t wait to see if someone tracks down the illustrations.