NOM

Wow that's a fabulous response John. I hope people can find that response buried in this thread. You are extremely knowledgeable on this subject and it shows in your responses. So just for personal clarification. You think Joseph just made up/inspired the whole BoM story? Do you think Cowdery had a...

But if you don't mind being bombarded ;) What is the future for the LDS church? Do you see it becoming more progressive in years to come and becoming like the CoC? Is the CoC growing with liberal and disaffected LDS looking for a new spiritual home? Does the CoC have/have plans for an online commun...

Thanks John, I guess for me the more challenging question is, was Joseph inspired at all? As he was reflecting on theological questions, did God (in whatever form) put ideas for the betterment of his children into Joseph's mind (not revelation of accurate historical detail but moral myths) or was i...

Any details of that UN Peace Monument in the illustration? I like to think of it as a middle finger to the Utah towns that "secede" from the UN --- Community of Christ built a monument UN peacekeeping on the Temple Lot. It's part of Community of Christ's commitment as a peace church. (Our motto is ...

My source for Sidney Rigdon's placement at #11 in the Council of Fifty is D. Michael Quinn "The Mormon Hierarchy" Vol. 1., p. 523. The recently published minutes might give further light, but I don't have a copy here.

I picked a picture of me during a Mormon Stories interview with John Dehlin a couple years ago in Salt Lake City. I tend to talk with my hands, which I'm always doing when I'm writing on a Bboard like NOM, so this avatar shows you what my hands are doing between typing.

But I'm pretty sure that Brigham was the senior member of those you list. I once researched this... don't know where my references are, though. So I could be wrong. No, other than Joseph Smith, the Council of Fifty membership was based on age. Alpheus Cutler was #4, William Marks was #10, Sidney Ri...

Nice to see you here, John. Nice enough even to bring me out of lurkage. I have a question about this--do you consider Cowdery, and possibly Emma Smith, as co-authors of the BoM? Do you think they generated certain sections, or just clarified what Smith was saying, and that's why some of Cowdery's ...

The Temple Lot church's land is a portion of the temple parcel. It's the "traditional" spot of the original dedication, but the corner stones they unearthed in the 20th are believed by historians to be from the 20th century, so the actual dedication spot is unknown. Community of Christ's Temple is b...

There were lots of members of the Council of Fifty that emerged as factional leaders in addition to Brigham Young. Rigdon was a member, as was Alpheus Cutler and Lyman Wight, both of whom led their own "Kingdom" factions and made their claims based on membership in the Council. Wight recognized Jose...

Do you find Emma's testimony to lack credibility? It's a late reminiscence and much of the rest of it isn't accurate. LDS.org can quote from the same testimony to prove that Joseph Smith never practiced polygamy, which is Emma's testimony in the same interview. The portion of the Book of Mormon tex...

Considering that almost immediately after the publication of the Book of Mormon, the revision of the Bible becomes a priority (called the "JST" by LDS people) and considering the JST achieved similar (albeit different) results in terms of the kind of changes made to the text, I think we can assume t...

Another thing about Utah Mormon ideas on keys is the retrojection of Nauvoo-era ideas of associating keys and "sealing power" regarding marriages back to 1837 and one of the various visions (misrepresented as a visitation by Jesus Christ) in Kirtland Temple. This is a complete anachronism. This idea...

The original idea of "keys" was literal. It comes from Isaiah 22:20-22 (see 22:15-25 for context): On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabi...

The Standing High Council continues to exist, and since the early 20th century it's been back in Zion at Community of Christ headquarters in Independence, Missouri.

http://www.cofchrist.org/standing-high-council

I think you're on the correct path to read this story (and indeed all stories) in scripture as archetypes or narratives with an underlying theological proposition (message) as opposed to imagining them as historical events. No ancient author of scripture had the goals of modern academic history in m...

Welcome John! Glad you made it back. How about we turn this thread into an AMA? I'll start. I'm a big fan of your maps and writings on early Mormonism. How did you get involved/interested in producing Mormon themed maps? Have you done anything recently for the mainstream LDS church? Hi, thanks! I'm...

John what are your thoughts on the theory advocated by some that Sidney Rigdon and Parley Pratt were involved from the beginning (pre Kirtland) in the "Gold bible company"? Do you find any of the evidence compelling or is it far fetched? I don't think there's much of any evidence. We lack anything ...