Comments on: A Biographical Overview of Recent LDS History

By: Matt Thurston

Matt Thurston — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:12:26 +0000

Stapley, I’m basically coming at NMKMH from an “influential standpoint. I’d agree that “definitiveness” is largely a matter of perspective, and one I’m less willing to defend.

Having said that, I’ve heard Bushman say on more than one occaision that Brodie remains the “definitive” biographer of JS to the outside world. Whether or not he was just being modest, I don’t know.

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:32:54 +0000

Matt Thurstan, I have spoken with more than one non-Mormon religion academic who disagrees with your characterizing of NMKMH’s lasting definativeness. But I agree that it was greatly influential.

By: Matt Thurston

Matt Thurston — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:30:47 +0000

I’d like to see you guys tackle a Top 10 most influential books of the 20th Century, or better yet, of all of Mormon History.

For such a list, I’d rank No Man Knows My History #2 behind the Book of Mormon.

By: Matt Thurston

Matt Thurston — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:20:50 +0000

Brodie absolutely belongs on this list, and would still make the cut if the list were culled down to a Top 5.

Though 95% or more of Mormons have never heard of her, her NMKMH was, for Mormonism, the shot heard round the world.

For non-Mormons, her’s is still the definitive biography of Joseph Smith by a country mile, even 60+ years later. From Harold Bloom to Helen Whitney, from secular and armchair historians to scholars of religion, her influence cannot be understated.

But I’d argue that her influence is even greater on Mormon scholars. The so-called New Mormon History, Apologetics, and such scholarly journals like Dialogue, Sunstone, and JMH, in one way or another, all came about in response to or because of Brodie and No Man Knows My History.

By: bfwebster

bfwebster — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:17:54 +0000

#153: J — I was a bit saddened by what I consider a lost opportunity when I read that Teichert had intended her Book of Mormon paintings as illustrations for a printed edition of the Book of Mormon; I think that would have been a far better choice than Frieberg’s hyper-muscular paintings.

By the way, for those of you in Utah (or planning on visiting there), there’s a wonderful Minerva Teichert exhibit at the BYU Art Museum; I highly recommend it (as well as the Victorian Art exhibit downstairs). ..bruce..

By: Ron Titus

Ron Titus — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:53:26 +0000

Thanks, good article. I appreciate your scholarship, as well as your opinions.

Especially interesting was post of
Harold B. Lee and vote re: priesthood.

Also, post 154 re: HJGrant and ending
pay for Stk Prescy’s; and ancillary
references to JFS & LS and WoW leniency.

I’d be ever so appreciative of some
references for these items. (Yes, I
did read post 160 and 162.)

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:16:32 +0000

I dissaprove of your choice of token woman and token antimormon. This is the writer whose screed gets cited by Slate as the excuse to irrebutably keep any mormon from public office, because we follow a so-called con man. Brodie devastates the ability of LDS people to get a job in certain fields, but in terms of affecting the LDS people or community, she’s virtually irrelevant.

By: Doug LeDuc

Doug LeDuc — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:32:21 +0000

Any honorable mention list
should include Reed Smoot.

By: Kevinf

Kevinf — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:21:48 +0000

re: GBH, # 168, 170, 171, 173

It may turn out that the Perpetual Education Fund has more long term impact than the small temples, IMO, but that is still something to be weighed in the future.

By: J. Nelson-Seawright

J. Nelson-Seawright — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:16:58 +0000

David G., good point, and a significant development to be sure. Its meaning and valence are a bit difficult to evaluate right now, though, I’d say. If the church grows dramatically through the 21st century, the small temples may become a nuisance because they can’t serve their communities; if the church doesn’t grow, it’s possible that we’ve overbuilt. Or, as they say, the temples could be just right. My point here is simply that, as you also said, it’s tough to reasonably evaluate this stuff immediately.