Thomas G. Alexander

The Church and the Law | Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” and Orma Linford, “The Mormons and the Law: The Polygamy Cases”

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Church and its leaders were regularly involved with federal and state law. The recent article by Professor Dallin H. Oaks[1] is a prudent, well researched attempt to deal with one…

Federal Authority Versus Polygamic Theocracy: James B. McKean and the Mormons, 1870-1875

Dialogue 5.3 (Fall 1966): 85–100
During the years of the Utah Territory, outsiders got appointed to the terrority to serve in various positions. For the most part, these Gentiles weren’t sympathetic towards the church, and one of the more famous outsiders is Chief Justice James B. McKean who tried to crack down on plural marriage.

An Ambiguous Heritage | Jerrold L. Newquist, Prophets, Principles and National Survival

Mr. Newquist attempts in this book to present a particular view of the relationship between the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and current political, economic, and social philosophy. The method…

Reed Smoot, The L.D.S. Church and Progressive Legislation, 1903-1933

If J. Reuben Clark, Jr., will be remembered largely for his involvement in international affairs, another Mormon leader, Reed Smoot, is notable for his contribution both to international relations and domestic American affairs. In 1902,…

The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement

The status of the Word of Wisdom at the turn of the century is evident from contemporary sources. At a meeting on May 5,1898, the First Presidency and Twelve discussed the Word of Wisdom. One…

“To Maintain Harmony”: Adjusting to External and Internal Stress, 1890-1930

In his landmark organizational study, Max Weber outlined three forms of authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal. Originally charismatic under Joseph Smith and to some extent under Brigham Young, by the late nineteenth century, leadership in…

An Approach to the Mormon Past | Klaus J. Hansen, Mormonism and the American Experience

The explosion of books and articles on the Mormons over the past ten years is nothing short of phenomenal. Two books, James Allen and Glen Leonard’s Story of the Latter-day Saints and Leonard Arrington and…

The Intellectual in the Service of the Faith?: The Pursuit of Understanding

A useful beginning for my comments may be found in a quotation from Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-intellectualism in American Life.

Substantial, Important, Brilliant | Jan Shipps, Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition

Richard Bushman said that this book “may be the most brilliant book ever writ ten on Mormonism, in the sense of shed ding new light on virtually every aspect of Mormon history and in offering…

Historiography and the New Mormon History: A Historian’s Perspective

Seventeen years ago, Moses Rischin, Fulbright Professor of History at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, in a review essay first used the phrase, “the New Mormon History.” By it, he meant to categorize the…

B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon | Studies of the Book of Mormon

Dialogue 19.4 (Winter 1988):157–192
The major problem with the “Study” is that, if one takes it as anything more than an analysis of possibilities, it must be viewed as an example of the genetic fallacy (that something can be explained solely by its cultural context).

A Valuable Addition to the Literature: Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith

Wilford Woodruff and the Mormon Reformation of 1855-57

Learn from the Stories, Pity the Prejudice: Mormons in Transition by Leslie Reynolds

Multi-Faceted and Extraordinarily Capable: In the World: The Diaries of Reed Smoot edited by Harvard S. Heath