Back to all topics

Prophets

Recommended

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: “When Spirit Speaks to Spirit”

The deep sense of sorrow that I felt upon hearing of the passing of the prophet was incurred not because of any direct relationship I’ve had with him, nor was it the type of remorse…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: A Man of Love and Personal Concern

I have had but few opportunities to come close to David O. McKay, but each time has proved to be personal, memorable, and cherished deeply. I have sensed that I have had a rare opportunity in…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: Tribute to President David O. McKay

I do not hesitate and without reservation repeat from this remote end of the big wide world the very often heard expression from the lips of about three million people who have accepted the message…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: My Memories of President David O. McKay

My first recollection of David O. McKay is a sermon he gave in a Sacrament Meeting which led me as a teenager to engage in critical self-examination and to leave the meeting with high resolve. …

Willard Young: The Prophet’s Son at West Point

A common object of humor among visitors to Mormon Country in the nineteenth century was the large number of children. Many travellers’ accounts contain a version of the story of Brigham Young’s encounter with a…

Spiritual Problems in the Teaching of Modern Literature

There are certain problems which a Mormon must cope with in teaching any secular literature. What does he do, for example, with a literary work which expresses ideas and attitudes in opposition to his theology?…

God and Man in History

The Reorganization in the Twentieth Century

Revolution and Mormonism in Asia: What the Church Might Offer a Changing Society

Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America

All Content

The Secular Binary of Joseph Smith’s Translations

Dialogue 54.3 (Fall 2021): 1–40
The debate about Joseph Smith’s translations have primarily assumed that the translation was commensurable and focuses upon theories of authorial involvement of Joseph Smith.

Matthew L. Harris, ed., Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics

Worthy of Their Hire? Mormon Leaders’ Relationship with Wealth D. Michael Quinn. The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power.

Authority and Priesthood in the LDS Church, Part 2: Ordinances, Quorums, Nonpriesthood Authority, Presiding, Priestesses, and Priesthood Bans

Dialogue 51.1 (Spring 2018): 167–180
In the prequel to this article, I discussed in general contours the dual nature of authority—individual and institutional—and how the modern LDS concept of priesthood differs significantly from the ancient version in that it has become an abstract form of authority that can be “held” (or withheld, as the case might be).

Authority and Priesthood in the LDS Church, Part 1: Definitions and Development

Dialogue 51.1 (Spring 2018): 167–180
The issue of authority in Mormonism became painfully public with the rise of the Ordain Women movement.

“The Perfect Union of Man and Woman”: Reclamation and Collaboration in Joseph Smith’s Theology Making

Dialogue 49.1 (Spring 2016): 1–26
Central to Joseph’s creative energies was a profound commitment to an ideal of cosmic as well as human collaboration. His personal mode of leadership increasingly shifted from autocratic to collaborative—and that mode infused both his most radical theologizing and his hopes for Church comity itself.

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: President McKay As a Neighbor

My grandfather used to say “There’s lots and lots of ‘man-ism’ in Mor monism.” Often we see President McKay and we think and talk of him as the prophet. I grew up in the same little valley in Northern Utah where he was from, and we saw him and thought of him as a man, of the real things he did as our neighbor. 

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: On Shaking Hands with David O. McKay

There were advantages and disadvantages to living across the street from Brother and Sister McKay. On Sunday we couldn’t play football in the street because there was always the possibility that President David O. McKay…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: The Prophet is Dead

The prophet is dead. Feeling a special quiet in the chapel this morning I sensed others were experiencing his going too. What did this mean to me? Why my tears and sorrow? Surely he was…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: Reflections on the Ministry of President David O. McKay

It is not difficult to identify the large difference that President McKay has made in the character and historical movement of the Church. I refer to the obvious fact that especially during the period of…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: “When Spirit Speaks to Spirit”

The deep sense of sorrow that I felt upon hearing of the passing of the prophet was incurred not because of any direct relationship I’ve had with him, nor was it the type of remorse…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: A Man of Love and Personal Concern

I have had but few opportunities to come close to David O. McKay, but each time has proved to be personal, memorable, and cherished deeply. I have sensed that I have had a rare opportunity in…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: Tribute to President David O. McKay

I do not hesitate and without reservation repeat from this remote end of the big wide world the very often heard expression from the lips of about three million people who have accepted the message…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: My Memories of President David O. McKay

My first recollection of David O. McKay is a sermon he gave in a Sacrament Meeting which led me as a teenager to engage in critical self-examination and to leave the meeting with high resolve. …

Willard Young: The Prophet’s Son at West Point

A common object of humor among visitors to Mormon Country in the nineteenth century was the large number of children. Many travellers’ accounts contain a version of the story of Brigham Young’s encounter with a…

Spiritual Problems in the Teaching of Modern Literature

There are certain problems which a Mormon must cope with in teaching any secular literature. What does he do, for example, with a literary work which expresses ideas and attitudes in opposition to his theology?…

God and Man in History

The Reorganization in the Twentieth Century

Revolution and Mormonism in Asia: What the Church Might Offer a Changing Society

Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America

Mormons in the Third Reich: 1933-1945

Moderation in All Things: Political and Social Outlooks of Modern Urban Mormons

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

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.: Political Isolationism Revisited

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.: Political Isolationism Revisited

The Twentieth Century: Challenge for Mormon Historians

The Twentieth Century: Challenge for Mormon Historians

Joseph Fielding Smith: Faithful Historian

From Someone Who Did Not Know Him Well

The Discomforter: Some Personal Memories of Joseph Fielding Smith

A Tribute to President Joseph Fielding Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith — The Kindly, Helpful Scholar

A Convert Discovers a Prophet

The Love of a Prophet

The Passing of a Prophet

Harold B. Lee: An Appreciation, Both Historical and Personal

A Prophet is Dead: A Prophet Lives

Apostle Extraordinary: Hugh B. Brown (1883-1975)

A Mormon and a Prophet: Marriner S. Eccles: Private Entrepreneur and Public Servant by Sidney Hyman

Sensational Virtue: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Fiction and American Popular Taste

The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement

Did the Word of Wisdom Become a Commandment in 1851?

The Word of Wisdom in Early Nineteenth-Century Perspective

Spreading the Gospel in Indonesia: Organizational Obstacles and Opportunities

Battling the Bureaucracy: Building a Mormon Chapel

Home from the North

Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy

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

Outside the Mormon Hierarchy: Alternative Aspects of Institutional Power

An Introduction to Mormon Administrative History

The Uncommon Touch: Brief Moments with N. Eldon Tanner

N. Eldon Tanner, Man of Integrity

Notes on Brigham Young’s Aesthetics

Move Over, Fortune “500”: The Mormon Corporate Empire by John Heinerman and Anson Shupe

Wilford Woodruff and the Mormon Reformation of 1855-57

The Wake of a Media Crisis: Guilt by Association or Innocence by Proclamation?

A Strange Phenomena: Ernest L. Wilkinson, the LDS Church, and Utah Politics

Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts

Free Expression: The LDS Church and Brigham Young University

Patriarchal Blessings and the Routinization of Charisma

Leaders and Members: Messages from the General Handbook of Instructions

A Prophet, Seer, and Revelator: Prophet Puzzle, ed. by Brian Waterman

Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview

Seers, Savants and Evolution: The Uncomfortable Interface

The Making of a Mormon Myth: The 1844 Transfiguration of Brigham Young

Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841-46: A Preliminary Demographic Report

The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony

Dialogue 34.1 (Spring/Summer 2001): 87

However, the temple has maintained its central role in the lives of
Latter-day Saints by being able to create a point of intersection between
human desires for righteousness and the divine willingness to be bound
by covenant. This point has remained constant, even though emphases
in the church have changed over time, also bringing change to the en￾dowment ceremony itself

Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events

Dialogue 35.3 (Fall 2003):127–168
DURING THE PAST FEW DECADES, a number of LDS scholars have developed various “limited geography” models of where the events of the Book of Mormon occurred. These models contrast with the traditional western hemisphere model, which is still the most familiar to Book of Mormon readers.

Form Criticism of Joseph Smith’s 1823 Vision of the Angel Moroni

A Uniform and Common Recollection: Joseph Smith’s Legacy, Polygamy, and the Creation of Mormon Public Memory

Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the American Renaissance

Dialogue 35.3 (Fall 2003):9a–128
I am a literary critic who has spent a professional lifetime reading, teaching, and writing about literary texts. Much of my interest in and approach to the Book of Mormon lies with the text—though not just as a field for scholarly exploration.

Prophecy and Palimpsest

The Earliest Eternal Sealing for Civilly Married Couples Living and Dead

Martin Harris: The Kirtland Years, 1831-1870

Tending the Desert: John A. Widtsoe: A Biography by Alan K. Parish

The Un-Hagiography: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright

Manly Virtue: Defining Male Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Mormonism

The Last Memory: Joseph F. Smith and Lieux de Mémoire in Late Nineteenth-Century Mormonism

Personal Voices: Spencer Kimball’s Record Collection

The Secular Binary of Joseph Smith’s Translations

Dialogue 54.3 (Fall 2021): 1–40
The debate about Joseph Smith’s translations have primarily assumed that the translation was commensurable and focuses upon theories of authorial involvement of Joseph Smith.

Matthew L. Harris, ed., Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics

Worthy of Their Hire? Mormon Leaders’ Relationship with Wealth D. Michael Quinn. The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power.

Authority and Priesthood in the LDS Church, Part 2: Ordinances, Quorums, Nonpriesthood Authority, Presiding, Priestesses, and Priesthood Bans

Dialogue 51.1 (Spring 2018): 167–180
In the prequel to this article, I discussed in general contours the dual nature of authority—individual and institutional—and how the modern LDS concept of priesthood differs significantly from the ancient version in that it has become an abstract form of authority that can be “held” (or withheld, as the case might be).

Authority and Priesthood in the LDS Church, Part 1: Definitions and Development

Dialogue 51.1 (Spring 2018): 167–180
The issue of authority in Mormonism became painfully public with the rise of the Ordain Women movement.

“The Perfect Union of Man and Woman”: Reclamation and Collaboration in Joseph Smith’s Theology Making

Dialogue 49.1 (Spring 2016): 1–26
Central to Joseph’s creative energies was a profound commitment to an ideal of cosmic as well as human collaboration. His personal mode of leadership increasingly shifted from autocratic to collaborative—and that mode infused both his most radical theologizing and his hopes for Church comity itself.

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: President McKay As a Neighbor

My grandfather used to say “There’s lots and lots of ‘man-ism’ in Mor monism.” Often we see President McKay and we think and talk of him as the prophet. I grew up in the same little valley in Northern Utah where he was from, and we saw him and thought of him as a man, of the real things he did as our neighbor. 

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: On Shaking Hands with David O. McKay

There were advantages and disadvantages to living across the street from Brother and Sister McKay. On Sunday we couldn’t play football in the street because there was always the possibility that President David O. McKay…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: The Prophet is Dead

The prophet is dead. Feeling a special quiet in the chapel this morning I sensed others were experiencing his going too. What did this mean to me? Why my tears and sorrow? Surely he was…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: Reflections on the Ministry of President David O. McKay

It is not difficult to identify the large difference that President McKay has made in the character and historical movement of the Church. I refer to the obvious fact that especially during the period of…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: “When Spirit Speaks to Spirit”

The deep sense of sorrow that I felt upon hearing of the passing of the prophet was incurred not because of any direct relationship I’ve had with him, nor was it the type of remorse…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: A Man of Love and Personal Concern

I have had but few opportunities to come close to David O. McKay, but each time has proved to be personal, memorable, and cherished deeply. I have sensed that I have had a rare opportunity in…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: Tribute to President David O. McKay

I do not hesitate and without reservation repeat from this remote end of the big wide world the very often heard expression from the lips of about three million people who have accepted the message…

President David O. McKay: 1873-1970: My Memories of President David O. McKay

My first recollection of David O. McKay is a sermon he gave in a Sacrament Meeting which led me as a teenager to engage in critical self-examination and to leave the meeting with high resolve. …

Willard Young: The Prophet’s Son at West Point

A common object of humor among visitors to Mormon Country in the nineteenth century was the large number of children. Many travellers’ accounts contain a version of the story of Brigham Young’s encounter with a…

Spiritual Problems in the Teaching of Modern Literature

There are certain problems which a Mormon must cope with in teaching any secular literature. What does he do, for example, with a literary work which expresses ideas and attitudes in opposition to his theology?…

God and Man in History

The Reorganization in the Twentieth Century

Revolution and Mormonism in Asia: What the Church Might Offer a Changing Society

Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America

Mormons in the Third Reich: 1933-1945

Moderation in All Things: Political and Social Outlooks of Modern Urban Mormons

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

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.: Political Isolationism Revisited

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.: Political Isolationism Revisited

The Twentieth Century: Challenge for Mormon Historians

The Twentieth Century: Challenge for Mormon Historians

Joseph Fielding Smith: Faithful Historian

From Someone Who Did Not Know Him Well

The Discomforter: Some Personal Memories of Joseph Fielding Smith

A Tribute to President Joseph Fielding Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith — The Kindly, Helpful Scholar

A Convert Discovers a Prophet

The Love of a Prophet

The Passing of a Prophet

Harold B. Lee: An Appreciation, Both Historical and Personal

A Prophet is Dead: A Prophet Lives

Apostle Extraordinary: Hugh B. Brown (1883-1975)

A Mormon and a Prophet: Marriner S. Eccles: Private Entrepreneur and Public Servant by Sidney Hyman

Sensational Virtue: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Fiction and American Popular Taste

The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement

Did the Word of Wisdom Become a Commandment in 1851?

The Word of Wisdom in Early Nineteenth-Century Perspective

Spreading the Gospel in Indonesia: Organizational Obstacles and Opportunities

Battling the Bureaucracy: Building a Mormon Chapel

Home from the North

Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy

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

Outside the Mormon Hierarchy: Alternative Aspects of Institutional Power

An Introduction to Mormon Administrative History

The Uncommon Touch: Brief Moments with N. Eldon Tanner

N. Eldon Tanner, Man of Integrity

Notes on Brigham Young’s Aesthetics

Move Over, Fortune “500”: The Mormon Corporate Empire by John Heinerman and Anson Shupe

Wilford Woodruff and the Mormon Reformation of 1855-57

The Wake of a Media Crisis: Guilt by Association or Innocence by Proclamation?

A Strange Phenomena: Ernest L. Wilkinson, the LDS Church, and Utah Politics

Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts

Free Expression: The LDS Church and Brigham Young University

Patriarchal Blessings and the Routinization of Charisma

Leaders and Members: Messages from the General Handbook of Instructions

A Prophet, Seer, and Revelator: Prophet Puzzle, ed. by Brian Waterman

Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview

Seers, Savants and Evolution: The Uncomfortable Interface

The Making of a Mormon Myth: The 1844 Transfiguration of Brigham Young

Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841-46: A Preliminary Demographic Report

The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony

Dialogue 34.1 (Spring/Summer 2001): 87

However, the temple has maintained its central role in the lives of
Latter-day Saints by being able to create a point of intersection between
human desires for righteousness and the divine willingness to be bound
by covenant. This point has remained constant, even though emphases
in the church have changed over time, also bringing change to the en￾dowment ceremony itself

Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events

Dialogue 35.3 (Fall 2003):127–168
DURING THE PAST FEW DECADES, a number of LDS scholars have developed various “limited geography” models of where the events of the Book of Mormon occurred. These models contrast with the traditional western hemisphere model, which is still the most familiar to Book of Mormon readers.

Form Criticism of Joseph Smith’s 1823 Vision of the Angel Moroni

A Uniform and Common Recollection: Joseph Smith’s Legacy, Polygamy, and the Creation of Mormon Public Memory

Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the American Renaissance

Dialogue 35.3 (Fall 2003):9a–128
I am a literary critic who has spent a professional lifetime reading, teaching, and writing about literary texts. Much of my interest in and approach to the Book of Mormon lies with the text—though not just as a field for scholarly exploration.

Prophecy and Palimpsest

The Earliest Eternal Sealing for Civilly Married Couples Living and Dead

Martin Harris: The Kirtland Years, 1831-1870

Tending the Desert: John A. Widtsoe: A Biography by Alan K. Parish

The Un-Hagiography: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright

Manly Virtue: Defining Male Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century Mormonism

The Last Memory: Joseph F. Smith and Lieux de Mémoire in Late Nineteenth-Century Mormonism

Personal Voices: Spencer Kimball’s Record Collection