New BoAP Addition: The Nauvoo Neighbor

This summer BYU student Braden Johnson did some work for BoAP and we announce now that the Nauvoo Neighbor, a Nauvoo newspaper published between 1843 and 1845 will soon be available on the BoAP website for your reading pleasure. This is a great example of newsprint from the period and in addition to the pdf scans there are a couple of companion indices including a topical index for article content, etc. All thanks to Braden. Enjoy. We’ll have it up in a week or so. Look on the home page (boap.org) for the link next week. If you find these useful, please give us a shout out in your work.

Dale R. Broadhurst’s transcripts for the Neighbor are available here.

Richard Turley and William Slaughter Talk About Their New Book, “How We Got the Book of Mormon.”

Assistant Church Historian and Recorder Richard E. Turley and coauthor William Slaughter of the LDS Church Historical Department were kind enough to answer a few questions about their new book, How We Got the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book, 2011. Cloth, ISBN13: 978-1-60908-062-4. $34.99. We’ll be posting a review of the book shortly.

The Return of the B. H. Roberts Cabal

The 19th century produced some prominent thinkers in Mormonism. But the 20th century also had its share. One particular group (I use the term in a loose sense) was what I choose to call the “B. H. Roberts Cabal.” Roberts himself was not entirely self taught, but he trolled the waters of intellectualism in his day and in some respects sought to show Mormonism consistent with or even ahead of the science and philosophy of the times.

Once Again: Cosmology – The Big Bang – And God

Recently, Stephen Hawking announced that there is no need for God, in terms of winding up the universe. The Big Bang [1] is a demonstrable result of M-theory. I won’t bore you about M-theory, except to say that It’s not complete and it’s not a sure bet yet. But even if it or one of its competitors turns out to match the data, be complete and self-consistent then great: such a thing might even have everyday consequences.

Rejuvenated: Brigham, Heber and Co. in New York, 1843.

One of the interesting things about the Manuscript History of the Church, is its blending of sources to create a narrative of events in early Mormonism. Sometimes this effect is submerged by the 1850’s historians decision to unify the text by writing in the first person, as though Joseph Smith himself had penned it. Not an acceptable practice today, it was a common technique among writers of annals and “autobiographies” at the time.

The Weirdest Places You Find King Follett

In extenso, I mean.

1. Australian newspaper.
2. Presbyterian pamphlet.
3. Book from Paulist Press.
4. Book on Martin Luther King Jr.

Take your pick. (Or, add your own.)

A Quick Note on Funerals Among the Early Mormons

I’ve actually been working on the book for a change, but mostly reading. However, to keep up appearances, I’ll just note some congruencies and contrasts between Mormon and Protestant funeral practice during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.