 | The Columbia Sourcebook of Mormons in the United States Subjects: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- History -- Sources; Mormon Church -- History -- Sources; Mormons -- Correspondence; American prose literature -- Mormon authors; This anthology offers rare access to key original documents illuminating Mormon history, theology, and culture in the United States from the nineteenth century to today. Brief introductions describe the theological significance of each text and its reflection of the practices, issues, and challenges that have defined and continue to define the Mormon community. These documents balance mainstream and peripheral thought and religious experience, institutional and personal perspective, and theoretical and practical interpretation, representing pivotal moments in LDS history and correcting decades of misinformation and stereotype. The authors of these documents, male and female, not only celebrate but speak critically and question mainline LDS teachings on sexuality, politics, gender, race, polygamy, and other issues. Selections largely focus on the Salt Lake-based LDS tradition, with a section on the post-Joseph Smith splintering and its creation of a variety of similar yet different Mormon groups. The documents are arranged chronologically within specific categories to capture both the historical and doctrinal development of Mormonism in the United States. Terryl L. Givens is the author of several books on Mormon studies, including Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought ; The God Who Weeps (with Fiona Givens); and Parley P. Pratt, the Apostle Paul of Mormonism . Reid L. Neilson is the author and coeditor of several books on American religious history, including Exhibiting Mormonism: The Latter-day Saints and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and Early Mormon Missionary Activities in Japan, 1901-1924 . |
