Believing History: Latter-day Saint Essays

by Richard L. Bushman, Jed Woodworth (Introduction), Reid L. Neilson (Introduction)

The eminent historian Richard Bushman here reflects on his faith and the history of his religion. By describing his own struggle to find a basis for belief in a skeptical world, Bushman poses the question of how scholars are to write about subjects in which they are personally invested. Does personal commitment make objectivity impossible? Bushman explicitly, and at points confessionally, explains his own commitments and then explores Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from the standpoint of belief.

Joseph Smith cannot be dismissed as a colorful fraud, Bushman argues, nor seen only as a restorer of religious truth. Entangled in nineteenth-century Yankee culture―including the skeptical Enlightenment―Smith was nevertheless an original who cut his own path. And while there are multiple contexts from which to draw an understanding of Joseph Smith (including magic, seekers, the Second Great Awakening, communitarianism, restorationism, and more), Bushman suggests that Smith stood at the cusp of modernity and presented the possibility of belief in a time of growing skepticism.

When examined carefully, the Book of Mormon is found to have intricate subplots and peculiar cultural twists. Bushman discusses the book's ambivalence toward republican government, explores the culture of the Lamanites (the enemies of the favored people), and traces the book's fascination with records, translation, and history. Yet Believing History also sheds light on the meaning of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon today. How do we situate Mormonism in American history? Is Mormonism relevant in the modern world?

Believing History offers many surprises. Believers will learn that Joseph Smith is more than an icon, and non-believers will find that Mormonism cannot be summed up with a simple label. But wherever readers stand on Bushman's arguments, he provides us with a provocative and open look at a believing historian studying his own faith.

Genres: Religion, Lds, Mormonism, Nonfiction, History, Essays

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Richard Lyman Bushman obtained a Ph.D. from Harvard and published widely in early American social and cultural history before completing his most well-known work, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, a biography of the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Among his books were From Puritan to Yankee: Character and the Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765 and The Refinement of America: Persons, Houses, Cities. He teaches courses on Mormonism in its broad social and cultural context and on the history of religion in America, focusing on the early period. He has special interests in the history of Mormon theology and in lived religion among the Mormons. He has taken an active part in explaining Mormonism to a broad public and in negotiating the tensions between Mormonism and modern culture.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about finished with this one. I've thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays of Bushman-spanning 1969-2001. It was published shortly before Rough Stone Rolling was released.

I'm putting here a PDF of perhaps my favorite of the essays. Although I could say so much good about each one of them.

http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/...

Of personal interest to me was Bushman's personal story---how he lost his faith as a young college student and then gradually regained it. I was surprised that his primary questions so long ago, were the same as my own---which are: Is there really a God at all? Are we all just fooling ourselves? He concludes that questions outside of religion and science can help us detetmine how to find truth--namely, the question of how we should live a life. The modern pursuit of truth doesn't give us answers on how to live a life...and that question is demanding and compelling enough to deserve significant attention.

Like Bushman, I have not felt bothered by the frailties, weaknesses, and heartbreaking aspects of past or present Church figures or members or history (my problem is with our tradition of the sanitization of it all) ---but rather, I absolutely agree with Bushman that we need more people who can mourn the failings of the Saints out of honor for God, we need people who can acknowledge and explore the human side of us without "believing that the whole enterprise was strictly human."

"The Social Dimensions of Rationality" (link above) deserves a lengthy response/review, that I only wish I had time to create.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book of essays by Richard L. Bushman deals with Church (meaning the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) issues that one is unlikely to find anywhere else. Those essays are found in the last two of the three parts of the book. The first part deals with Bushman's personal relationship to and thoughts about the Church and is, in my opinion, the more valuable part of the book. There are many memorable quotes I could cite, but I will content myself with just this one from page 43: "The Mormon truth, above all, tells us how to be good and helps us to get there. Faith and repentance are wrapped up together. The goodness that I see in Mormon lives, and day after day in my own life when I construct myself as the scriptures direct, is every bit as real as the abstractions of scientific scholarship. I can, if I wish, cast an aura of rationality over this belief in an effort to explain and justify myself to my academic colleagues. Our valiant apologists will go on defending the faith with scholarly evidence, to keep up our connection with the academic establishment. But I hold to my beliefs not because of the evidence or the arguments but because I find our Mormon truth good and yearn to install it at the center of my life." (italics added) I find this testimony much more effective than all those I've heard that state, in one form or another, that they know the gospel is true because it has been made known to them by the power of the Holy Ghost. That is well and good, and I'm glad there are people who have that kind of knowledge, but to me the real power of the gospel brought to light through Joseph Smith in these latter days is the goodness it produces in us when we "install it at the center of [our lives]." I value that because that is also the basis of my belief.

[Lon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the many essays of "faithful" Mormon historian Richard Bushman collected here, two favorites were "Learning to Believe" and "My Belief," the latter being a frank and personal autobiography of belief and doubt. He says the essay has been "surprisingly useful . . . because it acknowledges the existence of doubt in Mormon lives. Many people wrestle with unbelief while remaining true to the Church. They are happy to know their uncertainties do not disqualify them. The essay offers hope that resolution can come in time."

In his preface to one of the collection's essays, delivered at BYU during a time of institutional suppression of free inquiry and expression, he states, trenchantly, that BYU's responsibility "is to emphasize faith, not to suppress doubt. Faith has to overcome doubt not by censoring, but by strengthening itself. This means we cannot shield students from conflicting opinions. We have to trust young people to find belief just as their teachers have done. Sheltering students in college only weakens them for the blasts they will encounter after graduation."


Amen and Amen.

My rating reflects that some of the essays were more academic in tone and subject, and didn't do much for me.

[Dil7worth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a real eye-opener as to what was going on in the year's leading up to the 1820's as far as faith of the common people and how they perceived such things as revelation, angels, and religion in general. It was interesting to hear of other angelic or heavenly encounters from other people during this time and how their experiences were accepted by the community.

[Mike Gremillion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compilation of loosely correlated writings by Bushman, sometimes dry, often refreshing in its academic and intellectual approach to topics of LDS history and faith.

[Jenifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was quite scholarly for me. I had to take notes. It wasn't super fun.
From the preface;
"The essays were written in constant awareness of the doubt at the heart of our intellectual culture."
"The essays would never have been written without the motivating force of personal need."
"These essays illustrate how scholarly inquiry can be united with religious conviction."
"History is subject to the same revisions as science, medicine, and social rightness. As we learn and change and become better, we are able to interpret history in more enlightened ways."
"I doubt if any practicing historian today thinks of history as a series of beadlike facts fixed in unchangeable order along the strings of time. The facts are more like block that each historian piles up as he or she chooses, which is why written history is always assuming new shapes."

From; Learning to Believe
"The church has the responsibility of preserving faith, while intellectual culture thrives on questioning. How the two contradictory cultures cohabit at BYU is a miracle in itself. Faith has to overcome doubt not by censoring, but by strengthening itself."

From; The Book of Mormon in Early Mormon History
Bushman talks about the importance and omnipresence of "the records" in the the Book of Mormon. How the writers introduce themselves as record-keepers and meticulously account for the plates and records in their care.

From; Joseph Smith and Skepticism
"The power of the church comes not from a single incontrovertible miraculous event, such as the parting of the sea or the raising of the dead, which compels all to believe, the power lies in thousands of wholly subjective experiences, however subject to flaws and distortions wherein God has been known by one person."

[Quinton Baran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series of essays by a believer and historian, who attempts to explain why he believes in some essays, and then establishes cultural biography for Joseph Smith, and also analyzes different parts of church history and Book of Mormon topics. Bushman's afterward was very interesting and illustrative for me to read, as he attempts to balance his perspective to both the believing and non-believing audience. The crux of the issue, he says in one essay, has been weather the revelations and claims are to be believed or not. He then goes on to indicate there might be a third route, but will that be sufficient for either party (believers and non-believers).

[Ben U · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for understanding Bushman's philosophy about his own work. Inspiring writing, thoughtful reflections and insights into Mormon history, writing religious history as a believer (not an easy thing for the serious scholar!), and lots of little gems on Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, etc. Fans of his work should read this. Those wanting to delve into Mormon studies must read this, believers or no.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays on various historical topics in which Bushman describes how a believing historian remains faithful to his beliefs and to his profession at the same time.

[Mark]

Written history rarely survives the threescore and ten years allotted those who write it.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays on historical Mormonism by Richard Lyman Bushman, author of the cultural Joseph Smith biography, Rough Stone Rolling. I chose to read this because I look for inspiration from academics who have faced all the intellectual depreciation for religion out there and still have strong testimonies. I was a bit disappointed that this book was more "history" than "believing," but I still benefited from reading it.

My favorite essays by far were the biographical "My Belief," and "Learning to Believe." (It would be work checking the book out just to read these two). Others, such as "Was Joseph Smith a Gentleman? The Standard for Refinement in Utah" and "The 'Little, Narrow Prison' of Language: The Rhetoric of Revelation" reminded me why I decided to get out of academic history.

I'll end with my favorite paragraph in the whole collection:

"We go against the grain of the public culture in our simple, direct faith in a God who loves us and hears our prayers. But contrary to the prevailing opinion, our faith is not at war with scholarship. In my experience, quite the opposite is true. If you decide like me that you are a believer, that you worship God and want to enjoy his spirit, you will love learning. Your mind will clear. You will absorb and understand. You will work hard and enthusiastically. You will grow in intelligence. You will enter into your rightful intellectual heritage as Latter-day Saints." (pg. 36)

3.5 stars.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed certain of these collected essays from LDS historian Richard Bushman more than others. The best were from Part I: Belief, in which Bushman frankly and honestly discusses the dilemmas that face the believing historian. I related to these and was happy to find a respected historian willing to speak up and claim the ground that postmodernism opens for believing historians, and a believing historian willing to take off the historical blinders that many church-members wear. The essays "My Belief" and "Learning to Believe" really spoke to me and I have a feeling I'll be returning to read them again more than once.

I enjoyed the more academic essays less. This was not because they were not well written, but because they were history and as a historian I was unfamiliar with the literature with which they are in dialogue. In other words, these weren't speak-to-your-soul essays, they were well-researched historical arguments. Many of them were interesting, and I enjoyed reading them, but I already can't remember a lot of what they said since early Church history is out of my area of expertise. They're written to be accessible to non-historians, so I think most readers who are interested enough to try to read history in the first place will find these enjoyable.

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Mormon History Association conference last month and devoured it. It is a series of essays by the award-winning historian from Columbia, Harvard, and Claremont who usually writes on 18th century America. Bushman is best known in Mormon circles for his Joseph Smith biography, “Rough Stone Rolling”. He is best known in all circles for his book “From Puritan to Yankee,” which won the Bancroft prize. The guy has credentials. Each essay is a peek into how he reconciles his devout religious beliefs with the fundamentally skeptical academic world in which he thrives. For someone like me, who is always working on some internal reconciliation project, this peek was breathtaking. “I have remained a believing, practicing Latter-Day Saint to this day while knowing that my belief and practice are an offense to modern thinking,” he writes in the Introduction. Hey, you had me at believing! “Students should sense the immense pleasure of pursuing knowledge and know its pride, its rigor, its confusion, and its reassurances.” I enjoyed every essay for a different reason. Some of my favorites had to do with skeptics, refinement and “the little, narrow prison of language.”

[Dlora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars is not enough to rate how good this book is. It's a collection of mind-stretching, fascinating, well-written and researched articles by historian Richard L. Bushman given or written at different phases in his life. One article tells of his journey to faith, about why he believes despite being unable to give an objective, scientific proof. Another talks about the dilemma of historians and the idea of writing objective history. Another article discusses the tradition of hate that motivated the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. Another article looks at the politics of the Book of Mormon people, and another looks at Joseph Smith's conception of space--the geography of a city, the movement of people. Yet another one looked at our ideas of refinement and culture and asks if Joseph Smith was a gentleman. I loved the ideas and thoughts and questions that Bushman raised. I can't praise this book enough! Really good stuff.

[Edy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Bushman is a meticulous scholar who writes with clarity and passion. My first experience with Bushman was when I read Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism. I learned so much from reading that book that I searched for other things by this author. I settled on this book. In this collection of essays Bushman grapples with a variety of topics including belief, Mormon history, and Joseph Smith and culture. Not only is each essay carefully crafted and well documented but it presents interesting facts and knowledge that I found compelling. I loved that he writes for both believers, like me, and to non-believers. At the end of this book, he writes in an afterword why it is important to address both audiences. Without hesitancy, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Mormonism, both believers and non-believers.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bushman is the dean of historians of Mormonism; his Rough Stone Rolling is the definitive history of Joseph Smith, and in my opinion is a model of how a serious historian and believer can straddle the two worlds of intellect and faith. This volume is a collections of essays drawn from across Bushman's long career that addresses a range of fascinating topics on Joseph and the Book of Mormon. The strength of his approach is that he is that Bushman brings formidable historical skills and a sharp intellect to the table in illustrating the rich complexity of the Mormon experience. Whether you are a believer or not, this is an essential book for understanding early Mormonism, and a chance to see a master historian at work.

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had just finished reading Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling, and what I found lacking in that book, this book provided for me. I wanted to know what "Richard Bushman" thought about the findings presented in the book and how he navigated the world of Mormon historiography as a believing Latter-day Saint. For, as he said, "The real downside to writing dialogically is that my history seems a little detached to both audiences. I seem to fall short, neither confirming the traditional Mormon view nor making the exciting connections with American culture that secular historians expect. My history lacks a little something. It seems a trifle emaciated" (pg. 281). I found these essays honest and revealing and enjoyed each one immensely.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fascinates me about this book is that many of these essays were essentially sitting in Bushman's files. Unpublished. Unknown. Under-appreciated. Did he have any idea how much we needed them? Did he have any idea how important they are to a religious society and an historical society who for far too long have found proof texts within complex works to justify theses driven by ulterior motives? Bushman is one of those rare historians who feels compelled to look at a complex whole and try to tell the truth. Though he recognizes that this larger truth will always be incomplete and potentially incorrect, Bushman is driven by the data. He does not believe in outliers that can be ignored or facts that can be explained away. Every source, every text, every question must be accounted for.

[Corey Astill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. His essay on the Social Dimensions of Rationality is definitely worth a read. I liked this excerpt:

"We all have our tribes. The desire to form tribes, to join tribes, to triumph within our tribes drives and shapes our scholarship. Every form of discourse, every rationality is rooted in a society and serves social purposes. However much we enjoy the pursuit of truth for its own sake, these social purposes are preeminent."

He makes this observation in relation to Mormon apologetic writing. But he applies it to the scholarship found in the academy as well. Powerful insight, IMHO.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of essays. It gave me a better understanding of Bushman, the author of Rough Stone Rolling. It was interesting to see how the author balances his faith and hos role as a historian. I particularly enjoyed the reading about the manner he dealt with doubts and questions that arise in his life.

[Daniel Hadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

These essays are excellent. They cover some of the largest issues facing LDS scholars and provide enormous insight into the historiography of Mormonism. I - predictably - enjoyed the chapter where Bushman compares Nauvoo to Chicago. He frames it as a dichotomy between religious cities and market-based cities, with plenty for urban planning historians to think about.

[Darlene Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays are fantastic. Confession: I skipped most of them because they were repeats or earlier versions of parts of Rough Stone Rolling, which I've read. But the first and last sections were fantastic. I'll keep a copy of the second one to share with my sons when they are college-age. So glad I read this, and so glad the church has Richard Bushman.

[Christian Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for anyone with troubling questions regarding Church History. This, however, is not a list of questions and apologetic answer, but a memoir by noted historian and active Church-man Richard Bushman. Here in a series of essays Bushman describes struggles and coming to terms with them. I recommend it for investigators and Church history enthusiasts alike.

[Viliami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some essays are very personal and provide much appreciated insight into a Man who, like me, is not afraid of inquiry or a couple of doubts.

His approach to history is equally appreciated. His awareness of his own biases allows him to draw very near to objectivity and achieving goals that were established from the beginning.

[Natalie Lynner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bushman is an intellectual force to be reckoned with. I greatly admire the work he does on early church history and Joseph Smith. It's insightful, balanced, and incredibly interesting. His essays on belief in academia were especially good.

[Rosalyn Eves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful series of essays on the difficulties of combining rigorous intellectual scholarship with faith.

[Joe Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous collection of papers from all over Bushman's career. A few absolutely outstanding ones.

[Vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. A series of essays; it provides some great contextual history for the beginning of the church, the translation of the Book of Mormon etc.

[Mw · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I could grasp in these essays, I appreciated.
I came away with respect for the author, too.

[Shawnmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good - I love Richard Bushman.