The Worlds of Joseph Smith: A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress

by John W. Welch

Transcripts from the Library of Congress symposium on Joseph Smith, including speeches by a couple of profesors (Roger Keller, David Paulsen), as well has top-notch LDS and non-LDS scholars like Bushman, Givens, Jan Shipps, Margaret Barker, and Richard Mouw, and also Elder Oaks. The symposium was divided into four segments highlighting major contributions of Joseph Smith; very comprehensive.

Genres: Religion, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Lds, Theology

325 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

John W. Welch is the Robert K. Thomas Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, where he teaches various courses, including Perspectives on Jewish, Greek, and Roman Law in the New Testament. Since 1991 he has also served as the editor in chief of BYU Studies. He studied history and classical languages at Brigham Young University, Greek philosophy at Oxford, and law at Duke University. As a founder of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, one of the editors for Macmillan’s Encyclopedia of Mormonism, and codirector of the Masada and Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at BYU, he has published widely on biblical, early Christian, and Latter-day Saint topics.

from http://deseretbook.com/auth/420/John_...

Reviews

[Christopher Angulo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still relevant and fascinating 20ish years later.

[Erneilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The papers in this collection celebrating the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth are insightful, and to me, affirming. Joseph Smith was a complex man, and though the world may not recognize him as a prophet, he is all that to me. The doctrines he taught are sweet me.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of talks given at the Library of Congress by both LDS and non-LDS scholars. I enjoyed and learned something from most of the talks, none of which were antagonist toward Joseph Smith. Even if I didn't subscribe to the LDS faith (which I do), I'd find Joseph Smith fascinating.

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Transcripts from the Library of Congress symposium on Joseph Smith, including speeches by a couple of my profesors (Roger Keller, David Paulsen), as well has top-notch LDS and non-LDS scholars like Bushman, Givens, Jan Shipps, Margaret Barker, and Richard Mouw, and also Elder Oaks. The symposium was divided into four segments highlighting major contributions of Joseph Smith; very comprehensive.

The last segment touched on whether Mormonism would become a major world religion. I was hoping it would address whether the challenge of the explosion of anti-Mormon material on the internet would stifle Church growth. Jan Shipps was apparently headed in that direction, when she mentioned the Church history archives being opened to Mormon and non-Mormon scholars. But she didn't go there.

Roger Keller's essay on authority and the worldwide church was very touching.

[Marlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried watching the conference on TV, but missed several of the sessions. What an inspiring and thought-provoking conference! Although you can still watch the conference on-line (see: http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945...) I was so happy to finally get the book and have the articles in my hands to review and study. I am very impressed with the research, the knowledge and the points of view expressed by all of the participants, and I particularly appreciate that all comments were made with reverence and respect, regardless of religious belief or affiliation. This book is a must-read for any person seriously interested in the study of religion.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress. 2005. Edited by John W. Welch. josephsmithconferenceloc.byu.edu. Very scholarly presentations given at he Library of Congress in 2005. Scholars both in and out of the LDS church describe, from their viewpoints, some of the controversial things that sometimes come up about Joseph are discussed and generally put to rest. Even the non-members scholars were supportive of some of the claims of Joseph. It opens the door more scholarship. I recommend the book but it is deep in many of the presentations. The talks are online somewhere.