Standing Apart —— Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy

A restoration, of sorts, argument. It brings to light the reality that our narrative of the "dark ages," was or is way to simplistic, unChristian, almost. From the Introduction: "Instead of defending the tradition of the Great Apostasy [as understood by a number of LDS leaders and apologists], we critically examine its development in church discourse and imagination over the last two centuries, and we suggest ideas for renewing the narrative tradition with greater inclusivity and generosity both to the past and to those of other religious traditions.: I will echo Blair Hodges and post most his review from the Maxwell Institute: "... the most important Mormon studies book since Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling... challenging aspects of the Church’s “Apostasy” narrative the authors recognize they are in essence challenging important aspects of Mormon identity. In other words, this book is made up of historical work that also performs theological work. A different understanding of Apostasy necessitates a different understanding of Restoration. The most proactively theological piece in the collection is the Epilogue wherein Terryl Givens suggests that today’s widely accepted Apostasy-to-Restoration narrative has diverged from Joseph Smith’s understanding of the historical scene in crucial ways. The collection’s editors justify their bold move in a thoroughly LDS way. They affirm that treating the history of Christianity with greater respect than we have thus far is an important part of fulfilling Malachi’s prophecy that the hearts of the children will be turned to the hearts of the fathers in the last days: 'Turning our hearts to the past with love is a sacred responsibility for Latter-day Saints...' ... It remains to be seen how seriously such a work will be taken by the institutional Church, but its being published by Oxford University Press suggests that it is more than a haphazard collection of speculations. It deserves to be engaged by Mormons but will also be of interest to scholars of religion more broadly who value sensitive but critical interreligious engagement."

Exceptionally important essays that move the Latter-day Saints to see better ways to think about those who disagree about religious doctrines. Difference in belief need not create suspicion and contempt between people in the same community. Apostasy is more a matter of ill will than of disagreement over beliefs or authorities. This is a profound idea that encourages Latter-day Saints to confidently engage and learn from those who disagree with them inside and outside their community.

An outstanding collection of research and essays that challenge conventional explanations of the apostasy. This is highly recommended.

Book as represented

very good book and service

The LDS apostasy narrative of the truth being lost and priesthood authority being taken from the earth after the death of the New Testament apostles has been a fundamental part of the Mormon story. For some investigators and many chapel Mormons the narrative makes sense, and therefore must be true, because of the many interpretations of the Bible and the many disparate claims of having the Truth or God’s Authority. It makes sense on the surface that God would be uniform, understandable, and constant in His communication to his children, but is that the story that an objective look at Christian history tells? Does uniquely Mormon scripture support a simple view of humanity as being of God or apostate, light or dark, and bright and inspired under the light of Christ’s life or intellectually lost during the years between the demise of the New Testament authors and the beginning of Joseph Smith’s prophetic call? Is the black and white thinking that the apostasy narrative imposes on Mormons correct or useful to modern members living in a pluralistic world? These are hard questions that have not been asked and pursued for about the last 100 years in active Mormon discourse. The contributors and editors of the watershed book Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy have taken a hard look at the apostasy narrative as formulated by early, self-trained, Mormon historians: James Talmage, B.H. Roberts, and Joseph Fielding Smith. Standing Apart offers a broad range of historical, theological, and philosophical critiques against the apostasy narrative as well as a new way to think about and share the unique position of the LDS church. The volume is filled with new information (to me) regarding the time between the Old and New Testaments, parallels between the Catholic practice of indulgences and the Mormon practice of vicarious rituals of salvation, the way the Renaissance distinguished itself from the previous ages (by pejoratively labeling it as “the Dark Ages”), competing histories found in the Jewish Scriptures, the complexity of early Christianity, the strong parallels between Mormon and Islamic theologies (really quite beautiful messages and ideas), narratives within the Book of Mormon that challenge the simplistic apostasy model put forward in the first half of the 20th century, and much more.

A restoration, of sorts, argument. It brings to light the reality that our narrative of the "dark ages," was or is way to simplistic, unChristian, almost.From the Introduction:"Instead of defending the tradition of the Great Apostasy [as understood by a number of LDS leaders and apologists], we critically examine its development in church discourse and imagination over the last two centuries, and we suggest ideas for renewing the narrative tradition with greater inclusivity and generosity both to the past and to those of other religious traditions.:I will echo Blair Hodges and post most his review from the Maxwell Institute:"... the most important Mormon studies book since Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling... challenging aspects of the Church’s “Apostasy” narrative the authors recognize they are in essence challenging important aspects of Mormon identity. In other words, this book is made up of historical work that also performs theological work. A different understanding of Apostasy necessitates a different understanding of Restoration. The most proactively theological piece in the collection is the Epilogue wherein Terryl Givens suggests that today’s widely accepted Apostasy-to-Restoration narrative has diverged from Joseph Smith’s understanding of the historical scene in crucial ways.The collection’s editors justify their bold move in a thoroughly LDS way. They affirm that treating the history of Christianity with greater respect than we have thus far is an important part of fulfilling Malachi’s prophecy that the hearts of the children will be turned to the hearts of the fathers in the last days: 'Turning our hearts to the past with love is a sacred responsibility for Latter-day Saints...'... It remains to be seen how seriously such a work will be taken by the institutional Church, but its being published by Oxford University Press suggests that it is more than a haphazard collection of speculations. It deserves to be engaged by Mormons but will also be of interest to scholars of religion more broadly who value sensitive but critical interreligious engagement."

Exceptionally important essays that move the Latter-day Saints to see better ways to think about those who disagree about religious doctrines. Difference in belief need not create suspicion and contempt between people in the same community. Apostasy is more a matter of ill will than of disagreement over beliefs or authorities. This is a profound idea that encourages Latter-day Saints to confidently engage and learn from those who disagree with them inside and outside their community.

An outstanding collection of research and essays that challenge conventional explanations of the apostasy. This is highly recommended.

The LDS apostasy narrative of the truth being lost and priesthood authority being taken from the earth after the death of the New Testament apostles has been a fundamental part of the Mormon story. For some investigators and many chapel Mormons the narrative makes sense, and therefore must be true, because of the many interpretations of the Bible and the many disparate claims of having the Truth or God’s Authority. It makes sense on the surface that God would be uniform, understandable, and constant in His communication to his children, but is that the story that an objective look at Christian history tells? Does uniquely Mormon scripture support a simple view of humanity as being of God or apostate, light or dark, and bright and inspired under the light of Christ’s life or intellectually lost during the years between the demise of the New Testament authors and the beginning of Joseph Smith’s prophetic call? Is the black and white thinking that the apostasy narrative imposes on Mormons correct or useful to modern members living in a pluralistic world?These are hard questions that have not been asked and pursued for about the last 100 years in active Mormon discourse. The contributors and editors of the watershed book Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy have taken a hard look at the apostasy narrative as formulated by early, self-trained, Mormon historians: James Talmage, B.H. Roberts, and Joseph Fielding Smith. Standing Apart offers a broad range of historical, theological, and philosophical critiques against the apostasy narrative as well as a new way to think about and share the unique position of the LDS church.The volume is filled with new information (to me) regarding the time between the Old and New Testaments, parallels between the Catholic practice of indulgences and the Mormon practice of vicarious rituals of salvation, the way the Renaissance distinguished itself from the previous ages (by pejoratively labeling it as “the Dark Ages”), competing histories found in the Jewish Scriptures, the complexity of early Christianity, the strong parallels between Mormon and Islamic theologies (really quite beautiful messages and ideas), narratives within the Book of Mormon that challenge the simplistic apostasy model put forward in the first half of the 20th century, and much more.