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Ritualization of Mormon History and Other Essays
How did the Latter-day Saints of the nineteenth century defend their unpopular plural marriage system? What kind of poetry was written on the Mormon frontier, and what social function did it perform? In a collection intended to convey the excitement and variety of Mormon history, the respected Mormon historian Davis Bitton considers these and other issues, showing how a religious group survives and maintains its sense of identity in the face of change and adaptation to new circumstances. Bitton not only presents the Mormon case for polygamy but places it in the context of nineteenth-century American political-social rhetoric. He narrates and analyzes the stormy case of B.H. Roberts, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives but was refused his seat because of polygamy. His exploration of the life of Brigham Young, Jr., relies on his subject's unpublished journals and finds this namesake of a famous father a fascinating example of the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. In the title essay, Bitton shows how Mormons have simplified and memorialized their history in monuments, parades, pageants, and print. He also considers whether Mormons, in ritualizing their own history, are doing what all Americans do. Davis Bitton is a retired University of Utah history professor. After serving a mission in France, he graduated from BYU and then received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. He has taught at the University of Texas and the University of California at Santa Barbara, and served for ten years as assistant Church historian. Dr. Bitton is co-author (with Leonard J. Arrington) of The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints and Saints Without Halos: The Human Side of Mormon History. He compiled A Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies. His most recent books are Images of the Prophet Joseph Smith and George Q. Cannon: A Biography. Like other people, Davis has different interests. He has served in a bishopric and on the stake high council. He may not hold the world?s record for longevity as a gospel doctrine teacher, but this has been his Church calling for many, many years. Insiders will recognize that this implies, or should imply, a certain level of familiarity with the standard works. His interest in early modern Europe resulted in a series of upper-division university courses, papers at conventions, book reviews, articles, and a book entitled The French Nobility in Crisis, 1560-1640. He is an accomplished concert pianist, having studied in Paris under the formidable Madame Dumesnil and in California under the equally demanding Wladimir Kochanski. Title: Ritualization of Mormon History and Other Essays Retail Price: Your Price: Only $18.75
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Davis Bitton, Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press (Pro Ref), 1994, cloth hardbound, 208 pages. 