Staging the Temple, 1972–2012

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Alternative Space ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines the use of staged performances at pilgrimage sites to establish links between the past and the pilgrim. Since the late 1970s, the Kirtland Temple and its surrounding interpretative sites have served as venues for dramatic performances in which the shrine's past is resurrected and performed on stage. Plays about the Kirtland Temple have allowed audience members and actors to relate Kirtland's past to their present personal and institutional dilemmas and experiences, elevated the temple's status as sacred space, and shaped the way that individual groups socially construct the temple. Moreover, dramas provide an alternative space where the temple is interpreted and incorporated into a “useful past” that shapes the lives of pilgrims. They also further illustrate the process of parallel pilgrimage at the Kirtland Temple, as Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members have constructed dramas drawing on common stories, with very different applications for those narratives.

Creating a Cursed and Sanctified Temple, 1965–1984

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
The Creation ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Ambiguous Site

This chapter examines the transformation of the Kirtland Temple as a site of interest into a site of contagion, only then to be blessed along with the surrounding land as a place of promise. While the Kirtland Temple still remained an ambiguous site for many Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pilgrims, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints agents on the ground in Cleveland worked out a story that could explain Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' possession of the temple while still embracing it as a holy site. This resanctification of sacred space offers several insights into the study of sacred space that may be “useful to think with.” First, this case study illustrates the power of middling agents in creating and sustaining sacred spaces. Second, it illustrates that the creation and maintenance of sacred space may be one strategy that religious groups use to answer theodical questions, or questions about the presence of evil.

scholarly journals An Inquiry into the Role of Women in Pre-Ahom and Ahom Society with Special Focus on the Institution of Kamakhya

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-298
Author(s):  
Nilam Kakati
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
Feminist Theology ◽  
Mixed Methodology ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Religious Texts ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Way

The role of women in Pre- Ahom and Ahom society could be regarded in the broader environment within the ambit of sacred space dedicated to them. Kamakhya temple, situated near Guwahati, Assam is the most profound illustration of the sacred space of women. It is celebrated as one of the renowned centres of Tantra in India in general and Assam in particular. It has established itself not only as an eminent Tantric centre but also as a menstruating Goddess. However, menstruation has been treated as a taboo since the earliest times in various religious texts. It represented the image of impurity and pollution and was dubbed as hot and dangerous. However, in Kamakhya temple, annual menstruation of the goddess is celebrated as a festival. In June every year, Ambubachi Mela represents one of the chief celebrations of the temple. The paper attempts to analyze the theme of menstruation, placing it in the border context of Kamakhya. The article also highlights the unrestricted movement of women in the pre- Ahom and Ahom society owing to its characteristics of the tribal bearing. The study claims that the inherent dichotomy of pure-impure, auspicious- inauspicious becomes unfitting in the case of Kamakhya and her annual menstruation festival. This specifics could pave the way to identify the theme of menstruation as a lone entity beyond the dichotomy which might aid in offering a fresh understanding of the same. The study employs the mixed methodology of hermeneutics and feminist theology.

The Destroyer and the Peacemakers, 1984–1990

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Collective Memories ◽  
End Of History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Temple

This chapter explores the 1980s Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' schism by the ways individuals mapped the Kirtland Temple within their sacred universes. Such mapping involved revelations about temples, conferences at or near the building, the construction of worship spaces near the temple, the creation of eschatological maps about the temple and its role in the end of history, and the creation of collective memories through commemorative rituals. In this, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members followed practices that had helped establish their church's collective identity in previous decades. What was different, of course, was the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' schism that allowed for an opening to extreme, even violent, mappings of the Kirtland Temple. The chapter then recounts the history of Jeffrey Lundgren, his apocalyptic group, and his violent mapping and actions.

Reforming Identities, Reframing Pilgrimage, 1900–1965

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The Other ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Tourist Industry ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Temple

This chapter narrates Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' interactions at the sacred shrine from 1900 to 1964. The sometimes awkward early twentieth-century meetings between these two groups set the patterns for later interactions at the temple. A rich folklore about the temple was generated by the two competing denominations, and they shared in disseminating tales to one another. In the process, they reconstructed the Kirtland Temple's history to meet their present denomination's needs. In many ways, the Kirtland Temple proved to be a mirror for these groups, reflecting the image of the beholder. That the other group could not see the same image proved an obvious point of contention. At the same time, the temple began to be more physically accessible to members of both churches as an American tourist industry arose that would transform pilgrimage to the temple.

Splintered Saints and the Temple, 1844–1900

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lake City ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Lake City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

This chapter begins in the mid-nineteenth century, just as competing Mormon denominations coalesced. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City) and the smaller Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints emerged as the most important denominations for Kirtland's future. These two churches were rivals and actively competed with each other for converts, especially in the first decades of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' organization. More than simply competing for converts, though, the two churches developed different visions for the purpose and permeability of temple spaces, and much of these differences centered on their understanding of the legacy of the Kirtland Temple. In short, the Kirtland Temple was a living testament to different lineages of temple teachings present within Joseph Smith's many churches.

scholarly journals “How Low Can Humans Plunge!”: Facilitating Moral Opposition in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-59
Author(s):  
J. E. Sumerau ◽  
Ryan T. Cragun
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lds Church ◽  
The Church

In this article, we examine how religious leaders teach their followers to protect themselves and others from pornography. Based on archival materials from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS, LDS Church, or Mormons), we analyze how LDS leaders, responding to the expansion of pornographic influence over the past 40 years, facilitated moral opposition to pornography by teaching their followers to (1) set moral examples for others, (2) save their women, and (3) protect their children. In so doing, however, LDS leaders, regardless of their intentions, reproduced cultural and religious discourses that facilitate the subordination of women and sexual minorities. Likewise, these discourses suggest strong negative outcomes associated with pornography. In conclusion, we draw out implications for understanding the facilitation of moral opposition across religious traditions, and the consequences these actions may have for the reproduction or reduction of social inequality.

First Vision

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Harper
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Memory Studies ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remembered that his first audible prayer, uttered in spring 1820, resulted in a vision of heavenly beings who forgave him and told him Christianity had gone astray. “The Mormon narrative,” according to a 2012 blog post, “seems to always start with a young boy who asked God a question one spring morning in 1820.” That is true if one qualifies the always, for it has not always been so. When and why and how did Joseph Smith’s “first vision,” as Latter-day Saints or “Mormons” know the event, become their seminal story? What challenges did it face along the way? What changes did it undergo as a result? Can it possibly hold its privileged position against the tides of doubt and disbelief, memory studies, and source criticism—all in the information age? First Vision tells how Joseph Smith—by remembering his past in various present contexts—opened the way for alternatives, how saints chose the collective memory they did, and what difference it has made for them and their critics. This book is the biography of a contested memory and how it was born, grew, changed the world, and was changed by it.

Kirtland Temple

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Sacred Site ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Community Of Christ ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Two Sides

The only temple completed by Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith Jr., the Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio, receives 30,000 Mormon pilgrims every year. Though the site is sacred to all Mormons, the temple's religious significance and the space itself are contested by rival Mormon denominations: its owner, the relatively liberal Community of Christ, and the larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This biography of Kirtland Temple is set against the backdrop of religious rivalry. The two sides have long contested the temple's ownership, purpose, and significance in both the courts and Mormon literature. Yet members of each denomination have occasionally cooperated to establish periods of co-worship, host joint tours, and create friendships. The book uses the temple to build a model for understanding what he calls parallel pilgrimage—the set of dynamics of disagreement and alliance by religious rivals at a shared sacred site. At the same time, it illuminates social and intellectual changes in the two main branches of Mormonism since the 1830s, providing a much-needed history of the lesser-known Community of Christ.

The Reconstructed Nauvoo Temple

2018 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Scott C. Esplin
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Church

At the end of the twentieth century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) embarked on the most ambitious project in the history of Nauvoo’s restoration, the reconstruction of the famed Nauvoo temple. While the branches of Mormonism had settled their differences and established their separate paths in the years leading up to the temple reconstruction, the project opened new wounds within the greater Nauvoo community. This chapter examines the construction of the Nauvoo temple and the resulting reaction by the residents of Nauvoo. It explores the changes the project brought to the city and the contest that developed for the legacy of Nauvoo.

scholarly journals “This Incredible Monster Was Always in the Way”: The Moral Career of a Sexual Sinner in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Sumerau ◽  
Ryan Cragun ◽  
Harry Barbee
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Scientific Study ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Moral Career ◽  
The Church ◽  
Interactionist Approach ◽  
The Way

This article elaborates a symbolic interactionist approach to the scientific study of sexual sin. We draw on archival materials from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and explore recurring themes within the archival materials that signify and outline stages of a sexual sinners’ moral career. Our findings demonstrate how LDS leaders constructed a sinner’s moral career as characterized by (1) seeking out sinful temptation; (2) causing social and spiritual destruction; and (3) seeking and finding redemption. Further, we draw out implications for understanding the ways religious leaders conceptualize sexual sins for their followers, and the usefulness of conceptualizing various religious traditions, adaptations, and conceptualizations of sin as moral careers.

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