Read People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books
Read People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books
Download As PDF : People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books
In People of Paradox, Terryl Givens traces the rise and development of Mormon culture from the days of Joseph Smith in upstate New York, through Brigham Young's founding of the Territory of Deseret on the shores of Great Salt Lake, to the spread of the Latter-Day Saints around the globe.
Throughout the last century and a half, Givens notes, distinctive traditions have emerged among the Latter-Day Saints, shaped by dynamic tensions--or paradoxes--that give Mormon cultural expression much of its vitality. Here is a religion shaped by a rigid authoritarian hierarchy and radical individualism; by prophetic certainty and a celebration of learning and intellectual investigation; by existence in exile and a yearning for integration and acceptance by the larger world. Givens divides Mormon history into two periods, separated by the renunciation of polygamy in 1890. In each, he explores the life of the mind, the emphasis on education, the importance of architecture and urban planning (so apparent in Salt Lake City and Mormon temples around the world), and Mormon accomplishments in music and dance, theater, film, literature, and the visual arts. He situates such cultural practices in the context of the society of the larger nation and, in more recent years, the world. Today, he observes, only fourteen percent of Mormon believers live in the United States.
Mormonism has never been more prominent in public life. But there is a rich inner life beneath the public surface, one deftly captured in this sympathetic, nuanced account by a leading authority on Mormon history and thought.
Read People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books
"One of the most thought provoking books I have read and the only one that I know of that addresses culture which is such a big part of the Mormon experience. We spend a lot of time talking about History and Doctrine but we experience culture and so the topic deserves a lot of attention. I think this book goes a long way towards explaining how people can have such a different experience in the church. I read stories of people who feel stifled by their activity in the church and wonder if they are attending a different church than I. I have a sister who is inactive because she experienced one aspect of these paradoxes and not the other and so never experienced the balance. Because she stopped learning, her understanding has never matured beyond that of an 18 year old girl turned off to the "Iron Rod" aspect of obedience.
The book mentions paradoxes and I think that they do seem like paradoxes at first blush. However, once you dig in a little more, I think that there is more compatibility than the word paradox implies. A good example is the first chapter: the Iron Rod and the Liahona. An analogy that works for me is to compare life to a football game. The Iron Rod aspect defines what the boundaries of the field of play are and who is on offense and who is on defense along with rules about holding, pass interference. etc. The Liahona aspect is where you get to run any offensive play you want or any defensive alignment you feel is appropriate. Sometimes you are the coach and sometimes you are the player. When you are the coach, you have the responsibility to decide what actions the team should take and when you are the player you have the responsibility to execute your assignment to the best of your ability. With that in mind, is their really a paradox between the rules of the game and your ability to enjoy playing either as a coach or a player? Most who enjoy the game of football would say no. This is the way the game is best enjoyed based on years of experience. Complaining about the rules of the church is a little like complaining about whether or not there should be holding penalties or pass interference penalties. I personally love to watch a football game where the players and the coaches are on the same page, show excellent teamwork and commit few penalties.
Perhaps we as a society don't place enough value in the paradoxes that are part of our lives. Perhaps they provide optimal tension that provides a means for struggle and thus progression."
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People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books Reviews :
People of Paradox A History of Mormon Culture Terryl L Givens 9780195167115 Books Reviews
- This is a very nice history of culture in the church. I would enjoy reading an update especially considering how culture has been changing in and out of the church in very recent years.
Well written and thought provoking with opportunity to consider what should our culture be influenced by and how it should be allowed to trickle into our homes, both church and world culture.
A very thought provoking book. - I already read the author's "By the Hand of Mormon" and looked forward to reading this one. I feel that Givens was more focused in this book than he was in that (I gave that book a 4-star review), but his fantastic insights and scholarship show through in both books. There were aspects of Mormon culture than didn't interest me at all (such as architecture and short stories) and some that fascinated me (such as intellectual culture, music and movies), but that's all on a personal level- kudos to Givens for addressing all aspects of Mormon culture.
Here are some gems that I picked up from the book-
1. To the query about how a strict and somewhat rigid church can be so open to all forms of dancing- "If you can't beat them, supervise them, seems to be the Mormon response."
2. (From a study) "Mormons generally have high expectations for their youth and invest a lot in educating them... These investments pay off in producing Mormon teenagers who are, by sociological standards at least, more religiously serious and articulate than most other religious teenagers in the US."
3. Mormon theology, in contrast with Evangelicals, is much more open to science. That's why BYU can have many programs dedicated to evolution/dinosaurs. Dallin Oaks said, as BYU president, "The bones are there and cannot really be ignored by a major university that is almost literally sitting on top of them."
4. "One paradox of Mormon culture is its rootedness in a rigidly hierarchical, authoritarian church- and yet this church was established in the context of 2 fantastically individualistic phenomena that converged in antebellum America Western Romanticism & Jacksonian democracy"
5. On music- Although there are few adult hymns centered on the Book of Mormon, some of the most popular Primary songs are BoM centric. Givens states that "Book of Mormon Stories" song is for LDS kids what "Old McDonald Had a Farm" is for regular American kids and he foresees a day in the near future when BoM characters such as Nephi and Alma are more known to LDS kids than Bible figures such as Noah and Job.
6. Our foundational history, as a people, is a better epic than any fiction could be. We are still waiting for our "Mormon Shakespeare" to come along and really capture it in literature or poetry.
And so much more. Fabulous insights with an approach that will appeal to the non-LDS sociologist as well. In my opinion, Givens is among the best LDS scholars writing today along with Richard Bushman and Grant Hardy. I will soon be buying and reading his book on Parley P Pratt and I very much look forward to it.
One negative is that there are a few typos and errors on the version, but that's not the author's fault. - One of the most thought provoking books I have read and the only one that I know of that addresses culture which is such a big part of the Mormon experience. We spend a lot of time talking about History and Doctrine but we experience culture and so the topic deserves a lot of attention. I think this book goes a long way towards explaining how people can have such a different experience in the church. I read stories of people who feel stifled by their activity in the church and wonder if they are attending a different church than I. I have a sister who is inactive because she experienced one aspect of these paradoxes and not the other and so never experienced the balance. Because she stopped learning, her understanding has never matured beyond that of an 18 year old girl turned off to the "Iron Rod" aspect of obedience.
The book mentions paradoxes and I think that they do seem like paradoxes at first blush. However, once you dig in a little more, I think that there is more compatibility than the word paradox implies. A good example is the first chapter the Iron Rod and the Liahona. An analogy that works for me is to compare life to a football game. The Iron Rod aspect defines what the boundaries of the field of play are and who is on offense and who is on defense along with rules about holding, pass interference. etc. The Liahona aspect is where you get to run any offensive play you want or any defensive alignment you feel is appropriate. Sometimes you are the coach and sometimes you are the player. When you are the coach, you have the responsibility to decide what actions the team should take and when you are the player you have the responsibility to execute your assignment to the best of your ability. With that in mind, is their really a paradox between the rules of the game and your ability to enjoy playing either as a coach or a player? Most who enjoy the game of football would say no. This is the way the game is best enjoyed based on years of experience. Complaining about the rules of the church is a little like complaining about whether or not there should be holding penalties or pass interference penalties. I personally love to watch a football game where the players and the coaches are on the same page, show excellent teamwork and commit few penalties.
Perhaps we as a society don't place enough value in the paradoxes that are part of our lives. Perhaps they provide optimal tension that provides a means for struggle and thus progression. - Long description of many aspects of Mormon doctrine and culture in great detail. Definitely more detail than I expected, but gave me a good idea of why attitudes are the way they are. Finally understand why BYU religion professors make their classes do awful--they are trying to prove to the world how rigorous they are, not trying to help their students develop their testimonies. Enjoyed learning lots of new things.
- Outstanding argument... and one can see this very paradox live and well in the church today.
- I am very interested in this book.
- The thesis of the book is that the four primary paradoxes with which Latter-day Saints encounter the world have influenced the cultural and artistic history of the religion. I found it interesting from the historical aspect but purchased the book mainly to understand the paradoxes that Givens describes. (Don't worry - they are not deal breakers!) This book should be in the collection of everyone who has an interest in the development of art and culture in Mormonism.
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