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Monday, January 26, 2004
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Joe Hill was a labor organizer who was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1915. His interesting life story is here. PBS recently did a 90 minute documentary on Joe Hill; the short summary of that documentary contains interesting commentary on the anti-labor stance taken by the LDS Church in the early part of the 20th century, a period during which the Church was transforming itself from a despised, persecuted church into a respected, patriotic church. Thomas G. Alexander, BYU historian, is featured in the documentary. An interview with Prof. Alexander contains some fascinating comments on early 20th-century Utah politics and the Senate hearings on whether Reed Smoot would be allowed to take his seat in the Senate. D. Michael Quinn, formerly a BYU historian, is also featured. The interview with Dr. Quinn comments on politics, religion, and polygamy as the background for understanding Joe Hill's activities in Utah.
These interviews are the first discussion I've seen of the interesting relationship between the LDS Church and the labor movement. Here's a sample from the Quinn interview: LDS church leaders were very American in their attitudes toward the effort to unionize. . . . [L]eadership groups throughout the United States, almost without exception, were anti-union. They regarded unions as destructive of social order. . . . [F]rom a very early period, from the 1870s onward, the LDS church leaders were condemning the labor movement, as an engine of sedition. Church leaders already had a clearly defined anti-union policy and rhetoric.
4:49:04 AM 
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First, this SL Trib article [via the Religion News Blog] reports allegations against the disciplined FLDS member who held a news conference last week. But the quote from the FLDS Church attorney is really choice: "Chatwin's behavior was extremely inappropriate," said Rod Parker, attorney for the FLDS church. "When these people want to get married, they go to church leadership and discuss their desire to be married. When you have a guy like this trying to get them on his own, it's extremely inappropriate." Yes, highly inappropriate. There is also an AP wire service story, summarizing much of what has gone on recently and suggesting there are other FLDS members who plan to come forward with their stories soon. The story features comments from a representative of Help the Child Brides, an organization providing assistance to those leaving polygamous communities and relationships. The personal stories posted on their site make interesting reading.
3:52:00 AM
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Times & Seasons continues to attract interesting guest bloggers-- the latest is Dr. Peterson, a BYU Professor of Near Eastern Studies and FARMS editor with a primary research interest in Islamic themes and topics. He has also been a semi-regular visitor to a variety of informal online Mormon Studies communities, of which T&S is only the most recent.
Since I haven't seen a post yet, I thought I would suggest he make some comments on Hugh Nibley's Portrait of a Prophet, an old essay comparing in a sympathetic tone the prophetic claims of Joseph Smith and Muhammed. I read it once (years ago) and forget the details, but it seems like a comparison that is of more interest today than it was when Nibley first published his essay.
3:25:57 AM
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© Copyright 2004 Dave's Mormon Inquiry Weblog.
Last update: 3/3/2004; 12:06:46 AM.
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