Item Detail
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12000
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2
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0
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English
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Awakening Joseph Smith : Mormon Resources for a Postmodern Worldview
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Claremont, CA
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Claremont Graduate University
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249
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Ph.D. diss.
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"The physical and spiritual crises confronting our planet and society have awakened individuals from a wide variety of specialties and inspired them to join together in constructive discourse. Two important responses to the call thus far have come from (1) a diverse group of theologians who have begun to mine both the theological and ecclesiastical resources of their respective religious traditions, in service to the goal of imagining and bringing about a peaceful and sustainable future, and (2) the contributors to the 'SUNY Series in constructive Postmodern Thought.' This project, which engages these individuals and the basic themes of their discussion, represents the first book-length effort to advance some of the theological resources of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism, as potential contributors to this 'postmodern' world. It focuses primarily upon aspects of the Mormon belief-system concerning the character of God, humans, and the natural world, especially as each of these were conceived and introduced by Joseph Smith, Jr., Mormonism's founder and first prophet. In each discussion, the focus is on ways these concepts might help frame a worldview capable of underwriting and supporting a postmodern society, as well as inspiring the behavioral changes that are demanded if we are to move toward this new world. The expansions and applications of these Mormon ideas converse specifically with constructive postmodern notions concerning the 'intrinsic value' and 'interconnectedness' of all existents, and also a non-sensationist doctrine of perception that affirms the human ability to have direct experience of value and norms. Resonances between each of the Mormon claims and the sensibilities that are emerging in discussions of theoretical physics, especially the implications from quantum mechanics, are also explored in some detail." [Author's abstract]