Item Detail
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410
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English
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The Importance of the Temple in Understanding the Latter-day Saint Nauvoo Experience
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Vol. 6 in the Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series. Logan, Utah
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Utah State University Press
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'Because Mormonism has now been around for more than 170 years and continues to experience phenomenal growth, most wise historians would probably agree that it requires more than one thesis to adequately explain Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the church he organized on April 6, 1830. However, in this [paper] I will focus on the Nauvoo Temple and its importance in understanding the Latter-day Saint experience in the city historian Robert Bruce Flanders called the 'Kingdom on the Mississippi.' I am not arguing that the temple is the only way to comprehend the history of Nauvoo; rather I am suggesting that emphasizing the importance of the temple, the endowment, sealings, and vicarious work for the dead helps to flesh out the complexity of the Mormon movement and the hold it had, and has, on its members. . . .The Nauvoo Temple's place in Latter-day Saint history, at least in part, helps to illuminate the source of members' devotion and optimism.' (taken from author's introduction)