Greetings fellow history nerds,

I can't believe my YouTube channel passed the one-year mark last week. It just seems like it was a couple months ago. Funny how time flies while you're trying to stay busy so you don't get run down by current news. But I'm genuinely grateful for the many of you who participate in our community of nerds--I still don't know how you're able to withstand my face and voice, but I'm happy you do.

I hope you have been enjoying my video series on Youtube on the Mormon History battles of the 1970s and 1980s. It's a crucial era for modern Mormonism because it was, in many ways, the flowering of the LDS historical consciousness, which in turn prompted a major backlash and cultural retrenchment. I've done videos on an MHA presidential address so controversial it prompted a public apology, Mark Hofmann's forgeries and bombs, debates over BH Roberts's faith, and D. Michael Quinn's controversial book on Mormonism and magic. If you missed any of the videos, you can find them in this playlist.

The series culminates in a LIVE discussion over at my YouTube channel this Wednesday. I hope you'll join me. More information below. And make sure you're subscribed to my channel so you can keep up with the videos. And by the way, if you would like to give back and help make these videos possible, you can become a channel member. (Sincere thanks to those of you who have already done so!)

Let's move on to my bi-weekly updates and links.

NEWS/NOTES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Most importantly, please join me for my LIVE conversation this Wednesday, 4/1, at 7pm MT. Here is the link for the discussion; you can hit the notification button to make sure you won't miss it. I really love these monthly conversations. While the chat feed can at times get quite crazy, there are often lots of sincere and smart questions, and it's a great way to learn where people are leaning. So please mark your calendars, attend, and ask questions!
• Since we're approaching LDS General Conference, the Salt Lake Tribune is running their usual special section on Mormonism. This usually features many guest columnists. If you have a Tribune Subscription--and you really should--you already have access to the paper edition online; individual columns will be made available throughout the week. My column, on Clark Gilbert's declension narrative concerning higher education, will be available Tuesday. I'll share it on my social media channels.
• Please mark your calendar for April 9, when the Mormon History Association will hold its final online lecture. Sharalyn Howcraft, an expert in early Mormon texts, will be talking about Lucy Mack Smith's fascinating memoir. You can find information near the bottom of this page.
• And speaking of MHA, please register for the June conference in Vegas! It's truly going to be a blast, and you should attend regardless your background or expertise.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

• ​Why Emma Smith's Story was Suppressed (3/29; available for members now): in 1984, Doubleday published a groundbreaking and feminist biography of Emma Smith that prompted a major backlash from the church. The two authors, Val Avery and Linda Newell, were soon banned from speaking in church settings. Four decades later, it remains one of my favorite books in Mormon history. This video tells the backstory to their work, the book's explosive contents, and the reaction from historians as well as the institution. It's the final video in my "Battles of Mormon History" series.
• ​Mormonism & Magic: D. Michael Quinn's Early Mormon History (3/26): few historians have been as controversial as D. Michael Quinn, and few of his works prompted such a response as his Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. This video explains how the book came to be, including the influence of Mark Hofmann's forgeries. I then discuss how he approached the topic, his argument's strengths and weaknesses, and the bit fights its publication prompted. I really liked this video--it's me at my geekiest.
• ​A "New" LDS Policy That's Actually Old (3/24): The LDS Church recently announced that women could serve as Sunday school president. While many celebrated this shift, it's actually a return to an older policy. This video provides the long historical backdrop as well as contemplates the long-term consequences of this "new" policy.
• ​The Mark Hofmann Forgeries (3/22): I've received more requests to cover this topic than any other. Hofmann was America's most successful forger, producing documents that convinced LDS leaders, Mormon historians, and American antiquarians. And then he murdered two people to cover his crimes when the walls were closing in. This video does a deep dive on the larger saga as well as its lasting legacies.
• ​Did B.H. Roberts Lose His Faith? (3/19): BH Roberts was Mormonism's foremost apologist, theologian, and historian in the early-twentieth century. Yet in his last decade, he came to doubt traditional defense of the Book of Mormon's historicity. Does that mean he lost his faith overall? I examine this question and dig into the relevant sources in this video.
• ​What Mormon Prophets of the Past Said About the US Constitution (3/17): do Mormons believe the Constitution is inspired? The answer depends on what Mormon you're talking about, and what era you're examining. I offer a broad history of Mormonism's evolving understanding of America's founding documents, a question all the more relevant after the First Presidency recently invited members to participate in a global fast in honor of the Constitution's protection of religious liberty.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

• Evolution of LDS Commemoration of the US Founding: TikTok/Instagram​
• The Rise and Fall of Mormonism's 10-Month Ban on Oral Sex: TikTok/Instagram​
• Highlighting a New Book, God Bless the Pill: TikTok/Instagram​
• When Tourists Got an Unexpectedly Intimate Glimpse into the SLC Temple: TikTok/Instagram​
• Jerald Tanner's Skepticism of Hofmann's Forgeries: TikTok/Instagram​
• Is It a Historian's Job to Declare Whether the Gold Plates were Real?: TikTok/Instagram​
• Wrestling with the Gold Plates, Part 1: Richard Bushman: TikTok/Instagram​
• Wrestling with the Gold Plates, Part 2: John Turner: TikTok/Instagram​

ODDS & Ends

• In the world of books, I recently made my way through Julia Gaffield's superb I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti's Fight for Freedom (Yale UP). It's a compelling biography of one of Haiti's revolutionary leaders, and an important balance to America's glorification of founders who were enslavers. Speaking of the American founding, I just re-read Francois Furstenberg's still-relevant In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation (Penguin Press), as I'll be discussing it with students this week. It's a fascinating and important look at how early Americans remembered Washington and the founding in such a way that caused conflicts over liberty and slavery.
• In terms of pop culture, I really loved Project Hail Mary, and surprisingly enjoyed Goat. Paradise, Season 2, has been a beautiful disaster, and the first episode of the new Daredevil season does not give me hope for what comes next in that series.

I think that's more than enough from me. I hope to see many of you at Wednesday's LIVE discussion!

Benjamin Park, historian and nerd