Greetings, fellow history nerds!

I apologize for not sending out a newsletter these last few weeks. The end of the semester came with lots of busy work and surprises--though I guess it shouldn't be a surprise given it happens every year. And then I tried to take advantage of the short break between the spring semester and the start of summer courses, which always goes faster than expected. And finally, it's been a frenzy of activity to complete preparations for next week's Mormon History Association annual conference. A convergence of so many things!

But I do have some exciting news: I have signed a contract with WW Norton, the publisher that produced both Kingdom of Nauvoo and American Zion, for my next book. I'll be writing a general history of Christian nationalism in the United States over the past century, aiming to give some background and context to our current moment as well as demonstrate that the ascension of a particular libertarian, anti-pluralism, and theocrat vision of American Christianity was far from assured. It's a sobering topic, but an important trajectory that deserves more dissection. You'll be hearing a lot more from me as it develops.

This doesn't mean I'm setting my Cleon Skousen project aside. Skousen will be one of the key figures in my story, and I'll likely be doing a spin-off biography of Skousen--more details on that soon. And of course, if you register for next week's Mormon History Association--and remember, if you can't make it in person, you can stream it online--you'll hear my presidential address on this very topic.

Anyways, let's get to the links.

NEWS/NOTES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• My next LIVE discussion, on 6/3, will be from the Mormon History Association's venue in Las Vegas. It will feature a discussion Dr. John Turner, author of the popular and excellent Joseph Smith and Brigham Young biographies. We'll be talking about his books, the politics of Mormon history, and answering any and all questions you might have. Please mark your calendars so you don't miss it! Here is the link so you can set a reminder.
• Then, for the rest of the week, I'll be soaking up the brilliance of fellow historians at the Mormon History Association annual conference. I genuinely mean it when I say it's my favorite weekend of the year. (Though this year might be a bit crazy given my leadership role.) I hope many of you are attending--it's a very welcoming space and most who attend aren't professional historians. But remember that there is a streaming option if you can't travel to Las Vegas. That includes watching my presidential address on Saturday night, "The Five Thousand Years of Cleon Skousen." It will be a legendary event!
• If that wasn't enough for the week, I'll also be speaking (virtually) for a conference held at Brown University's John Carter Brown Library, "Conference on Religions and Freedoms, c. 1776." It's a stacked program with some of the brightest scholars on American religious history, and I'll be participating in the opening plenary. If you're near Rhode Island, I promise it's worth your time. (I wish I could be there in person!)

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

• ​Why Did the Second Anointing Nearly Disappear? (5/8): In the second part of my series on the second anointing ritual in LDS history, this video looked at how it became a core ordinance in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries before nearly disappearing. I explore why that was, as well as its more recent resurgence, and I conclude with some thoughts on how the ritual fits in the modern church.
• ​Why the Supreme Court Rejected Mormon Polygamy (5/11): Mormons claimed that plural marriage should be protected as their genuine religious thought; the federal government argued that they had the right and interest to root it out. This fight made it all the way to the Supreme Court, and the resulting decision shaped American conceptions of religious liberty.
• ​The History of the Word "Mormon" from the "I'm a Mormon" Campaign to "Victory for Satan" (5/13): the LDS Church's relationship to the nickname "Mormon" has a complicated history, which has become all the more relevant due to a recent lawsuit agains the Mormon Stories podcast. This video explores the evolution of the nickname, showing what it meant in the 1830s all the way until today.
• ​How the Word of Wisdom Became a Requirement (5/15): for nearly a century after Joseph Smith dictated his "Word of Wisdom" revelation, it was hardly a commandment. And then it became a requirement for a temple recommend. When and how did this happen? This video looks at the early twentieth-century and how the prohibition movement shaped LDS shifting policy.
• ​Bruce R. McConkie's Fight with Eugene England Over the Nature of God (5/18): this video discusses the famous, and fascinating, dispute between BYU Professor Eugene England and LDS apostle Bruce R. McConkie, and examines how it is a a revealing microcosm of larger issues in the modern faith.
• ​The LDS Church's PR Strategy (5/20): like many large organizations, the LDS Church has employed external public relations specialists to help shape its brand. This video explores several key examples of this from the past half-century.
• ​How Evangelicalism Became Anti-Gay (5/22): White evangelicals are largely considered the most reliable anti-gay caucus in the United States. But a new book argues that this didn't have to be the case. I discuss William Stell's provocative work, Born Again Queer, including an interview with the author.
• ​Who Did the Mormons Support in the Civil War? (5/25): did Brigham Young want the Union or Confederacy to win during the Civil War? I've seen hot takes for both sides, but the truth is that the Mormons merely wanted to be left alone. I explore these dynamics and explain how the Civil War era ended up transforming the Mormon region.
• ​The History of Mormon Beverage Rules (5/27): has the Word of Wisdom's "hot drinks" provision always meant coffee and tea? Have saints always followed that instruction? This video digs into this long history, showing that yes, "hot drinks" has alway meant tea and coffee, but no, saints have not always been consistent in following this directive.
• ​The LDS Apostle Who Declared War on Historians (5/29): you've probably heard the famous phrase, "some things that are true are not very useful," which Boyd K. Packer uttered in 1981. This video unpacks both the speech as well as D. Michael Quinn's response, and then I touch on the lasting legacies.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

• Was Brigham Young a Snitch Who Had Joseph Smith Killed?: TikTok/Instagram​
• Competing Anxieties Over the "Mormon" Label: TikTok/Instagram​
• When did the Word of Wisdom Become a Requirement?: TikTok/Instagram​
• When Did the Latter-day Saints Interpret "Hot Drinks" as Tea & Coffee?: TikTok/Instagram​
• Fleshing Out the Tragic Life of Enoch Lovejoy Lewis: TikTok/Instagram​
• The Theological Problems of McConkie's Seven Deadly Heresies: TikTok/Instagram​
• Historical Context for the LDS "Family" Commercials: TikTok/Instagram​
• Remembering & Forgetting the First Memorial Day: Instagram​
• Did Joseph Smith Predict the Civil War?: TikTok/Instagram​
• Recommending Beverly Gage's This Land is Your Land: TikTok/Instagram​

ODDS & ENDS

• If you haven't yet, make sure to go read Jordan Watkins's phenomenal and moving Century of Black Mormons entry on Enoch Lovejoy Lewis. It's one of the best things I've read all year.
• The LDS Church History Department, in collaboration with the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, have published Native Saints, a new digital resource that looks outstanding and significant. I'll probably have more on this soon.
• I plugged this is a short video, but I strongly recommend Beverly Gage's This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History. Really great reflections on the past while touring historic sites--the perfect audiobook for your road trip this summer. If you want an equally relevant, if a bit more cynical, take, then check out Tad Stoermer's A Resistance History of the United States. And if you want a sobering if expansive view on the rise of the Great Replacement theory in global thought, I just finished Ibram Kendi's Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age.

That's all I have for now. I hope to see many of you in Vegas next week for the Mormon History Association!

best,

Benjamin Park, historian and nerd