Roots of Modern Mormonism / Mark P. Leone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leone, Mark P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mormons.

RELIGION / General.

Local Subjects:

Mormons.

RELIGION / General.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (259 p.): 1 Kte

Edition:

Reprint 2014

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Mark Leone comes to new conclusions about the evolution of Mormonism, both as a self-sufficient religious sect and as a movement within the broader context of American history. Applying the tools of anthropology for the first time to this subject, he identifies the features that have allowed an outcast utopia of the nineteenth century to achieve worldwide success in the twentieth. The author explores the ways in which a minority survives in a hostile environment, both physical and cultural. He focuses especially on the Mormon settlements of eastern Arizona, whose rich records reveal in microcosm the workings of a modern theocracy. The early Mormon radicalism emerges as an appropriate response to contemporary conditions. With the shift of Mormonism from independence to colonial status at the turn of the century, Mormon ideas begin their transformation to conservatism, again illustrating the flexibility that is a key to the religion's stunning success. Leone's broad range of sources, including diaries, native histories, judicial records, and correspondence, gives a full picture of Mormon life and history. He has also done extensive ethnographic field work in the Mormon settlements along the Little Colorado River, so as to be able to describe the movement in its own terms.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface

Contents

1. Religion for Unstable Conditions

2. History and Structure of the Church

3. Tithing: The Regulation of Ecological Diversity

4. Water Control: The Origins of Dynamic Adjustment

5. Ecclesiastical Courts: Inventing Labels and Enforcing Definitions

6. Theocracy Transformed: The Separation of Church from State and Economy

7. Creating Mormonism: Talks, Testimony, and Sunday School

8. The Uses of History

9. Empty Opposition

Appendix. Tithing Receipts in Little Colorado Towns, 1887-1898

Works Cited

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

0-674-43083-2

OCLC:

1024027635