From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reed Connell Durham, Jr. (born 1930)[1] is a
historian of the Latter Day Saint movement and
former director of the Institute of Religion in Salt Lake City,
Utah for The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church or Mormon
Church). Durham is remembered for a controversial speech given in
1974 about Freemasonry
and the Latter Day Saint movement.
Biography
Durham was born in Long Beach, California.[2]
He was one of the four children of Reed C. Durham, Sr. and Violet
E. Cottrell. His father was a professor at Utah
State University in Logan, Utah and served as bishop in the LDS Church three times.[3]
Durham married Faye L. Davis and they began having children
while he attended college in Logan.[4]
Education
Durham received his M.S. from the Department of Speech at Utah
State Agricultural College in 1957 (the year it became Utah
State University), followed by his Ph.D. in history from Brigham Young University (BYU)
in 1965, writing his dissertation on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.[5]
Historian Donald Q. Cannon considers Durham's
dissertation part of the "major scholarly contribution to the study
of Mormon history" that occurred during the 1960s.[6]
Church
Educational System
Durham began teaching for the Church Educational System
(CES) in 1955 while attending school in Logan.[7] After
receiving his master's degree, he stayed in Logan and in 1958
became associate director of the LDS Church's Institute of Religion adjacent to
Utah State University.[2]
He was elected as a national vice president of Lambda Delta
Sigma, the LDS fraternity, in 1959.[8] By 1966
he was associate director of the Institute adjacent to the University of
Utah in Salt Lake City,[9] where
he would serve for years as Institute Director and coordinator of
Seminaries and Institutes throughout the Salt Lake
Valley.[10]
Durham was a member of the church's Sunday
School General Board and was a ward Sunday school teacher.[10]
Durham has taught religion at BYU[11]
and in 1972 he was awarded the Division Faculty Teaching Award by
the BYU Division of Continuing Education.[12]
Durham was active in the historical community. In the 1960s he
was involved with the Organization of
American Historians.[13] In
1970 Durham was one of several prominent LDS historians forming a
committee that consulted the creation of the LDS Church Historical
Department.[14]
Durham was an early supporter of Sunstone magazine, which was
founded in 1974 by a former student.[15]
In 1974 Durham took a year off as Institute Director to work on a
book in the church's 16-volume sesquicentennial history to be
published in 1980.[16]
In the Mormon History Association
(MHA) Durham served as its eighth president, from 1973–74, and
second executive secretary, from 1969–71.[17] While
he was president, the MHA launched the Journal of Mormon History, in which
the inaugural issue received criticism from some CES personnel for an article
by Jan Shipps about Joseph Smith.[18][15]
In 1974 he delivered a controversial presidential speech to the MHA
which startled the LDS historical community, causing Durham to
issue a letter of clarification and withdraw from future
participation in the MHA.[18]
Later
life
After his year of research ended, Durham was offered the choice
of returning as the Director of the Salt Lake Institute or a
promotion to area director of LDS educational programs. He turned
both down so he could focus on research and full-time Institute
teaching, which he did for years.[19]
By 1991 Durham had been living in Logan, Utah[3]
where he still taught for CES.[20] In
1995 he taught at BYU's travel study program in Nauvoo,
Illinois,[21] and
he was a service missionary at Brigham Young
University–Hawaii from 1996 to 1999.[22] In
2009 he taught a class on the Book of Mormon to single adults in Providence,
near Logan.[11]
1974 Nauvoo
speech
At the Mormon History Association (MHA) conference in Nauvoo,
Illinois, on April 20, 1974, Durham delivered his presidential
address on the connections of Mormonism and Freemasonry, entitled "Is There No Help for
the Widow's Son?". During a thunder storm that day,[23][24]
Durham discussed Masonic parallels with the LDS priesthood, the
Masonic Enoch Legend, the occultic Jupiter Medallion attributed to
Joseph Smith, and Masonic elements in Mormon temple
design and ceremony.[25][26] About
the temple ceremony, Durham famously stated:
There is absolutely no question in my mind that the Mormon
ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by
Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons initially, just a little over one
month after he became a Mason, had an immediate inspiration from
Masonry. This is not to suggest that no other source of inspiration
could have been involved, but the similarities between the two
ceremonies are so apparent and overwhelming that some dependent
relationship cannot be denied.[27][28]
Durham said he was attempting to raise questions and he appealed
to the historical community to clarify Joseph Smith's relationship
to folk magic and Masonry, rather than burying their heads "in the
traditional sand".[29][30]
Reaction
Jan Shipps said the
speech ignited an explosion leaving attendees in a "tension-filled
aftershock".[31] It
was the only time she saw Leonard J. Arrington angry, who
had worked for years to open the church archives and now feared
they would be closed.[24][29]
The next day, the Nauvoo Visitors' Center removed a Nauvoo Temple
weather vane display, which Durham had shown in slides for its Masonic symbols.[32][33]
The speech seemed to support critics who wanted to discredit
Mormonism.[34][35][36]
Durham's leaders were upset[37][38][39]
and he was rumored to have been disciplined.[40][41]
Durham denied that his church membership was ever threatened and he
was even offered a promotion with CES, where he continued his
career.[42] The
church had asked him "to do no more with the subject again" and
"not to release information" and he declined public comment.[25]
His paper went unpublished and he ceased involvement in the
MHA.[40][18]
Letter
After friends and colleagues criticized his conclusions and
questioned his faith, Durham circulated a letter to all
participants.[34][43][18][44] He
stated that he had been misunderstood by not incorporating his
faith into the speech. He reasserted his belief in Joseph Smith,
the temple ceremonies and divine revelation.[43]
Many saw this as an apology.[29][39][45] LDS
writer Matthew
B. Brown asserted that Durham's letter admitted to limited
research and insufficient skill and knowledge.[46]
Legacy
Durham's speech became famous[24]
and made him into "a kind of pivotal figure in the Mormon
Church".[47] It is
still cited critics of the Mormon temple rites,[28][48][49][50][51]
though Gilbert W. Scharffs believes
Durham's statements have been exaggerated.[52] While
Durham didn't publish his paper,[40]
unauthorized transcripts were made and circulated as the
"underground presidential address",[39][53][54][55]
though Durham's notes and citations were absent.[56]
Looking back during the 1980s, Durham privately wished he had
presented some material differently, noting that the evidence for
the Jupiter Talisman was actually quite weak.[57] Matthew B.
Brown claimed that Durham had abandoned his speech's
claims.[58]
The speech is seen as one factors in the LDS Church's waning
tolerance toward open and revisionist history during the 1970s and
1980s.[37][38][29]
It is thought to be one reason CES began to discourage its faculty
from involvement in the MHA.[18]
Some Mormon historians, such as D. Michael Quinn,[59] built
upon the speech to argue that early Mormonism was heavily
influenced by folk magic. Jan Shipps believed the speech was part of
Mark Hofmann's
inspiration in creating the Salamander
Letter,[24]
a hoax document which seemed to support Quinn's and Durham's work
linking Joseph Smith's religious experiences with "magic".[60]
Historical
approach
Durham was known for his unorthodox approach and research into
LDS history and controversy.[61][62] Scott
Kenney, one of Durham's Institute students who would later found
Sunstone magazine, was inspired
to study theology and teach Institute because of Durham's classroom
explorations of controversial issues in a historical context, which
highlighted the humanistic elements of the church.[63]
Despite his position as a religious teacher for the church,
Durham was on good terms with Jerald and Sandra Tanner,[64]
well-known opponents of Mormonism, and was known to have purchased
materials from them.[65]
In an 1972 speech he explained how he is motivated by the Tanner's
criticisms:
I can't help but think that when they raise these issues it does
something to us to have to defend... When I see something that
counters what I've been taught or what I know or what I understand
or what I feel, the way to counter research...unpleasant to me is
not by sticking my head in the sand like an ostrich, but by more
research. I may have to revamp, and knowledge sometimes is a
dangerous thing. But I will revamp, and I will understand better my
heritage. ...what I'm trying to say is that they have become, in a
sense, catalysts to sharpen our own historical understanding. We've
had to get on the stick and do some study, and do some homework
that sometimes we haven't done.[65]
In 1992, Durham remembered explaining to Sandra Tanner how he
reconciled LDS historical controversies with his faith in the
1960s:
I explained to Sandra that I look at revelation as a process and
that line upon line a church or a prophet or anyone for that matter
can learn and improve. I told her that we all make mistakes and
errors and said, 'But Sandra, you look at it differently. If you
find one little mistake with a church or a prophet you believe they
cannot be of God. I see a process of growing and learning. God
sometimes has trouble helping us because of our limitations, not
his. Oh sure, he could coerce us, but he doesn't and so we can only
progress as fast as our limitations let us.'[64]
His colleague Gilbert W. Scharffs said, "I have
seldom found a man with a firmer conviction of Jesus Christ and the
LDS Church. There are few in the LDS Church who have a deeper
knowledge of LDS history and doctrine than Reed C. Durham, Jr."[66]
Writings
Books
- Durham, Reed C., Jr.; Steven H.
Heath (1970). Succession in the Church. Salt Lake City,
Utah: Bookcraft.
- ——
(1991), The Gifts of the Magi: Gold, Frankincense and
Myrrh, ISBN
0916095533
.
In 1972 the LDS Church planned a new sixteen-volume
sesquicentennial history to be published in 1980,[67] and
Durham was commissioned to write the volume on the crossing of the
Great Plains.[68]
However, these contracts were all canceled in 1981[69] and
Durham's volume was never published,[70]
though he did write an article on the subject for the Encyclopedia of
Mormonism and two journal articles on the Mormon pioneer sojourn in
Iowa.[71]
Papers
- Durham, Reed C., Jr.
(1957), "The Use of Choral Reading in the Various Programs of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", Master's thesis,
Logan: Department of Speech, Utah
State Agricultural College
.
- ——
(1965), "A History of Joseph Smith's Revision of the Bible", Ph.D.
thesis, Provo, Utah: Department of Graduate Studies in Religious
Instruction, Brigham Young
University
.
- ——
(1971), "Various Accounts of the Election-Day Battle at Gallatin,
Missouri on August 6, 1839—Arranged in Chronological Order", Salt
Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake Institute of Religion
. [72]
- ——
(1971), "Revelation and Scripture: A Collection of Significant
Statements"
. Unpublished
manuscript in the BYU Harold B. Lee Library.[73]
- ——
(April 20, 1974), "Is There No Help for the
Widow’s Son?", Nauvoo, Illinois: Mormon History Association
Convention, http://www.cephasministry.com/mormon_is_there_no_help.html
. Presidential
Address. (Unauthorized publication by Mervin B. Hogan as "An
Underground Presidential Address".[54])
- ——
(1974), "To Whom It May
Concern", http://en.fairmormon.org/Primary_sources/Reed_C._Durham_on_1974_talk
. Privately
circulated letter.
- ——
(1980), "Some Recent Historical and Archaeological Evidences for
the Book of Mormon", R. C. Durham
. [74]
Articles
- Durham, Reed C., Jr. (Autumn
1966). "[Book review of] The
Everlasting Spires: A Story of the Salt Lake Temple, by Wallace
Alan Raynor". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
1 (3): 169–170. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,3751.
- —— (July 1967). "… Mary Was
Espoused to Joseph …". The Instructor: 265.
- —— (Spring 1968). "[Book review of] Joseph Smith
and the Restoration, by Ivan J. Barrett". BYU Studies
8 (3): 342–345. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2031.
- —— (Summer 1970). "Joseph Smith's Own Story of a
Serious Childhood Illness". BYU Studies 10 (4):
480–482. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2129.
- —— (May 1972). "And Blossom as the
Rose". Ensign: 74. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=1afe307e3584b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD.
- —— (Autumn 1972). "The Election Day Battle at
Gallatin". BYU
Studies 13 (1): 36–61. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2574.
- —— (May 1973). "Revelation: The Plainest
Book Ever Written". New Era: 21. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d44618e7c379b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD.
- —— (September 1973). "What is the Hosanna
Shout?". New Era: 14–15. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=643946581c79b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD#15.
- —— (September 1975). "What is the mantle of the
prophet?". New Era: 15–16. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=17995930f289b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD#12.
- —— (Fall 1981). "The Iowa Experience: A
Blessing in Disguise". BYU Studies 21 (4):
463–474. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,834.
- —— (1992). "Nauvoo Expositor". in Daniel H.
Ludlow. Encyclopedia of
Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Nauvoo_Expositor.
- —— (1992). "Times and Seasons". in Daniel H.
Ludlow. Encyclopedia of
Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Times_and_Seasons.
- —— (1992). "Westward Migration: Planning
and Prophecy". in Daniel H. Ludlow. Encyclopedia of
Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Westward_Migration:_Planning_and_Prophecy.
- —— (Spring 1996). "The Iowa
Experience: A Blessing in Disguise?". Pioneer: 10–12,
14.
- Backman, Milton V., Jr.; Reed C.
Durham, Jr.; Charles D. Tate (Fall 1996). "The Nauvoo Experience,
1844-1846". Dispatch (Illinois State Historical Society):
12–13.
Notes
- ^
"The use of choral reading in
the various programs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints". Library Catalog. Utah
State University Merrill-Cazier Library. http://symprod.lib.usu.edu/. Retrieved
2010-01-06.
- ^ a
b
"New Teachers Named For
Seminary Posts"". Deseret News. April 26, 1958. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22New+Teachers+Named+For+Seminary+Posts%22+%22reed+durham%22. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
"Joining the staff as associate director of the Institute of
Religion at Logan, Utah, is Reed Durham Jr. He was born in Long
Beach, California..."
- ^ a
b
"Death: Reed C. Durham,
Sr.". Deseret
News. May 21, 1991. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/164791/. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
Mayer, C. Lamar, ed. "The Descendants of Eliza C.
Anderson Jensen" (PDF). James Jorgen Andersen and Ane
Kjirstine Eskesen, Ancestors and Descendants. p. 498. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/FH14,42619. Retrieved
2010-01-06.
- ^
Robert J.
Matthews. A Plainer Translation: Joseph Smith's translation
of the Bible, A History and Commentary (Provo: Brigham Young University
Press, 1975) p. 16
- ^
Cannon, Donald Q. (Spring 2004). "[Review of] Leland Homer
Gentry. A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri
from 1836 to 1839". Journal of
Mormon History 30 (1): 241. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,18473. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Durham, Reed C., Jr. (Spring 1968).
"[Book review of] Joseph Smith
and the Restoration, by Ivan J. Barrett". BYU Studies
8 (3): 342–345. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2031. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Lambda Delts Select New
Officers". Deseret
News Salt Lake Telegram: p. 15. October 24, 1959. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KkUwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y0gDAAAAIBAJ&dq=reed%20durham&pg=4167%2C5596159. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Salt Lake: Series Books
Pres. Brown". Church News (Deseret News): p. 4. December 3,
1966. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nvQvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W0gDAAAAIBAJ&dq=reed-durham&pg=5807%2C804929. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^ a
b
Durham, Reed C, Jr. (May 1972). "And Blossom as the
Rose". Ensign: 74. http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=1afe307e3584b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^ a
b
"Cache Singles.org". http://www.cachesingles.org/. Retrieved 2009-12-30. "The
instructor will be Reed Durham, retired BYU religion instructor,
with the course being “Insights and Evidences of the Book of
Mormon”."
- ^
Richard H. Henstrom, Keith R. Oakes
(1997) (PDF). A History of the Division
of Continuing Education. Provo, Utah: s.n.. p. 812. https://ceweb.byu.edu/intra/pdf/history/chapter38.pdf. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Program: annual meeting,
Volumes 61-66". Organization of American Historians. p. 10. http://books.google.com/books?lr=&ei=F4c7S-T0C5q4yAT-uMm9AQ&cd=55&id=J5d5AAAAMAAJ&dq=reed+durham&q=reed+durham#search_anchor. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Arrington 1998, p. 77
- ^ a
b
Warthen, Lee (June 1999). "The Scott Kenney Years,
Summer 1974 – June 1978" (PDF). Sunstone: 52, 61. http://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/114-48-61.pdf. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Scharffs 1989 a
- ^
Bitton, Davis (1991). "Taking Stock: The Mormon
History Association after Twenty-Five Years". Journal of Mormon History
17: 13. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,15388. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
Patricia Lyn Scott, James E. Crooks,
and Sharon G. Pugsley (Spring 1992). "'A Kinship of Interest': The
Mormon History Association's Membership". Journal of Mormon History
18 (1): 156. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,14857. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Scharffs 1989 a
- ^
"List of Contributors" (PDF). Encyclopedia of
Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. 1992.
p. xlii. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/EoM,5432. Retrieved 2010-01-11. "Reed
C. Durham, Jr., Church Educational System, Logan,
UT"
- ^
"BYU again offering 'semester
in Nauvoo'". Church News (Deseret News). October 29, 1994. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/24379/BYU-again-offering-semester-in-Nauvoo.html. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Elder Reed Durham,
1996-1999". Golden Jubilee Faculty Blog. Brigham Young
University–Hawaii. http://w2.byuh.edu/jubilee/fblogview.php?id=408713. Retrieved
2010-01-06.
- ^
"Scholars Share Diverging
Interpretations of Nauvoo" (PDF). Sunstone 13
(3): 55. June 1989. http://sunstoneonline.com/magazine/issues/71/071-53-56.pdf. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^ a
b
c
d
Geisner, Joe (April 17, 2008). "A California Mormon visits
the other Zion". Mormon
Matters. http://mormonmatters.org/2008/04/17/a-california-mormon-visits-the-other-zion/. Retrieved
2010-01-03.
- ^ a
b
"Summary Description".
The Reed C. Durham Papers. University of Utah Marriott Library Special Collections. http://db3-sql.staff.library.utah.edu/lucene/Manuscripts/null/Accn0444.xml/complete. Retrieved
2010-01-03.
- ^
Hogan 1974
- ^
Hogan 1974
- ^ a
b
Jeffers, H. Paul (2005). Freemasons: A History and
Exploration of the World's Oldest Secret Society. Citadel Press. p. 173. http://books.google.com/books?id=qvXIYSYBwC0C&lpg=PA173&dq=reed%20durham&lr=&pg=PA173#v=onepage&q=reed%20durham&f=false. Retrieved
2010-01-03.
- ^ a
b
c
d
"Arrington's optimism regarding honest discussion of Mormon history
was tested in 1974 when Reed Durham, director of the LDS Institute
of Religion at the University of Utah, presented a presidential
address at the annual conference of the Mormon History Association
in Nauvoo, Illinois. In his paper, Durham explored Joseph Smith's
links with Masonry and his possession of a magical Jupiter
talisman. Negative repercussions following Durham's appeal for an
open discussion of the influence of folk magic and Masonry on
Mormonism led to his public apology and reaffirmation of faith. The
backlash which caused some Mormons to question Durham's faith
continued in a number of public speeches made by Ezra Taft Benson
in 1976 during which he criticized efforts to revise traditional
interpretations of the history of his church." Dobay, Clara V. (Spring 1994). "Intellect and Faith: The
Controversy Over Revisionist Mormon History". Dialogue: A
Journal of Mormon Thought 27 (1): 96. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,15689. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
Hogan 1974
- ^
Shipps, Jan (Spring 1982). "An 'Inside-Outsider' in
Zion". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
15 (1): 153–54. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,20054. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
Melvin B. Hogan wrote, "I have been informed that the particular
[weather vane] illustration referred to, in the Visitors' Center,
had been removed when the Center opened the next morning." (Hogan 1974)
- ^
Scharffs 1989 b
- ^ a
b
"The anti-Mormon community was overjoyed at this presentation,
while Dr. Durham's LDS colleagues were stunned and called his faith
and good sense into question." (Brown
1998)
- ^
The Tanners, LDS critics, wrote, "We feel that Dr. Durham's
identification of Joseph Smith's talisman is one of the most
significant discoveries in Mormon history and that he should be
commended for his research." (Tanner
1980, p. 90)
- ^
Scharffs 1989 b
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b
Bergera, Gary James; Ronald Priddis
(1985). "Integrating Religion &
Academics". Brigham Young University: A House of
Faith. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/byu/chapter2.htm. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
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Givens, Terryl (2007). People of Paradox: A
History of Mormon Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.
p. 233. http://books.google.com/books?id=1q5SfFL66QMC&lpg=PT233&pg=PT233. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
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Stack, Peggy Fletcher (January 13,
2006). "Mormon connection to Masons
explored ahead of 'Da Vinci Code' sequel". The
Salt Lake Tribune. http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon283.html. Retrieved
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Homer, Michael W. (Fall 1994). "'Similarity of Priesthood in
Masonry': The Relationship between Freemasonry and Mormonism".
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 27
(3): 1–2. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,16999. Retrieved
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Decker, Ed; Dave Hunt (1984). The God Makers.
Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House
Publishers. p. 97. http://books.google.com/books?id=2ITZAAAAMAAJ&q=reed+durham&dq=reed+durham&lr=&ei=L2Y7S7zoDJ_qzASFw73nCQ&cd=11. Retrieved
2010-01-04.
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Durham,
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Foundation
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2009-12-31
- ^
"Reed Durham was severely criticized by Mormon scholars and
officials for giving this speech." (Tanner 1980, p. 90)
- ^
Durham "finally found it necessary to issue a letter in which he
reaffirmed his faith in Joseph Smith and said that he was sorry for
the 'concerns, and misunderstandings' that the speech had caused."
Tanner 1980, p. 90
- ^
"From his letter we learn that (1) Dr. Durham had spent only a few
months in researching his subject, (2) he was 'not skillful' in
handling his material, and (3) he was not sufficiently 'erudite' in
the matter. ... Erudition is defined as 'knowledge acquired by
study or research,' in Random House Webster's Dictionary, 1996 ed.,
221." "Reed Durham admitted that his misconceptions about the
temple came from a lack of learning." (Brown 1998)
- ^
Shugarts, David A. (2005). Secrets of the Widow's
Son: The Mysteries Surrounding the Sequel to the Da Vinci
Code. New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=G-WW6tXOoLgC&q=reed+durham&dq=reed+durham&ei=EGY7S8bcC5DSyQST5MmECQ&cd=10. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
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Brown 1998
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Groat, Joel B.. "Occultic and Masonic Influence in Early
Mormonism". Institute for Religious
Research. http://www.irr.org/MIT/masonry.html. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
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Scharffs 1989 b
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McKeever, Bill. "Masonic Influence in the Endowment Ceremony".
Mormonism Research Ministry. http://www.mrm.org/masonic-influence. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
"[The God Makers]' overdramatized account [of Durham's
speech] is grossly exaggerated. In effect Durham merely said,
'Although we all know of Joseph Smith's association with Masonry,
here's information that he was involved to a greater extent than
what we have known.' ... Dr. Durham also told me he was trying to
play the 'devil's advocate' in his Nauvoo speech, which is what
many there, including myself, sensed. Unfortunately others took the
words to further their purposes." (Scharffs 1989 b)
- ^
Hogan 1974
- ^ a
b
Hogan, Mervin B.. "Forward". Is There No
Help For The Widow's Son?. Salt Lake City: Research Lodge of
Utah, F. & A. M. Masonic Temple. http://www.mormonismi.net/temppeli/durhamin_puhe1974.shtml. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Buerger, David John (Winter 1987).
"The Development of the Mormon
Temple Endowment Ceremony". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought 20 (4): 71.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,20177. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
"Buerger gets this idea from Reed Durham's 'Widow's Son' lecture,
but in his footnote he fails to tell readers exactly where Durham's
quotation can be found. None of Reed Durham's transcribed comments
are supported by any references, but they deserve to be scrutinized
nevertheless." Brown 1998
- ^
Scharffs 1989 b
- ^ "But in recent years
a number of publications have sprung up on the fringes of Mormonism
that champion the very same anti-Mormon theory abandoned by Dr.
Durham." (Brown 1998)
- ^
"Magic in Mormonism: From
Denials It Was Practiced to Exaggerations". Salt Lake City
Messenger. November 1987. http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no65.htm. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
Geoghegan, G. P. (2007). Protestantism: The Dark
Night of Christianity. Lulu.com. p. 64. ISBN 1430318120. http://books.google.com/books?id=AmroW1y_qEcC&lpg=PT61&pg=PT64. Retrieved
2010-01-05.
- ^
Durham obtained a statement by Bruce R. McConkie, which was later
circulated, about the physical conception and birth of Adam. Watson, Eldon (May 2002). "Different Thoughts - #7: Adam
- God". http://www.eldenwatson.net/7AdamGod.htm. Retrieved
2010-01-03.
- ^
Durham's description the contested 1886 John Taylor revelation on polygamy
has been used by Mormon
fundamentalists to defend the validity of that revelation.
Watson, Marianne T. (Spring 2007).
"The 1948 Secret Marriage of
Louis J. Barlow: Origins of FLDS Placement Marriage".
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 40
(1): 119. http://dialoguejournal.metapress.com/index/Q760877M12548351.pdf. Retrieved
2010-01-03.
- ^
Kenney, Scott (1991). "At Home at Sea: Confessions
of a Cultural Mormon". in Sillito, John. The Wilderness of
Faith: Essays on Contemporary Mormon Thought. Salt Lake City,
Utah: Signature
Books. http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/faith/chapter10.htm. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^ a
b
Roper, Matthew (1997). "Unanswered Mormon
Scholars". FARMS Review 9 (1):
145. http://mi.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=9&num=1&id=249#note161. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^ a
b
Ash, Michael R. (2002). "The Impact of Mormon Critics
on LDS Scholarship". 2002 FAIR Conference. Foundation
for Apologetic Information & Research. http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_Impact_of_Mormon_Critics_on_LDS_Scholarship.html. Retrieved
2010-01-02.
- ^
Scharffs 1989 a
- ^
Arrington 1998,
p. 165
- ^
Arrington 1998,
p. 173
- ^
Foster, Lawrence (Summer 1984). "Career Apostates: Reflections
on the Works of Jerald and Sandra Tanner". Dialogue: A
Journal of Mormon Thought 17 (2): 45. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,17372. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Sesquicentennial History -
Volumes and Current Status". LDS-Bookshelf. May 1997.
Archived from the original on January 4, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20010104122300/http:/www.wenet.net/~kirwin/SESQUI.HTM. Retrieved
2009-12-30.
- ^
"Westward Migration, Planning
and Prophecy" (1992) in Encyclopedia of Mormonism;
"The Iowa Experience: A
Blessing in Disguise" (1981) in BYU Studies; "The Iowa Experience: A
Blessing in Disguise?" (1996) in Pioneer.
- ^
Durham, Reed C., Jr. (Autumn 1972).
"The Election Day Battle at
Gallatin". BYU
Studies 13 (1): 36–61. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2574. Retrieved
2010-01-02.
- ^
"Revelation and scripture: a
collection of significant statements". iLink BYU Online
Catalog. Brigham Young University. http://catalog.lib.byu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/X/0/0/123/?srchfield1=TI^TITLE^SERIES^^keyword+anywhere&query_type=keyword&user_id=WEBSERVER&new_gatewaydb=ILINK&library=ALL&searchdata1=Revelation%20and%20scripture:%20a%20collection%20of%20significant%20statements. Retrieved
2009-12-31.
- ^
Parry, Donald W.; Jeanette W. Miller;
Sandra A. Thorne (1996). A Comprehensive Annotated
Book of Mormon Bibliography. Provo, Utah: Research Press.
ISBN 0934893195. http://www.ispartnewsite.farmsresearch.com/publications/books/?bookid=70&chapid=745. Retrieved
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Sources
- Arrington, Leonard J. (1998), Adventures of a Church
Historian, Urbana: University of Illinois
Press, ISBN
0-252-02381-1, http://books.google.com/books?id=KZr9lMg5zGwC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1
.
- Brown, Matthew
B. (1998), "Of Your Own Selves",
FARMS Review 10
(1), http://farmsnewsite.farmsresearch.com/publications/review/?vol=10&num=1&id=278
.
- Hogan, Melvin B.,
ed. (1974), "Is There No Help For The
Widow's Son?: An underground presidential address by Reed C.
Durham", Salt Lake City: Research Lodge of Utah, F. & A.
M., http://www.cephasministry.com/mormon_is_there_no_help.html
.
- Scharffs,
Gilbert W. (1989 a), "'A Marvelous Work' (Isaiah
29:14)", The Truth About "The God Makers", Salt Lake
City, Utah: Publisher's Press, http://www.fairlds.org/The_God_Makers/tagm23.html
.
- Scharffs,
Gilbert W. (1989 b), "Original Christian Concepts
Returned", The Truth About "The God Makers", Salt Lake
City, Utah: Publisher's Press, http://www.fairlds.org/The_God_Makers/tagm25.html
.
- Tanner, Jerald and Sandra
(1980), "Joseph Smith and
Money-Digging", The Changing World of Mormonism,
Chicago: Moody Press, pp. 88–91, ISBN
0-8024-1234-3, http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech4.htm
.
Further
reading
- Heath, Steven (1988). "Reed C.
Durham: Intellectual Integrity, Spiritual Depth". in Philip L. Barlow. Teachers Who Touch
Lives: Methods of the Masters. Bountiful, Utah: Horizon
Publishers. pp. 92–105.
- Marshall, Richard
Stephen (May 1, 1977), "The New Mormon History", Senior Honors
Project, Salt Lake City: University of Utah
.
- Smith, Willard C. (Autumn 1977).
"New Church History". Cadence Magazine (Salt Lake City,
Utah: LDS Institute of Religion) 2
(1).
- Tanner, Jerald
(1993). "Muzzling Reed Durham". The Mormon Purge. Salt
Lake City: Utah
Lighthouse Ministry.