Posted tagged ‘Mormon’

A Plea for Civilty

July 20, 2010

This article, by Bill Russell, a professor from Graceland University (the Community of Christ college) is a reprint of the 21 July 2010 installment of his ‘Political Scene’ column in the Lamoni Chronicle. In past columns I have added my voice to that of many others who are anxious for a return to a politics [...]

Comparing the Missouri Mormon War with Contemporary Conflicts

January 8, 2010

UPDATE 11 January 2010: Kenny and Jake Ballentine, two brothers who make films together, have just announced the upcoming release of a new movie ‘Trouble in Zion’, a documentary on the Missouri Mormon War. Several years ago, Kenny Ballentine read the essay attached to the below posting and talked with me about it while making [...]

Joseph Smith, Jr. as a Warrior Prophet: Messianic Warlordism in Times of State Fragmentation, Economic Disruption and Religious Upheaval

September 9, 2009

In 1986, in the midst of a violent conflict between the newly installed Museveni government and remnants of the former regime, Alice Auma, a spirit-diviner in northern Uganda believed she was commanded by a Christian spirit called ‘Lakwena’ to lead a military-religious rebellion on behalf of the northern Acholi people and bring about heaven on [...]

The Name of the Church

April 24, 2009

On April 6, 1830, when six men including Joseph Smith Jr. came together in upstate New York to organize a church, they founded a new religious movement. When they chose the name “Church of Christ,” they created a brand identity problem that has been with that movement ever since.