BYU Studies Quarterly
Keywords
Joseph Smith, American religion, translation, Pentecostal, Latter-day Saints
Abstract
As so often happens when Latter-day Saint historians discuss Joseph Smith with their non-LDS compatriots, Grant Wacker wants to welcome Joseph Smith into the company of American prophets, while I insist that Smith is bizarre, strange, and other. Wacker sees Smith as a recognizable figure on the American religious landscape; I see him as an outlander notably because he presented himself initially as a translator. I admit it had never occurred to me to think of Pentecostal speakers in tongues as translators, but of course they were. It seemed a natural connection to Wacker, who is deeply conversant in Pentecostal culture. I stress the differences: Joseph Smith had an actual text he was translating (so he said); he told the history of an ancient people who wrote on the plates; his translation became a book of scripture equal with the Bible. Does that set him apart or not?
Recommended Citation
Bushman, Richard Lyman
(2024)
"Response to Grant Wacker,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 63:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol63/iss1/7