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Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t fall 2013Studies Council where I met Dr. Tammi Schneider forUniversity of Pennsylvania. Her books include: Judges inthe first time. I shared with her my unfulfilled academicthe Berit Olam series; Sarah: Mother of Nations; Mothersdreams and without a moment’s hesitation she said, “Well,of Promise: Women in the Book of Genesis; and Anit’s never too late! Come to my class!” That was all theIntroduction to Ancient Near Eastern Religion. She wasencouragement I needed.the editor for the ancient Near East section of the journalIt is possible I have never been a part of a more eclecticReligious Studies Review, Vice President of the Americanand diverse group of people than the students who takeSchools of Oriental Research and edits the series People ofTammi Schneider’s Women in the Hebrew Bible class.the Ancient World for the Society of Biblical Literature.Sitting around the table, along with a handful of bright,She has worked on numerous archaeological excavations inarticulate, sleep-deprived female doctoral students hopingIsrael and is presently the head of the educational programto follow in Tammi’s footsteps, is an impassioned Jewishat the Tel Akko Excavations where she excavates everyfeminist, a retired army veteran preparing for her secondyear with students from CGU and the Claremont Colleges.career in religious studies, a former districtAlong with her teaching responsibilitiesattorney making the leap from her lucrativeshe presently serves as Dean of the School“After five minuteslegal career to follow her lifelong teachingof Arts and Humanities.in Tammi’s class thedream. Tammi’s disciples run the gamutOh, yes, and did we forget to mentiondifferencesthatdividein age and ethnicity, political and religiousthat she is a wife and mother of 2 youngus cease to matter.”affiliation, and sexual orientation. We evendaughters?have a few brave men, including a delightfulIt seems that Tammi has accomplisheddivinity student from Haiti and a doctoral candidatethe “impossible dream” for women. She has the best offrom Jerusalem. I am the oldest, undoubtedly the mostboth worlds: an exceptionally successful career and aconservative, and possibly the least qualified academically.richly rewarding home life. It would be easy for me to feelBut after five minutes in Tammi’s class the differencesintimidated by someone like her, but Tammi’s genuinethat divide us cease to matter. Tammi molds us into awarmth and friendliness dispels all intimidation.respectful and caring community of learners where allDr. Schneider defies stereotyping. She is an outfeel free to express opinions, be heard and understood, tospoken feminist who is also a devoted and happy wifelisten and be changed. And together we are transportedand mother. She is a meticulous Hebrew scholar withinto the world of the Bible that Tammi opens up to us.a delightful sense of humor. She is an ambitious andHer teaching style is dynamic and engaging and whataccomplished academic who takes the time to coach herI call “organized spontaneity,” with lots of twists anddaughter’s soccer team. She is a formidable critic of sloppyturns and diversions along the way of textual exploration.scholarship with a heart so tender that I have seen herTammi once said “People who speak slowly bore me” – noweep in class.one is boring in Tammi Schneider’s class! She sprinklesHow did I find myself studying with this world-classher lectures liberally with stories of her family, socialscholar? My passion for all things biblical was kindledcommentary, and tales of her adventures on Israeliby a semester abroad in Israel during my sophomorearchaeology digs or dealing with elitist snobs at academicyear at Brigham Young University. When I returnedconferences. But it is the Hebrew text which draws us allfrom that life-altering experience, I changed my majorback.from chemical engineering to ancient scriptures andThose in the class who can read Hebrew (once uponover-loaded my course schedule every semester to makea time I would have been in that group ) take turnsup for lost time. I married after my junior year at BYUreading a verse of the day’s text, followed by Tammi’sand followed my husband to Duke University where hefavorite question: “And what does that mean?” And thenattended law school and I enrolled in classes at the Dukethe magic begins as Tammi “unpacks” each word of theDivinity School (I believe I was the first LDS studenttext, sharing nuances and possibilities in that Hebrewto attend there). But as soon as our first baby arrived, Iword that none of us had ever known. I have had moreabandoned my academic dreams for motherhood. I have“ah-ha” moments in Tammi’s classes than all of my otherabsolutely no regrets about that choice, but I was left withclasses combined as she reveals the truer meanings ofa lingering hunger for all the things I never got the chancethese age-old words.to learn. Fast forward many years, after the last of my 11Among many other academic “claims to fame,”children left for college, I was invited to join the Mormon[see Schneider, 6]Page 4http://religion.cgu.edu t http://www.claremontmormonstudies.org

Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t Fall 2013StudentContributionsWe asked students to provide some details about their recent academicwork. Included here are some of their contributions to the field.Alan Clark “‘Perverted by the Most FranticEnthusiasm’: The Embrace of Spiritual Giftsin Early Mormonism,” Mormon ScholarsFoundation Summer Symposium, BrighamYoung University, 2013. “‘We believe in the gift of tongues’: The1906 Pentecostal Revolution and Its Effectson the LDS Use of the Gift of Tongues inthe Twentieth Century,” Mormon HistoricalStudies 14, no. 1 (2013): 67–80.Jon EnglandScholarship, Brigham Young University.Maclane Heward “‘Our First Mission’: Advancing MissionMethodology during the 1835 Mission ofthe Twelve,” Mormon History AssociationAnnual Conference, June 2013.Taunalyn RutherfordChase Kirkham Religious Education Dissertation Grant,Brigham Young University. “The Pre-Adamites and the Politics ofTime,” Mormon History Association AnnualConference, June 2013. “The Great Debate: America’s PastorJohn Philip Newman Confronts MormonApostle Orson Pratt,” Mormon HistoryAssociation Annual Conference, June 2013.Caroline Kline “Nothing So Pleases God as a Thin Body:Holy Anorexia From Tertullian’s Carthageto Alpine Utah,” Sunstone Symposium, SaltLake City, August 2013.Richard LivingstonAlexandria GriffinConversion, Ingolf U. Dalferth and MichaelCh. Rodgers, eds. (Tübingen, Germany:Mohr Siebeck, 2013), 69–80. Margo L. Goldsmith Memorial Fellowship,Claremont Graduate University. Dissertation Grant, Claremont GraduateUniversity, 2013–2014. Taught at California State University–Fullerton, Comparative ReligionDepartment, “Religion and Science” (CPRL397). Taught World Religions and Book ofMormon at Brigham Young Universityduring the summer of 2013. Traveling to India to conduct oral historyresearch with Mormon and Sikh women inDecember.Rachel Hunt Steenblik “Kierkegaard on the Question ConcerningTechnology,” Kierkegaard and thePresent Age Conference, Brigham YoungUniversity, November 2013. “Heavenly Mother: ‘The Throbbing Hungerof Women’s (and Men’s) Souls,’” SunstoneSymposium, Salt Lake City, August 2013.Lincoln Hale Taught at Chaffey College, PhilosophyDepartment, “Introduction to Religion”(PHIL 80). “Through the Lens of Love: Kierkegaard’sCall to See with the Change of Eternity,”The Seventh International Conference,“Honoring the 200th Anniversary ofthe Birth of Søren Kierkegaard,” St. OlafCollege, June 2013. Hugh W. Nibley Fellowship 2013–2014,Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious “In Pursuit of Plurality: A Response toAyse Kadayifci-Orellana” published in Summer Fellow, St. Olaf College, HongKierkegaard Library, June–July 2013. “The Relief Society in Japan, 1949–1970,”Mormon History Association AnnualConference, June 2013.http://religion.cgu.edu t Http://www.claremontmormonstudies.orgPage 5

Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t Fallfall 2013New Students Join the ProgramMaclane HewardMaclane has been teaching seminary at Lone Peak High School in Northern Utah County for thelast four years and has been granted a one year leave-without-pay to complete coursework at CGU.He completed a B.A. in Public Relations (2008) and a M.A. in Religious Education (2013) both at BYU.His master’s thesis focused on the first mission of the Twelve Apostles in 1835. Maclane served amission to Jackson, Mississippi from 2003 to 2005. He and his wife Maria have been married for sevenyears and have three children, two boys and a girl.Matthew PittsMatthew is from West Jordan, Utah. He graduated with a BA from Brigham Young Universitywhere he studied Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. Upon receiving his degree Matthewtraveled with his wife to Jerusalem where they lived for six months as he completed a Hebrew studyprogram at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After settling in Pleasant Grove, Utah for threeyears, Matthew decided to continue his education. He earned a law degree from the Benjamin N.Cardozo School of Law, the law school of Yeshiva University, in New York City. Matthew also earneda concurrent MA in Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva. Matthew is currently enrolled as a PhDstudent in the History of Christianity and Religions of North America program. His areas of interestinclude the intersection of law and religion, including the historical effects of changes in the legalsystem on religious doctrine and practice within American Christian and Jewish congregations. Heis also interested in the comparative study of Judaism and Mormonism. He served a LDS mission inVenezuela, Maracaibo. He and his wife Jaime have three young sons: Simon, Eli, and Lot.Jeffrey TurnerJeff grew up in Redwood City, California. He attended Washington State University, where hegraduated with a B.A. in philosophy and a B.A. in religious studies. While at WSU he converted toMormonism. Jeff is a first year Master’s student in the general religion program. His research interestsinclude nineteenth-century European emigration, pamphleteering, and international transfer ofideas. He and his wife Lexie currently live in Upland, California.Schneider, continued from page 4Tammi is perhaps best known forher original approach to textualanalysis which she calls “Verbing theCharacters.” She carefully looks atthe verbs which are attached to eachfemale character – verbs that eachone does and verbs that are doneto her. By this simple yet brilliantand ingenious technique, she hasdiscovered aspects of these womenthat no one has ever seen before.These women spring to life beforeour very eyes as we look carefullyat what they did and what was donePage 6to them and allow those actions tospeak for them, to once again givethem a voice that has been silencedfor far too many centuries. As Ilisten to what these women have tosay to me, a 21st century womanwhose life is both dramaticallydifferent and surprisingly similar totheirs, I am overwhelmed with whatI hear and what I have learned andhow I have been changed. My newestbest friends are these magnificentancient women, some of whosenames were never even recorded, butwhose lives have made an indeliblehttp://religion.cgu.edu t http://www.claremontmormonstudies.orgimprint on my heart: Lot’s wife,Hagar, Tamar, Jael.With the inimitable guidance ofDr. Tammi Schneider, I am learningto unpack these ancient sacredstories where I have discovered aworld populated by very real women– a delightfully diverse array ofwomen with passions and problemsvery much like my own, who metthe challenges of their lives withcourage and grace. These womenhave now become friends and sisterswho inhabit not just the pages of myscriptures but a place in my heart. t

Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t fall 2013Thanks to Our 2012–2013 DonorsClaremont Mormon Studies represents aunique opportunity to create wider worldwideunderstanding and appreciation of Mormonism. In his2007 endorsement of the Howard W. Hunter Chair ofClaremont Mormon Studies, Elder Jeffrey R. Hollandremarked that as President Hunter considered ways inwhich the Church could be better understood beyondthe language of faith, he had a vision of secular academiccenters fostering a better understanding of the Churchthrough the language of scholarship. If President Hunter“were alive today,” said Elder Holland, “he would beexpressing his deepest gratitude for the vision that islinking his name, and that of the Church he loved, withsuch a distinguished institution as Claremont.”As we fast-forward six years, we’re pleased to reportthat President Hunter’s prophetic vision is now comingto fruition. Last year, thanks to the support of generousdonors, nine new students were able to enroll in theMormon Studies program at Claremont GraduateUniversity. Together with these students, the currentHoward W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies, BYUand Notre Dame-trained Dr. Patrick Mason, who hasbeen called upon to provide his insights in diversesettings from the White House, to the Wall StreetJournal, to National Public Radio, to the academy, isproducing world-recognized, cutting-edge scholarshipand commentary on Mormonism. The first recipientsof Claremont’s Robert L. Millet Fellowship, TaunalynRutherford and Clayton Christensen, are exemplars ofthis flourishing academic environment.We extend our deepest gratitude to the followingindividuals who donated to the Claremont MormonStudies Program and the Howard W. Hunter Foundationduring this past year: 500,000 or above Mary Lythgoe Bradford Bryant and Betty Rossiter Roy and Carol Christensen Charles Schofield Bruce and Helen McGregor Dr. Greggory and Dorothy Winder DeVore Carol Pearson Val and Alice Hemming Craig Nelson Mark McPaullin Gordon and Barbara Mauss 50,000 or above Cynthia Kofford Robert and Diane Wilson John and Rebecca Hawkins Morris and Dawn Thurston Dallas Brent Tolton 10,000 or aboveUp to 1000 Armand and Ruth Mauss James Wilkinson Stephen and Jane Bradford Donna West Russ and Christie Frandsen Robert and Diane Wilson Craig and Theresa Rossell Bill and Marilyn Wright Don and Jette Laws Gerald Bowns Rob Briggs Christopher and Jennifer Halloran Anonymous Guy Murray 100,000 or above Menlo F. Smith Donald C. Houle 5000 or above Randall H. and Carole Johnson Weatherford and Lisa Clayton Milan D. Smith 1000 or above Ed Tolman Joseph and Marilyn Bentley Frank and Anna Rolapp Brian and Lisa Palmer Dr. Tammi Schneider Dr. R. Lanier Britsch Regina Vigneault Brooke Jones Williams John R. Williams John and Shirley Carmack LeGrande and Marguerite Eliason Glen Franks Betsy VanDenBerghe Jacqueline Howard AnonymousWe did our best to include all 2012–2013 donors, but weapologize in advance for any oversights and requestnotification of any donors inadvertently left off or listedincorrectly. For any corrections, please email ChristieFrandsen at christiefrandsen@gmail.com.http://religion.cgu.edu t http://www.claremontmormonstudies.orgPage 7

Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t fall 2013The Critical Comparative ScriptureProgram and Mormon StudiesbyAndrew SmithPhD Student, Critical Comparative ScripturesAs I am, at the moment, thesole member of CMSSA whois pursuing a degree in the CriticalComparative Scripture program atCGU, I have been asked to give someinsight into that program and how itrelates to Mormon Studies.The Critical ComparativeScripture (CCS) program can be, inmany ways, exactly what the averageperson probably thinks when theyhear the words put together. Yet, atthe same time, it is also somethingcompletely different, morecomplex and theoretically driven,expanding beyond simply lookingat the Scriptures of one tradition incomparison to those of another.Theoretically, this program isbased on critical self-assessmentwithin discursive formationsaccomplished by analyzing closelythe underlying power structures,hierarchies, and unspoken (perhapsunrecognized) forms of thatdiscourse. This involves asking someof the most basic questions, such as:what are you, as a member of saiddiscourse, doing? Why? What doesit mean that you are doing it thisway and not another? The answersare compared to other formationsto assess descriptive and relativedifferences, helping to furtherdevelop understanding of the whysand hows of both formations. Theterm “scripture” comes to refer,then, to the “texts,” both written andPage 8unwritten, which provide the basisfor the whys within that discourse.In this sense, little-s “scripture” is acategorization of texts, objects, anddiscursive norms that determinethe forms and functions of thatdiscourse. It is a broad categorythat includes big-S “Scripture(s),”commonly understood as the holywritings or canon of a given religioustradition.In a similar way, the CCSprogram is also broader thansimply the discourse of comparativereligion. It is concerned with“scripturalization,” or the wayin which the “script” or “text”(the words, language, politics ofdiscourse, etc.) constructs and istransformed into the formationitself, or the phenomenon thatunderlies and governs how we viewthe world around us, our place within it, and how we function therein.In this sense, CCS fully encompassesthe study of religion as onedetermining factor in this process.However, it also extends beyond thescope of what is normally defined asreligion to include many other fieldsor subfields. For example, the studyof “nationcraft” or how a nationaldiscourse will use symbols, signs,and language (such as flags, mottos,pledges of allegiance, uniforms,education, etc.) to socialize andcondition its citizens by impartingvalues (such as freedom, the rulehttp://religion.cgu.edu t http://www.claremontmormonstudies.orgof law, respect for authority, etc.).In short, CCS examines not onlywhat scripture is but what it does forus and what we make it do for us,whether we are conscious of suchaction or not.This theoretical lens can be of usein Mormon Studies in discoveringand analyzing the norms, attitudes,and texts that govern Mormondiscourse. Perhaps it could be saidthat Mormon Studies is uniquelysituated to be primed for such study.Because Mormonism acknowledgesan open canon and a broaderdefinition of scripture as thatwhich is spoken or expressed bythose with authority “when movedupon by the Holy Ghost” (D&C68:4), Mormons are potentiallymore open to the understandingthat differing “texts” can beauthoritative and functional, todiffering degrees, in their formationand identity, than someone, forinstance, who subscribes to theidea of sola scriptura. Mormonscan take authoritative cues, not justfrom the Standard Works, but alsofrom the Church hymnals, fromthe words of latter-day prophetsand apostles, from articles in theEnsign, from rituals and ceremonies,from patriarchal blessings, andfrom other unspoken or unwrittensources. Thus, Mormon Studiesas a discipline may benefit fromexaminations of these specific “texts”

Claremont Mormon Studies Newsletter t fall 2013and how they have influencedand continue influencing thedevelopment of Mormon discou

with BYU Idaho professor David Pulsipher) that will systematically explore a Mormon theology of peace. I am also editing or co-editing two forthcoming collections of essays, one stemming from our 2013 Mormon Studies conference at CGU which honored the vaunted academic career of LDS Council member Armand Mauss, and