Encyclopedia of Mormonism
| Encyclopedia of Mormonism | |
|---|---|
| English name | Encyclopedia of Mormonism |
| Publication country | United States |
| Editor and publisher | Macmillan Publishers (United States) |
| Publication year | 1992 |
| Languages) | English and German |
| Page size | 1,850 in 1500 items |
| theme | Mormonism |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0-02-904040-9 |
| OCLC | OCLC 24502140 |
| Web links | English version , German version |
| Author and editor | |
| Daniel H. Ludlow | |
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a semi-official encyclopedia on subjects relevant to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is freely available online.
background
The encyclopedia contains nearly 1500 articles , including a few short anonymous entries (the equivalent of Wikipedia stubs) in four volumes, and was published in 1992. The text consists of almost a million words and over 1850 pages including images, maps, tables, footnotes and bibliography. The title for the Encyclopedia of Mormonism was chosen by Macmillan Publishers , the secular publisher who came up with the idea for the project.
There were over 730 staff, across a variety of subjects, most of whom were Mormons with academic backgrounds. Many were professors at the church's Brigham Young University (BYU). Most authors only contributed one article, few more than three or four. Well-known employees were Steven R. Covey , Hugh Nibley and Jeffrey R. Holland .
The editor of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism , Daniel H. Ludlow, announced that he wanted to make the books as professional as possible. Most of the articles are written by academically recognized professionals. LDS General Authorities (the spiritual leaders of the Church) wrote little in the encyclopedia, and when they did they wrote only about articles on areas that fell within their ecclesiastical authority or were the directors of certain areas. For the sake of perspective, non-Mormons were allowed to write important articles. For example, a non-Mormon wrote about the outward appearance of Mormonism and the official historian of the Communion of Christ wrote about it.
subjects
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism contains long articles on key Mormon topics such as church history and theology . It also contains articles on topics marginally related to Mormonism, but shows the Mormon perspective on these topics, such as sports , law, and science .
The editor wanted to make the encyclopedia understandable for non-Mormons as well, so he published an optional fifth book containing all of the Mormon scriptures cited in the encyclopedia.
Role in the church
Although the Church helped to create it, particularly by releasing the resources of Brigham Young University, the encyclopedia is considered independent and non-official. Despite this concern and the non-Mormon publisher, the encyclopedia is often seen as an official or semi-official publication by people outside the Church. This view is credible because BYU was the client. In addition, six General Authorities worked on the project, although they were not named as authors.
Content views
In addition to established scholars, lesser-known Mormon scholars at the time also contributed to the content.
Critics expressed divided opinions. George D. Smith wrote at the end of his review of the encyclopedia: “As a religious encyclopedia whose purpose is to preserve a belief, the encyclopedia does a great job of doing its job. At the same time, like an iceberg, it presents only a fraction of the background and subject matter of the Book of Mormon . It is the brevity of Orthodoxy that explains the lack of orientation and diversity without which it will never become a real encyclopedia. "
George D. Smith was excommunicated from the LDS Church after the encyclopedia was published. He is one of the so-called September Six intellectuals who were excommunicated for criticizing the church .
Individual evidence
- ^ News of the Church: Encyclopedia of Mormonism Released. ( Memento of November 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Ensign. March 1992, p. 79: Brother Ludlow ... worked closely with ... Elders Neal A. Maxwell and Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve
- ^ Smith, 1993.
- ↑ FAQs - Dissent / Excommunication / Controversies , The Mormons ( Frontline / American Experience ) , WGBH / PBS
reference
- George D. Smith: Orthodoxy and Encyclopedia: The Book of Mormon in the Encyclopedia . In: Sunstone . November 1993, p. 48–53 ( online [PDF; accessed April 24, 2016]).