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A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

To survive in an often disapproving society, the LDS Church has made adaptive changes in belief, practice, and organization over time. Gordon and Gary Shepherd elucidate these changes through statistical analyses of the rhetoric found in proceedings of the church's semiannual General Conference. The first edition of A Kingdom Transformed covered the years 1830 to 1979. This new edition revises that work and adds to it by examining the subsequent thirty years of conference talks, revealing what new trends have emerged. Every chapter has been rewritten and updated with theoretical and empirical support from contemporary sources and a new conceptual framework for interpreting findings. Early twentieth-century LDS leaders mainstreamed church doctrines, but by the mid-twentieth century, church authorities began emphasizing a more conservative theology that coincided with an increasingly conservative political orientation. This new edition adds such current issues as the roles of women in the church and of international growth versus member retention.

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A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

To survive in an often disapproving society, the LDS Church has made adaptive changes in belief, practice, and organization over time. Gordon and Gary Shepherd elucidate these changes through statistical analyses of the rhetoric found in proceedings of the church's semiannual General Conference. The first edition of A Kingdom Transformed covered the years 1830 to 1979. This new edition revises that work and adds to it by examining the subsequent thirty years of conference talks, revealing what new trends have emerged. Every chapter has been rewritten and updated with theoretical and empirical support from contemporary sources and a new conceptual framework for interpreting findings. Early twentieth-century LDS leaders mainstreamed church doctrines, but by the mid-twentieth century, church authorities began emphasizing a more conservative theology that coincided with an increasingly conservative political orientation. This new edition adds such current issues as the roles of women in the church and of international growth versus member retention.

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A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

A Kingdom Transformed: Early Mormonism and the Modern LDS Church, New Edition

Overview

To survive in an often disapproving society, the LDS Church has made adaptive changes in belief, practice, and organization over time. Gordon and Gary Shepherd elucidate these changes through statistical analyses of the rhetoric found in proceedings of the church's semiannual General Conference. The first edition of A Kingdom Transformed covered the years 1830 to 1979. This new edition revises that work and adds to it by examining the subsequent thirty years of conference talks, revealing what new trends have emerged. Every chapter has been rewritten and updated with theoretical and empirical support from contemporary sources and a new conceptual framework for interpreting findings. Early twentieth-century LDS leaders mainstreamed church doctrines, but by the mid-twentieth century, church authorities began emphasizing a more conservative theology that coincided with an increasingly conservative political orientation. This new edition adds such current issues as the roles of women in the church and of international growth versus member retention.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781607814443
Publisher: University of Utah Press
Publication date: 12/15/2015
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 368
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Gordon Shepherd is professor of sociology at the University of Central Arkansas. Gary Shepherd is professor emeritus of sociology at Oakland University in Michigan. The Shepherds (identical twins) have collaborated on a number of scholarly projects over many years, including six books, among them, with Lavina Fielding Andersen, Ordain Women and Resurgent Mormon Feminism: Voices for Equality in a Conservative Faith Tradition (in press).

Table of Contents

List of Figures viii

List of Tables ix

Preface xi

Introduction xvii

1 Mormon Prophetic Rhetoric and the Institution of LDS General Conference 1

2 Parallel Paths: LDS General Conference and Mormon History 13

3 The Social-Historical Context of Mormon Beliefs 37

4 Utopia, Family, and Authority: The Major Rhetorical Themes of LDS General Conferences 70

5 Mormon Commitment Mechanisms 102

6 Patterns of Mormon Commitment Rhetoric 130

7 Mormon Accommodation 148

8 Mormon Responses to Secularization 177

9 Contemporary Developments: LDS Conference Trends from 1980-2009 200

Epilogue 233

Appendix A Content Analysis Procedures for Obtaining and Evaluating a Representative Sample of LDS General Conference Addresses, 1830-1979 241

Appendix B Listing of Addresses in the LDS Conference Sample, 1830-1979 252

Appendix C General Conference Topic Index with Salience Scores for Thirty-Year Periods, 1830-1979 269

Notes 309

Bibliography 375

Index 393

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