Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History / book cover

	Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History edited by George D. Smith © 1992 Signature Books. Salt Lake City Table of Contents: Editor's Introduction 1. Faithful History 2. The Irony of Mormon History 3. Some Reflections on the New Mormon History 4. Thoughts on the Relation of Faith and Historical Knowledge 5. History and Theology: The Mormon Connection 6. On Being a Mormon Historian (and Its Aftermath) 7. Reflections of a Non-Mormon Historian 8. History, Faith, and Myth 9. Looking for God in History 10. Faithful History/Secular Religion 11. Objectivity and History 12. An Address to the Crisis in Mormon Historiography 13. The Acids of Modernity and the Crisis in Mormon Historiography 14. A Critique of New Mormon History 15. Some Possibilities of a "New" Traditional History 16. Historiography of the Canon Epilogue: Myth, Symbol, and Truth cover


			Over the past decade Mormons have debated how their history should be written. New Mormon Historians believe that balanced, unprejudiced approaches produce the most reliable history. Traditionalists contend that no historian can be completely objective, that Mormon history should therefore be written with the “pre-understanding” that Joseph Smith restored the ancient Christian church. In this compilation, editor George D. Smith has assembled sixteen thought-provoking essays which represent this ongoing discussion. They include "On Being a Mormon Historian" by D. Michael Quinn, "Two Integrities: An Address to the Crisis in Mormon Historiography" by Martin E. Marty, "Objectivity and History" by Kent E. Robson, "The Acids of Modernity and the Crisis in Mormon Historiography" by Louis Midgley, and "Historicity of the Canon" by Edward H., Ashment. “History, myth, and legend are not always distinguishable,” cautions Smith,"
	"but there are some things we can know. The authors of these essays attempt to define the boundaries between objectivity and the biases of belief and unbelief which may color what is written about the past.”
	About the editor George D. Smith, a graduate of Stanford University with an M.B.A. from New York University, is president of Signature Books. He sits on the national advisory boards of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and Sunstone magazine, and has published in each of these periodicals as well as in Free Inquiry and the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal. He is compiler and editor of An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton. title page Faithful History Essays on Writing Mormon History Edited by George D. Smith Signature Books / Salt Lake City / 1992 copyright page To inquiring readers who confront their own biases of language and opinion with ambiguities from another age Cover illustration: Odessa, by Neil Hadlock, 1987, laquer on metal, Courtesy John Keahey Cover design: Julie Easton Printed on acid-free paper. © 1992 by Signature Books, Inc. All rights reserved. Signature Books is a registered trademark of Signature Books, Inc. Composed and printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Faithful History : essays on writing Mormon history / edited by George D. Smith p. cm. 1. Mormon Church–Historiography. 2. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–Historiography. I. Smith, George D. (George Dempster) ISBN 1-56085-007-8 BX8611.F35 1992 289.3'072–dc20 91-21222 CIP