Editor’s N​ote

The Book of Mormon’s Relevance Today

                This issue of the journal features a little-known talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson delivered at the Library of Congress to commemorate the Book of Mormon’s naming as one of the most important books published in America. The article is a gem, and although it was not circulated widely to the public, it presents a powerful witness to the reach of the Book of Mormon and its influence in American culture. Over the past two or three decades, scholars have become progressively more aware of the Book of Mormon as a religious text, and academic studies of the book are increasingly fair and sophisticated in their assessments.

                As I worked on the articles for this issue, I was particularly impressed with the studies that attempt to grapple with issues of religion in the public square. The studies on moral relativism, marriage equality, and the assessment of the impact of scripture study programs in the Church all share a common thread: an open and balanced inquiry into topics that affect our daily lives. Justin Dyer attempts to situate the discussion of marriage equality within Western cultural thought and also grapples with the phenomenon of broad cultural acceptance. Daniel Frost dissects the current push to maintain an unbiased moral relativism and, in the process, highlights the assumptions upon which the movement is based. And John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat show the impacts in building testimony of different programs such as seminary, Sunday School, Young Men and Young Women programs.

                I was also deeply moved in doing the interview with Patrick Mason. He shared a thought that caught my attention, and I have returned to it in my mind several times, “If we are not disturbed by what happened at Mountain Meadows, that is a condemnation on our ethical sensibilities.” I hope you’ll take a minute to read the interview as well as the other compelling contributions.

Thomas A. Wayment

Editor-in-chief

Contents

Religious Educator

VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1 2017

“America Reads” and the Book of Mormon

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

How “Come unto Me” Fits into the Nephite Gospel

Noel B. Reynolds

Shifting Views on the Male-Female Relationship: Same-Sex Marriage and Other Consequences

W. Justin Dyer

Nonjudgmentalism Strikes Back: Moral Relativism and Conviction

Daniel H. Frost

Joseph Smith and the Recovery of “Eternal Man”

Robert L. Millet

The Authority of Example: Emulation as the Path to Theosis

Matthew Scott Stenson

Developing Teenage Testimonies: Programs and Pedagogy with Spiritual Impact

John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat

Praying a Mission into Existence: Frantiska “Mamousek” Vesela Brodilova

Mary Jane Woodger and Kiersten Robertson

Discussing Difficult Topics: The Mountain Meadows Massacre

Patrick Q. Mason and Thomas A. Wayment

Review of An Experiment on the Word

Nicholas J. Frederick

Review of Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones

Joseph M. Spencer