Greg Prince – What My Generation of Mormon Thinkers Has Accomplished
Posted on Mar 1, 2012 by Trevor in Religion
The following is a transcript I typed of a speech Greg Prince made at a Mormon Stories conference in Washington D.C. in October 2011. I’ve broken it down into five segments: Evolution and Diversity of Mormon Thought, My Own Journey, What I Have Learned from My Journey, What My Generation of Mormon Thinkers Has Accomplished, and What Remains for You to Do. This is the fourth segment, which runs from about 44:00 to 46:20 in the audio podcast, in which Prince explains his feelings on how his generation’s most significant contribution to Mormonism is their efforts in the area of internal struggle “to make the Church work for members of all stripes.”
What My Generation of Mormon Thinkers Has Accomplished
Ephraim Ericksen, a Mormon philosopher for whom an endowed chair is named at the University of Utah, wrote in his landmark doctoral dissertation in the 20s of three great challenges that Mormonism had faced or would face. The first was “Us vs. Them”, and although its most daunting times were in the 19th century, parts of that challenge continue to this day.
The second was “Us vs. Nature: The Colonization of the Great Basin”.
The third, and most crucial for today’s Church, as he recognized, is “Us vs. Us”, as we struggle internally to make the Church work for members of all stripes. It is in this third area that this generation, which I define to include people older than myself whom I have known, has made its most important contributions, a few of which I name briefly.
First, the establishment of a tradition of thoughtfulness. Not a loyal opposition, but instead an effort by those wired different than the majority to make this religion work for themselves. Though there were many casualties, enough stayed the course to let us know that it is possible.
Second, dissemination of that tradition through independent publications, some of which have endured, while others have faded. Dialogue was the first, followed by Exponent II, Sunstone, Courage, The Carpenter, The Journal of Mormon History, the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, Irreantum, Segullah, Element, AMCAP, Mormon Historical Studies and other print publications, and more recently the explosion of online journals and blogs.
And third, movement on important issues because of smart and courageous work. In particular, Juanita Brooks’s book on the Mountain Meadows Massacre paved the way for the final exorcism of ghosts that had haunted the Church for a century and a half. And Lester Bush’s monograph on blacks and Priesthood helped to change the Church and allow it to become truly worldwide.
