Freedom Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Other than a Book of Mormon series, has the Maxwell Institute produced anything? I was expecting a new journal, new articles, new something. But for years it seems to have become much ado about nothing. Does it have any relevance anymore? 1 Link to comment
Anakin7 Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 It is alone in the wilderness of silence. call them and see what is up. Link to comment
LoudmouthMormon Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Perhaps the only reason they were publishing anything in the first place, was a defensive reaction to Dan Peterson walking by with his raised eyebrow. Now he's retired, the pressure isn't there any more. 2 Link to comment
Calm Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 10 hours ago, Freedom said: Other than a Book of Mormon series, has the Maxwell Institute produced anything? I was expecting a new journal, new articles, new something. But for years it seems to have become much ado about nothing. Does it have any relevance anymore? There are a few current publications outside the series listed here: https://mi.byu.edu/publications/ 1 Link to comment
the narrator Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 16 minutes ago, Calm said: There are a few current publications outside the series listed here: https://mi.byu.edu/publications/ It's amazing what 3 seconds of actually looking does! Link to comment
Fether Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, the narrator said: It's amazing what 3 seconds of actually looking does! This is that Book of Mormon series he referenced. this are some publications here though: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/ Link to comment
the narrator Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) There is also the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, which just published a very excellent issue. Also, if you haven't picked up the MI's BofM Study Edition, you should before they are sold out. Not sure how many copies are left in the inventory, but the Church recently banned any Church entities from publishing scripture commentaries or alternate versions of scripture. Edited August 23, 2021 by the narrator 1 Link to comment
the narrator Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 4 minutes ago, Fether said: This is that Book of Mormon series he referenced. this are some publications here though: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/ I was referring to the many publications beyond the Short Introductions listed on that page. Link to comment
Fether Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) nvm Edited August 23, 2021 by Fether Link to comment
Popular Post morgan.deane Posted August 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted August 23, 2021 I'll answer your question and why I agree by using a couple personal academic experience relating to the MI. Reading about the short theological introductions is really frustrating for me. The line up of authors seemed pretty impressive, and I was excited to see what they could say about the rich theological material in the war chapters. (If you don't think so then you were the perfect audience for a brief theological introduction.) Instead, the author did a podcast and happily said right way that he ignored it. It was very disappointing. When I asked them about why they ignored such a large chunk of valuable material they accused me of being uncharitable, which, ironically enough, I found very uncharitable. Then they said they just didn't have room, and couldn't dictate what the author wrote. I found both answers very unsatisfying. On not having space they sounded a bit like the Game of Thrones creators in the last season. Inexplicably, they shortened the last two seasons of the most popular show in the history of tv. When faced with criticism about the lighting pace, they said they didn't have room to cover everything. Yet they were the ones that chose the length! Simply adding another book to cover the war chapters didn't seem that tough. One of their earlier authors devoted a whole chapter to the 700 words in Jarom so maybe they could have spared a bit more for 20 chapters. The author choosing what to write was an even worse answer. The editors didn't say, "maybe we should find a good military historian or ethicist to cover the dense war chapters," they invited a Heidegger scholar and then pawned off the ignored material as the writer's choice. As if they didn't know what he was likely to write about and what he was likely to ignore. The cherry on top was when they got defensive and accusatory when someone noticed their significant lacuna. So they missed out on what could have been the most useful and interesting book in the series, so a Heidegger specialist could Heideg. My reaction to the series is pretty emblematic of other MI publications and the larger point introduced in this thread. Their books seem scholarly. But they also seem invisible because they spend most of their time on theological and philosophical musings that aren't interesting or useful for my life or a broader audience. They don't offer books about history beyond the 19th century, responses to criticisms, or many other things that average saints want to read. Being academically rigorous is important, but so is accessibility for the audience and they love the former to the detriment of the latter. I have a review copy sitting on my desk of a Latter Day Saint/ Shinto memoir interspersed with haiku. It's nice and I appreciate that person sharing his journey, (I also appreciate someone at the MI looking for LDS scholars with a background in Eastern thought- keep an eye out for my book on classical Chinese military theory beyond Sun-Tzu). At the same time the book doesn't do anything for me so it's probably going to gather dust on my book shelve until my next run to DI. You speak about relevance and I agree. They seem kind of invisible or irrelevant because their research priorities often make them so. Some of that is simply based on academic background and taste, and maybe some ignorance, but I think you bring up a good point. 6 Link to comment
CA Steve Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 7 hours ago, the narrator said: Also, if you haven't picked up the MI's BofM Study Edition, you should before they are sold out. Not sure how many copies are left in the inventory, but the Church recently banned any Church entities from publishing scripture commentaries or alternate versions of scripture. This is the first I have heard of this. Would this impact a book like Thomas Wayment's The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints? Was there an official announcement on this? Link to comment
Calm Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 7 hours ago, Fether said: This is that Book of Mormon series he referenced. There were others at the bottom. 1 Link to comment
Calm Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 5 hours ago, morgan.deane said: At the same time the book doesn't do anything for me so it's probably going to gather dust on my book shelve until my next run to DI. Or save for the yearly FAIR book auction. 1 Link to comment
InCognitus Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 (edited) Maxwell Institute of Silence I'm sorry, but when I first saw the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be a parody. Edited August 24, 2021 by InCognitus 3 Link to comment
Bernard Gui Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 9 hours ago, morgan.deane said: So they missed out on what could have been the most useful and interesting book in the series, so a Heidegger specialist could Heideg. Are you saying they hied to Heidegger? Or that they wanted to hide Heidegger? Or that Heidegger had something to hide, so they hied to Kolob? If that’s true, it really chaps my hide. 1 Link to comment
the narrator Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 18 hours ago, CA Steve said: This is the first I have heard of this. Would this impact a book like Thomas Wayment's The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints? Was there an official announcement on this? Yes, it does include Thom's book (whom I learned about this from). It includes any commentary that includes the text of scripture or any alternate versions of scripture that do not use the Church's official text and formatting. I haven't seen any official announcements on it. Link to comment
Calm Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 3 hours ago, the narrator said: Yes, it does include Thom's book (whom I learned about this from). It includes any commentary that includes the text of scripture or any alternate versions of scripture that do not use the Church's official text and formatting. I haven't seen any official announcements on Any reason given? Link to comment
the narrator Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Calm said: Any reason given? The stated reason is so that members do not feel obligated to pay to learn more about the scriptures--though given the deepening retrenchment the Church seems to be undergoing (along what Armand Maus argues), I would wager that another significant reason is to limit interpreters of scripture in Church-entity-produced books to general authorities. Link to comment
CA Steve Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 22 hours ago, the narrator said: The stated reason is so that members do not feel obligated to pay to learn more about the scriptures--though given the deepening retrenchment the Church seems to be undergoing (along what Armand Maus argues), I would wager that another significant reason is to limit interpreters of scripture in Church-entity-produced books to general authorities. Interesting. I wonder how that would impact those, like Dr Wayment, who speak in Church sponsered events (like firesides) and locations (wardhouses) about those same books? Are they also going to be prohibited from that? Seems a lot like censorship. Link to comment
Freedom Posted August 30, 2021 Author Share Posted August 30, 2021 On 8/23/2021 at 4:16 PM, Calm said: There were others at the bottom. when the change was made, we were promised all sourts of scholarship from members and non members. What we have is one Journal edition and a few books. Not the promised monthly supply of scholarship accessible to the members. We do not need another book publisher of a few random books, this just makes them redundant. Link to comment
Steve Thompson Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 There were three journals. I wonder what happened to them? Oh, yeah.... Link to comment
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