New "Mormon Stories" Podcast Available--David O. McKay, Blacks & the Priesthood

[mormonstories]

Hey All!

I'm John. I'm friends w/ Jeff, and an occasional poster here.

Just wanted to let you know that the lastest Mormon Stories podcast is now up. The topic is: "David O. McKay, Blacks, and the Priesthood", and covers some really interesting new ground on David O. McKay, blacks/priesthood, and civil rights. We interview Gregory Prince, co-author of the new book David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism.

Some other previous episodes include:

1) "Inside the mind of an anti-mormon",
2) A 2nd interview with Gregory Prince (regarding the other parts of his David O. McKay book) and
3) My original podcast about corrupt mission practices in my Guatemalan mission, and elsewhere.

I'd love your feedback both on the podcasts, and ideas/suggestions of new episodes or guests we might have on Mormon Stories. If any of you are interested in telling your stories as part of the podcast, I'm all ears.

Enjoy!

John
http://www.mormonstories.org
mormonstories@gmail.com

P.S. For those who don't know yet....here's how to subscribe to the podcast....

1. Download and install iTunes version 4.9 from here: www.apple.com/itunes/download/
2. Launch iTunes
3. On the left-hand side/column, click on the "podcasts" icon
4. Click the Podcast Directory button at the bottom of the screen
5. Search the directory for "Mormon Stories"
6. Click Subscribe when the search pulls up your Podcast.

Also, you don't need an iPod, or even an MP3 player to listen to these. A computer with speakers (or even headphones) is all you need!

[peter_mary]

Has anyone read this book yet? I've been watching for it at Barnes & Noble, but I haven't seen it yet. I would expect that it has some pretty interesting stuff in it, not the least of which is the all important debate about the priesthood being given to ALL worthy :Puking (oops, sorry) males.

A friend here at work has borrowed the book through an interlibrary loan, and the only thing he's mentioned is that the book talks about how someone (Harold B. Lee, I THINK, but I could be wrong) wanted to change the name of the Home Teachers to "The Watchmen" but that was struck down (for OBVIOUS political reasons...oh my hell, can you imagine?)

Anyway, I'd be curious to hear what others have to say. (And Mormonstories, I should probably cease being such a techno-wannie and figure out how to actually do the whole pod-cast thing...forgive my inadequacies!)

Peter_Mary

[mormonstories]

I've read the 1st half of the book, and am really enjoying it. I believe it's quite good history. There was such good record keeping....that it's quite a rich read.

It talks about may interesting tidbits, including the "Mormon Doctrine" episode w/ Bruce R., the Fawn Brodie deal, the whole Blacks/Priesthood thing, correlation, baseball baptisms, internationalization of the church, etc. etc.

Below is a review on the book...

Review
======

Title: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
Author: Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright
Publisher: University of Utah Press
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 490
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-87480-822-7
Price: $29.95

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle

Much credit for the existence of this book goes to McKay's long-time
personal secretary, Claire Middlemiss. As is mentioned at the outset, and
in an appendix at the close of the book, she kept meticulous records of
McKay's public and private dealings. Access to these records gives us, the
readers, an unprecedented look behind the scenes of one of Mormonism's most
popular Prophets.

Here's a look at the book, chapter by chapter:

Chapter 1, "Prophet and Man," is a general overview of Pres. McKay's life
and work. It sets the scene for the rest of the book -- depicting McKay as
a compassionate, always interesting character, one who related well with
people and showed interest in individual lives.

Chapter 2, "Revelation and Prophecy," tackles the oft-asked question of
what has happened to the prophetic gift in the LDS hierarchy. While McKay
never recorded any of his prophecies, he clearly believed that he was at
times directed by God in his decision making. Several episodes are cited
to support the prophetic role of Pres. McKay.

Chapter 3, "Free Agency and Tolerance," is a blockbuster. In this
fascinating read, we learn a little about the battles McKay had to fight to
balance the desire for orthodoxy with his commitment to tolerance of other
ideas. The incident of Bruce R. McConkie's publication of "Mormon
Doctrine" is riveting. Mention is also made of Joseph Fielding Smith's
"Man, His Origin and Destiny," Juanita Brooks' work on the Mountain Meadows
Massacre, Sterling McMurrin's ongoing quest to retain his church
membership, and, of course, the publication of "No Man Knows My History" by
his niece, Fawn Brodie. He had a lot on his plate!

Chapter 4, "Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood," is a lengthy and
richly detailed account of McKay's struggle with the issue of race, rights,
and priesthood. In keeping with his times, McKay showed little affection
for people of color, but confronted with the emerging civil rights
movement, and the ongoing Priesthood ban, he had to restudy his feelings.
Two men, Hugh B. Brown and Sterling McMurrin, would emerge as very
influential in turning McKay around in his desire to see the ban lifted (in
fact, in correspondence with McMurrin, to acknowledge that there is no
doctrinal foundation for the ban!). This desire would be realized under
the presidency of Spencer W. Kimball.

Chapter 5, titled "Ecumenical Outreach," chronicles McKay's efforts to
establish relations with other religious communities. His communications
with Jews and Protestants were generally satisfactory. But coming to terms
with his feelings about Roman Catholicism took a bit longer. The early
years of his presidency were marked by an uneven mix of respect for the
local Catholic clergy and deep-rooted suspicions of the Catholic system.
Ironically, it would take the publication of "Mormon Doctrine," with its
explicit naming of the Roman church as the "harlot," etc., to move McKay to
reconsider Mormonism's relationship with, and view of, the Catholic
church.

Chapter 6, "Radio and Television Broadcasting" follows with a summary of
the Church's experience with ownership of media outlets, beginning with KSL
in Salt Lake City, through the tumultuous experiment with shortwave radio,
through the eventual consolidation of media work in Bonneville
Communications.

Chapter 7, "Correlation and Church Administration," is a frank, and
sometimes brutal, recounting of the formation and growth of the Correlation
committee. Begun many years before McKay's rise to the presidency, it
found its root during his tenure, especially in the efforts of Harold B.
Lee. This chapter chronicles the transfer of power and money from the
auxiliary organizations to the central Church structure, a transfer that
did not come easily. Particularly thorny were the changes made to the
organizations led by women. Changes did come, of course, but not without
much ill feeling and resentment among the general membership.

Chapter 8, "The Education System," opens with a remarkable and notable
statement:

His [McKay's] philosophy was that true education is liberal, painted by
the broad brush strokes of all academic disciplines, unfettered by thin
pencil lines of dogma. (p. 159)

This goal would prove to be rather elusive as the aging President of the
Church superintended the growth and expansion of Brigham Young University
under the aegis of Ernest L. Wilkinson. Issues concerning church loyalty
and academic freedom are discussed. Also discussed is the abortive attempt
at establishing a church-owned community college system and the attempts by
Wilkinson to relocate Ricks College. Altogether an amazing read.

Chapter 9, "The Building Program," discusses McKay's vision of expanding
the construction of church edifices around the world. It studies the
differing opinions of those put in charge of the work, and the financial
challenges they faced.

"The Missionary Program" is considered in Chapter 10. It discusses the
role of Henry Moyle in reshaping and energizing the Church's missionary
efforts, particularly in Europe. The idea of "baptism quotas" emerges
during this period (an idea I personally have some difficulty with). In
order to meet these quotas, a series of "incentives" was provided. Much
space is given to the "baseball baptisms" fiasco, an episode I'd read a bit
about, but never before had so much detail.

Chapter 11 is titled "Temple Building," providing an overview of temples
built during McKay's presidency. A section titled "A Temple to Sail on the
Waters" was a surprise to me. McKay asked the chairman of the church
building committee to study the idea of building a temple on a ship that
could be sailed to places where members had no access to a temple. The
idea died fairly soon after. McKay's interest in enriching temple marriage
is also discussed.

Chapter 12, "Confrontation with Communism," looks at McKay's lifelong
distaste for Communism, and his ultimate alliance with, and support for,
both the views and the political aspirations of Ezra Taft Benson. This was
a time of deep reflection and changing views for McKay. At first
supportive of Sen. Eugene McCarthy and his hearings in Congress, he later
distanced himself from them, acknowledging excesses in the process. But
the real star of this chapter is future President Ezra Taft Benson.
Benson's extreme right views, his involvement with the John Birch Society,
and his later bid for the Presidency, presented strong challenges to the
First Presidency as they tried to rein in one of their own. This chapter
is something of a roller-coaster ride through both Church and American
history.

Chapter 13, "Politics and the Church," looks at the fine line McKay had to
walk in keeping the Church as neutral as possible when it comes to politics
and candidates. He wasn't always successful, and continued to struggle
with the ultra-right image imposed on the Church by the very public Ezra
Taft Benson. Also discussed is "The Douglas Stringfellow Hoax,"
investigating the possibility that Stringfellow, a Congressman from Utah,
had misrepresented his military service record on a television program,
"This Is Your Life." The chapter ends with a discussion of McKay's
meetings with several U.S. Presidents.

In Chapter 14, "An International Church," McKay is described as the first
Mormon President to circumnavigate the globe. He had a real role in
reversing the idea of Utah as a "gathering place," and instead
strengthening the foreign field. Sterling McMurrin, in an afterword,
credits McKay with extending the borders of the Church beyond the Utah
valley.

Chapter 15, "The Final Years," chronicles the last years of his life and
his declining health. And while he continued to attend General Conference,
his failing health was obvious to all, causing great distress among his
people. While handing over some of the everyday responsibilities of the
Presidency to others, he remained "in charge" to the very end. It is a
touching and heartfelt look at his final years.

Finally, Chapter 16 offers a sweet "Epilogue" to the story, not just
summarizing McKay's life and influence, but celebrating it:

For a full century, since Brigham Young announced to the world that the
rumored practice of plural marriage was more than rumor, church members
had been asked to sacrifice themselves for the good of the institution.
McKay reversed that, asserting that the church was made for the
members, not the members for the church. He emphasized the paramount
importance of free agency and individual expression, for he understood
the improvement of the parts would inevitably improve the whole. "Let
them conform" was replaced by "Let them grow." He willingly discarded
institutional uniformity for the higher goal of individual excellence.
He pitched a wide tent and then told all members of all stripes that he
welcomed them to join him and build the church within it.

Perhaps, as Walter Reuther said of McKay, "I doubt that another
generation will produce a man like that." But we should try. (p. 404)

Amen.

There had been some comment about the format of the book. Some complained
that it wasn't a chronological account of McKay's life. In retrospect, I
think the authors made the right decision in treating their subject
thematically. A man may live many years, but what matters is not how many
years he lived, but how he lived those years. Prophets, like others in the
public eye, are judged thematically, not chronologically. The authors, in
my opinion, chose a wise course in so arranging their excellent book.

This is a massive, impressive work, as befits such an impressive man. But
it is also a cautionary work. While admiring the man and many who
surrounded him, it reminds us of the perils of unbounded power and
agenda-driven theocracy. It brings to light the very real human element
that drives the Church, the sometimes-contentious relations between
leaders, and, in the middle of all this, the ability of men and women to
rise to the challenge and emerge stronger and wiser.

"David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism" is, in my opinion, must
reading for anyone interested, not just in McKay and his tenure, but in the
multifaceted face of a religious movement emerging as a world faith, a
dynamic and energetic organization finding itself in a world of
often-conflicting priorities. A great read, solid research -- this book is
a winner.

[peter_mary]

Below is a review on the book...

Review
======

Title: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
Author: Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright
Publisher: University of Utah Press
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 490
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-87480-822-7
Price: $29.95

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle



Thank you! That was a VERY helpful review, and I'll keep watching for the book (I'm in need of one today!)

I always think that the Church would benefit from a guy like McKay again (Hinckley has succeeded in some regards), but a wicked, wicked side of me hopes like hell that Boyd K. Packer gets his shot at being President!

;)

I know, I only feel that way 'cause I'm living here in outer darkness...

Peter_Mary