In this first volume of his magisterial study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice, Terryl L. Givens offers a sweeping account of Mormon belief from its founding to the present day. Situating the relatively new movement in the context of the Christian tradition, he reveals that Mormonism continues to change and grow.Givens shows that despite Mormonism's origins in a biblical culture strongly influenced by nineteenth-century
Restorationist thought, which advocated a return to the Christianity of the early Church, the new movement diverges radically from the Christianity of the creeds. Mormonism proposes its own cosmology and
metaphysics, in which human identity is rooted in a premortal world as eternal as God. Mormons view mortal life as an enlightening ascent rather than a catastrophic fall, and reject traditional Christian concepts of human depravity and destiny. Popular fascination with Mormonism's social innovations, such as polygamy and communalism, and its supernatural and esoteric elements-angels, gold plates, seer stones, a New World Garden of Eden, and sacred undergarments-have long overshadowed the fact
that it is the most enduring and even thriving product of the nineteenth century's religious upheavals and innovations.Wrestling the Angel traces the essential contours of Mormon
thought from the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to the contemporary LDS church, illuminating both the seminal influence of the founding generation of Mormon thinkers and the significant developments in the church over almost 200 years. The most comprehensive account of the development of Mormon thought ever written, Wrestling the Angel will be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Mormon faith.
In this first volume of his magisterial study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice, Terryl L. Givens offers a sweeping account of Mormon belief from its founding to the present day. Situating the relatively new movement in the context of the Christian tradition, he reveals that Mormonism continues to change and grow.Givens shows that despite Mormonism's origins in a biblical culture strongly influenced by nineteenth-century
Restorationist thought, which advocated a return to the Christianity of the early Church, the new movement diverges radically from the Christianity of the creeds. Mormonism proposes its own cosmology and
metaphysics, in which human identity is rooted in a premortal world as eternal as God. Mormons view mortal life as an enlightening ascent rather than a catastrophic fall, and reject traditional Christian concepts of human depravity and destiny. Popular fascination with Mormonism's social innovations, such as polygamy and communalism, and its supernatural and esoteric elements-angels, gold plates, seer stones, a New World Garden of Eden, and sacred undergarments-have long overshadowed the fact
that it is the most enduring and even thriving product of the nineteenth century's religious upheavals and innovations.Wrestling the Angel traces the essential contours of Mormon
thought from the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to the contemporary LDS church, illuminating both the seminal influence of the founding generation of Mormon thinkers and the significant developments in the church over almost 200 years. The most comprehensive account of the development of Mormon thought ever written, Wrestling the Angel will be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Mormon faith.
Preface
MATTER AND METHOD
1. Historical Prelude
2. Mormonism and Theology
3. The Theology of Restoration
THE CONTENT
4. A Short Primer on Mormonism
COSMOLOGY
5. Eternalism
6. Monism
7. Intelligence and Law
THE DIVINE
8. The Godhead
9. Revealer God
10. Vulnerable God
11. Embodied God
12. Mother God
13. Adam-God
14. Christology
15. Holy Ghost
16. Other Beings
THE HUMAN
17. Premortality
18. The Fall
19. Embodiment
20. Salvation
21. Theosis
Terryl L. Givens is Professor of Literature and Religion and Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English at the University of Richmond. His books on Mormonism and American religious culture include By the Hand of Mormon, People of Paradox, Parley P. Pratt (with Matthew Grow), and Viper on the Hearth.
"Givens has embraced a certain reading of the Mormon intellectual
project and has found the tools of the academy a means for its
expression...Therefore, scholarship is an essential tool for fully
comprehending Mormonism's truths. These moments reveal that Givens
is as much a Mormon intellectual as a scholar of Mormonism, and
like Lowry Nelson or Juanita Brooks has taken upon himself the task
of vitalizing his tradition by healing the wound ripped open in
the
Arrington era." -- Matthew Bowman, Nova Religio
"[A]s an introduction 'to the intellectual richness and depth of
Mormonism's theological heritage' (p. xi), Givens' volume has much
to recommend it Undoubtedly, Wrestling the Angel will spark
considerable debate within the Mormon tradition, but it will also
be of great interest to scholars of Mormonism, New Religious
Movements, and American religion in general, as well as to those
working in comparative theology. It will likewise be useful for
graduate
seminars on these topics since it will undoubtedly inspire some
interesting and lively discussions about this fascinating, complex
American tradition."--Brian C. Wilson, Religion
"A sweeping survey ambitiously conceived, ably crafted, capable of
unlocking new mental worlds. Wrestling the Angel finally puts a
fair assessment of the 'Mormon mind' on full display...[A]
magisterial project."--Nova Religio
"Terryl Givens, an unusually creative and eloquent exponent of the
Mormon thought he outlines in Wrestling the Angel."--Journal of
Religion
"[A] wonderful and capacious contextualization of Mormon
theology...I found it a distinct pleasure to work through Givens's
work and to witness the Mormon theological tradition emerge from
those pages with the kind of complexity and integrity that it
rightly deserves."--Mormon Studies Review
"Givens successfully tackles a mountain of logistical,
chronological, and topical challenges in an astonishing work of
scholarship. This comprehensive and impressive volume is
fundamental in the study of an important, multifaceted, and
understudied piece of religious history." --Library Journal
"Givens has given us a hugely impressive, erudite and systematic
work. He shows us the vast and complex landscape of this most
extraordinary and most American of religions. Through this
monumental work we experience the sheer scale and audacity of
Mormon cosmology and theology and how this transforms our
understanding of divine nature and human nature alike." --Simon
Critchley, Hans Jonas Professor, The New School for Social
Research
"Givens has provided the most thorough and expert accounting of
Mormonism's place in the Christian thought-world. The book raises
the bar for those who would challenge Mormonism's status as a
Christian faith. For the rest of us, who simply want to understand
Mormonism, it is a welcome gift of fine scholarship." --Kathleen
Flake, Richard Lyman Bushman Professor in Mormon Studies,
University of Virginia
"We--general readers and scholars--need a lucid survey of the
Latter-day Saints' complex doctrinal developments. We also need
work that places the whole of Mormon theology in conversation with
Western culture and historic Christian thought. We now have both in
one remarkable, rewarding book." --David Holland, Associate
Professor of North American Religious History, Harvard Divinity
School
"In a sweep of enormous scope Givens takes Mormon thought from the
cultural world of its nineteenth century American emergence through
theological debates on orthodoxy-heresy amongst the early Christian
Fathers to Protestantism's heyday and to today's Latter-day Saint
distinctiveness." --Douglas J. Davies, author of The Mormon Culture
of Salvation
"Terryl Givens' careful and detailed account succeeds admirably in
its goal of presenting the origins and development of Mormon
theology clearly. The book is particularly welcome for giving
readers a solid sense of where Latter-day Saint theology aligns
with, and differs from, the theologies of main Christian
traditions." --Mark A. Noll, author of America's God: From Jonathan
Edwards to Abraham Lincoln
"Terryl Givens's scholarship is magisterial, yet this book
brilliantly synthesizes key themes in Mormon thought in a way which
is accessible and engaging for the non-specialist reader. An
essential study of contemporary Mormon religious thought and its
origins which should be read by any serious student of comparative
Christian traditions." --Fenella Cannell, Associate Professor of
Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science
"Givens, possibly the most significant voice in the field of Mormon
studies, has previously explained Mormonism by way of scripture,
history, and philosophy. Here, he turns his attention to theology,
a more difficult proposition than it sounds, since Mormons tend to
emphasize practical living rather than theological speculation and
believe in continuing revelation...What emerges is a complex,
nuanced picture of a dynamic faith." --Publishers Weekly
"Wrestling the Angel not only succeeds in providing the most
comprehensive and rigorous overview of Mormonism's theological
tradition, but it is, in the end, a key contribution--perhaps the
most important contribution in the last half-century--to that very
tradition." --The Juvenile Instructor
"Givens does the world a great service by formalizing a very
informal theology through remarkable literary artistry. Whether you
are interested in tuning into current Mormon studies or looking for
a helpful missiological resource, Wrestling will serve you well."--
Kyle R. Beshears, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wrestling the Angel is a masterful attempt to grapple with a
challenging but fundamentally important topic: situating Mormon
thought in the history of Christianity. I greatly look forward to
the next volume."-- Journal of Mormon History
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