Joseph Smith in the Language of Scholarship By Brittany Karford, Church Magazines Present the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Library of Congress to the world of academia with no testimony, no expressions of faith—just scholar-to-scholar discussion. Daunting. But almost one year after the Library of Congress conference “The Worlds of Joseph Smith,” the five organizers gathered with the consensus that the scholarly discussion opened a new way to examine our faith and the faiths of others. “It adds another dimension of reality if he can be discussed in another setting—intellectually and spiritually,” said Richard Bushman, prominent historian and author. Brother Bushman joined the panel of conference organizers at Brigham Young University yesterday to report the impacts of the conference that will likely raise Joseph Smith as a figure of national and international importance. “Joseph Smith is a significant figure,” Brother Bushman said. “I don’t think anyone there denied that.” What they questioned was whether Joseph Smith was a child of enlightenment or a child of the romantic era; influenced by his environment or separate from the world; regarded the same as other religious world leaders or differently; and just how much he knew of his ultimate mission. All questions the organizers say, posed to members of the Church, will “help us to better understand our own faith.” The two-day conference brought together 17 speakers, each bringing something different to bear on Joseph Smith. Crossing denominational lines, about half of the presenters were from the LDS community, and half not, spread across the disciplines of religion, philosophy, and history. Attending were Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson; and Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy, executive director of the Family and Church History Department. “I was really moved by the fact that Elder Oaks sat through every session,” Brother Bushman reflected. “He took notes on it all; it really meant a lot.” Elder Oaks also spoke at the conclusion of the Friday session on the topic “Joseph Smith in a Personal World.” Robert Millet, organizer and chair of religious understanding at BYU, later asked Elder Oaks how he thought Joseph Smith himself looked on the conference. “His response was, ‘I think he'd be thrilled,’ ” Brother Millet said. He surely received a warmer reception than the first time he went to Washington, D.C. Richard Turley, organizer and managing director of the Family and Church History Department, pointed to the homogenous society that existed when Joseph Smith first went to Washington. Making the trip in 1839 to seek redress from the federal government for losses sustained by his people in Missouri, Joseph was offered sympathy, but no protection. “There was no system of redress then,” Brother Turley said. “Our nation has really come a long way. I think he would be pleased, not only to hear a session about himself, but see how far the nation has come.” Far enough to bring the many diverse takes on Joseph Smith to a productive end. “It was heartening to see the cross-fertilization of ideas going on,” said John Welch, conference organizer and BYU law professor. They were even privileged to sing a hymn in the Library of Congress—“Oh How Lovely was the Morning”—a composition by John C. Lefgren that can actually be found in the Library of Congress archives. The first-known instance of an LDS-printed document—a proof sheet of the title page of the Book of Mormon—was also discovered in the library's collections during the planning of the event, in addition to one of only seven copies of the Book of Commandments known to exist. They cannot put a price on those artifacts, or on the magnitude of Joseph Smith joining the ranks with Abraham Lincoln and other notable figures that have been featured in the library's halls. “We hope to make him intelligible to a wider audience,” said Brother Bushman, adding that scholarship provides a language all can participate in—even Church members. ”It is useful for them to hear that things they treasure discussed in another venue with another tone, another vocabulary.” Learning about religion in this setting is essential to maintaining engagement with the world at large, Brother Bushman said, even if others do not agree. “Once in a while, its nice to have someone shatter your world a little bit. You not only learn what others think, but more about what you believe as well.”