Craig Manscill

Research Interests

Hyrum Smith Papers
Pacific Church History

Teaching Interests

Rel C 324/325 Doctrine and Covenants
Rel C 225 Foundations of the Restoration
Rel C 333 Teaching of the Living Prophets

Courses Taught

2020

• REL C 225 : Section 013
• REL C 225 : Section 019
• REL C 225 : Section 025
• REL C 225 : Section 044
• REL C 324 : Section 012
• IAS 201R: Section 045
• REL C 225 : Section 009
• REL C 225 : Section 014
• REL C 225 : Section 037
• REL C 324 : Section 015
• REL C 324 : Section 017

2019

• REL C 225 : Section 008
• REL C 225 : Section 013
• REL C 225 : Section 021
• REL C 225 : Section 035
• REL C 324 : Section 015
• REL C 321 : Section 001
• REL C 323 : Section 001
• REL C 322 : Section 001
• IAS 201R: Section 058
• REL C 225 : Section 009
• REL C 225 : Section 015
• REL C 225 : Section 038
• REL C 324 : Section 016

Show Previous Years

Publications

• Esplin SC, Bennett RE, Black SE, Manscill CK. December, 2015. Far Away in the West: Reflections on the Mormon Pioneer Trail. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center: Brigham Young University / Deseret Book.
• Manscill CK, Reeves BD, Dorius GL, Haws JB. November, 2013. Joseph F Smith: Reflections on the Man and His Times. Firstth ed. Craig K. Manscill, Brian D. Reeves, Guy L. Dorius, J. B. Haws, editors. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University.

Presentations

• Manscill CK. The Washington Merry-Go-Round: Jack Anderson The Mormon Muckraker. 2019 Washington Regional Studies Conference. Jack Northman Anderson (October 19, 1922 – December 17, 2005) was a major contributor in the formation of modern journalism and investigative reporting He was a formidable force in the nation’s capital holding government and politicians in check He was the champion of the People exposing government coverup and fraud while holding public officials to a high standard insisting on government transparency Anderson’s moral compass of right and wrong in government affairs was influenced by his religious affiliation—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints How he reacted and operated in Washington and his opinion of politicians, politics and government were reflected in his popular national column published in the Washington Post titled “The Washington Merry Go Round,” in the nineteen sixties and seventies This paper will address the question, How could a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintain his Church membership in the complex interplay of religious and public life as the nation's number one muckraker for six decades? Interviews, primary and secondary resources will be used to address the question. June, 2019.
• Woodger MJ, Alford KL, Manscill CK. Understanding Dreams as Revelation. 2017 Religious Education Faculty Forum. November, 2017.
• Alford KL, Manscill CK. Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s Collaboration on D&C 121–123. 2017 Joseph Smith Papers Conference. October, 2017.
• Alford KL, Manscill CK. Hyrum Smith Liberty Jail Letters. Sperry Symposium. October, 2016.
• Manscill CK. The Globalization of Mormon Temples in Oceania: Negotiating Conflict in the Past, the Present and the Future of Mormon Temple Liturgy . Mo'MA Our Pasts Before Us. May, 2016.
• Manscill CK, Alford KL. Faith, Hope, and Charity, Here Embodied Lies: The Exemplary Life Mercy Fielding Thompson. 2016 Church History Symposium. March, 2016.
• Manscill CK. Behold the Field Is White: Examining the LDS and RLDS Response of the Emergence into French Polynesia 1873-92. Putting Unity Into the Community. September, 2015.
• Manscill CK. "A City Set on a Hill": The Latter-day Saint Educational System in Samo. Lalan Chalan TaLa Path: Reconnecting Pacific -Asia Histories. This paper analysis the LDS Church Educations System in Samoa from its beginning as a mission school to the transition into LDS Pacific school system. December, 2014.
• Manscill CK. "No Purse, Scrip, or School Books": The History of Mormon Schools in Samoa from 1892-1960. 49th Mormon History Association. This paper is an narrative and analysis of the Mormon Mission Schools in Samoa during the Germany occupation of Samoa from 1902-14 The journal of Frank Young, a return missionary from Germany, was called to teach Germany in the LDS mission school system. June, 2014.
• Manscill CK. "If Fire Can Scathe a Green Tree For the Glory of God:" Martyrs in the International Church. "The Worldwide Church: The Global Reach of Mormonism. March, 2014.
• Manscill CK. LDS Church Curriculum: The Development and Writing of the Presidents of the Church Manuals. Sojourn in Iowa. September, 2013.
• Manscill CK. "Before the Grass Grows and the Water Runs:" Rumors and Reasons for the Early Mormon Migration--The Shaping of a Community. The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association. August, 2013.
• Manscill CK. "Do You Think tht We Shall be Called Treasoners?": The Alleged Secession Crisis in the Utah Territory. "The Crowded Landscape of the Mormon West(s): Agency and Action from the Wasatch Front to the Pacific Rim. July, 2013.
• Manscill CK. "By The Help of God I Can Read in the Hebrew Bible:" Hyrum Smith and the Hebrew Language. 2013 Church History Symposium. March, 2013.
• Manscill CK. The Mormon Samoa-A Place Of Crossings and Dwellings: A Theory on Relgion. Pacific Historical Assoication Conference. Thomas A Tweed offers an avant-garde theory of religion in his recently published volume, Crossing and Dwelling: A theory of Religion Tweed presents the reader with his own definition of religion: “Religions are confluences of organic-cultural flows that intensify joy and confront suffering by drawing on human and superhuman forces to make homes and cross boundaries” The two major orienting metaphors of his theory, dwelling and crossing, signify that religion is “about finding a place and moving across space, and aquatic metaphors (confluences and flows) signal that religions are not reified substances but complex processes” Hence, each religion is a “flowing together of currents—some enforced as ‘orthodox’ by institutions—traversing multiple fields, where other religions, other transverse confluences, also cross, thereby creating new spiritual streams” Tweed’s use of aquatic and spatial metaphors is an attempt to avoid “esssentializing religious traditions as static, isolated, and immutable substances” choosing to understand them instead as “the swirl of transluvial currents” where “religious and nonreligious streams propel religious flows” With this in mind, Tweed describes religions as “sacroscapes,” inviting scholars to “attend to the multiple ways that religious flows have left traces, transforming peoples and places, the social arena and the natural terrain” Accepting Tweed’s invitation, this presentation is to employ Tweeds theory of religion of “crossings and dwellings” with the historical emergence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Pacific Islands of Samoa from the nineteenth century to the present Samoan LDS Church history, rich in interest and color, includes gathering places such as Sauniatu and Mapusaga; chapel schools (beginning in 1892 as the concept of “dwelling and making of homes”); the founding of missionary work in Tonga in 1891 and the refounding of the mission in French Polynesia in 1892 (“crossing boundaries”); visits of unusual spiritual efficacy from Elder David O McKay (later President McKay) in 1921 and 1955 (the concept of human forces which intensify joy and confront suffering); the development of three residential schools at Pesega (Upolu Island), Viola (Savai'i Island), and Mapusaga (American Samoa); years of struggle during World War II; successful building-missionary work resulting in many beautiful, modern chapels during the 1950s and 1960s; and the creation of the Apia Stake, Samoa's first, on 18 March 1962 The dedication of the Apia Samoa Temple at the Church complex in Pesega on 5 and 6 August 1983 redication of temple September 4 2005 was the crowning historical event in Samoan Church history These historical events will be the central focus of framing Tweed’s theory of religion into a plausible construct . December, 2012.
• Manscill CK. "Bringing About Zion In The Twenty Firt Century: Communities of Cooperation or Competion. John Whtimer Historical Society. October, 2012.
• Manscill CK. Hyrum Smith's Contribution To The Building of the Kirtland Temple. Mormon History Assoication. In February 1836, Hyrum Smith writing to his cousin Elias Smith, referred to the so-called, "press of business, [and] the extreme anxiety for the building or finishing of the House of the Lord" The “House,” the Kirtland Temple in Ohio had been under construction since June of 1833—the past 30 months Hyrum’s initial anxieties began on May 4, 1833 when he, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter were appointed to a committee charged with raising funds to build a schoolhouse where the elders could receive instruction preparatory to commencing their missions—the school’s purpose In December 1832 when the prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation that instruct the Church to “establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of glory (D&C 88:119) Two months later on March 8,1833 a revelation called for establishing a “school of the prophets” (D&C 90:7-8) On June 4th, the fund raising committee for the schoolhouse became the building committee for the Kirtland Temple or more commonly referred to in Hyrum’s papers as the “House of the Lord” The scholarly community over the years has written at length about the structure and construction of the Kirtland Temple These formative works together constitute our collective knowledge of the structure and construction of the Kirtland Temple However, it is significant to note that these authors have overlooked Hyrum Smith’s personal diaries, letters, daybook, and account book as they add to the collective history of the Kirtland Temple The Hyrum Smith papers provide new information and collaborate established facts about the structure and construction of the House of the Lord—the Kirtland Temple It is the intent of this paper to broaden our understanding of Hyrum Smith’s involvement and contributions to the building of . June, 2012.
• Manscill CK. 1907 Address To The World: Joseph F Smith's Rebuttle of the Reed Smoot Hearings. Church History Symposium. 1907 ADDRESS TO THE WORLD: JOSEPH F SMITH’S REBUTTAL OF THE REED SMOOT HEARINGS Craig K Manscill I The Perceived Need For the Address to the World and the Church a Historical background of Reed Smoot Senatorial Investigation i Utah Statehood and the Senatorial Office ii President Joseph F Smith’s three day hearings iii Other General Authorities hearings and no shows b Three Outcomes of Smoot Investigation i The Second Manifesto of Plural Marriage 1 Apostles John W Taylor and Matthias Cowley ii The anti-Mormon campaign following the hearings 1 Thomas Kearns and Frank J Cannon Tribune editorials 2 Four national magazines—Pearson’s, Everybody’s, McClure’s, and Cosmopolitan’s vicious attacks on the Church iii March 26, 1907 Address to the world by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints II Analyzes of the Address to the World a The formation of the document\address i Who are the authors of the document 1 Joseph F Smith and James E Talmage ii When and where was the Address written b What was the intended purpose of the Address i Correcting misrepresentations: 1 “of our doctrine” 2 “of our sacred ordinances of our religion” 3 “of our history that has been falsified” 4 “of our character which has been traduced” 5 “of our course of conduct as a people who were reprobated and condemned” ii In answer to the charges made against the Church 1 Charges during the Smoot investigation 2 Charges against the Church in the publics by the press and others c The intended audience of the Address i The General Officers of the Church ii Those who founded the religion and Church by divine direction iii For our posterity who we shall transmit our faith iv To mankind and the world d Summary of the address i Doctrines of the gospel ii Church Historical events iii Church Government and patriotism iv Plural Marriage its history, doctrine, practice, and future III What was the Outcome of the Address a Adopted by the Church 5th April 1907 b How the Address was Received by the World i Rebuttal of the Address by Ministerial Association of Salt Lake City ii BH Roberts reply to Ministerial Association c The Publication and Disbursement of the Address i members of the Church, ii the United States including Congress iii and Foreign Lands d The Impact of the Address i How it clarified some doctrines ii How often the Address has been quoted in General Conference iii Did the Address accomplish it intended designs . March, 2012.