Attempts To Craft A Definitive Joseph Smith Biography: A Progress Report On Scholarship Since 2000 This session features a wide-ranging conversation between historians, scholars, and the audience on the attempt to “know Brother Joseph again.” What makes a good biography? What is the relationship between history and faith, and is the faith of members tied more closely to the historical record in Mormonism than it is in most other traditions? How should Latter-day Saints react when elements of their “sacred story” are challenged by new historical perspectives? How have recent studies and biographies succeeded or failed in fleshing out Joseph Smith’s life and times?

Newell G. Bringhurst, Ph.D., Moderator/Panelist; D. Michael Quinn, Ph.D., Maxine Hanks, Don Bradley, B.A., Panelists