We previously announced that the Encyclopedia of Mormonism is available online at encyclopediaofmormonism.byu.edu. This week’s Church News had a good article about it. Below is the text from that article:
BYU puts massive Encyclopedia of Mormonism online in free, easy-to-search format
By R. Scott Lloyd
Church News staff writer
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, an ambitious reference work published in 1992 by Macmillan Publishing Co. of New York, but which has been out of print for several years, is now available without charge to Internet users.
The link, available through the BYU Web site, is [http://encyclopediaofmormonism.byu.edu] “I am confident that many people all over the world will find the Encyclopedia of Mormonism to be an excellent port of entry for information about hundreds of topics that remain of current interest,” said John Welch, a law professor at BYU who was on the board of editors that assembled the five-volume work.
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a joint product of Brigham Young University and Macmillan Publishing Company, and its contents do not necessarily represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Brother Welch emphasized that the new online availability of the encyclopedia is only Phase I of a three-phase project. “In Phase II, the entire encyclopedia will become word-searchable, and in Phase III its articles and references will be updated and supplied with links to online resources.”
In its hard-bound publication, the encyclopedia is a five-volume work with individual entries by 750 authors covering Mormon history, doctrine, scripture, organization and culture. Originally, it was to be four volumes, but a fifth volume was included containing the text of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price for the convenience of users who might not otherwise have ready access to those books of scripture.
The concept of the encyclopedia originated in 1987, when Charles Smith of Macmillan approached S. Kent Brown of BYU, the two having worked together on the Coptic Encyclopedia. With the approval of Jeffrey R. Holland, then president of the university, a publication agreement was negotiated, and a Board of Editors was selected with Daniel H. Ludlow as editor-in-chief. Two members of the Quorum of the Twelve were advisers to the project.
Reviewers have praised the encyclopedia, including the prestigious Library Journal, which noted in its Feb. 15, 1992 issue: “A tremendous amount of material is presented here, and one of the outstanding strengths of the set is access to the material through the combination of the (synoptic) outline, cross references and index. Seeing the Mormons and their tradition through their own eyes, readers gain insight into Mormon self-understanding.”
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a helpful and valuable (albeit unofficial) study aid. But it is not perfect. For example, the Evolution article written by William E. Evenson is fundamentally flawed. Two of the Church’s First Presidencies are misquoted and a third is quoted totally out of context. The article’s claim that in 1931 there was “intense discussion on the issue of organic evolution” is completely and utterly false. A thorough explanation is given here. A short summary follows.
The 1931 First Presidency memo from which the excerpt is taken quotes Elder B. H. Roberts saying that
Elder Roberts wrote ‘ The Truth, The Way, The Life ‘ in 1927-1928 as a Melchizedek Priesthood study guide. Five members of the Quorum of the Twelve were assigned to review the manuscript. They found problems. But Elder Roberts was unwilling to make certain requested changes. Hence the increasing intensity of the discussions which continued for three and a half years until the First Presidency said on April 7, 1931:
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism was published in 1992. Two years later, the Church authorized publication of the Roberts book by BYU Studies. Thirteen BYU scholars were invited to prepare critical essays discussing and analyzing various aspects of the book. These essays are part of the BYU Studies publication.
One of the essays was written by William E. Evenson. In his 1994 essay, Evenson acknowledged that the opinions of B. H. Roberts were “not those of an evolutionist” and that the 1931 discussions “were not centered on the scientific theories of origins of life forms.” (William E. Evenson, “Science: The Universe, Creation, and Evolution,” in The Truth, The Way, The Life [2nd edition, Provo: BYU Studies, 1996], p. 645; emphasis added.)
Let’s just repeat that for emphasis: The opinions of B. H. Roberts were “not those of an evolutionist” and the discussions “were not centered on the scientific theories of origins of life forms.” (Ibid.)
In his 1994 essay, Evenson further acknowledged that the Roberts book “addresses three forms of evolutionary theory [and] finds all three … to be inadequate.” (Ibid.) Evenson concedes in the essay that B. H. Roberts “rejects all [1930s evolutionary] theories as he understands them [and] puts forward his own theory” to reconcile the scriptures with the fossil record. (Ibid.)
This is a complete turn around from what Evenson had earlier written in his Encyclopedia Evolution article. Not only was there no “intense” discussion on the issue of organic evolution, there was no discussion at all on the issue. The intended meaning of the 1931 excerpt that is quoted in Evenson’s Encyclopedia Evolution article is simply this: “Don’t let science modify faith.” It relates to the theory of evolution only indirectly.
Gary,
Thanks for posting your comment above. You are completely correct that there are many things in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism that need to be updated. The very short article on “Evolution” illustrates the helpful role that updates can play in “phase 3” mentioned in the Church News article. In phase 3, the Encyclopedia will be posted in a text-based format that will allow scholars to point readers to relevant materials published after 1991 (when the writing of the Encyclopedia was finished) and also to update statements that need to be updated.
For example, the article in the Encyclopedia on “Temples” says that the Church has 46 temples, which was true in 1990, but now needs to be updated.
Likewise, in phase 3, the article on “Evolution” could be supplemented with information from James B. Allen’s award-winning 1994 chapter covering all the known discussions that occurred throughout 1931 over pre-Adamite death. Resolving that issue was seen by some as a necessary precondition to any discussion of organic evolution. It could also be noted that the vigorous discussion in 1931 expanded beyond the April 7 statement by the First Presidency, for instance, when Elder James E. Talmage delivered his speech entitled “The Earth and Man” on August 7, 1931. Further references to the introductory materials in the BYU Studies 1996 edition of B.H. Roberts’s The Truth, The Way, The Life (which work was unknown to the authors and editors of the Encyclopedia in 1991) and other more recently published materials might also be helpful.
Obviously, any encyclopedia that was written sixteen years ago will stand in need of some updating, but many careful readers continue to find that most articles in the Encyclopedia have weathered quite well.
It’d be awesome if the solution of keeping this encyclopedia up to date included donating the content to the Mormon Wiki run by the More Good Foundation (http://www.mormonwiki.com). There is no good to be accomplished by letting this wonderful resource stagnate and become out of date. I’d love to see it come alive in the form of a Wiki. It’d also be a great infusion of positive LDS content into the internet.
i love to know more concering the encyclopedia mormonism thank you.