Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons [Hardcover]

Jan Shipps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2000

Over the course of four decades, Jan Shipps has become the preeminent non-Mormon interpreter of Mormonism. This important work assembles Shipps's writing about this tradition over the past thirty years, much of it published here for the first time. It also does something more. "Sojourner in the Promised Land" presents an unusual parallel history in which Shipps surrounds her professional writings about the Latter-day Saints with an ongoing personal description of her encounters with them. By combining a portrait of the dynamic evolution of contemporary Mormonism with absorbing intellectual autobiography, Shipps illuminates the Mormons and at the same time reveals her experience of being an intimate outsider in a culture that remains for her both familiar and strange. Among an array of other topics, Shipps discusses the methods she developed for researching and writing about the Mormon religion and its history. She reflects on how her circumstances made her - even as she maintained her Methodist standing - a virtual extension of the LDS public communications division. She also assesses media images of the Mormons and addresses the question of whether Mormonism is Christian. Most important, this volume reveals how, by being in the right place at the right time, Shipps was able to observe firsthand Mormonism's conversion from an provincial to a universal belief system. Her insights into this dramatic transformation reveal the implications, highly pertinent to contexts far removed from Mormonism, of dislodging a faith system from the specific cultural context of its origins and translating it into an adaptive system capable of adjusting to the conditions of many cultures. Infused with Shipps's lively curiosity, her scholarly rigor, and her contagious fascination with a significant subculture, "Sojourner in the Promised Land" stands as a major addition to Mormon scholarship.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When evaluating online versions of print resources, reference librarians typically seek the "value added" are they getting something more for their money? The concept could well apply to collections of previously published essays, which are, more often than not, the junk heap of scholarship and usually of interest only to specialists. With Shipps's new collection, however, there is no doubt about added value. Widely acknowledged to be the premier non-Mormon scholar of Mormonism, Shipps (religion and history, Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis) has rethought every essay, contextualizing them in terms of historiography and her own work. The topics covered include the perception of Mormons over time, the faith's origins, and, most personally for Shipps, the case of being an "insider-outsider." When she adds sections, she strikes the exact balance between useful autobiography and scholarly revision. Academic libraries dealing with American history will want this title. David Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Shipps, the foremost scholar of Mormonism, describes her 40-year sojourn among the Latter-day Saints in this brilliant collection that is part intellectual autobiography and part religious history... In chronicling the 'diaspora' that has made Mormonism a global religion, and in dissecting her own experiences as a non-Mormon commentator on these transformations, Shipps offers compelling and perceptive examples of change over time." -- Publishers Weekly "Offers readers both a memoir of her experiences as a scholar studying the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a set of articles on the subject. Shipps is by all odds the foremost non-Mormon scholar of Mormonism and one of the most perceptive of all scholars on the subject... The book won the Mormon History Association best book award and is highly recommended to all readers interested in the American West, American religious history, and US history." -- Choice "For Shipps, these forty years of commentary and critical scholarship have convinced her that living with contradictions is at the heart of writing denominational history and ... her audiences have benefited mightily from her observations and her steadfast scholarship... Should find a ready audience among the general public and interested scholars." -- Robert S. Fogarty, American Historical Review "Very thoughtful and provocative book... An indispensable volume for all serious scholars and the general public who are interested in Mormonism." -- Brigham D. Madsen, Western Historical Quarterly "Shipps writes about the Latter-Day Saints with an objectivity and fairness that has won her acceptance in camps of both Mormons and critics of Mormonism... This volume offers some valuable looks at a sometimes neglected and often controversial topic." -- Jack Nelson, Books for the Western Library "A remarkable story of an Alabama-born Methodist who moved to Indiana and became one of the world's leading non-Mormon authorities on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." -- Indianapolis Star "Likely to become a classic to be read over and over by both LDS Church members and serious students of LDS culture everywhere... A thoroughly interesting, scholarly and eloquent treatment of a thriving American religion." -- The Deseret News "Shipps' work is a model for historians: she asks interesting and important questions; she thinks through them clearly and carefully; she conducts research in all available and appropriate sources; and she presents her findings in language that is a pleasure to read." -- Bradley D. Woodworth, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought ADVANCE PRAISE "Sojourner in the Promised Land is the product of an ingenious creator, a discoverer and inventor of illuminating conceptual categories, and a thorough scholar. Shipps's entrepreneurial instincts as a historian, her genial and gregarious ways as a person, and the sympathetic but penetrating treatment of Mormonism proffered by this Methodist scholar combine to form a unique recipe. There are a handful of other scholars of Mormonism whose minds are in the same league as Shipps's, but few or none surpass her clarity, gracefulness, and lack of pretense." -- Philip Barlow, author of Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; First Edition edition (December 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252025903
• ISBN-13: 978-0252025907
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening, intriguing journey, October 6, 2004

By 

Beverly Hines (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons (Hardcover)

Reads like a combination of a coffee shop intimate chat and a stimulating history lecture. Mrs. Shipps writes clearly and engagingly about the evolving process of the LDS faith. I was engrossed the whole way through.

I loved reading how her personal life intertwined with her research and writing. I loved reading about some of the `behind the scenes' experiences and people that were the backdrop for some of her essays.

As a Christian raised with a protestant background, I was also intrigued how this book illuminates the process that births most religious groups/denominations as well as the LDS faith. It seems we have a lot more in common than many, in either camp, might like to admit.

Absolutely a worthwhile read.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old and New Wineskins, July 7, 2001

By 

Timothy A. Griffy (Rapid City, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons (Hardcover)

Jan Shipps is probably the most respected "Mormon watcher" today. Her contributions both as a historian and a commentator of Mormonism are incalculable, a stunning achievement for someone not a member of the LDS Church. Her latest book combines an essay collection with her reflections on being an "inside-outsider." The result is a fascinating book where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

The essays in this book come mostly from works not previously published or printed in places outside the normal "LDS filed of vision" (4). This is a shrewd decision, since these essays will be "new" even for a reader familiar with Shipps' work in LDS oriented forums. Yet it is "old" in the sense that she has discussed many of her themes before. Some essays did not have a primarily Mormon audience in mind. Combined with the autobiographical elements, this gives us better insights about Shipps herself and Mormonism. Significantly, it illustrates Shipps'status as an "inside-outsider" and will appeal to both Mormons and non-Mormons.

One thing I found particularly impressive was her reflections on teaching lower division introductory classes in both history and religious studies. Teaching these courses taught her "the usefulness of developing clear and meaningful categories and the need for clarity - straight talk rather than academic jargon" (155). Incidentally, it also serves as the reason why Shipps writes so well about Mormonism. Only a couple of the essays will seem too technical for the average reader. Otherwise, this volume is well suited for the public. It could serve as a scholarly introduction to Mormon history and contemporary issues.

Shipps, as an outsider, will help provide perspective on a variety of issues to Mormons, whatever their perspective on the current intellectual environment. Anyone concerned with the way denominational history is done will find new insights about "faith-promoting" history, the "new Mormon history," and even the way anti-Mormons do history in part two. The essays in part three are good examples of how she applies the lessons she learned from both Mormons and her students.

The major theme in this collection is the Church went through a dramatic change over the last half century, spurred mainly by its phenomenal growth. Shipps has been Mormon watching almost the entire time. At times, she has been a participant in the resulting growing pains,especially where it involved historiography. Her description of this unique journey as an "inside-outsider" sets this essay collection apart from any other volume I have ever read on Mormonism. I think you will agree.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A helpful collection of essays, May 8, 2005

By 

Anson Cassel Mills (Lake Santeetlah, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons (Hardcover)

The title of this book would lead a casual library browser astray. Jan Shipps, perhaps the most influential non-Mormon historian of Mormonism, does not present a true autobiography here but instead anthologizes her unpublished essays, some of which go back to the 1960s. As is often the case with collections of essays, their importance and quality varies widely, and everyone will have his own favorites and non-favorites.

Personally, I like Shipps' review of John Brooke's Refiner's Fire and her many autobiographical asides (Too bad she decided not to discuss the rearing of her son, the noted violinist Stephen Shipps.) Also highly recommended for any student of Mormonism are the notes, which follow each chapter and were definitely written to be read.

On the other hand, I began wincing every time Shipps invoked the mantra of her Methodism--especially since John Wesley would have pronounced her a heretic out of hand. For instance, Shipps' essay on "Is Mormonism Christian?" commences with mention of her Methodism and then runs on for twenty pages without defining either "Mormon" or "Christian."