Simon, Hemopereki. “Decolonizing Lamanite Studies—A Critical and Decolonial Indigenist Perspective.” Religions 16, no. 6 (2025): 667.The emergence of Lamanite Studies exemplifies the need for decolonial and Indigenous-centered reevaluations of Mormon–Indigenous relations. This article advocates for the reclamation of Indigenous identity independent of the constraints imposed by Mormon doctrine. The incorporation of Indigenous genealogies into Mormon theology results in epistemic violence, disconnecting Indigenous peoples from their ancestral identities and substituting the latter with the settler/invader colonial construct of “Lamanite”. This paper advocates for the decolonization of Indigenous identities within Mormonism, emphasizing the need for a radical intervention that prioritizes Indigenous sovereignty and self-definition over the maintenance of colonial categories. I present approaches and scholarship in Lamanite Studies that align with Indigenous land and spiritual repatriation, promoting the restoration of Indigenous epistemologies to Indigenous communities. Theoretical colonialism must be supplemented by grassroots initiatives that empower Indigenous communities to reclaim their spiritual and cultural identities.

Farmer, Jared. The Sound of Mormonism: A Media History of Latter-Day Saints. Utah State University Press. 

The Sound of Mormonism is an annotated and expanded version of the 2023 lecture “Music & the Unspoken Truth”–an homage to the Music and the Spoken Word radio program and a meditation on the relationships between religion, music, vocality, and quietude.

The Arrington Lecture series, established in honor of one of the twentieth-century American West’s most distinguished historians, Leonard Arrington, has become a leading forum for prominent scholars to address topics related to Latter-day Saint history. Utah State University hosts the Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series through the Merrill-Cazier Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

Stiles, Erin E. The Devil Sat on My Bed: Encounters with the Spirit World in Mormon Utah. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In the mountains of beautiful, bucolic northern Utah, many Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are visited by spirits. Local folklore is filled with stories of uncanny encounters of all kinds, and Latter-day Saint scripture and prophetic teachings emphasize the reality and the importance of the spirit world. Spirit encounters are common in this community. People report visits from the benevolent spirits of kin offering aid and also from evil spirits who tempt and harass. Combining folklore research with ethnography, the book examines many types of spirit encounters and shows that such experiences must be understood as particularly Latter-day Saint phenomena.

Gooren, Henri. “Non-Catholic Church Growth in Haiti, 1970–2018.” International Journal of Latin American Religions(2025): 1-31.

This paper chronologically and systematically analyzes Protestant and Mormon membership growth in Haiti from 1970 to 2018. Analytical, background, and church membership data come from several editions of the World Christian Encyclopedia and Operation World, and the website cumorah.com. The principal research questions are:

(1) When were the main Protestant and Mormon growth periods in Haiti?

(2) What were the main factors that influenced Protestant and Mormon growth in Haiti?

(3) Is there overlap between these factors or are they clearly differentiated for each religious group? If so, how and why?

(4) Is Protestant and Mormon membership growth in Haiti projected to continue at the current levels, at somewhat lower levels, or to gradually disappear in the future? If so, why?

Turner, John G. Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet. Yale University Press, 2025.

Note: Our own Chad Nielsen has a full review coming out on Tuesday, and there is an interview with Turner coming out on Sunday at From the Desk. 

Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) was one of the most successful and controversial religious leaders of nineteenth-century America, publishing the Book of Mormon and starting what would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He built temples, founded a city-state in Illinois, ran for president, and married more than thirty women. This self-made prophet thrilled his followers with his grand vision of peace and unity, but his increasingly grandiose plans tested and sometimes shattered their faith.

In this vivid biography, John G. Turner presents Smith as a consummate religious entrepreneur and innovator, a man both flawed and compelling. He sold books, land, and merchandise. And he relentlessly advanced doctrines that tapped into anxieties about the nature and meaning of salvation, the validity of miracles, the timing of Christ’s second coming, and the persistence of human relationships for eternity. His teachings prompted people to gather into communities, evoking fierce opposition from those who saw those communities as theocratic threats to republicanism.

With insights from newly accessible diaries, church records, and transcripts of sermons, Turner illuminates Smith’s stunning trajectory, from his beginnings as an uneducated, impoverished farmhand to his ultimate fall at the hands of a murderous mob, revealing how he forged a religious tradition that has resonated with millions of people in the United States and beyond.

Bao, Luoman, Zhe Meredith Zhang, and Roseann Giarrusso. “Religious Affiliation and the Division of Housework Over the Life Course.” Advances in Life Course Research (2025): 100676.

A growing body of research examines changes in the division of housework over the life course, yet the influence of religion remains underexplored. Using couple dyad data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations (1988–2005) and a life course perspective, this study investigates how wives’ and husbands’ religious affiliations shape life course trajectories of the housework gender gap and individual housework time among different-sex couples in the U.S. Growth curve analyses reveal religious differences in these trajectories. Among couples where either spouse is Mormon or the wife is Catholic, the housework gender gap declined over the life course, whereas it remained stable among Protestant (mainline or evangelical), Jewish, other religious, and nonreligious couples. These declines appear to be driven by reductions in wives’ housework time over the life course among Mormon couples and increases in husbands’ housework contributions over time among couples with Catholic wives. Notably, religious disparities in the housework gender gap followed distinct patterns across life stages: the initially larger gender gap among Mormon couples and couples with Catholic wives in early life converged in midlife and became smaller than in some groups in later life. This study advances research on gender inequality in housework by highlighting the role of religious affiliation over the life course. The findings inform targeted policy interventions to support women disproportionately affected by excessive housework burdens in early life.

Story, Caroline. “Postcolonial Language Imperialism in Africa-The Latter-day Saints Missionary Program: Le programme missionnaire des Latter-day Saints.” Language Policy in Africa1, no. 1 (2025).

This paper aims to explore the neocolonial implications of mission language planning, particularly how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (LDS Church) mission program relates to postcolonial African language policies. Beginning with a conceptual overview of English language hegemony engrained in African language planning, the investigation covers a detailed inquiry into the LDS Church’s mission operations through contemporary missionary language training and practices. Analysis of the languages of instruction reveals a Eurocentric bias in the selection of languages within the LDS Church’s Missionary Training Centers, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive and contextually relevant approach to language planning and assignment. Interviews conducted with members of the Church, having served missions on the African continent, further support this conclusion. The implications of conducting mission operations in Africa from an Anglocentric perspective relate to postcolonial discourse on power and exclusion in multilingual ecologies. Considerations for future studies include further documentation of the perspectives of speakers of African languages engaged in mission-related practices within the LDS Church.