{"id":53273,"date":"2026-04-07T03:47:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=53273"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:05:13","slug":"a-review-welding-another-link-latter-day-saint-essays-on-faith-and-intellect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/a-review-welding-another-link-latter-day-saint-essays-on-faith-and-intellect\/","title":{"rendered":"A Review: Welding Another Link: Latter-day Saint Essays on Faith and Intellect"},"content":{"rendered":"

It could be said that the hallmark of a mature religious tradition is a robust, centuries-old internal philosophy. In his latest collection of essays, Welding Another Link: Latter-day Saint Essays on Faith and Intellect<\/i><\/a> (Greg Kofford Books, available April 14, 2026), Nathan B. Oman argues that while the Restoration may lack the ancient polish of Catholicism or Islam, its very “underdeveloped” nature is precisely what makes it so exciting. I related to Oman\u2019s observation that the “apparently disorganized welter of Mormonism offers great intellectual opportunities to those who are willing to approach it with charity and respect,” and, “For me … this is what lends my faith its intellectual excitement.” This sense of intellectual excitement\u2014the feeling that we are still in the “morning” of our theology\u2014permeates the entire volume.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Lawyer’s Lens on Faith<\/h3>\n

Oman is one of the premier thinkers currently looking at Latter-day Saint history and culture through the lens of the law. As a law professor, he brings a unique precision to topics that often get muddled in purely devotional settings. This is best seen in the second half of the book, particularly the chapter “Truth, Doctrine, and Authority.”<\/p>\n

In recent years, the project of defining what is and isn’t “official doctrine” has become an important and ongoing discussion in Mormon Studies. Oman moves this conversation forward by addressing the underlying concerns of the project itself that were raised by Loyd Ericson. He treats doctrine not as a static list of propositions, but as a functioning part of an institutional authority structure. His ability to engage with existing literature while pivoting to the philosophical “why” behind our definitions makes this an essential read for anyone following these discussions.<\/p>\n

The Scandal of the Particular<\/h3>\n

The first section of the book, focused on “Faith,” is deeply personal. In the opening essay, “A Local Faith,” Oman explores the “transposition of the Millennium from time to space,” grounded in his childhood memories of growing up on Brigham Young\u2019s old “Mill Farm” in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n

He wrestles with the “scandal” of how a universal faith can be tied to the local particularities of a desert valley. This section is a beautiful reminder that our faith is not just a set of abstract universalisms; it is tied to irrigation ditches, gazebo plaques, and the spires of the Salt Lake Temple. Oman successfully “welds” his intellectual rigor to a heartfelt appreciation for the arboreal redemption wrought by the pioneers.<\/p>\n

A Historical Quibble: Willie and Savage<\/h3>\n

While I found the collection overwhelmingly thoughtful, I was occasionally concerned by some of the historical interpretations. In the chapter “The Dictation of the Holy Ghost to Us: A Pioneer Day Sermon,” Oman takes a view of the 1856 handcart tragedy that I found to be uncharitable toward James G. Willie.<\/p>\n

Oman lionized Levi Savage for his famous warning to the Willie and Martin handcart companies about the risks of leaving Florence so late in the season, while casting Willie as a proud and inexperienced leader and frontiersman. In doing so, Oman overlooks the crushing logistical reality Willie faced: the group could not realistically stay in Florence for nine months without starving or facing intense opposition. As Don H. Smith successfully argued in his recent book Bring Them to Zion<\/i><\/a>, Willie was presented with a choice between multiple “bad” options and chose the one that seemed most likely to succeed. Lionizing Savage at Willie\u2019s expense simplifies a human tragedy that deserves more nuance.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Despite my occasional disagreement with his historical lens, Nathan Oman\u2019s Welding Another Link<\/i><\/a> is a wonderful contribution to the body of Latter-day Saint intellectual thought. It is the work of a man who is clearly convinced of the core claims of the restoration while remaining unafraid to examine its mechanics. Whether he is discussing “Jewish whiskey” or constitutional theology, Oman writes with a clarity and respect that helps to further the intellectual life of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n

\n

For info on more books being published in 2026, see\u00a0Mormon Studies Books in 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It could be said that the hallmark of a mature religious tradition is a robust, centuries-old internal philosophy. In his latest collection of essays, Welding Another Link: Latter-day Saint Essays on Faith and Intellect (Greg Kofford Books, available April 14, 2026), Nathan B. Oman argues that while the Restoration may lack the ancient polish of Catholicism or Islam, its very “underdeveloped” nature is precisely what makes it so exciting. I related to Oman\u2019s observation that the “apparently disorganized welter of Mormonism offers great intellectual opportunities to those who are willing to approach it with charity and respect,” and, “For me … this is what lends my faith its intellectual excitement.” This sense of intellectual excitement\u2014the feeling that we are still in the “morning” of our theology\u2014permeates the entire volume.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":53275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/oman_welding-another-link-kofford.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53273"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53279,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53273\/revisions\/53279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}