NEW BUZZ ABOUT THE BEEHIVE STATE, MORMON TEMPLES, AND A POET
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Things are hopping at Signature as 2020 wraps up its second month. Two of our latest titles, Edward Leo Lyman's Finally Statehood! Utah's Struggles, 1849–1896, and Christian Larsen's anthology, The Ancient Order of Things: Essays on the Mormon Temple, were released simultaneously in December, and both authors have been busy with signings, etc. Lyman came to Salt Lake City and spoke at a book launch gathering at the Utah State Historical Society on January 28, and the next day he was a guest of the Neal A. Maxwell Institutes's brown bag lunch group at BYU in Provo. That night, he returned to Salt Lake to speak and sign at Benchmark Books.
On February 11 Christian Larsen and four contributors to his compilation spoke and signed copies of the book at Benchmark Books. On hand were Devery S. Anderson, Richard E. Bennett, Melvin C. Johnson, and Tonya S. Reiter. The book features ten essays spanning the history of the temple in LDS and other Restoration traditions.
As the month ends, we proudly announce the release of If Mother Braids a Waterfall, poems by Dayna Patterson. Joanna Brooks calls the book a "stunning" achievement. Trish Hopkinson says that "Patterson gives us poems that enchant, reveal, and document both myth and truth." You can hear Patterson read from her book and obtain a signed copy at any of several promotional events lined up. See her schedule for March and April listed at the bottom of this newsletter.
Jack Harrell Discusses His Latest Novel
On Thursday, January 23, the King's English Bookshop hosted BYU–Idaho English professor Jack Harrell for a reading and signing of his new novel, Caldera Ridge. Harrell spent over seventeen years writing and revising this book until he was finally satisfied. "For me," says Harrell, "fiction writing really is a continuous experience of feeling my way in the dark, with only a vague notion of where I’m going."
Coke Newell says that "from its seeming bucolic, benign beginnings, Caldera Ridge ambles upward carefully and cautiously toward a shattering summit crossroads, where what at first seemed a story about loss and learning collides unexpectedly with a brutal revelation about past, perception, and personal tragedy."
Caldera Ridge tells the story of Kail Lambert, a young man whose life changes forever after his motorcycle breaks down in Idaho. There he joins the LDS Church, goes on a mission, and leaves behind a girl whom he assumes he will later marry. Instead, he returns home and marries a different woman, Charlene, and the couple moves to Arizona, where they raise two children.
 "The novel begins fifteen years later, when Kail has slipped—very nearly—into an affair with his first love," explains Harrell. "But he doesn’t want that, he tells Charlene. Instead, he wants to return to Idaho, to find the hope he once had as a new convert, when he believed God had a plan for his life. From the very first pages of the novel we wonder if Kail and Charlene will make their marriage work—perhaps for the first time."
 Theological themes about foreknowledge permeate the book, making for an engaging and thought-provoking read. You can read more from Harrell and his latest work of fiction here. Call King's English 801-484-9100 to order signed copies while the supply lasts. You may also order a copy at amazon.com. $24.95 in hardback, $9.99 for an ebook.
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Watch Leo Lyman's Benchmark Books Lecture
If you were not able to attend any of the events in January featuring Edward Leo Lyman discussing his new book, Finally Statehood! Utah's Struggles, 1849–1896, you may watch the discussion by clicking here. Benchmark still has signed copies available. You may reach the store at 801-486-3111.
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Jack Harrell
hardback: $29.95
ebook: $9.99
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Poems by Dayna Patterson
paperback: $10.95
ebook: $4.99
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BOOKSTORE SPOTLIGHT:
Benchmark Books
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If you collect books on Mormon studies or have needed used and out-of-print titles pertaining to the religion, chances are you've purchased from Benchmark Books. This independent bookstore began operations in 1987 after Deseret Book closed its used and rare book department, which had been managed for years by Curt Bench. After Bench opened the doors of his new business across from the old Rio Grande train station in downtown Salt Lake City, Benchmark Books grew and developed a loyal customer base. It moved to its present location in South Salt Lake in 1994.
Benchmark Books specializes in books related to Mormonism, Western Americana, and general religion. Although the store is known for carrying and finding used and hard to find titles, there is a good selection of new books, particularly scholarly works. The sale tables hold dozens of items at a price you won't find anywhere else.
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Come in and browse the shelves, and say hello to the friendly, knowledgeable staff. If the book you want isn't there, they will do their best to hunt it down. Click here to check out their free search service. Some books can be found quickly; others take time. If there is a demand for the book you want, you will go on a waiting list. But never lose hope, because they keep searching until they find it.
Benchmark is located at 3269 S. Main, Ste. 250, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84115. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Their phone number is 801-486-3111. They carry most Signature titles and host regular book signings. They ship books to almost anywhere.
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Q: Tell us about your new book, The Ancient Order of Things: Essays on the Mormon Temple.
A: In a nutshell, this volume brings together some of the latest and greatest in historical research about the temple in the Restoration tradition. Each of the essays in this book has been previously published, but in academic journals like the Journal of Mormon History or the Journal of Ritual Studies that the average reader is unlikely to have close at hand. These essays cover a lot of ground—both topically and chronologically—so I think that there is something here to interest every student of Mormon history.
Q: What is one thing that you feel is unique or different about this book?
A: With this book I have attempted to represent a wider swath of the Restoration tradition. So often, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gets exclusive attention in Mormon studies. This is understandable given it is the largest and most influential of all the Restoration groups that can be traced back to Joseph Smith, but there’s a large and interesting world out there to explore beyond the Utah church. This book includes three essays that do just that! R. Jean Addams essay, “A Contest for ‘Sacred Space,’” addresses the controversy between factions over the Independence temple lot, Christin and Lachlan Mackay cover the history of the Kirtland Temple in the decades after the main body of Latter-day Saints left Ohio, and Melvin Johnson tells the fascinating history of the Wightite temple in Texas.
Q: What is your favorite essay in this collection?
A: That’s a hard question to answer! They are all excellent and they are each very different. I’m not sure that I can pick a “favorite” per se, but I’ll point out two that come to mind.
When this project began, I knew immediately that I wanted to include Kathleen Flake’s "'Not to Be Riten’: The Mormon Temple Rite as Oral Canon.” It is more theoretical than the other essays, so it may take some readers by surprise, but it fascinated me when I first discovered it and I hope it will fascinate readers too.
Another one that I was thrilled to be able to include is Tonya Reiter’s “Black Savior on Mount Zion: Proxy Baptisms and Latter-day Saints of African Descent.” Her award-winning essay brings the experiences of African American Latter-day Saints into the conversation that this collection represents in a way that, for me, is quite poignant. Her inclusion in this volume is definitely a highlight.
Q: Now that this collection is published and available is there anything that you would have done differently?
A: Well, for one, I wish that the recent changes to the LDS temple ceremony to improve gender equity, etc., had been made earlier so I could have included a thoughtful discussion about their implications. Of course, I wouldn’t have wanted to provide the specific changes in detail. Each essay in this volume endeavors (and in my opinion succeeds) to treat the temple ceremonies with sensitivity. But an essay about these changes and what they mean in the everyday lives of practicing Latter-day Saints would have been excellent. Actually, I would have liked to include more about the temple and women in general, and I had a few requests out to some excellent authors, but those efforts didn’t bear fruit in time.
You can watch Larsen and Devery S. Anderson, Richard E. Bennett, Melvin C. Johnson, and Tonya S. Reiter discuss the book and their essays here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Dayna Patterson at Northwest Pilgrims
Seabeck, Washington
Time: TBD
Dayna Patterson at Inland Poetry Prowl
Ellensburg, Washington
12:00 p.m.–10:00 pm
Wednesday, April 8
Dayna Patterson at City Art
City Library
Salt Lake City
7:00 p.m.
Dayna Patterson at Orcas Island Literature Festival
Orcas Center
Eastsound, Washington
Time: TBD
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