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Show MADELYN CANNON STEWART SILVER 84 of their historic religious content to suit secular goals. This cul tural excision of God and of human relationships with Him in both literature and art was disturbing to Madelyn. She believed in beauty, and beauty was connected with rightness, morality, goodness, and transcendence. Beauty elevates, purifies, and is confirmed by spiritual understanding. Robinson Crusoe, as orig inally written and published, gave genuine spiritual food helped readers to understand their duty to God and fellow humans. Modern editions leave out the heartfelt admonitions to pray and do our duty to God, she concluded. Although she was enthusiastic and grateful for her opportu nity to teach at LDS University, she was indignant that one of the men teachers who had no more qualifications and experi ence than she was paid more because he had a family to sup port. Madelyn spurned this unfair treatment. She worked as hard as the man, was as well prepared as he, and she thought she should receive equal pay. She was feeling the first stirrings of equity feminism. As with other teachers at L.D.S.U. Madelyn was required also to teach one class in religion. Since John Henry Evans taught the class in church history, Madelyn was assigned to teach Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon, held by Latter day Saints to be a companion scripture with the Bible, was published by Joseph Smith in 1830. This 650-page work, "translated" by Joseph Smith from metallic pages inscribed by ancient inhabitants of the American continent, represents a his tory of peoples who came to this continent, one group at the time of the building of the tower of Babel and another in 600 B.C. during the reign of Hezekiah in ancient Israel. The book bears record of the visit of Jesus Christ to the Western Hemisphere after his crucifixion and contains doctrines of "pure" Christianity. Named after the ancient prophet who much of it, the book also furnished a nickname for members of the LDS Church. Passages in this book elucidate and explain the atonement of Christ, the plan of salvation, the gathering of the descendants of Israel, baptism, gifts of the Spirit, miracles, revelation, faith, charity, and many other doc wrote trines. |
