Clinton F. Larson – A Motley Vision

The Mantle of the Prophet in Gospel Doctrine class

Wm shares the lines from Clinton F. Larson’s The Mantle of the Prophet that he read in Gospel Doctrine class.

Earlier this month I taught lesson 33 from the Gospel Doctrine manual, which covered the succession issues after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith as well as the eagerness of the Saints to receive their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple before leaving for the West.

I came prepared to read from Clinton F. Larson’s lyric play/dramatic poem The Mantle of the Prophet, which is about the same period in church history as the lesson. I didn’t know for sure if I was going to get to it, both because of time and because I wasn’t sure how it would be received. In the end I went for it.

I quoted from a conversation between Sidney Rigdon and Brigham Young at the funeral bier for Joseph and Hyrum: Continue reading “The Mantle of the Prophet in Gospel Doctrine class”

Sunday Lit Crit Sermon: New Adult Magazine

monson For some reason I’ve always assumed that the Church’s adult magazine stopped carrying fiction and poetry with the big change from the Improvement Era, Relief Society Magazine and Instructor of 1970 to the Ensign of 1971. For at least a century before 1970 Church magazines had been the primary venue for fiction aimed at Mormons. And given that the Ensign I’ve been familiar with as an adult doesn’t have fiction or poetry, I have always assumed that it never did. [I wasn’t really its target audience in 1971–I was 10.]

So when I came across the following excerpt, I was a little surprised. As is often the case, my assumption was quite wrong. The Ensign was originally designed to have fiction and poetry:

Continue reading “Sunday Lit Crit Sermon: New Adult Magazine”

Payday Poetry: “The City of Joseph” by Clinton Larson

This is the first official Payday Poetry post (the prior one was more to) so it seems only fitting to feature something by Clinton F. Larson. Yes, something by Eliza R. Snow or Emmeline B. Wells would also be in order, but I’m going with Larson since he is one of the major, early figures in the modern era of Mormon letters which is AMV’s main focus.

Title: The City of Joseph

Poet: Clinton F. Larson

Publication Info: Ensign, 1984

Submitted by: William Morris

Why?: Because it exhibits Larson’s best and worst (or most difficult) tendencies. Because it’s such a core Mormon theme. Because of phrases like “in the spell of prophecy” and “the whisper of the wagon wheels” and “if not Zarahemla, Deseret.”

Participate:

Here’s the link to the spreadsheet so you can see what’s already been submitted