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Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family
For over a decade, Boyd Petersen has been an active voice in Mormon studies and thought. In essays that steer a course between apologetics and criticism, striving for the balance of what Eugene England once called the “radical middle,” he explores various aspects of Mormon life and culture—from the Dream Mine near Salem, Utah, to the challenges that Latter-day Saints of the millennial generation face today.
Praise for Dead Wood and Rushing Water:
“Dead Wood and Rushing Water gives us a reflective, striving, wise soul ruminating on his world. In the tradition of Eugene England, Petersen examines everything in his Mormon life from the gold plates to missions to dream mines to doubt and on to Glenn Beck, Hugh Nibley, and gender. It is a book I had trouble putting down.” — Richard L. Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
“Boyd Petersen is correct when he says that Mormons have a deep hunger for personal stories—at least when they are as thoughtful and well-crafted as the ones he shares in this collection.” — Jana Riess, author of The Twible and Flunking Sainthood
“Petersen’s book provides a road map to the contemporary minds and concerns of the LDS intellectual. Always thoughtful and interesting, gracefully written and significant, these essays will encourage many other thinkers to get their thoughts down.” — Claudia L. Bushman, co-editor of Mormon Women Have Their Say
“Boyd Petersen invites us all to ponder anew the verities we hold, sharing in his humility, tentativeness, and cheerful confidence that our paths will converge in the end.” — Terryl. L. Givens, author of People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture
“Boyd Petersen models the courage of a true seeker: the bravery to take on life as a journey to be savored. These essays prove the wisdom of giving time and life and imagination the chance to do their sorting.” — Dan Wotherspoon, host of Mormon Matters podcast
“Petersen’s essays speak in the voice of the best kind of friend—the one whose company is warm and familiar and comfortable, but who still manages to surprise you, make you laugh at unexpected moments, and show you new ways to think about everything you thought you knew.” — Kristine Haglund, editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Praise for Dead Wood and Rushing Water:
“Dead Wood and Rushing Water gives us a reflective, striving, wise soul ruminating on his world. In the tradition of Eugene England, Petersen examines everything in his Mormon life from the gold plates to missions to dream mines to doubt and on to Glenn Beck, Hugh Nibley, and gender. It is a book I had trouble putting down.” — Richard L. Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
“Boyd Petersen is correct when he says that Mormons have a deep hunger for personal stories—at least when they are as thoughtful and well-crafted as the ones he shares in this collection.” — Jana Riess, author of The Twible and Flunking Sainthood
“Petersen’s book provides a road map to the contemporary minds and concerns of the LDS intellectual. Always thoughtful and interesting, gracefully written and significant, these essays will encourage many other thinkers to get their thoughts down.” — Claudia L. Bushman, co-editor of Mormon Women Have Their Say
“Boyd Petersen invites us all to ponder anew the verities we hold, sharing in his humility, tentativeness, and cheerful confidence that our paths will converge in the end.” — Terryl. L. Givens, author of People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture
“Boyd Petersen models the courage of a true seeker: the bravery to take on life as a journey to be savored. These essays prove the wisdom of giving time and life and imagination the chance to do their sorting.” — Dan Wotherspoon, host of Mormon Matters podcast
“Petersen’s essays speak in the voice of the best kind of friend—the one whose company is warm and familiar and comfortable, but who still manages to surprise you, make you laugh at unexpected moments, and show you new ways to think about everything you thought you knew.” — Kristine Haglund, editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
248 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 30, 2013
I saw this book listed on a friends' To Read list and decided to give it a shot, even though I would have never pictured myself as being interested in Mormon theology. The thing that got me into the book was (1) my respect for my friend's choice of books, in general, and (2) the reviews of this particular book were outstanding, and made it clear that this was not a "come to Jesus" exposition but an honest, stripped-of-sells-pitch review of the Mormon faith.
I must say, there were a lot of times in reading this book when I was inclined to think, Gosh, maybe I should become a Mormon. It really does have a rich theology, and one that in some ways makes more sense to me than the one I was raised with. But, I am not really likely to convert to any religion at my age and with my tendency to overanalyze everything. The thing that really made me want to write a review of this book is the fantastic job the author did in talking about doubt and its integrality to true faith, the need for it as one tool in finding truth, or at least parcels of truth.
Boyd Petersen is someone I would like to meet and talk with. He's given his faith a lot of thought, has "hung with it" despite some misgivings at times, and has helped me to see that faith is a willful choice as much as it is an analytical/semi-analytical conclusion.
I plan to read this book again, and there are very few books I read more than once. I expect I'll also at least sample some of his recommendations.
I must say, there were a lot of times in reading this book when I was inclined to think, Gosh, maybe I should become a Mormon. It really does have a rich theology, and one that in some ways makes more sense to me than the one I was raised with. But, I am not really likely to convert to any religion at my age and with my tendency to overanalyze everything. The thing that really made me want to write a review of this book is the fantastic job the author did in talking about doubt and its integrality to true faith, the need for it as one tool in finding truth, or at least parcels of truth.
Boyd Petersen is someone I would like to meet and talk with. He's given his faith a lot of thought, has "hung with it" despite some misgivings at times, and has helped me to see that faith is a willful choice as much as it is an analytical/semi-analytical conclusion.
I plan to read this book again, and there are very few books I read more than once. I expect I'll also at least sample some of his recommendations.
March 17, 2017
Thank you, Dr. Petersen, for touching on so many relevant topics and for helping me to understand myself and my relationship to my Savior a little better. But most of all, thank you for dealing with the subject of women in the Church. You have presented the problem with understanding and compassion better than any other man I have heard address the issue. I felt emotional about many of the topics in this book, but the ones dealing with women brought me to tears, no, actually to sobs of gratefulness that a man finally gets it. I read them to my husband who has always been sympathetic to the problem but has had a hard time (as most men do) seeing it through my eyes. We prayed last night for things to continue to change within the Church with regards to respecting women as equals and LISTENING to them, not as hysterical women but as true equals as they express their legitimate concerns. It was such a relief.
October 13, 2014
Reading Eugene England got me hooked on Mormon personal essays, and now Boyd Peterson is reminding me how much I love the genre. Peterson's writings have become like a good friend to me--they make me think, they help me see things in perspective, they help me make sense of life, they give me comfort, they make me laugh. As with all good friends, I want to hang around this book a lot, rereading one or another of the essays when I need a boost. Thanks to my husband, Brent, for finding this gem!
October 31, 2013
There are several essays in here that really spoke to me and the millennial generation of Mormons I am a part of. As a big fan of Eugene England (who Petersen dedicated his book to), I've been waiting for someone to step up and meet the insight, empathy, and personal prose of England. Petersen does just that.
November 4, 2013
I would recommend this book highly to my LDS friends. Plenty here to chew on.
December 14, 2015
Thoughtful stuff from Hugh Nibley's son-in-law.
May 20, 2021
My favorite essays were the ones on faith and doubt, disassembling and reassembling his testimony, and the gold plates. I also appreciated how he discussed his depression. His earlier essay on women and the priesthood was not compelling, but I'm glad to see his thinking evolved a bit with his more recent essay.
January 3, 2018
Hit and miss. Some good ones, some so so.
March 30, 2017
Boyd Peterson is the chair of the Mormon Studies program at Utah Valley University and Editor of Dialogue. This book is a collection of essays that he has written over the decades. I bought a Kindle edition on sale for two bucks.
I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful, gracious, and enjoyable they are. Always well written. Always something new to think about. Like his Father-in-Law Hugh Nibley, Boyd is a democrat. He laments over the dangers of homogeneity found in Utah (but also found back east for the other side of the aisle, where he went to graduate school). He discusses the moral underpinnings of liberal ideology, and how these are emphasized in Mormon scripture.
He also explores faith and the intellect, noting "Like language, religion can only really be understood in its plurality. To understand one’s own religion requires understanding another religion. The risk, however, is that as one comes to understand religion intellectually, there can be and often is a simultaneous disenchantment with religion." But, later observing that “only with the death of our previous image [of God] can a new and more adequate one arise.”
"The response to doubts is not less thinking, but more thinking...Doubt has gotten a bad reputation. People who are utterly certain are vulnerable to a brand of foolishness that people who maintain a level of doubt are not. I believe wisdom is generally born of doubt. It is a potent corrective to vanity and self-righteousness and can put an end to disputations of all kinds, from ugly Sunday school classroom arguments to jihads and holy wars. One of our most loveable contemporary doubters, Garrison Keillor, has wisely stated, “Skepticism is a stimulant, not to be repressed. It is an antidote to smugness and the great glow of satisfaction one gains from being right.”
In sum the disenchantment mentioned previously, "is clearly a necessary component of acquiring deeper faith."
He explores many other topics, priesthood, gender, scripture, and family. I agree with Terryl Givens, who writes in the forward, "Not all personal ruminations deserve a public airing; those of Boyd Petersen do."
I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful, gracious, and enjoyable they are. Always well written. Always something new to think about. Like his Father-in-Law Hugh Nibley, Boyd is a democrat. He laments over the dangers of homogeneity found in Utah (but also found back east for the other side of the aisle, where he went to graduate school). He discusses the moral underpinnings of liberal ideology, and how these are emphasized in Mormon scripture.
He also explores faith and the intellect, noting "Like language, religion can only really be understood in its plurality. To understand one’s own religion requires understanding another religion. The risk, however, is that as one comes to understand religion intellectually, there can be and often is a simultaneous disenchantment with religion." But, later observing that “only with the death of our previous image [of God] can a new and more adequate one arise.”
"The response to doubts is not less thinking, but more thinking...Doubt has gotten a bad reputation. People who are utterly certain are vulnerable to a brand of foolishness that people who maintain a level of doubt are not. I believe wisdom is generally born of doubt. It is a potent corrective to vanity and self-righteousness and can put an end to disputations of all kinds, from ugly Sunday school classroom arguments to jihads and holy wars. One of our most loveable contemporary doubters, Garrison Keillor, has wisely stated, “Skepticism is a stimulant, not to be repressed. It is an antidote to smugness and the great glow of satisfaction one gains from being right.”
In sum the disenchantment mentioned previously, "is clearly a necessary component of acquiring deeper faith."
He explores many other topics, priesthood, gender, scripture, and family. I agree with Terryl Givens, who writes in the forward, "Not all personal ruminations deserve a public airing; those of Boyd Petersen do."
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews