What do you think?
Rate this book
A Voice in the Wilderness: The 1888-1930 General Conference Sermons of Mormon Historian Andrew Jenson
In April 1888, Andrew Jenson, Danish immigrant and convert to the Mormon faith, received an unexpected invitation from church leaders to speak at their general conference. Jenson was an outsider to this conference tradition, a layman whose only standing before the main body of Latter-day Saints came from a contracted position with the Church Historian's Office.
Forty-two years later, in April 1930, Jenson offered his twenty-eighth and final general conference sermon. He had become the voice of institutional record keeping in his over forty-year career as an Assistant Church Historian. His sermons demonstrated the growth and expansion of the Mormon general conference tradition in the twentieth century, as they placed the Latter-day Saint story front and center for church members to learn from and celebrate. In addition, Jenson urged conference goers to keep better personal and institutional records and believed he was often the solitary advocate for church record keeping and historical preservation.
A Voice in the Wilderness presents all twenty-eight of Andrew Jenson's general conference sermons, with introductions and annotations that set them within their historical and religious contexts. His speeches capture a unique period in Mormon history, one of institutional change, accommodation, and growth. This study of Jenson's sermons uncovers the richness and diversity that thrives just beneath the surface of official ecclesiastical discourse.
Forty-two years later, in April 1930, Jenson offered his twenty-eighth and final general conference sermon. He had become the voice of institutional record keeping in his over forty-year career as an Assistant Church Historian. His sermons demonstrated the growth and expansion of the Mormon general conference tradition in the twentieth century, as they placed the Latter-day Saint story front and center for church members to learn from and celebrate. In addition, Jenson urged conference goers to keep better personal and institutional records and believed he was often the solitary advocate for church record keeping and historical preservation.
A Voice in the Wilderness presents all twenty-eight of Andrew Jenson's general conference sermons, with introductions and annotations that set them within their historical and religious contexts. His speeches capture a unique period in Mormon history, one of institutional change, accommodation, and growth. This study of Jenson's sermons uncovers the richness and diversity that thrives just beneath the surface of official ecclesiastical discourse.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published July 3, 2018
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 30, 2025
A phenomenal collection. Neilson and Marianno here have done a very valuable work in bringing the collected sermons of Andrew Jenson - of whom they also have written an excellent biography - into an accessible annotated collection that is of good use to the reader that engages with it. Jenson's dedication to, love of, and belief in his work and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes across the expanse of time.
The only unfortunate part of the volume is its cost. That keeps it from the hands of many readers that would be benefited thereby. Hopefully OUP will see fit to release a more affordable electronic edition soon.
The only unfortunate part of the volume is its cost. That keeps it from the hands of many readers that would be benefited thereby. Hopefully OUP will see fit to release a more affordable electronic edition soon.
Displaying 1 of 1 review