Seeing Things: Technologies of Vision and the Making of Mormonism PDF
Preview Seeing Things: Technologies of Vision and the Making of Mormonism
Seeing Things This page intentionally left blank Seeing Things · · · Technologies of Vision and the Making of Mormonism · · · M a s o n K a m a n a A l l r e d The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill © 2023 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Set in Arno, Scala Sans, Golden, Irby, and Lightburn by codeMantra Manufactured in the United States of America A version of chapter 1 originally appeared as Mason Kamana Allred, “Circulating Specters: Mormon Reading Networks, Vision, and Optical Media,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 85, no. 2 (2017): 527–48. Published with permission of Oxford University Press. A version of chapter 2 originally appeared as Mason Kamana Allred, “Panoramic Vision: Consolidating the Early Mormon Gaze,” Material Religion 16, no. 5 (2020): 639–64. Published with permission of Taylor and Francis. Cover illustration by Jack Soren. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Allred, Mason Kamana, author. Title: Seeing things : technologies of vision and the making of Mormonism / Mason Kamana Allred. Description: Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2023] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2022027348 | isbn 9781469672571 (cloth : alk. paper) | isbn 9781469672588 (paperback : alk. paper) | isbn 9781469672595 (ebook) Subjects: lcsh: Technology—Religious aspects—Mormon Church. | Communication—Religious aspects—Mormon Church. | Mass media—Religious aspects—Mormon Church. | Mormon Church—History. | Visions—History. Classification: lcc bx8643.t38 a45 2023 | ddc 246/.95893—dc23/eng/20220809 lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022027348 Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 CIRCULATING SPECTERS 23 2 PANORAMIC VISIONS 45 3 SENSITIVE MACHINES 73 4 CINEMATIC TRAFFIC 103 5 MICROMANAGING DEATH 133 6 BROADCASTING STANDARDS 155 Conclusion 183 Notes 191 Bibliography 211 Index 245 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations Joseph Smith Addressing the Nauvoo Legion (1845) 52 A Correct Account of the Murder of Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith, interior and exterior of Carthage Jail (1845) 54 “Mormon Panorama Fourteen / Interior of Carthage Jail” (ca. 1878) 70 “Mormon Panorama Fifteen / Exterior of Carthage Jail” (ca. 1878) 70 “Mormon Panorama Sixteen / The Nauvoo Temple” (ca. 1878) 71 “Mormon Panorama Seventeen / Burning of the Temple” (ca. 1878) 71 A Bachelor’s Dream, no. 1 (ca. 1900) 78 A Bachelor’s Dream, no. 2 (ca. 1900) 78 A Bachelor’s Dream, no. 3 (ca. 1900) 79 Still from One Hundred Years of Mormonism (1913) 104 Pages from Broken Hearts and Broken Lives: Trapped by the Mormons (1922) 113 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I remember being told as a child that spirits were all around us. I felt amazed and paranoid, then somewhat ashamed when I never saw them. As a prac- ticing Latter-day Saint, these kinds of ideas, along with the images, smells, and sounds of American Mormonism powerfully suffused my youth. Yet, as an adult, analyzing the ways Mormonism’s interactions with the dead and visionary media practices shaped the church’s own development often felt quite foreign. At every turn I was surprised by the appearance of strange specters from its technological past. Capturing these flashes of history and integrating them into a coherent study would have been impossible to pull off on my own. In fact, this book required a multitude of insights, sugges- tions, guidance, and support from living and dead sources. Aside from the fascinating archival discoveries, I was stimulated, inspired, and encouraged by numerous individuals who graciously helped usher this work along. Much of the book began taking shape while I was employed as a histo- rian and editor at the Joseph Smith Papers (JSP) project. I benefited from funding there and access to the Church History Library’s immense archive. Special thanks go to my colleagues Chris Blythe and Jordan Watkins, for reading several drafts of early chapters and pointing me toward ever more sources. The book found its initial sparks in the lively conversations of the JSP project’s notorious walking group, whose members covered as much intellectual ground—discussing historiography and developments within religious studies and Mormon studies—as they did physical ground strolling around Salt Lake City. I am gratefully indebted to Jenny Reeder for introducing me to Elfie Hun- tington’s work and reading early versions of several chapters. Thank you also to Kate Holbrook and Lisa Olsen Tait for their guidance and patience with ix
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