The Birth of Modern Mormonism
The Academy Library hosted a reading by religion instructor Thomas Simpson to celebrate his new book, “American Universities and the Birth of Modern Mormonism, 1867-1940” on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Simpson outlined an intellectual history of the Mormons far richer and more expansive than the perception held by many Americans regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Originally from upstate New York, Simpson attended the University of Virginia (UVA) where he majored in religious studies and classics. He received his master’s degree in theological studies from Emory University before returning to UVA for a doctorate in modern religious history. Simpson heard about Exeter while teaching in Wisconsin at the college level. Though he had never attended or taught at a boarding school, his interest in working with students both inside and outside the classroom drew him to the community. Now in his ninth year at the Academy, he has taught numerous courses in the religion department, coached JV baseball and served as a dorm affiliate of Ewald Hall.
In his research and writing, Simpson has concentrated on the Mormon students who studied at Harvard, University of Michigan, Cornell and other similar colleges in the 19th and 20th centuries and their intellectual influence on Mormonism. Simpson opened his talk by saying that he hoped to discuss “the academic study of religion as a humanizing discipline.” This, he explained, is a way to counterbalance much of the “othering” that happens in society and the dehumanization of certain groups who can simply be disregarded and ridiculed as brainwashed or incapable of independent thought.
Simpson’s book is the product of extensive research on Mormon intellectual history and its core lies in an argument which he described as “provocative and revisionist.” He set out to prove, through a thorough compilation of individual stories, letters and historical documents, that Mormon academic migration was how Mormons became Americans; the way that they felt they belonged in America was by succeeding in the American university. “No other cultural or institutional space in the United States allowed Mormons to belong,” Simpson argued, emphasizing that, during the 19th century, Mormons were the most despised people group in the United States. He characterized the pilgrimage to American colleges as a radical transformation of identity and consciousness which created a sense of belonging for the Mormons, and in turn, a sense of being fully American.
Simpson also connected this idea to the Exeter community and the “good work we’re doing related to religious identity and difference.” He described how Mormons at American universities were taken care of by the adults there and told, “if you can do the work, you are one of us.” Likening this to Exeter, Simpson observed that the schools brought in students from every quarter, including the Latter-day Saints, and that a certain loyalty was bred for generations if a sense of belonging was present on campus. “This is the essence of the Mormon experience in the American university,” he concluded.
For many of the students and faculty in attendance, the reading provided insight into a religious history previously unfamiliar to them. Religion instructor Kathleen Brownback remarked that it “brought the tradition [of Mormon intellectualism] alive in a way that it hadn’t been for me before,” while religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon felt that the “vast amount of what he [Simpson] was talking about was new for me.” Similarly, upper Alex Renaud conceded that he knew little about Mormons prior to the reading, except that “they wear funny hats and many live in Salt Lake City.” Senior Abigail Africa also explained that she had overlooked the Mormons and their intellectual efforts to fit in within American society. She elaborated, saying “I’ve never mentally excluded Mormons from ‘Americans,’ which is actually a phenomenon Mr. Simpson described, but I guess I’ve stereotyped them.” Africa recognized the hypocrisy of this, given that she herself is a non-denominational Christian and finds it “frustrating when people think all Christians are the same.” The reading illuminated her own unfair perception of Mormonism and reminded her that “everyone’s faith is different.”
History instructor Betty Luther-Hillman found it interesting to learn about the integration and assimilation of Mormons into elite universities and said it “challenged my previous assumptions about the lack of diversity in those institutions prior to the present day.” Recalling a story Simpson told about a Mormon student whose fees were excused by the president of Harvard, Luther-Hillman observed the parallel to the ideals of “youth from every quarter” here at Exeter. “It also made me think about the role of higher education and universities in creating diversity in elite spaces,” she added. Noting that Exeter is classified as one of these “elite institutions,” Renaud was also struck by the reading’s relevance to our own community and pointed out the contrast between the Mormon’s view of higher education as a “spiritual experience” and the common Exonian view of Exeter as “a grind and something that we have to put up with.” He continued, saying “the Mormons challenge this perspective and reminded me that Exeter is not just a typical school, but a sacred community.”
Perhaps the strongest message from Simpson’s reading was that those groups which provoke the greatest initial hostility in us are those which need to be the most closely examined. As Weatherspoon put it, “generally speaking, we certainly as Americans don’t do well with ideas that are distinctly different and ideas that try to change established norms.” In the case of the Mormons, polygamy generated massive hostility from both the U.S. government and the populous until the practice was renounced. Yet, to this day, Mormons face deep prejudice from Americans who refuse to learn about the true history of Mormonism. Renaud observed that Simpson “rightly emphasised the importance of ‘doing your homework’ before you judge or comment on another religion.” Echoing this, Weatherspoon listed the Islamophobic rhetoric pervading the current presidential campaign and the Black Lives Matter discussion as two examples of people failing to challenge their own assumptions. “Of course that’s why people are supposed to get an education,” Weatherspoon continued, “so they can not only learn some of these things, but they can also take out into their lives the routine of asking better questions and seeking better answers.”