Truman Madsen Memories

Truman Madsen passed away this morning, and as I have read some of the remembrances others are writing of him, I thought of my own experiences with this amazing man.

I first encountered him as a freshman at BYU. Second semester, I took "Writings of Isaiah", a religion course taught by Ann Madsen, his wife. What an amazing class that was! It was a rare class when I did not feel touched by the Spirit, and I learned so much. For the final exam, we met at the Madsens' home north of the football stadium and read short essays we had written about Isaiah's teaching. Their home was welcoming; as host and hostess the Madsens were gracious. My father had told me he was a big fan of Truman Madsen's lectures on Joseph Smith, so I was so excited to shake Brother Madsen's hand and tell him that. (I bet he got that a lot.)

My next experience with the Madsens was two years later, when I moved into the student stake where Brother Madsen was stake president. What an amazing year that was! In June of that year, our stake held an amazing fireside in the Provo Tabernacle celebrating the life of Joseph Smith. I was picked to be one of the ushers, and the stake actually rented pioneer-style costumes for us to wear. We sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" to the older tune that Joseph would have known, and listened to President Madsen talk about the prophet's life. Wow!

On Easter Sunday, instead of normal church we had a morningside at the Provo Tabernacle. A stake choir had been formed, and the music and talks about the Savior truly made the day a celebration of Christ. Watching the stained glass windows brighten with the dawn while listening to the choir singing praises will always be a treasured memory.

These are but a few of the things that come to mind when I think about Truman Madsen. Thank you for touching my life, Brother Madsen. Go with God.

Mormons in Journalistic History

For fun, I read an old New York Times piece from 1890 about the announcement of the end of polygamy among the Mormons.

I was struck by a couple of things. First, the report was pretty straightforward and gave the Mormon people a lot of credit for being true to their word. The reporter didn't seem the doubt in the slightest the actual intent of the Mormons in abandoning polygamy.

I was also struck by the commentary that was sprinkled throughout a "news" story. It was a different age in journalism. Here are some fun quotes from the piece.

"There is really no room for doubt that hereafter polygamy will be discountenanced as much by the Mormons as by the Gentiles. There are a very considerable number of Mormon women polygamously married in Utah already, in whose cases it would be cruel and inhuman to execute the law that would turn them out upon the world as beggars, and the Mormons who have married them would be less than men if they consented to abandon them to such a fate. It is neither likely nor desirable that the law shall be strictly enforced ex post facto, provided it is obeyed in the future, and provided polygamy really and in good faith given up."

"Moreover, they were already beset by Gentile politicians of the same character as Territorial politicians in general, that is to say, by characterless and conscienceless vagabonds who had cast covetous eyes upon the Mormon possessions and marked them for their own."

"As Utah fills up with Gentiles, the Mormons will surely envy these their liberty, and sooner or later will attain it for themselves. That will be the end of Mormonism as a temoral power. What becomes of it as a queer religious denomination is a question not very important, except to the history of religious imposture, to which the Church of the Latter-Day Saints has already furnished one of the most striking chapters."