New Views of Mormon History: A Collection of Essays in Honor of Leonard J. Arrington, edited by Davis Bitton, is a very interesting collection of essays.#

The Book of Mormon in Early Mormon History, by Richard Bushman, discusses how the idea of record-keeping is thoroughly the subject of the Book of Mormon and how this is an important way in which it affected the early Church. He interesting reflects how at various times in the Book of Mormon it is the people who demand translations, rather than leaders, (p. 8) and how the Zarahemlan settlers lose their religion, because they lacked records, in contrast to the Nephites. (p. 11)#

"Walls, Grates and Screeking Iron Doors": The Prison Experience of Mormon Leaders in Missouri, 1838-1839, by Dean C. Jesse, includes an interesting discussion of the freedom Smith was given prior to the imprisonment in Liberty. At one point, the prisoners were given the guns while the jailers slept, so they could protect them. (p. 23)#

"A New and Everlasting Covenant": An Approach to the Theology of Joseph Smith, by Thomas G. Alexander, is a great discussion of the role of the idea of covenants in Mormon theology. Something very interesting is comparing his statement that "modern" (i.e. 1980s) Mormons do not understand the concept well, to people you meet in the Church today who do. (p. 47)#

Brigham Young and the Bishops: The United Order in the City, by Dean L. May, discusses how the United Order was "implemented"---it wasn't---in Salt Lake City after the flourishing of United Order communities in Southern and Central Utah. It is interesting how Brigham was unwilling to force the hands of the people and that the creativity and freedom he allowed produced practically zero results. (p. 115)#

"Going to Meeting" in Salt Lake City's Thirteenth Ward, 1849-1881: A Microanalysis, by Ronald W. Walker, discusses how a particularly representative ward went from many spontaneous meetings, to very little meeting, to a system of meetings more like the current setup. Very cool.#

Schism in the Sisterhood: Mormon Women and Partisan Politics, 1890-1900, by Carol Cornwall Madsen, discusses the role of women in politics right around when the vote was given, then taken away, and then returned.#

Utah and the Mormons: A Symbiotic Relationship, by Richard D. Poll, discusses how the people and the place are intimately connected.#

Without the Mormons, Utah would be just another Wyoming or Nevada. And without its Utah experience Mormonism would be just another small denomination in American Protestantism. [p. 324]

Quoted advice given to a Gentile:

Conscientiously cultivate the attitude of a worldly Mormon-watcher. Anywhere else in the world when there's nothing to talk about one talks about the weather; in Utah ... one talks about the Mormons. Mormon history, folklore, customs, and practices are extremely interesting and entertaining. [p. 333]

The Ritualization of Mormon History and Other Essays, by Davis Bitton, is a collection of essays about topics in Mormon History that get little attention. These are not, however, particularly controversial topics.#

The topics are: "The Saints as Human Beings", "Polygamy Defended", "Growing Up on the Mormon Frontier", "Bard of Utah's Dixie", "Mormonism's Encounted with Spiritualism", "Dancing among the Mormons", "The Ordeal of Brigham Young, Jr.", "The Exclusion of B. H. Roberts from Congress", and "The Ritualization of Mormon History."#

The first three and the last three are by far the best of the set.#

The first has---among many other things---an interesting record of early Saints who moved around much much more than other Americans. (p. 3) And, a really funny account of how a guy found his second wife. (By solicitation at a factory, p. 9) It also documents how polygamy was seen as a burden of membership by many. (p. 10)#

On the dancing:#

George Q. Cannon wrote that just as Adam and Eve could be happy while having all the fruits but one, so "round dancing is not absolutely necessary to enjoyment." [p. 107]