Meridian Magazine : : Print

One hundred years ago, in 1904, a new periodical appeared. It was called The Mormon Point of View. Its editor was N. L. Nelson, a BYU English professor. After only four issues the periodical fizzled and died. It is an instructive study of the frustrations and hazards of such projects.

I remember the sense of discovery when I first stumbled upon The Mormon Point of View. In the UCLA Research Library where I was exploring Renaissance-Reformation subjects, I took a short break to browse through the stacks to see what was available on Mormonism. There it was, a single volume, neatly bound with its title, The Mormon Point of View, on the spine.

In 1898, Nels Lars Nelson had published Preaching and Public Speaking, an effort to provide useful advice and raise the level of preaching in the church. In 1904, he also published Scientific Aspects of Mormonism. Brother Nelson, usually known by his initials N. L., was obviously possessed of a lively, inquiring mind. Besides, he had a vigorous, compelling style of writing.

Nelson did not believe the Saints had nothing to learn from the world. In fact, he insisted, “we need to borrow in most directions, rather than to give.” This was in a letter to President Joseph F. Smith. What Mormonism provided, he continued, was an orientation that could synthesize the multifarious and confusing facets of worldly knowledge. “It is in this particular, then, that Mormonism can best help the world,” Nelson wrote; “it can contribute a point of view that shall unify and marshal into one grand, eternal perspective, all the fragmentary truths which now serve mainly to distract mankind.”

Nelson also thought the old missionary approach was not working very well. Quoting scriptural passages in support of the restored gospel might convince some people. But what about the growing class of people whose assumptions about life were different? He described them as “hard-headed thinkers, trained in the exact methods of modern schools; doubting Thomases of art, science, mechanics, and business, who value unsupported authority as nothing, even though it be Biblical.” “It is pretty evident,” he continued, “that the world has, during the last half century, veered almost completely around from the Nathaniel to the Thomas type of mind.” What would he say of today’s “post-Christian” world?

During its brief lifetime, The Mormon Point of View published nine articles, stories, or poems, including:

• “The Ministers and the Mormons.” The attacks by ministers of other faiths were especially vehement during the Reed Smoot hearings. Nelson went toe to toe with the attackers, who were trying to keep Apostle Smoot from serving his term in the U.S. Senate. He accused them of religious bigotry.

• “The Dictionary of Slander.” This was a long, critical review of W. A. Linn, The Story of the Mormons. Nelson’s comment still describes many anti-Mormon works: “If Mr. Linn ever saw a good quality in a Mormon or in Mormonism, he does not betray the fact by a single line, nor by a single epithet.”

• “Human Side of the Book of Mormon.” Here Nelson explored the textual “changes,” mostly grammatical, in subsequent editions after 1830. Inevitably, he also addressed the nature of the “translation” and the presence of Bible passages in the Book of Mormon. Not the last word, this article is nevertheless provocative and worth reading.

• “Learning to Read Up Hill.” Someone complained that the new magazine was too difficult. Editor Nelson was unsympathetic. “I cannot and will not reduce the whole thing down to thin soup once more, to suit his watery mental digestion,” he wrote. I wonder what he would say about the non-readers among us a century later, those whose intake of ideas comes from movies and television.

• “The Spiritual Life.” Analyzing several metaphors employed by Jesus, Nelson went on for 78 pages.

• “The Harris-Anthon Episode.” Martin Harris and Charles Anthon both told about the famous interview. Since Anthon contradicted himself, Nelson said, Harris is the more reliable. He was sufficiently satisfied after meeting to invest a sizeable sum of money in the publication of the Book of Mormon.

• “The Mormon Family.” Although plural marriage is briefly mentioned, the main point of this article is to praise the “fruitfulness” of Mormon families. A century later, when fertility in many countries is below the 2.1 required for replacement, we are awed as Nelson describes families of five to twelve children for each mother.

A poem by Joaquin Miller, “A Roundelay of Salt Lake,” and a short story by a young woman in one of Nelson’s classes rounded out the contents of the periodical’s first and only volume.

Nelson had hoped to sell two thousand copies, which would have returned a modest profit to him as editor. Although we don’t know the exact number sold, he did not come even close to his goal. Each issue put him deeper into the hole.

N. L. Nelson had built up a sufficient reputation for loyalty that the First Presidency gave his project their endorsement. But in their letter we notice a recognition of the financial risks. “As far as we are concerned, we should very much like to see a magazine published such as you have outlined; it would undoubtedly be a credit both to you as its publisher and to our community. But will it pay financially, and can it be done without financial injury to yourself and family? . . . To be frank with you, we are afraid it will not pay.”

They were right. After the fourth issue, completing the first volume, The Mormon Point of View folded.

Already serving the needs of the Latter-day Saints were other periodicals, such as Woman’s Exponent and Young Woman’s Journal. In addition, the Improvement Era, sponsored by the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association and later the flagship publication of the church, was publishing a variety of vigorous articles. In fact, in its opening years the Era established a remarkable record for variety, interest, and quality. Nelson was having to compete with these publications, and his project fell on its face.

A hundred years later ambitious new publishing ventures are launched. Some do not make it over the hump of that first year or two. Uncorrelated articles and speeches can be found in several magazines and in symposia. Conferences and education weeks provide a forum for talks on a variety of subjects. Church magazines are translated into many languages. In an earlier column I attempted to convey the rich content of BYU Studies. And taking the dissemination of news, articles, columns, and photographs to an exciting new level are Internet publications like Meridian Magazine.

It is a colorful, bounteous smorgasbord. But now, as in 1904, you and I, unable to do everything, are faced with the necessity of choosing that which best nourishes mind and spirit.

–See Davis Bitton, “N. L. Nelson and The Mormon Point of View,” BYU Studies 13 (Winter 1973), 157-71.