Louis C. Midgley (born 1931) is a
Mormon apologist
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
and retired professor of political science at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
. Since his retirement he has been closely involved with the
Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. ThFoundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)was established in 1979 as a ...
, writing many book reviews, articles, and book chapters defending
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church) from perceived critics.
Education and career
Midgley studied at the University of Utah for his bachelor's and master's degrees.
He took an extended leave to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
1950–1952.
On his mission, he first encountered sectarian anti-Mormon arguments.
He earned a PhD in political science from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. His dissertation focused on
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...
. Midgley taught political science, specifically, the history of political and legal philosophy, at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
from 1960 until his retirement in 1996.
Apologetics
In the 1980s, Midgley, along with David Bohn and Neal Kramer, criticized practitioners of
New Mormon History
New Mormon history refers to a style of reporting the history of Mormonism by both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars which departs from earlier more polemical or faith-based styles of history. Rather than presenting material selectively to either pro ...
. Midgley called the New Mormon Histories an "act of treason" against the LDS faith since they did not take a stance on the LDS Church's truth claims. Midgley wrote that since objectivity in writing history is impossible, that Mormon historians ought to "defend" the faith. Midgley's argument was a familiar one, but his use of
antipositivist
In social science, antipositivism (also interpretivism, negativism or antinaturalism) is a theoretical stance that proposes that the social realm cannot be studied with the methods of investigation utilized within the natural sciences, and that ...
rhetoric was unfamiliar to Mormon historians.
Thomas G. Alexander
Thomas Glen Alexander (born August 8, 1935) is an American historian and academic who is a professor emeritus at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he was also Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western History and director of ...
responded, stating that positivism is a miscategorization, because New Mormon Historians usually accepted spiritual experiences like Joseph Smith's visions, rather than attributing them to mental illness or fabrication as a positivist might.
Later, in his
Dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
article on the subject, John-Charles Duffy described Midgley's and Bohn's logic as antimodernist rather than
postmodernist
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
.
[
Midgley often responded to arguments with a style one blogger referred to as "feisty." David Bohn wrote an essay for ''Sunstone'' about Mormon historiography, which Thomas Alexander critiqued at length. Informed by this critique, Bohn rewrote portions of the essay, according to Alexander.] Bohn's essay, "No Higher Ground," was published in the May–June 1983 issue of ''Sunstone''. Scott C. Dunn, an editor at ''Sunstone'', stated that "a number of historians had gone to great lengths to discourage the publication of this manuscript ..they sought to prevent distribution of ideas contrary to their own."[ Midgley described the editorial interventions as censorship, which Alexander described as "intentional misrepresentation and obtuseness."] Alexander also accused Midgley of intentionally "misrepresenting the views of others."
Midgley was a frequent defender of Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...
and published a bibliography of Nibley's complete works. He contributed the article on theology to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The five-volume texts have been digitized and are availabl ...
. In 2005-2006 Midgley served as editor of the ''FARMS Review''. Other topics Midgley has studied included the abandonment of a belief in the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...
as an ancient document by members of the Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
.
Midgley has criticized both the writings of Grant H. Palmer Grant Hart Palmer (August 17, 1940 – September 25, 2017) was an American educator best known for his controversial work, '' An Insider's View of Mormon Origins'', which ostensibly led to his disfellowshipment in 2004 from the Church of Jesus ...
and his representations of his career."Prying into Palmer" in ''FARMS Review'' Vol. 15, Issue 2
/ref>
Personal life and church service
Following his retirement Midgley and his wife Ireta served as Church Educational System
The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...
missionaries in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
1999–2000.
Notes
References
Louis C. Midgley
at the Mormon Literature and Creative Arts Database
Louis C. Midgley papers
MSS 2806, L. Tom Perry Special Collections
The L. Tom Perry Special Collections is the special collections department of Brigham Young University (BYU)'s Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1957 with 1,000 books and 50 manuscript collections, as of 2016 the Library's special ...
, Harold B. Lee Library
The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...
, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midgley, Louis C.
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