“The conference was ambitious and difficult, but also historic…marking some kind of sea change in our views.” Richard Bushman

“I came away from the conference exclaiming that it was probably the single most important conference of any description that I had ever attended.” Thomas Rogers, Professor Emeritus at BYU, playwright, and former head of BYU Honors Program.

A capacity crowd at Utah State University shared the historic opportunity of hearing six esteemed Mormon scholars explore the topic of Joseph Smith and “translation.” Richard Bushman, Terryl Givens, Samuel Brown and Jared Hickman were on stage together, led in conversation by Jana Riess and Rosalynde Welch in the six-session conference. Philip Barlow of USU Religious Studies Program hosted the conference and joined in the conversation. The result was an explosion in the understanding of “translation” as it relates to Joseph Smith’s prophetic project as Translator and Seer.

Faith Matters Foundation filmed this one-day event and will be releasing video of each session here over the next ten days. We begin by sharing an introduction of the conference and its participants by Dr. Philip Barlow, plus the first session of the conference as presented by Richard Bushman, perhaps the most influential and important Mormon historian of our era.

Why New Perspective is Needed - Philip Barlow

The Translation Team - with highlights



History and Context - Richard Bushman



Seeing the Voice of God - Sam Brown and the Team

Translating Translation - Jared Hickman and the Team

Translation in the 19th Century - Terryl Givens and the Team

Critique of "Linguistic Translation" - Jana Riess and the Team

The Emerging Model - Rosalynde Welch and the Team

Why it Matters - Bill Turnbull and the Team

