New Issue of BYU Studies Quarterly

The Restored Gospel and Good Government

BYU Studies Quarterly 61:1 is now available online and should be arriving in mailboxes during the next two weeks!

This special issue focuses on “The Restored Gospel and Good Government.” Latter-day Saints have an important role to play in creating, participating in, and promoting good government wherever we may live in the world. Each article and essay in the issue contains genuinely important ideas about what good government consists of and how it may be achieved.

It is not our intention to persuade readers to support any particular political party but to support the principles necessary to maintain the well-being, rights, and religious liberty of all God’s children.

Browse Issue

Article

“Good Government Begins with Self-Government”

Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye

Illustration from The Classic of Filial Piety

One of the very first Confucian classics that young Chinese scholars studied in depth (from around 960 to 1905 CE) was a relatively short text called The Great Learning. The Great Learning teaches that only as the self is cultivated can individuals gain the capacity and influence to transform the wider social circles around them: the family, the country, and, eventually, the world. In this article, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye discusses the importance of self-government as it stands alongside the Savior’s teachings in the Gospels, including Jesus’s most basic teachings, which are the most difficult to follow.

Read Article

Article

“A Harmony of Voices: Negotiating Latter-day Saint Unity on Women’s Suffrage”

Rebekah Ryan Clark

Emily Richards, Phebe Beattie, and Sarah Kimball

At a time when most American religious denominations were divided among themselves on the issue of suffrage, members of The Church of Jesus Christ displayed uniquely widespread support for women’s voting rights from the early days of the suffrage movement. As you look back on the recently concluded Women’s History Month, read how Latter-day Saints came together to advocate for greater equality in the face of daunting challenges.

Read Article

Come, Follow Me

Exodus 14–17

“Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord”

Moses Parting the Red Sea by Robert Barrett

As the children of Israel left Egypt, they were pursued by the Egyptians and feared for their lives. Moses, having learned to trust God, told them to not fear and to witness salvation by the hand of God. These chapters tell of the Israelites’ continuing struggle to trust and obey God.

View Study Resources

BYU Easter Conference

We’re looking forward to the BYU Religious Studies Center Easter Conference on Friday, April 8. The conference will be live in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium at BYU on April 8 at 7:00 p.m. It will be recorded for later viewing on YouTube but will not be livestreamed. Read here for details.

Learn More

Interfaith Conversation Series

The Passover

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation has posted its discussion with Rabbi Robbie Harris about the Passover. The next discussion will be April 10, about the Ten Commandments, with Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman. Find it on their website and on Spotify.

Watch Discussion