Summary:
The most common theme in this collection of six essays is adaptation to change. Jan Shipps writes about the acculturation that took place in the 1890s as Mormons moved from living within a mythic world to accepting developments within the larger society. Dean May investigates the implications of the fact that 40 percent of the church decided not to immigrate to the Great Basin and remained in the Midwest and that the ranks of Utah settlers were augmented by foreign converts. Essays by Edward Geary and Eugene England survey self-portrayals of Latter-day Saints in literature. LaMond Tullis looks at the expansion of the church into Latin America. James Allen examines the impact of technological changes on LDS consciousness.