New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community - Softcover

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9780879058432: New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0879058439 ISBN 13: 9780879058432

Publisher: Gibbs Smith, 1998

In eloquent language and stories, members of the LDS faith relate personal experiences with the natural world. Drawing on scripture and Mormon tradition, they tell of peacefull times and of times in nature that changed their lives, as well as current conflicts over the use of public lands in the West. These essays of inspiration and courage illuminate the spiritual qualities inherent in the land. We offer this unprecedented volume of Mormon environmental thought to the growing ecological consciousness of religion's responsibility toward the earth. ***See Table of Contents for a list of authors.

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About the Author:

Gibbs M. Smith always wanted to be a history professor. But while in pursuit of his master’s degree, Smith wrote a dissertation on Joe Hill–American labor martyr, proletarian folk hero, and songwriter–that profoundly changed his life. After the book was published by the University of Utah press and made into a movie, Gibbs started entertaining the idea of starting his own publishing company. While riding a cable car in San Francisco and contemplating this venture, he wrote Alfred Knopf a letter. "In my view, he was the greatest publisher in America," reflects Smith. Knopf wrote back with words of encouragement; later they spoke over the phone. Gibbs now had the inspiration needed to embark upon this extraordinary entrepreneurial adventure. In 1969, Gibbs and his wife, Catherine, started the company known today as Gibbs Smith, Publisher. With $12,000 in cash earned from the Smiths’ work on the movie Joe Hill, the company published four initial books, which would be used as supplementary texts in college history classes. The first few years were tough, as Gibbs and his wife, Cathy, ran the company out of their studio apartment in Santa Barbara.

In 1973, the company relocated to Utah, where Gibbs and Cathy reinvested profits back into the business and lived on savings. They spent the first summer there converting an old barn (built in 1916) on the family farm into offices. It was a race against time, as the barn had no roof and winter was rapidly approaching. During that summer they also managed to publish a new textbook, Utah’s Heritage. This proved to be a very wise decision, as the company’s textbook division provided financial stability during the early years.

As a kid growing up on the the-outskirts of Provo, I wasn't the most responsible herdsman. Because we couldn't afford pasturage, I was supposed to watch our cows as they grazed along the country lane that would become today's crowded Eighth North Street. But there were distractions. Like searching for images in the clouds boiling across Squaw Peak and up toward Mt. Timpanogos. Or adventuring with Richard Halliburton or Jack London in books from the public library. Or the many World Series game I won by swatting rocks up onto the bench that today houses Brigham Young University. Or experimenting to determine which substance--cedar bark fromthe fence posts, the seeds of a weed we called Indian tobacco, or dried cow dung--could be rolled into the least evil-tasting cigarette. Meanwhile, the cows relished the neighbors' cornfields. Simple times, with room enough for a kid or a community to grow pretty much unrestricted.

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