David Pulsipher's guest appearances

David Pulsipher

Latter-day Saint Perspectives

BYU-Idaho Devotionals

Maxwell Institute Podcast

BYU-Idaho Radio

Faith Matters

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

All In

Patrick Mason

Brian Carter

David Archuleta

Barbara McKenna

Jerrod Guddat

James Gordon

Taunya Hansen

Scott Johnson

Randall Kempton

Kevin Redd

Peter M. Johnson

Doug Stutz

Patty Hendricks

Paul Roberts

Dallin Hansen

OwlTail

My friends Patrick Mason and David Pulsipher join us to talk about their new book called Proclaim Peace: The Restoration's Answer to an Age of Conflict that is co-published with the Maxwell Institute's Living Faith series and Deseret Book. Here is a description of the book:  Proclaim Peace is an extended meditation on what it means to follow the Prince of Peace in a world of violence. The book seeks not to promote any particular ideology, but rather to invite readers, especially the rising generation, to reflect seriously on the interpersonal, ethical, and social dimensions of Christian discipleship. As such, it represents a spiritual journey by two believing scholars of peace—a journey of scriptural exegesis and hermeneutics that breathe new life into familiar and beloved Restoration texts.   Patrick and David talk about the unique doctrine in our restored Church that helps us lead with peace both within our Church and the world and how this implementing this doctrine is so needed to reduce divisiveness and help build Zion.  You can learn more about Patrick here (https://history.usu.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/patrick-mason) and David Pulsipher here (https://www.byui.edu/devotionals/david-pulsipher) You can order the book here https://deseretbook.com/p/proclaim-peace-a-restoration-approach-for-times-of-contention-maxwell-institute?variant_id=194870-paperback Thank you Patrick and David for your work to reduce divisions and bring us together as the same human family.

My friends Patrick Mason and David Pulsipher join us to talk about their new book called Proclaim Peace: The Restoration's Answer to an Age of Conflict that is co-published with the Maxwell Institute's Living Faith series and Deseret Book. Here is a description of the book: Proclaim Peace is an extended meditation on what it means to follow the Prince of Peace in a world of violence. The book seeks not to promote any particular ideology, but rather to invite readers, especially the rising generation, to reflect seriously on the interpersonal, ethical, and social dimensions of Christian discipleship. As such, it represents a spiritual journey by two believing scholars of peace—a journey of scriptural exegesis and hermeneutics that breathe new life into familiar and beloved Restoration texts. Patrick and David talk about the unique doctrine in our restored Church that helps us lead with peace both within our Church and the world and how this implementing this doctrine is so needed to reduce divisiveness and help build Zion. You can learn more about Patrick here (<a href="https://history.usu.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/patrick-mason" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://history.usu.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/patrick-mason</a>) and David Pulsipher here (<a href="https://www.byui.edu/devotionals/david-pulsipher" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.byui.edu/devotionals/david-pulsipher</a>) You can order the book here <a href="https://deseretbook.com/p/proclaim-peace-a-restoration-approach-for-times-of-contention-maxwell-institute?variant_id=194870-paperback" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://deseretbook.com/p/proclaim-peace-a-restoration-approach-for-times-of-contention-maxwell-institute?variant_id=194870-paperback</a> Thank you Patrick and David for your work to reduce divisions and bring us together as the same human family.

Episode 464: Patrick Mason (Utah State) and David Pulsipher (BYU-Idaho): New Book

Patrick Mason and David Pulsipher, co-authors and scholars of peace, tell about their new Deseret book release which invites readers "to renounce violence and proclaim Christ’s good news of love and peace to a world that desperately needs it."

Interview with authors Patrick Mason & David Pulsipher about their book "Proclaim Peace"

For this episode of the Latter-day Saint Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews BYU–Idaho professor David Pulsipher about some of the subtle but consequential lessons regarding conflict, violence, and peace found in the Book of Mormon.Steeped in a culture of violent films and video games, and surrounded by visual images of muscular Book of Mormon warriors, we can easily miss important patterns of conflict in the scriptural narrative. For example, while the text contains multiple examples of defending faith and family with armies and military strategies, it also contains numerous examples of successful nonviolent strategies that are usually depicted as even more effective than violence.The Nephites, for example, believed that God would protect them from their enemies in at least two ways—he would either “warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger” (Alma 48:15). If we carefully read the text to find examples of either of these warnings, we may be surprised to discover that God frequently warns them to flee, but there seem to be no examples of warning them to prepare for war before an attack has begun. God does help them after a war has already started, but if he has a chance to weigh in ahead of time, God seems to prefer fleeing to fighting.Those who choose to fight a justified battle in self-defense are often helped in their efforts (if they are generally righteous, of course) but these divinely aided efforts achieve only temporary success, lasting at best for only a few years before another attack occurs. Most violence, even divinely assisted violence, sows the seeds for future violence. But more unconventional approaches—such as unarmed yet confrontational compassion—usually achieve much more lasting success. The sons of Mosiah, for example, led a loving invasion into the lands of the Lamanites. Years later, the brothers Nephi and Lehi made a weaponless incursion deep into Lamanite territory. In both instances, significant portions of the Lamanite community became permanently reconciled with their former enemies, the Nephites. In the latter case, the once aggressive Lamanites even voluntarily returned the Nephite lands that they had previously seized—a remarkable testimony to the power of confrontational and assertive compassion.The Book of Mormon also repeatedly depicts how assertive compassion can be remarkably effective in protecting communities during aggressive invasions. The most famous example of this is the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, who ultimate stopped a brutal attack with only the weapons of love and prayer (and with fewer deaths than most violent defensive efforts described in the narrative). But there are other examples of this as well, including Limhi’s people pacifying an attacking Lamanite army because they went out to meet them without any weapons. Alma’s people also successfully preserved their lives by going out to meet and reason with yet another invading army.Ultimately, one of the Book of Mormon’s most profound messages regarding conflict is that assertive love is not simply an effective defensive strategy, it also has the capacity to redeem both victims and aggressors. This not only happens with the enemies of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies but also with the brutal opponents of Nephi and Lehi, and even with many of the Gadianton robbers. Over and over again, the Book of Mormon demonstrates that love really is the most powerful force in the universe, destroying whole armies of enemies by transforming them into friends.For more on these and other surprising Book of Mormon patterns, including an analysis of Nephi’s decision to slay Laban, listen to the full Latter-day Saint Perspective Podcast.About Our Guest: J. David Pulsipher is an associate professor of history at Brigham Young University–Idaho. Educated as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, Utah, he earned a PhD in American Studies from the University of Minnesota.

For this episode of the Latter-day Saint Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews BYU–Idaho professor David Pulsipher about some of the subtle but consequential lessons regarding conflict, violence, and peace found in the Book of Mormon. Steeped in a culture of violent films and video games, and surrounded by visual images of muscular Book of Mormon warriors, we can easily miss important patterns of conflict in the scriptural narrative. For example, while the text contains multiple examples of defending faith and family with armies and military strategies, it also contains numerous examples of successful nonviolent strategies that are usually depicted as even more effective than violence. The Nephites, for example, believed that God would protect them from their enemies in at least two ways—he would either “warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger” (Alma 48:15). If we carefully read the text to find examples of either of these warnings, we may be surprised to discover that God frequently warns them to flee, but there seem to be no examples of warning them to prepare for war before an attack has begun. God does help them after a war has already started, but if he has a chance to weigh in ahead of time, God seems to prefer fleeing to fighting. Those who choose to fight a justified battle in self-defense are often helped in their efforts (if they are generally righteous, of course) but these divinely aided efforts achieve only temporary success, lasting at best for only a few years before another attack occurs. Most violence, even divinely assisted violence, sows the seeds for future violence. But more unconventional approaches—such as unarmed yet confrontational compassion—usually achieve much more lasting success. The sons of Mosiah, for example, led a loving invasion into the lands of the Lamanites. Years later, the brothers Nephi and Lehi made a weaponless incursion deep into Lamanite territory. In both instances, significant portions of the Lamanite community became permanently reconciled with their former enemies, the Nephites. In the latter case, the once aggressive Lamanites even voluntarily returned the Nephite lands that they had previously seized—a remarkable testimony to the power of confrontational and assertive compassion. The Book of Mormon also repeatedly depicts how assertive compassion can be remarkably effective in protecting communities during aggressive invasions. The most famous example of this is the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, who ultimate stopped a brutal attack with only the weapons of love and prayer (and with fewer deaths than most violent defensive efforts described in the narrative). But there are other examples of this as well, including Limhi’s people pacifying an attacking Lamanite army because they went out to meet them without any weapons. Alma’s people also successfully preserved their lives by going out to meet and reason with yet another invading army. Ultimately, one of the Book of Mormon’s most profound messages regarding conflict is that assertive love is not simply an effective defensive strategy, it also has the capacity to redeem both victims and aggressors. This not only happens with the enemies of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies but also with the brutal opponents of Nephi and Lehi, and even with many of the Gadianton robbers. Over and over again, the Book of Mormon demonstrates that love really is the most powerful force in the universe, destroying whole armies of enemies by transforming them into friends. For more on these and other surprising Book of Mormon patterns, including an analysis of Nephi’s decision to slay Laban, listen to the full Latter-day Saint Perspective Podcast. About Our Guest: J. David Pulsipher is an associate professor of history at Brigham Young University–Idaho. Educated as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, Utah, he earned a PhD in American Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Episode 100: The Myth of Redemptive Violence with David Pulsipher