Selected Writings

An analysis of how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members have responded to anti-Jewish theological tropes, especially in the post-Holocaust era.

The 1846 arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers from the ship Brooklyn to the San Francisco Bay Area had a significant impact on the early development and colonization of California during the mid-1800s. Despite isolated pockets of informed individuals, most of the general public, including Latter-day Saints, have no idea that any Saints traveled west by sea, that their arrival in California predated the main body of Church members reaching Utah territory, or what role they played in the pioneering work of the mid-nineteenth century. While the Bay Area was not the final destination for many of the Brooklyn Saints, their impact on its founding would pave the way for dramatic growth over the coming decades, both within their church and among the general population.

What role did Native Americans play in the American Revolution? How did their participation affect their future liberties, rights, and colonial relations? The purpose of this project is to delve into primary and secondary sources to determine how Native American participation in the American Revolution affected their post-war lives and legacies. The thesis is that despite unique approaches to the war across different tribes, namely becoming British allies or colonial allies, the Native Americans’ participation contributed to their continued oppression and collective misrepresentation.

This research delves into the case of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which took place from September 7-11, 1857 in Utah, USA. This topic's historiography has proven particularly interesting since what has been known about the incident, originally poisoned by lies and deception, has expanded over time until it appears that the truth is finally known. The research’s main historiographical fault lines center on radically different beliefs about the roles that Native Americans, John D. Lee, and Brigham Young each played in the massacre.

After the martyrdom of her prophet-husband, did Emma Hale apostatize from, meaning entirely abandon and encourage others to abandon, the core religious beliefs that she had previously held during her husband’s lifetime?  If so, to what degree did she forsake her beliefs, what evidence is there to support those claims, and why did she do so?  If not, then what evidence is there to support her continued faith and adherence to her earlier beliefs?

The purpose of this project is to delve into the primary and secondary sources related to Champlain and his interactions with the Native Americans to discover why, unlike many other colonizers, he was so successful in working, living, exploring, and even forming military alliances with them. The working thesis is that Champlain excelled at working with the Native Americans since he was a courageous military leader who commanded respect, an advocate of peace and unity whose actions reflected his ideals, and that he generally treated the Native Americans as true friends, even equals.

An analysis of the impact of the metrical psalter on the French Protestant Reformation of the mid-sixteenth century.