The Mormon community has lost a true titan. Absolutely gutted.

The Salt Lake Tribune@sltrib.com · 6d ago

Legendary Latter-day Saint poet, playwright and activist Carol Lynn Pearson has died at age 86. "The Mormon people were truly blessed to have her as a companion," a historian says, "and the institution would have done well to listen to her.”

My uni had a system for downloading apps on school-issued comps: call in & a tech would take remote control & approve. We now have a system where I submit a ticket, wait a day, submit a different kind of ticket, wait a week, pray to Zeus, get approval, then bring comp to IT office. Efficiency!

I had a deep cleaning at the dentist this morning and I can still hardly move. I can’t believe we as a society are fine paying people to take a jack hammer to our mouths in the name of good hygiene.

Did I choose an American flight over United for my return from #shear2026 solely because it assured I could watch the World Cup? Yes. Yes I did.

Really enjoying #shear2026c and it’s a sign of how historians are meeting the #america250 moment that you have a selection of *several* panels across the weekend that feature brilliant new books on the Revolution. And it’s impossible to choose!

The White House Wants You to Believe Black Freedom Was a Gift #CivilWarMemory 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

The White House Wants You to Believe Black Freedom Was a Gift

Buried in the new Smithsonian report is a directive on how museums should interpret slavery. Not one Black American appears in it as an actor.

open.substack.com

okay but how am I supposed to get work done today if I don’t have a Wold Cup game to look forward to?

Look, sure, the US president likely paid off FIFA to rescind a red card, but Norway convinced Thor to disguise himself as a striker so it’s not that bad a cheat code by comparison.

Say what you will, but the Nobel Peace Prize never directly benefitted a national sports team.

Very honored to be part of this project with lots of brilliant scholars.

Peter Manseau@petermanseau.bsky.social · last mo.

Long before “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, some Americans claimed the US was shaped by one religion. They have always been free to believe so, but only because they are part of a larger story. The larger story is that we are a nation under many gods… www.undergods.org/preamble

Happy 4th! If you're having trouble keeping up with the new books on the Revolution, I highlighted some recent favorites (including @rickbell.bsky.social, @frankcogliano.bsky.social, @johngmarks.com, & others) as well as interviewed Sarah Pearsall about her new synthesis. youtu.be/gHsXw51UmsQ?...

America's 250th Anniversary Starts With These Essential History Books

YouTube video by Benjamin Park, Historian

youtu.be

I'm so excited for NYC people and fans; I'm already exhausted over the NYC media. The duality of the Knicks win.

Rav@rvbdrm.com · 2mo ago

New Yorkers singing Empire State of Mind

Just wrapped up a conference on religious freedom that kicked off w my disc w @benjaminepark.bsky.social —my q for him was when was LDS in favor of separation and church and when not? Here we are.

The Salt Lake Tribune@sltrib.com · 2mo ago

The LDS Church was left off the Department of Defense’s list of Christian religions.

I’m really excited to (virtually) speak at this conference in two hours. And you can (virtually) attend! The zoom link is at the conference website.

John Carter Brown Library@jcblibrary.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Tomorrow! We're thrilled to welcome participants in the Religions and Freedom c. 1776 conference to campus, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Benjamin Park as our keynote speaker. Full conference proceedings are available online at jcblibrary.org. Join us!

Imagining that you could easily replace an immigrant laborer is a pretty good, if still nauseating metaphor for today’s GOP politics. Also, this nonsense is the only thing that can loosen my support for the spurs.

Pleasure writing with @benjaminepark.bsky.social about Latter-day Saint approaches to religious freedom and American patriotism in light of the upcoming LDS Church fast for religious freedom on July 5th. Check out the piece here:

For 2 centuries, Latter-day Saints have revered religious freedom – but their definition is evolving

Latter-day Saints have long valued the US Constitution’s promise of religious freedom – but the church has also tested its boundaries.

theconversation.com

The Latter-day Saints have a long and complicated history of American patriotism and religious liberty. @nbshrum34.bsky.social and I wrote about it for @theconversation.com. theconversation.com/for-2-centur...

For 2 centuries, Latter-day Saints have revered religious freedom – but their definition is evolving

Latter-day Saints have long valued the US Constitution’s promise of religious freedom – but the church has also tested its boundaries.

theconversation.com

My latest newsletter, with book news, MHA announcements, upcoming events, and links to all my recent videos. benjaminpark.kit.com/posts/5-31-2....

Upcoming LIVE Discussion with John Turner (6/3): The History Nerd's Newsletter for 5/31/2026

benjaminpark.kit.com

I’m both excited at the prospect of Talarico turning the seat blue, but also deeply terrified at the real possibility of having Paxton as my senator.

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 2mo ago

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost a primary challenge to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, ending a bitter race driven by a MAGA insurgency that ballooned into the most expensive Senate primary in history. https://wapo.st/3PNEfGH

Curious how the LDS Church's 2015 policy barring children of same-sex unions from salvific ordinances fit into a longer history of ecclesiastical exclusion? I got you covered!

University of Illinois Press@illinoispress.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In @dialoguejournal.bsky.social 59.1, @benjaminepark.bsky.social contributed "The November 2015 Policy and the Long History of LDS Ecclesiastical Exclusion" to roundtable "Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary of the November 2015 Exclusion Policy." scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/art...

Douglass’s faith was not naive. It was hard-won by a man who had been property, who had taught himself to read in secret, who had escaped bondage and then spent his life arguing that the promise of the Declaration of Independence was worth fighting to redeem. kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/what-frede...

What Frederick Douglass Knew

A Memorial Day address from 1878 and the democracy we keep failing to finish.

kevinmlevin.substack.com

I really loved @wmstell.bsky.social’s new @princetonupress.bsky.social book on the forgotten gay-affirming voices within the evangelical movement, and am glad he agreed to talk about it with me on my YouTube channel. youtu.be/X_Nv4-FwYrw?...

How Evangelicalism Became Anti-Gay

YouTube video by Benjamin Park, Historian

youtu.be

Hear me out: ->Trump endorses Paxon ->Spurs win championship ->Wemby endorses Talarico ->Texas gets a Democratic senator

Charlie Day's Pepe Silvia Conspiracy

Alt: Charlie Day's Pepe Silvia Conspiracy

static.klipy.com

Even if it’s expected, it’s still insane.

Josh Marshall@joshtpm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Trump Finally Endorses Paxton over Cornyn in Texas Senate Primary talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-t...

It is publication day for my book, White Power: Policing American Slavery. Here’s the unboxing, with a trip down memory lane. Thanks so much to those who helped make this a reality, esp. my amazing agent Dani Segelbaum, @dgershenowitz.bsky.social @uncpress.bsky.social @sonyabonczek.bsky.social

Nobody is allowed to bother me during the rest of the Spurs/Thunder series. I am LOCKED IN.

This Spurs/Thunders series is gonna be amazing. Basketball is good.

Besides punishing those who…checks notes…tried to overturn a lawful and democratic election, the prosecution of January 6 insurrectionists *also* succeeded at removing some of the nation’s worst fascists from the streets. Trump’s pardons were not just an injustice, but a threat to national safety.

Tom Joscelyn@tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Jake Lang, one of the 1,600 or so January 6ers pardoned by Trump, unfurled a white nationalist banner at yesterday’s Washington Nationals game. It refers to the racist great replacement theory and calls for deporting 100+ million (non-white) people. He’s now banned from Nationals games.

On Thursday, June 4, we will host the keynote, “Histories of Religious Freedom: A Conversation with Benjamin Park, President of the Mormon History Association” as part of the Conference on Religions and Freedom c. 1776. Reception and exhibit viewing to follow. Register at forms.gle/664GCmXqdf69...

Gee, someone should write a book on this…

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The Religious Right is desperate these days to pretend that "Christian Nationalism" is (1) a recently-invented term and (2) a pejorative invented by their enemies, but neither of those claims is remotely true. Here's a short thread, but I'm sure other historians will have examples too.