The Bible in the Millennial Star and the Woman’s Exponent: Biblical Use and Interpretation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Late Nineteenth Century

To begin to address the significant gap in current understanding of how lay members of the Church of Jesus Christ used and interpreted the Bible after the 1840s, I have conducted an extensive primary study to identify, categorize, and analyze all the references to the Bible found in the Millennial Star and the Woman’s Exponent from 1880 to 1900. My study provides general as well as specific and contextualized insights. First, I identify and explain leading assumptions that govern Church members’ biblical interpretation within the context of Protestant use and interpretation in the later part of the nineteenth century. Next, I provide an overview and analysis of the statistical findings that emerged from my study. Then, informed by this general understanding of how and which books and passages of the Bible were being used, I devote the majority of the article to identifying and analyzing the major uses and doctrinal themes underscored by the passages individuals quoted and interpreted. Taken as a whole, these parts provide insight into the general membership of the Church of Jesus Christ and greatly expand our comprehensive understanding of how members of the Church interpreted and used the Bible in the late nineteenth century.