Sermons in Stones: Mormon Chosenness and the Politics of Land in the American West
This study explores the intersection of religion, land use, and political resistance in Latter-day Saint culture, arguing that Mormon land ethics are shaped by a ritualized process I term the “Cycle of Chosenness.” Through historical and ethnographic analysis, I trace how collective memory of the pioneer era informs symbolic labor that reaffirms Mormon exceptionalism. Three case studies illustrate the cycle in action: Brigham Young’s integration of labor and theology, Walter Cottam’s unsuccessful push for ecological restoration, and the Sagebrush Rebellion’s successful reframing of anti-federal activism as sacred labor. I show how the Sagebrush Rebellion marked a turning point by legitimizing individualized pathways to sacred time, no longer dependent on Church-mediated ritual. This decentralization allowed figures such as the Bundy family to enact Mormon chosenness through modern standoffs over grazing rights, using pioneer-inflected narratives to sanctify their resistance. By analyzing these episodes, I demonstrate that Mormon land ethics are neither static nor purely doctrinal; they are living, contested performances that adapt to political realities while preserving the theological imperative to build Zion in the here and now.
Conservation, Ecology, Land Ethics, Mormonism, Ritualization, Uta, Religion
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