Review of:
Saints: The Story of The Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, volume 1: The Standard of Truth 1815-1846 (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018)
Firstly, I would like to thank the Church History Department for sending me an Advance Review Copy of this book.
As one who is engaged in Latter-day Saint apologetics and scholarship, one always appreciates Church history and other issues being more accessible to non-specialists. While, alas, many histories of the Church would fall more under the label of “historiography” and faith-promoting material that ignores many issues (often “difficult” issues), it was refreshing to read this volume, as it presents early LDS history during the Joseph Smith era, “warts and all,” in a way that will be accessible to all members of the Church, not just nerds like me who love delving into the complexities of various issues and love pursuing dusty old manuscripts. I plan on loaning this copy out to the young men in my branch and others.
As one who is a firm believer in inoculating church members by discussing, in an open and faithful way, “difficult” issues, I look forward to the forthcoming 3 volumes remaining in this series.
Here are some important excerpts that show, among other things, the very open manner the Church now discusses difficult church issues (e.g., early LDS polygamy) and other topics those engaged in LDS apologetics will appreciate:
Endorsement from the First Presidency
Throughout the scriptures the Lord asks us to remember. Remembering our shared legacy of faith, devotion, and perseverance gives us perspective and strength as we face the challenges of our day.
It is with this desire to remember “how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men” (Moroni 10:3) that we present Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. This is the first volume of a four-volume series. It is narrative history that includes stories of faithful Latter-day Saints of the past. We encourage all to read the book and make use of the supplementary material available online.
First Vision—bringing together 1832 and other accounts
As the Savior spoke, Joseph saw hosts of angels and the light around them blazed brighter than the noonday sun. “Behold, and lo, I come quickly,” the Lord said, “clothed in the glory of My Father.” (p. 16)
FV: JS did not share it too much after initial rebukes
Once Joseph discovered that sharing his vision only turned his neighbors against him, he kept it mostly to himself . . . . (p. 18)
Josiah Stowell and the 1826 hearing//JS’ abilities as a “seer”
Standing before the local judge, Joseph explained how he had found the stone. Joseph Sr. testified that he had constantly asked God to show them His will for Joseph’s marvelous gift as a seer. Finally, Josiah stood before the court and stated that Joseph had not swindled him.
“Do I understand,” said the judge, “that you believe the prisoner can see by the aid of the stone?”
No, Josiah insisted. “I positively know it to be true.”
Josiah was a well-respected man in the community, and people accepted his word. In the end, the hearing produced no evidence that Joseph had deceived him, so the judge dismissed the charge. (pp. 33-34)
Joseph seeking copyright for the 1830 BOM
Before he completed the translation, he had filed for the book’s copyright to protect the text from anyone who might steal or plagiarize it. (p. 77)
Extreme Religious Events at Kirtland
Some of the Saints in Kirtland took their beliefs to wild extremes, reveling in what they took to be gifts of the Spirit. Several people claimed to have visions they could not explain. Others believed the Holy Ghost made them slide or scoot across the ground. One man bounced around rooms or swung from ceiling joists whenever he thought he felt the Spirit. Another acted like a baboon.
Relationship of WOW to similar ideas//origin of D&C 89
Emma was not alone in her concerns. Reformers in the United States and other countries throughout the world thought smoking and chewing tobacco, as well as drinking alcohol, were filthy habits. But some doctors believed tobacco could cure a host of ailments. Similar claims were made about drinking alcohol and hot drinks like coffee and tea, which people drank liberally. (p. 167)
WOW was not a commandment originally
When Joseph took the matter to the Lord, he received a revelation—a “word of wisdom for the benefit of the Saints in these last days” . . . The revelation had been declared not as a commandment but as a caution. Many people would find it hard to give up using these powerful substances, and Joseph did not insist on strict conformity. He continued to drink alcohol occasionally, and he and Emma sometimes drank coffee and tea. (pp. 167, 168)
WW Phelps and early LDS attitudes towards blacks
William also addressed the church members’ attitudes towards black people. Although he sympathized with those who wished to free enslaved people, William wanted his readers to know that the Saints would obey Missouri’s laws restricting the rights of free blacks. There were only a few black Saints in the church, and he recommended that if they chose to move to Zion, they act carefully and trust in God.
“So long as we have no special rule in the church as to people of color,” he wrote vaguely, “let prudence guide” . . . The Book of Mormon declared that Christ invited all to come unto Him, “black and white, bond and free,” but William was more concerned about the entire county turning against the Saints.
Acting quickly, he printed a single-page leaflet recanting what he had written about slavery: “We are opposed to having free people of color admitted into the state,” he insisted, “and we say that none will be admitted into the church.” The leaflet misrepresented the church’s stance on baptizing black members, but he helped it would prevent future violence. (pp. 173, 175)
Comments on Polygamy
After receiving the commandment, Joseph struggled to overcome his natural aversion to the idea. He could foresee trials coming from plural marriage, and he wanted to turn from it. But the angel urged him to proceed, instructing him to share the revelation only with people whose integrity was unwavering. The angel also charged Joseph to keep it private until the Lord saw fit to make the practice public through His chosen servants.
During the years Joseph lived in Kirtland, a young woman named Fanny Alger worked in the Smith home. Joseph knew her family well and trusted them. Her parents were faithful Saints who had joined the church in its first year. Her uncle, Levi Hancock, had marched in the Camp of Israel.
Following the Lord’s command, Joseph proposed marriage to Fanny with the help of Levi and the approval of her parents. Fanny accepted Joseph’s teachings and his proposal, and her uncle performed the ceremony.
Since the time had not come to teach plural marriage in the church, Joseph and Fanny kept their marriage private, as the angel had instructed. (p. 291)
The prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon taught that no man should have “save it be one wife,” unless God commanded otherwise. As the story of Abraham and Sarah showed, God sometimes commanded faithful followers to participate in plural marriage as a way to extend these blessings to more individuals and raise a covenant people to the Lord. Despite the trials it brought, Abraham’s marriage to his plural wife Hagar had brought forth a great nation. Plural marriage would likewise try the Saints who practiced it, yet the Lord promised to exalt them for their obedience and sacrifice . . . Still, he knew the practice of plural marriage would shock people, and he remained reluctant to teach it openly. While other religious and utopian communities often embraced different forms of marriage, the Saints had always preached monogamy. Most Saints—like most Americans—associated polygamy with societies they considered less civilized than their own.
Joseph himself left no record of his own views on plural marriage or his struggle to obey the commandment. Emma too disclosed nothing about how early she learned of the practice or what impact it had on her marriage. The writings of others close to them, however, make clear that it was a source of anguish for both of them.
Yet Joseph felt an urgency to teach it to the Saints, despite the risks and his own reservations. If he introduced the principle privately to faithful men and women, he could build strong support for it, preparing for the time when it could be taught openly. To accept plural marriage, people would have to overcome their prejudices, reconsider social customs, and exercise great faith to obey God when He commanded something so foreign to their traditions. (pp. 433, 434)
Relationship to the Endowment to Masonry
When the ceremony was finished, Joseph gave some instructions to Brigham. “This is not arranged right” he told the apostle, “but we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are placed, and I wish you to take this matter in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies.
As they left the store that day, the men were in awe of the truths they had learned from the endowment. Some aspects of the ordinance reminded Heber Kimball of Masonic ceremonies. In Freemasonry meetings, men acted out an allegorical story about the architect of Solomon’s temple. Masons learned gestures and words they pledged to keep secret, all of which symbolized that they were building a solid foundation and adding light and knowledge to it by degrees.
Yet the endowment was a priesthood ordinance meant for men and women, and it taught sacred truths not contained on Masonry, which Heber was eager for others to learn.
“We have received some precious things through the prophet on the priesthood that would cause your soul to rejoice,” Heber wrote Parley and Mary Ann Pratt in England. “I cannot give them to you on paper, for they are not to be written, so you must come and get them for yourself.” (pp. 454-55)
The Relationship between Emma and Joseph (near the end of the latter’s life)
. . . Joseph asked her to write the blessing she desired and promised he would sign it when he returned.
In the blessing she penned, Emma asked for wisdom from Heavenly Father and the gift of discernment. “I desire the Spirit of God to know and understand myself,” she wrote. “I desire a fruitful, active mind, that I may be able to comprehend the designs of God.”
She asked for wisdom to raise her children, including the baby she expected in November, and expressed hope in her eternal marriage covenant. “I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband,” she wrote, “ever to live in his confidence and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side.” (p. 544)
I would recommend this resource for any LDS library, both personal and ward/branch, especially for the Church’s youth who wish to learn about the history of the faith.
