Matthew J. Grow

Chapter 1 gives background information.

I was pleased that Chapter 2 has references to the Joseph Smith Papers project, which has the various first vision accounts.

This is the first of four volumes that covers up through the death of Joseph Smith. It is easily readable, but for those wanting to delve deeper, endnotes provide the source of the information. I read an electronic copy, which in many cases had a live link to the cited source. The paperback copy is about 46 mm thick. As of June 2021, the first two volumes have been published.

There is no need for a long review. The book is available at no charge for an electronic copy, and the printed copy is quite inexpensive. Go read it yourself.


Contents:
1. Ask in Faith (Tambora, ... Religious Excitement)
2. Hear Him (First Vision Accounts)
3. Plates of Gold
4. Be Watchful
5. All Is Lost
6. The Gift and Power of God
7. Fellow Servants
8. ...
...
46. Endowed with Power
Notes on Sources
Sources Cited
Acknowledgments
Index

2021-02-17 Accidentally marked as read for the second time. I’ll update the date finished when I actually do finish reading it the second time.… (more)

4.5 Stars

I must admit I was underwhelmed at the beginning. The pacing was done well ("started with a bang" as someone somewhere said) but the language was simple. Definitely not the type of historical style that is or has been popular lately and, I must admit, I was unprepared for that. The writers aimed for simplicity and clarity. I still wish it had been the beautiful prose I love (hence the -.5 stars) BUT, and I'm not sure when this redirection happened, upon personal reassessment at 3 chapters in I loved it. *

In spite of the language, I found the story to be full of the drama that is human life. Not the triangle type, but the living, dying, trying to provide a living, trying to do the best and failing and then trying again type. I found people that were indisputably good and still indisputably human and bending under the day-to-day cares and troubles that I know so well.

Most history books previously had focused on Joseph Smith with a dose of Emma thrown in. But here! There were women, scores of women, whose voices told their own story. There were women who traveled the world, women who were single, women who were old, from every type of life imaginable. I wish I had been able to read this when I was single because I would have felt in good company. There were people from all over the world (listed by name!) who challenged my inadvertently preconceived notions about early congregations and communities of that time period.

They shied away from telling the popular stories, if they weren't necessary (Goodbye Father Tanner), and went for the stories you didn't hear all the time (whatever happened to Edward Partridge anyway?).

I got lost in the footnotes, just like I did in [a:Gerald N. Lund's|207452|Gerald N. Lund|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458916871p2/207452.jpg] similar series, only these were better because it was their handwriting and contained so much more details about life then than the part that corresponded to that event. I learned things at times and at other times-- for example Parley's escape from prison and Orson Hyde's and Orson Pratt's returning to Nauvoo-- I thought "There's a little bit more to the story according to Susan Easton Black, but that's the general gist."

Couple of notes regarding some complaints:
Some reviewers pointed out that certain facts were not "dealt with." So, therefore, I was absolutely blindsided when they were addressed. Not with suppositions, but with the available primary sources which, as Dr. Underwood always stressed in my history class, are the only sources one should ever use. The text is quite bluntly honest when it doesn't have such sources. For more questions/answers look here.


* Minor question: Where was Lorenzo Snow? His story would have added some texture to several points of history, I'm sure. Also, here's wishing Anson had showed up at least once.… (more)