113 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Splendid Biography/History: Fair, Candid, and Uplifting, June 13, 2005
This review is from: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (Hardcover)
"David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism" is the best history/biography of an LDS leader to be published in quite some time. It deserves to be ranked with the classic
Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball. "McKay" is based on the David O. McKay papers at the Marriott Library of the University of Utah. These papers include the personal archive of Clare Middlemiss, Pres. McKay's long-time secretary, who was considered by many to be "the most powerful woman in the Mormon church" because of her influence with her boss. Wm. Robert Wright, a veteran fixture of Utah politics, is Middlemiss' nephew and participated in the writing of the book along with LDS history author Gergory A. Prince.
Pres. McKay turns out to be a very admirable man, with the faults and human foibles we all have. This volume gets as close to a life-like, three-dimensional portrait of a person as we can have between the covers of a book. But along with the biography we get a gripping account of the McKay years, when the LDS church moved from what some considered a small sect in the Rocky Mountains to a genuinely worldwide church. Mormonism grew explosively in size and power during those years (1951-1970.) Some of the topics that are covered in this book are Pres. McKay's personal spiritual experiences with prophecy and revelation; his stern anti-Communism, but opposition to Ezra Taft Benson and the extremist John Birch Society's attempts to co-opt the church; controversies with explosive, expensive building programs and so-called missionary "baseball baptisms"; the birth of church-wide doctrinal and publishing correlation with its advantages and problems; and struggles with growth and academic freedom at Brigham Young University.
Perhaps the feature of this book that has drawn the most attention in the press is the chapter on "Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood." The LDS church did ban black men from holding the priesthood until 1978, when President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation from the Lord rescinding the ban. "McKay" shows how the groundwork was laid for the end of that policy. Pres. McKay was a forward-thinking and compassionate man and during his administration LDS thinking about blacks underwent an enormous evolution that prepared the way for serious change. To quote the authors: "(McKay) emphasized the paramount importance of free agency and individual expression, for he understood that improvement of the parts would inevitably improve the whole. 'Let them conform' was replaced by 'let them grow.' He willingly discarded institutional uniformity for the higher goal of individual excellence. He pitched a wide tent and then told members of all stripes that he welcomed them to join him and build the church within it." This is an outlook that should be remembered and cherished by Mormons and others, and this is a book that celebrates a great, memorable, profoundly meaningful life.
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46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Church History, November 13, 2005
This review is from: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (Hardcover)
I feel it safe to opine that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) take far too much of their Church for granted; too many of us are like children of wealthy parents who simply weren't around or were too young to appreciate the building of the palatial home they inhabit and the fortune they stand to inherit. This book exhaustively details the many difficult decisions with which President McKay was confronted and gives a fascinating view of the various personalities with whom President McKay worked.
Reading this book is like trying to drink from a hose at high-pressure, one is acutely aware of the sheer volume of information being glossed over--not with intent to deemphasize but because there seems to be a wealth of information now available. Over the years, this reviewer has encountered many terse and artfully-phrased references to the events covered in this volume; however, this work lays everything on the table--everything. If there is any flaw in the book it is that the authors take their (and the reader's) knowledge of the present condition of the Church for granted and that they, thereby, lose the opportunity to show how inspired President McKay's decisions were.
The authors sometimes seem to forget that President McKay was not a CEO or political leader but a Prophet. Nevertheless the record speaks for itself--the book's greatest strength is in its exposition of President McKay's lifelong and flawless application of D&C 122:41-42: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned."
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally Perceptive, Honest and Balanced, November 26, 2005
This review is from: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (Hardcover)
Given the complexity of a life of greatness, any published bio could have been done differently -- so one could quibble with how this great man's life is presented. The authors have chosen a topical approach rather than a simple chronology. But this makes sense in light of the multi-tasked full agenda that McKay maintained for six decades of top-tier leadership.
The authors capture McKay's noble mentality as I remember it from two conversations I had with him; he was a magnificently inspiring leader, not simply a bureaucratic manager. The authors correctly and repeatly highlight the fact that McKay often led by overarching insight rather than politicized consensus; he inspired from the grassroots up, rather than finessing layers of management from the top down.
The authors also correctly highlight McKay's prime accomplishment among many: his transitioning the LDS Church from the original exclusivist millennial-gathering-place (in Utah) religion, to an international build-in-the-countries-where-you-live religion. The original teaching had been a command to gather to Utah in order to avoid the end-of-world calamitous destruction from God's "floods of anger upon Babylon." McKay, the authors explain, clearly saw he needed to cease, then reverse, that doctrinal teaching, because Utah couldn't absorb and employ all those arriving there from across the US and around the world; they would arrive, languish and stagnate, then fall away from the church and badmouth it to others. McKay perceived the key to be pouring money into chapel and temple building in many countries, encouraging new members to stay in their good jobs at home.
The authors' honesty also shows in their open presentation of most LDS apostles' opposition to McKay in building the Polynesian Cultural Center in La'ie on O'ahu in Hawai'i. They persisted in predicting its financial drain and failure, and they were wrong; the PCC became, and still is, the number one tourist attraction in all Hawaii, with as much as 25% return on investment, in addition to providing employment to 1,000s of students at the neighboring Brigham Young University campus, plus lots of positive PR for Mormons.
McKay's inclusionist and expansionist mentality is illustrated in various examples, including his giving a large financial gift from the LDS church to the Presbyterian church in Salt Lake City.
Also included is a frank discussion of how McKay wrote in his diary that he had found the LDS temple ceremony unpleasant and counterproductive for many people in some of its procedures, so he studied it thoroughly and changed it.
In short, this biography, though decidedly pro-Mormon, doesn't shy away from difficult and potentially embarrassing subjects such as the repeated wrangling and politicking that regularly occurs among Mormonism's apostles, explaining that progress sometimes occurs through disputes as well as trial and error.
During all of this, the magnanimous and enlightened spirit of McKay as an ex-college teacher and administrator is revealed in numerous diary entries of his secretary, various university administrators and church leaders, and himself. This is a very highly recommendable book.
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