Customer Reviews

Early Mormon Documents (Volume 3)

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This is the third in a five-volume set compiled by Dan Vogel. These primary source documents can be located elsewhere. However, it is quite convenient to have them all in a multi-volume collection. These sources are those which are rarely, if ever used by the LDS Church since many, if not most of these documents raise issues regarding early LDS history. The only criticism I have is that the organization of the documents is initially a bit confusing, but works fine once the compiler's system is understood.

Kay Burningham, Attorney

Author of "An American Fraud: One Lawyer's Case against Mormonism."

Volume 3 (from a five volume set of Vogel's "Early Mormon Documents"), follows on from Volume 2 in gathering published and unpublished sources relating to Mormon origins in Palmyra and Manchester, New York. It consists mostly of excerpts from personal diaries containing first hand accounts.

Dan Vogel is a well known, non-Mormon historian. This collection is his attempt at publishing authentic historical accounts that are not common knowledge to the average inquirer, as well as containing excerpts from well known, published accounts.

From the Introduction:

"This third volume also includes testimony from non-residents, meaning those who either lived in New York outside Wayne and Ontario counties or were visitors from other states. The earliest accounts here are usually excerpted from newspapers "

"The concluding section contains civil records (for example, road lists, a highway survey, census records, land deeds, tax rolls, merchant documents, and court records) dealing only incidentally with Smith family history, as well as records directly treating the topic of Mormon origins (such as the copyright to the Book of Mormon, the testimony of the Eight Witnesses, the preface to the Book of Mormon, the 1831 agreement between Joseph Smith, Sr., and Martin Harris, and the Missionaries Covenant)."