Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism [Paperback]

Richard L. Bushman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brilliant... Written with style and felicity, it deals with all the difficult topics that must be probed in describing and interpreting the controversial early history of Mormonism." -- Leonard J. Arrington

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (December 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252060121
• ISBN-13: 978-0252060120
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Focused and objective examination of Mormonism's origins, August 29, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Provo, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Paperback)

Richard L. Bushman's book, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism, presents an in-depth look at the Smith family, the start of the Mormon religion, and some of its early doctrines and foundations. Bushman's text addresses interesting ideas: the influence of the New England society and revivalism, Joseph Smith's application of religious skepticism and values inherited from his relatives, causes and explanations for the birth of some anti-Mormon factions, contemporary reflection on Smith's character, early history of the church, and refutation for some arguments against Smith and the church. Bushman's thorough analysis of Joseph Smith and the early church is placed in the context of early 19th century American culture.

Bushman, a practicing Mormon, obviously possesses a bias toward Mormonism. Bushman does not attempt to disguise his religious affiliation; yet, I never felt that Bushman gave an apologetic narrative or tried to justify Smith's claims or Mormonism's history. The book seems remarkably objective and well-researched and Bushman does not shy away from controversial topics or derogatory critiques. As he explains in his introduction, he treats Smith's claims as reality, allowing the individual reader to decide whether these experiences are true. This method enabled Bushman to approach Mormon history from a more open perspective than most readers are used to, and we can visualize Smith in a complete portrait. Bushman's work helps me understand Smith as a human being, not as a saint or a charlatan.

Bushman's thesis explains Smith and Mormonism as both a product of and reaction against his environment. Bushman is not attempting to validate Mormonism, nor provide a routine recitation of LDS history. Neither is he attacking its assumptions nor its key founders.

45 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Decidedly Pro-Mormon Analysis of Mormon Origins, January 12, 2004

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Paperback)

"Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism" (1984), written by prize-winning colonial historian Richard L. Bushman, was originally conceived as one of the sixteen volumes on Mormon history officially sponsored by the Latter-day Saint church in commemoration of its sesquicentennial in 1980. It is an excellent example of what Mormons would call "faithful history"--an approach that emphasizes the sacred nature of the history of Mormonism--and presents an elegant, eloquent, exacting, and exasperating analysis of the origins of Mormonism through the end of 1830.

In this work Bushman deals in an exceptionally faithful manner with the rise of the church, addressing many of the very real thorny historical issues swirling about Mormonism's creation mythology. How convincing his analysis may be is very much a result of whether or not one accepts Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. Bushman does and demonstrates it on virtually every page.

For example, Bushman sought to cohere the folk magic tradition of Joseph Smith with his later career as a prophet of God. There seems little doubt now, despite earlier denials, that Joseph Smith engaged in the practice of folk magic and treasure seeking. Bushman seeks to explain away affidavits and other information implicating Joseph Smith in efforts to use folk magic to recover buried treasure--specifically an 1826 account of a court case filed against Joseph Smith for defrauding a Josiah Stowel of money in a treasure hunting scheme--by exploring the larger context of folk magic in early American history and suggesting that Smith originally reflected his times but ultimately transcended them by God's intervention. In the end, Bushman fails to deal satisfactorily with the story of the Book of Mormon's "golden plates" buried in the Earth and presumably recovered by Smith in 1827, asserting rather than demonstrating this story did not originate out of a tradition of folk magic and money digging.

Equally significant, Bushman wrestles with the story of the Book of Mormon, specifically its origins and message. He plays off the comments of Disciples of Christ minister Alexander Campbell, who published the first genuine criticism of the book in 1831. In it Campbell commented that the Book of Mormon dealt with "every error and almost every truth discussed in New York for the last ten years." For this to be possible, of course, the Book of Mormon could not have been a sacred translation of ancient scripture but a modern work written by Joseph Smith. Bushman explicitly takes issue with this position and argues that the republican tendencies that were everywhere present in the early American nation were absent from the Book of Mormon. Indeed he suggests that the scripture was strangely distant from the social and political milieu of the U.S. in 1830. He sees more "Old World" perspectives than early American thought in the book.

"Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism" is an interesting and provocative defense of the sacred story. Bushman is an elegant historian with a special skill in defending the faith story. That his arguments are as successful as they are is a measure of his historical versimilitude. While it is an important synthesis, Bushman's book will be acceptable mostly to believing Mormons.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fair and important book, August 23, 2001

By 

Christina (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Paperback)

Bushman truly lives up to his reputation as a historian with this book. This work is both fair and engrossing, and it seems a very even way to learn about a man who was important in both helping to define American religious feeling and adding yet another dimension to the dynamic world of the early American republic. Another reviewer on this site declared Bushman's insights as dry, politically correct, and biased. This review demonstrated an amateur approach to history. As an academic historian, Bushman tries and succeeds to weigh all facts and give a needed view of Joseph Smith. Bushman is not the first professional historian to write a serious work for his peers about the history of his own faith, although he may be one of the first Mormon to do so. As any conscientious historian writing from such a perspective, he admits to his reader his biases and how he dealt with them to offer an accurate portrait of Joseph Smith. "Obsessively footnoted," said that reviewer. Spare me. That's what professional historians do. A person glancing at those footnotes would see how Bushman's thorough use of sources has helped him be a judicious historian. Read this book. It's a great read and a very important contribution.