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John L. Brooke

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The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844

by John L. Brooke (Author)

4.3 34 ratings

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Mormon religious belief has long been a mystery to outsiders, either dismissed as anomalous to the American religious tradition or extolled as the most genuine creation of the American imagination. The Refiner's Fire presents a new and comprehensive understanding of the roots of Mormon religion, whose theology promises the faithful that they will become "gods" through the restoration of ancient mysteries and regain the divine powers of Adam lost in the fall from Paradise. Professor Brooke contends that the origins of Mormonism lie in the fusion of radical religion with occult ideas, and organizes his book around the two problems of demonstrating the survival of these ideas into the nineteenth century and explaining how they were manifested in Mormon doctrine. In the concluding chapter, the author provides an outline of how Mormonism since the 1850s gradually moved toward traditional Protestant Christianity. As well as religion, the book explores magic, witchcraft, alchemy, Freemasonry, counterfeiting, and state-formation. John L. Brooke is professor of history at Tufts University and the acclaimed author of The Heart of the Commonwealth: Society and Political Culture in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1713-1861 (CUP, 1989), which has won, among other prizes, the Organization of American Historians' Merle Curti Award for Intellectual History and the National Historical Society Book Prize for American History.

ISBN-10

0521565642
ISBN-13

978-0521565646
Publisher

Cambridge University Press
Publication date

May 31, 1996
Language

English
Dimensions

6.14 x 1 x 9.21 inches
Print length

444 pages
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"John Brooke takes a controversial romp over the field of previous Mormon scholarship. When he has done, he has managed to raise the intellectual pedigree of Joseph Smith by establishing his close kinship with European hermeticists and the subversive sectarians of the Radical Reformation. It is a fascinating argument that traces the influence of ideas through complicated social networks of neighbors and kin. The people 'prepared' for Mormonism are a surprising lot." R. Laurence Moore, Cornell University

"The Refiner's Fire explores the complex and always intriguing world of early Mormon theological and ritual evolution with remarkable learning, fairness, and daring--an exciting, sophisticated account sure to generate both controversy and a renewed appreciation of early Mormon spiritual creativity." John Butler, Yale University

"This is not just a revealing history of the backgrund of the first Mormons and early Mormonism but a larger history of early American culture that will do almost as much for readers who are interested in the cultural context in which this new American religion developed as it will do for those who simply want to learn more about Mormon beginnings." Jan Shipps, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

"His book is a model of the historian's enterprise....[Brooke] blends the passion of the detective and the dispassion of the good judge as he describes the background and context of Mormonism." Martin E. Marty, Commonwealth

"An insightful contribution to the controversy surrounding the origins of Mormonism." College & Research Libraries News

"Excellent....This study not only sets Mormon religious history into a frontier occult milieu but offers important understanding of the beliefs and practices of Americans outside the individual and institutional carriers commonly the focus of previous occult histories." The Reader's Review

"The Refiner's Fire is a wonderful book, thoroughly researched and rich in interpretive detail." Curtis Johnson, The Journal of American History

"The Refiner's Fire is an important and daring work for which Brooke has received the Bancroft Prize in American history....Combining intellectual and demographic history with rare skill, Brooke sheds great light on transatlantic subcultures that have not been labeled "occult" (read "hidden") for nothing." Religious Studies Review

Book Description

This 1995 book presents an alternative and comprehensive understanding of the roots of Mormon religion.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (May 31, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 444 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521565642
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521565646
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.37 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 1 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,500,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,284 in United States History (Books)
- #2,160 in Mormonism
- #6,548 in History of Christianity (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 34 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

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Phil

Very Helpful

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

A great read. Very insightful and interesting. I highly recommend it for historical and theological background on Mormonism

4 people found this helpful

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Kaytee/Jeremy T

Interesting Background to LDS Cosmology

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

I chose four stars because I felt this book didn't quite prove decisive about why Mormon Cosmology was wrong. At best, it proved that it was partially of a 19th century context. Joseph Smith was not perfect, neither was anyone except Christ. Moses murdered a guy, David was an adulterer, etc.etc. This book shows more about the 19th century context and makes some notes about Smith without good sources. It speaks with definite motive, and is a good read at best, but does not tell the entire story.

3 people found this helpful

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Paul D. Godbey

Refiners fire

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book is a very dense read, but it is a very comprehensive work about Mormonism and its origins. Finally, Mormonism makes some sense. I highly recommend it for the person trying to learn about the history and origins of the LDS church.

9 people found this helpful

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Peter G. Buckley

Remarkable Book

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 1999

Verified Purchase

I have used The Refiner's Fire in my American Social History class to great effect. The students were fascinated not only by the subject matter (which was wonderful in the way it presented almost unimaginable links of popular thought)but also by Brooke's method.

14 people found this helpful

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E M

Hermeticism and Mormonism

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015

This is the second time I've read his book. I am glad I read it again because the last time I read it was over a decade ago and I had not researched church history as thoroughly at that point as I have now. I've done a whole lot of reading and research since then. I have read through much apocalyptic, mystical and sectarian literature since originally reading this and I am in a much better position now to gauge the merits of this work; and I fully concur with the author as to his overall thesis; i.e. that Mormonism is largely dependent on Hermetic tradition for much of it's theology. I am also in the process of going through the Mormon "scriptures" as well, so that I can also be well grounded in LDS theology/cosmology straight from the sources themselves.
The author begins his investigation with early Protestant sectarianism in order to show the under currents of what would lay the groundwork for Mormon cosmology. I would say that having read much of the sectarian literature from the 16th to the 18th centuries, Mormonism is even more of a departure from Christianity than much of what made up those sects ideologically. None of those sects (i.e. Shakers, Ephrata community, Swedenborgians, Philadelphians, Muggletonians etc), as far as I am aware, made God only a human being, made matter eternal and made all people potential gods in the making. This aspect of Mormon thought is such a serious departure from Christianity that nothing that is essentially Christian is really to be found here. These kinds of ideas are present in different forms in polytheistic and pagan thought however. Hermeticism is more than a likely candidate for Joseph Smith's initial inspiration and later propagation of these notions. The most likely mediating source in my opinion is Swedenborg. Brooke does note Swedenborg's likely influence, but having read Swedenborg, I would give even more credit to Swedenborg than this author does. Protestant mystics like Boehme and Swedenborg were very much within the tradition of Hermeticism and Cabalism. Like Joseph Smith, Swedenborg also claimed that God was a man; albeit in Swedenborg this is a bit more ambiguous. Swedenborg apparently thought that God was a cosmic man in some more allegorical sense; Smith believed that God was a man literally. Almost certainly Smith got this notion from Swedenborg originally. Smith attests to having read Swedenborg and agreeing with much of his thought. I am not aware of Swedenborg ever positing that men would become gods in the sense Smith did. Swedenborg was even more monotheistic than many other sectarians were at the time (even going so far as to deny the Trinity). Mormonism is really not monotheistic at all; it is wholly polytheistic. There is no one God, only an eternal succession of actual and would-be gods. In this aspect of Mormon thought, no precedent in Christian sectarianism can be found. These kinds of notions are found only in pagan thought. Buddhism and Hinduism are similar, but Hinduism has a supreme God at least in theory. In Buddhism there are many gods, not just one and any enlightened Buddha is a god, for all intents and purposes. Mormonism is similar to Buddhism in it's belief in the eternal succession of gods and the eternity of matter. It is very similar to Hinduism in it's ideas regarding polygamy and the role it plays in godhood. Certainly, the sexual aspects of Hindu Kama Sutra does offer an interesting parallel; but in general, paganism always had a very particular reverence for the coital act and this played a huge role in the temple cult (another aspect of Mormonism). Undeniably, Smith's known polygamy and the importance he gave to copulation and reproduction finds no precedent in Judaism and Christianity. Despite what Mormons may claim, the patriarchal polygamy was not religious in any way. Christ condemned polygamy along with adultery, so by Christ's definition Smith was an adulterer. Of course, really by any definition Smith was an adulterer because he had married women who were already married. It's incredibly odd that the Book Of Mormon condemns polygamy as an abomination, yet Smith practiced it and sanctioned it. In short, Hermeticism seems to have been the initial inspiration given it's theurgic bent, but there are other aspects of Mormonism that are simply pagan modes of religion.
I have read Mormons criticize this book as being overly speculative. That is really a straw man argument. The author does engage in speculation, but the speculation is based on historical fact. Facts such as: 1) Joseph Smith was into divination; 2) Smith was a Freemason; 3) Smith had read much material that was of a Hermetic bent. All of the above are historically verifiable from Smith's own words and attested by those who knew him. All of the above more than substantiates Smith's involvement in Hermetic, occult and pagan tradition. Freemasonry has been propagating Egyptian Hermeticism since it's formation; that is easily substantiated. Swedenborg owed much to Hermetic thought; that is also easily substantiated. That Smith used seer stones and engaged in other forms of divination (things the Bible condemns btw) is also easily substantiated.
To sum up, I wholly agree with the author's thesis, although I might have explored further the role of Swedenborg and I might have explored contemporaneous channeled literature such as Jacob Lorber to give more context to overall religious trends of the time. There are odd parallels between Lorber's writings and the Pearl of Great Price.

24 people found this helpful

Helpful

love2travel

A Quagmire of Truth, Falsehoods, and Fabrications

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2010

I found Brooke's book to be a quagmire of truth, falsehoods, and fabrications all mixed together to yield erroneous conclusions. The man is obsessed with hermeticism and alchemy and tries unsuccessfully to tie these to Joseph Smith. He'll cite data on the practice of things like alchemy, magic, and counterfeiting and then make a statement like, "it is probable that Joseph Smith was also involved" in such and such a practice. He'll then try and build upon that `probable' statement as though it is a proven fact. Thus his theories are built upon assumptions probable statements.

Being an agnostic and ignoring the spiritual realm, Brooke appears to be trying to understand how the Mormon church came into being and how it could possibly be what it is today. He's trying to jam a square peg through a round hole and he doesn't accomplish it. I can't tell you how many errors I came across, how many statements that he makes without proper citations, and other citations that were from questionable sources or taken out of context.

It seems to me that Brookes went to the library, pulled every book off the shelf about Mormons, and extracted the texts he wanted in a feeble effort to push his absurd theories forward. Not only does he not consult a single Mormon, he also isn't even an academic in the arena of religion. He admits himself that he is not an expert on Mormon history and boy does it show!

The first rule when writing any paper in the field of academia is to maintain an unbiased view. His view is quite obvious. The second rule is to use your last chapter to summarize your conclusions using the information and theories you've already presented earlier in the book. Brooke seems to start the last chapter heading in that direction and then suddenly he starts giving new information and new citations before finally ending the book. I'll give him an 'F' for content and structure and a 'B' for effort.

This is my own opinion. I am a Mormon who knows a fair amount about the history of my church and Brooke completely misses the mark. If you're a hard-core intellectual who doesn't believe anything spiritual, you'll love this book. If you're a humble truth-seeker who wants to know truth, ask the source. Ask someone who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or visit [...].

7 people found this helpful

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