Early Mormon Dcouments, Volume 1 (Early Mormon Documents) Rating :
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21 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
Good collection of rare primary sources
By L. Troy Beals
This book is a collection of primary sources about Joseph Smith, his family and his friends and detractors. The book recreates the original language, which makes it hard to read sometimes, in order to give us a picture of Early Mormonism and Joseph Smith. The book also has several Journals written by Joseph Smith about his life and the early LDS church. The book is well organized and well footnoted making it easy for any researcher or the curious person to find where the actual documents are located. It is recommended to anyone interested in the Mormon Church or is studying it.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
A collection of historical documents, selectively edited.
By Matthew Bryde
Having read enough books on Mormon history citing this book in their bibliography, I finally succumbed and bought all five volumes of Vogel's "Early Mormon Documents".
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.
My biggest disappointment is that the accounts produced are not complete. Most reproductions end with "...", showing Vogel has only included a portion of the account he thought was worth sharing, and so the collection is only an extract from the original.
Volume 1 focuses on the Smith family documents and contains the following:
Joseph Smith Jr., Collection
Lucy Mack Smith Collection
Joseph Smith, Sr., Collection
William Smith Collection
Katharine Smith Collection
Emma Hale Smith Collection
Relatives of Smiths Collection
Miscellaneous Smith Family Documents
From the Introduction:
"This multi-volume collection of over 450 documents offer readers access to the primary written and printed sources relating to Mormon origins in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania".
In this volume, Vogel has included "all known biographical and autobiographical accounts of Joseph Smith's parents: Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith; his siblings: William Smith and Katherine Smith; Joseph Smith, Jr., himself; his wife Emma Hale Smith; and a number of statements by family relatives. Also included are statements about the Smiths from residents of Vermont and New Hampshire as well as various civil records useful for tracing the family's movements and activities in these states."
I must say I was disappointed by the editing. For example, the largest account is from Lucy Mack Smith's history, but again, it is not a complete account. It skips the first 8 chapters, and ends 15 chapters short and is edited throughout: e.g. p.447, footnote 306. "Lucy's description of the Kirkland church...digresses from the purpose of this collection and is therefore deleted."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Good Collection of Primary Sources Rarely used by LDS Church.
By Kay Burningham
This is the first 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"
Product Description
As confidantes, the Smith family were intimately acquainted with their son’s and brother’s extraordinary supernatural encounters. Their narratives form an Urgeschichte that they repeated with considerable consistency over the years, despite the fact that Joseph’s published autobiography, which became the accepted, canonized version, differs significantly in several areas.
According to family tradition, the young seer retired to his bedroom one evening after discussing the Bible with his parents and siblings. In a night vision he saw an angelic messenger who told him that his sins were forgiven and that he would uncover an ancient record buried near their home. The next day, working in the fields alongside his older brother, he fainted from lack of sleep and again saw the messenger who commanded him to go and retrieve the sacred record.
He found the book, which was inscribed in an unknown script on gold leaves, hidden in a stone box with a pair of eye-glasses, the lenses of which were made of diamonds the size of “an English crown only slightly thicker.” By looking through the glasses, then at an opaque seer stone placed in a hat, the book’s script appeared as illuminated English words. He published his translation as the Book of Mormon. Later, in a friend’s bedroom, Joseph was impressed to ordain elders and to organize a new church. Almost immediately his followers performed miracles, beginning with a dramatic levitation and exorcism which inaugurated the restoration of primitive Christianity.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1088372 in Books
- Published on: 1996-10-15
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.17" h x6.22" w x1.93" l,2.85 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 724 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781560850724
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
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