The Essential Joseph Smith (Classics in Mormon Thought Series) Rating :
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Better Primary Source Volumes are Available Elsewhere
By Roger D. Launius
"The Essential Joseph Smith" is a moderately interesting book that provides a convenient source for several documents from the Mormon founder. Presented in this book are fifty speeches or letters by Joseph Smith Jr. prepared between 1829 and his death in 1844. Although a reasonably useful compendium of his thought, more adequate collections have been published in recent years and one must question the rationale for the appearance of an¬other. This work contains neither introductions that provide context nor explanatory notes with information on key events, passages, or people. A foreword by Marvin S. Hill provides a general, but exceed¬ingly elementary, account of Smith's career.
Authoritative editions of Smith's writings and speeches--especially "The Papers of Joseph Smith," edited by Dean C. Jessee (2 vols., 1989-1992); "The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith," edited by Dean C. Jessee (1984); "An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journal of Joseph Smith," edited by Scott H. Faulring (1987); and "The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph," edited by-Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook (1980)--are available and more useful than this book. Furthermore, a massive effort is underway to prepare a multi-volume, authoritative edition of Joseph Smith's papers for publication, and all students of Mormon history eagerly await its availibility.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Valuable Introduction to Joseph Smith
By Steve Jackson
Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was one of the most important men in American religious history. It was Smith who gave birth to the religious movement known as Mormonism, the largest representative of which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, headquartered in Utah. This is a handy collection of Smith's writings and sermons. It is particularly valuable because it is arranged in chronological order. Therefore, you can see the development of his thought from a more-or-less orthodox monotheism to polytheism. This is best seen in the famous (or notorious) "King Follet Discourse" which dates from the end of Smith's life. Smith sets forth his Gnostic approach to theology: "For we have imagined that God was God from the beginning of all eternity. I will refute that idea . . . . He was once a man like one of us . . . ." [p. 235.] Those who consider Mormonism a quirky offshoot of orthodox Christianity ought to read this sermon. This book has a couple of flaws - it lacks a good introduction and notes concerning people and events mentioned in the documents.
Product Description
As illuminating as commentaries are, nothing conveys Joseph Smith's character like his own unadulterated words. In his distinctive language a mix of biblical and frontier idioms and in his famously spontaneous humor, one can imagine him speaking and feeling the force of his charisma. Like Old Testament prophets, he was alternately contemplative and poetic, animated and surprisingly earthy. Previous, popular editions of Smith's speeches and writings have edited out the extemporaneous complexities, as well as any deviations from present-day doctrines. Recent academic publications, for their part, have too often camouflaged the text in scholarly apparata. By contrast, this volume brings together a sampling of the prophet's thinking from New York to Illinois in a complete, unabridged form, utilizing the earliest known sources, without excessive footnoting or commentary. No attempt is made to harmonize disparate, conflicting ideas. Readers can trace the developing, revelatory unfolding of ideas for themselves. They can also enjoy the text without reference to any intrerpretative agenda. In other words, The Essential Joseph Smith is readable and reliable. Bracketed material and punctuation are added where needed, but the text otherwise speaks for itself. These are Joseph Smith's own words, his most essential messages.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1705265 in Books
- Published on: 1995-07-15
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.15" h x6.21" w x1.03" l,1.22 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 294 pages
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