Comments on: What Happened in Nauvoo, Part 1: Founding

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:19:31 +0000

Thanks for catching that, Observer. Corrected.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:21:03 +0000

#10: This is why I keep it close…..so I don’t make that mistake.

By: Observer

Observer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:05:52 +0000

Also, re the title of the post, there’s a typo: Nauvoo is rendered NavUoo. Feel free to delete this comment when you fix, so I don’t look like an ass.

By: Observer

Observer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:47:11 +0000

About the book’s publication, I have heard that it was intended for a serendipitous release in the months’ preceding the dedication of the Nauvoo temple. If I understand correctly, the manuscript was not delivered on schedule, or at least as anticipated, therefore the droves of Nauvoo open house and/or dedication visitors were not able to purchase them on the trip that would have sparked their interest. Nevertheless, a large first run was still produced and did not sell out, leaving stacks of first edition hardbacks to trickle out over the following years.

By: WVS

WVS — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:53:20 +0000

I like Leonard’s book, its main weakness (for me) is its failure to examine carefully the economics of Nauvoo and the Church, at least Flanders, “Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi” is better at this I believe. Flanders also gives a little better view of some of the orbiting personalities like Lyman Wight than Glen does. But Flanders seems a little “source starved” on other matters. So much has come out since he wrote, etc. That said, Leonard’s book is better in other respects. The definitive study is yet to written, and it won’t be one volume. Too much context for just one.

By: Raymond Takashi Swenson

Raymond Takashi Swenson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:51:21 +0000

One of the blessings of living now rather than 50 years ago is having these much more complete histories, from Rough Stone Rolling to Massacre at Mountain Meadows and now the Joseph Smith Papers. The remarkable nature of this progression is that Joseph, Brigham and other early Mormons come into focus as much more clearly human, but nevertheless sincere, and therefore harder to account for by any narrative other than one that accepts the reality of the Restoration visions.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:13:34 +0000

Ben, thanks for the advance notice. Let’s hope Kofford promotes the book well and also that Deseret Book will stock it.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:06:09 +0000

For the Kirtland period, Mark Staker’s forthcoming volume will be indispensable, and I believe a worthy replacement of Backman.

It should be out within a month, I hear, published by Kofford Books. Mark is a senior researcher in the Church Historical Department.

By: Jim Donaldson

Jim Donaldson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:04:35 +0000

Kevin beat me to it.

By: Jim Donaldson

Jim Donaldson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:03:44 +0000

For the Kirtland Period, I like “Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-Day Saints in Ohio, 1830-1838,” by Milton V. Backman, Jr. It was published by Deseret Book in 1983 and was also originally part of the Arrington multi-volume project. It is out of print but readily available used.

For the Far West period, I like “The Mormon War of 1838,” by Stephen C. Lesueur. It was published by the University of Missouri Press in 1987 and is currently available in paperback.