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Building the Kingdom: A History of Mormons in America
Mormonism is one of the world's fastest growing religions. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now has has 11 million members, with more than half of its membership coming from outside the United States. More than 88 million copies of The Book of Mormon have been printed, and it has been translated into more than 50 languages. Mormons in America tells the tumultuous story of this religious group, from its humble origins in small-town New York State in 1830 to its present heyday. Claudia and Richard Bushman introduce us to charismatic leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, go deep behind Mormon rites and traditions, take us along the adventurous trail of the Mormon pioneers into the West, evoke the momentous erection of Salt Lake City in the desert, and draw us into the dozens of skirmishes, verbal attacks, and court battles between Mormons and their neighbors, other religions, the media, and the American government. Review Excerpts: "An admirable and objective history of the Mormon church... Invaluable for any reader wanting to learn something about the Mormon religion; even Mormon readers will find this book a very useful guide to their church's history." --VOYA "In 1999, the Bushmans published Mormons in America, a thoughtful little textbook that was part of Oxford's Religion in American Life series for the young adult market. If you missed that book, never fear: this brief paperback is a slightly edited version of the original YA title. Oxford should be congratulated for having the smarts to realize that adults need basic information about Mormon history, too, particularly in this Olympic month. Here, Claudia Bushman (Mormon Sisters: Women in Early Utah) and husband Richard Bushman (Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism), both historians at Columbia University, present a balanced, informative and brief introduction to one of the world's fastest-growing religious movements. Theirs is a grassroots approach to history; the Bushmans are more interested in the everyday experiences of ordinary Latter-day Saints than they are in the institutional growth of the church, its financial "empire" or its corporate bureaucracy all of which have been well documented elsewhere. They are not afraid to tackle some of the thorny issues of the Mormon past, such as polygamy, the Mountain Meadows Massacre or the early Mormons' feuds with the federal government. But they don't dwell unduly on these blemishes, preferring instead to focus on how Mormonism as a religion has changed over time, and how those changes have contributed to a shifting sense of what it means to be a Latter-day Saint. This user-friendly, perceptive and accessible primer is a welcome counterbalance to the highly specialized literature on Mormon history." --Pulishers Weekly "With a release date coinciding with the winter Olympics in Utah, this title should get off to a good start, but given the dearth of balanced, informative introductions to Mormonism, it is also poised to have a long shelf life as a favorite for course adoption." --Cahners Business Information, Inc. _____ "The authors' approach was stated to be to "understand Mormonism in terms of the experience of Mormon people". They presented the sometimes-stormy history of Mormonism, often in the midst of controversy, in a straighforward and non-judgmental way. There has been some dispute as to whether Mormons are Christians. Critics say that the LDS doctrine of God does not conform to traditional Christian creed. Joseph Smith said he communicated directly with God; this is unlike reformers such as Calvin and Luther who used reason to interpret the Bible in new ways. The authors presented a thorough background of Joseph Smith, from his fist vision at age 14 and his translation of the gold tablets into the Book of Molrmon. They then followed the Mormons as they headed West and founded settlements in Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois, among other places, on their way to Utah. Plural marriage and its repercussions were thoroughly explained. By 1844, this and other pronouncements by Joseph Smith carried Mormonism beyond the bounds of conventional Christian belief. Smith was jailed after ordering the press of a dissenting newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois destroyed and he was then killed by an angry mob while he was in jail. By September 1846 14,000 "Saints" had fled west from Nauvoo and undertook a brutal trek toward the Rocky Mountains. Over the next 22 years, 300 wagon trains with over 10,000 wagons would travel to Utah. In Utah, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith's successor, designed the Salt Lake Valley according to Smith's plan for New Jerusalem. In 1896, Wilford Woodruff, the LDS President, declared an end to polygamy, the price paid for Utah to become a state. This practice had raised national opposition to Mormonism. Mormonism became more mainstream, no longer practiced in isolation. The Church Welfare Plan, which continues today, seems to be a model to promote self-sufficiency and co-operation. The last section of the book dealt with Mormonism today: the church structure (local and national), tithing, missions, and religious education." --J. Beach, Delaware, 2002 _____ Building the Kingdom is a very useful brief account of the complex history of the Mormons. This study by Claudia and Richard Bushman provides a narrative of Joseph Smith, the religion he founded and the subsequent community of followers that evolved. The Bushmans depict the progress of the Mormons in the context of the tumultuous nineteenth century and the expansion of this religious group up to the present. Consequently, they illustrate that in fundamental ways the Mormons reflect the many social, economic, political and cultural developments of the past two centuries in America. These include, the Second Great Awakening, industrialization, urbanization, abolitionism and other social reform movements, the evolving second party system, the expansion of the Western frontier, immigration, and ethnic and religious violence. The early chapters of Building the Kingdom reconstruct the development of the Mormon religion from the first revelations of Joseph Smith to his emergence in the context of the Second Great Awakening, and explain the articulation of his increasingly radical beliefs and practices. In addition, the concurrent escalation of persecution of the group culminating with the murder of Smith is presented. These developments occurred as the Mormons became part of the army of American western pioneers. Attacks on Mormons became staples of the violence that marked the American western frontier. The story then continues to the present. Synthesizing their own research and the most important and up-to-date studies on the Mormons, Claudia and Richard Bushman also present a very short but thorough introduction to the beliefs, practices and experiences of the Mormons. They provide explanations of the origins and content of Mormon religious beliefs, the factors that shape these outlooks, and their place in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Explication of Joseph Smith's views in the context of the nineteenth century offers insight into the violent reactions to him and his followers. Building the Kingdom also helps explain why Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today. The Bushmans describe both the obstacles and the ingenuity of Mormons in not only overcoming substantial barriers but also flourishing. Readers can gain insight into the more controversial aspects of the Mormon experience, for example, Smith's teachings on plural marriage which illustrate both his unique interpretation of the scriptures and what was regarded as his heretical departure in the application of biblical beliefs in society In discussing the Mormon view of black people, the book shows that Mormon views and relationships reflected the changing national consensus. With respect to the role of women, the Bushman's show that Mormon women did play a strong but unequal role in their church and community. Not only were these women among the first to obtain the right to vote, but they were also pioneers in the fields of medicine and higher education in the West. Women's organizations in the Mormon Church and the growing numbers of female missionaries provide women with strong roles in the community today. Building the Kingdom is an ideal text for undergraduate courses in religious studies or in a nineteenth and twentieth century American history class that focuses on the American West. The book is most appropriate for lower-level undergraduate college students, particularly in lower-level religious studies classes. High school and middle school teachers could use this text as a resource and reference tool, and because it provides very useful background information about the Mormons, teachers will find it helpful in preparing lessons. Chapters might also be recommended to high school students as a source of information for assignments. The brevity and clarity of this study of Mormons in America also recommend it to the general reader. The narrative is clear, informative and interesting. . The Bushmans's explication of Mormon beliefs and practices from Joseph Smith to the contemporary Church of Latter Day Saints is an excellent introduction to this religious group and to the impact of the Mormon religion as both a domestic and international phenomenon in the world today." --Carolyn Williams, University of North Florida Bushman received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College followed by a Ph.D. degree in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. He taught at BYU, Boston University and the University of Delaware before joining the faculty at Columbia University, where he taught from 1989 to 2001. His 1967 book about the character and social order of colonial Connecticut won the Bancroft Prize as one of the best books on American history. Subsequent books on Joseph Smith, early American political culture and gentility have also won wide acclaim. Richard L. Bushman chairs the advisory committee of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute of Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University and is working on a biography of Joseph Smith. Title: Building the Kingdom: A History of Mormons in America Retail Price: Your Price: Only $11.25
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Claudia Lauper Bushman, Columbia University, and Richard Lyman Bushman, Columbia University (Emeritus). New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, 5x8" softbound, 152 pages, 14 halftones & line illus.