Diary of Charles Lowell Walker

Diary of Charles Lowell Walker
Author: Charles L. Walker
Publisher:
Total Pages: 524
Release: 1980
Genre: History
ISBN:

Vol. 2 includes index and also a "biographical appendix" about the people referred to in the journals (arranged in alphabetical order).

The Powell Expedition

The Powell Expedition
Author: Don Lago
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2017-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0874175992

"The Powell Expedition is a thought-provoking, nuanced work that reads at times like a detective story, and it should offer much fodder for historians." —The Wall Street Journal John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through the Grand Canyon continues to be one of the most celebrated adventures in American history, ranking with the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Apollo landings on the moon. For nearly twenty years Lago has researched the Powell expedition from new angles, traveled to thirteen states, and looked into archives and other sources no one else has searched. He has come up with many important new documents that change and expand our basic understanding of the expedition by looking into Powell’s crewmembers, some of whom have been almost entirely ignored by Powell historians. Historians tended to assume that Powell was the whole story and that his crewmembers were irrelevant. More seriously, because several crew members made critical comments about Powell and his leadership, historians who admired Powell were eager to ignore and discredit them. Lago offers a feast of new and important material about the river trip, and it will significantly rewrite the story of Powell’s famous expedition. This book is not only a major work on the Powell expedition, but on the history of American exploration of the West.

Solemn Covenant

Solemn Covenant
Author: B. Carmon Hardy
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 498
Release: 1992
Genre: Latter Day Saint churches
ISBN: 9780252018336

In his famous Manifesto of 1890, Mormon church president Wilford Woodruff called for an end to the more than fifty-year practice of polygamy. Fifteen years later, two men were dramatically expelled from the Quorum of Twelve Apostles for having taken post-Manifesto plural wives and encouraged the step by others. Evidence reveals, however, that hundreds of Mormons (including several apostles) were given approval to enter such relationships after they supposedly were banned. Why would Mormon leaders endanger agreements allowing Utah to become a state and risk their church's reputation by engaging in such activities--all the while denying the fact to the world? This book seeks to find the answer through a review of the Mormon polygamous experience from its beginnings. In the course of national debate over polygamy, Americans generally were unbending in their allegiance to monogamy. Solemn Covenant provides the most careful examination ever undertaken of Mormon theological, social, and biological defenses of "the principle". Although polygamy was never a way of life for the majority of Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century, Carmon Hardy contends that plural marriage enjoyed a more important place in the Saints' restorationist vision than most historians have allowed. Many Mormons considered polygamy a prescription for health, an antidote for immorality, and a key to better government. Despite intense pressure from the nation to end the experiment, because of their belief in its importance and gifts, polygamy endured as an approved arrangement among church members well into the twentieth century. Hardy demonstrates how Woodruff's Manifesto of 1890 evolved from a tactic to preservepolygamy into a revelation now used to prohibit it. Solemn Covenant examines the halting passage followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it transformed itself into one of America's most vigilant champions of the monogamous way.

Historical Dictionary of Mormonism

Historical Dictionary of Mormonism
Author: Davis Bitton
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2008-10-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0810862514

Clearing up many of the misconceptions held about Mormonism and its members, the third edition of the Historical Dictionary of Mormonism expands on the second edition and includes hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on crucial persons, organizations, churches, beliefs, and events.

Joseph Smith III

Joseph Smith III
Author: Roger D. Launius
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 436
Release: 1995
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780252065156

This interesting, well-researched biography of the founder of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints covers the 54 years of his presidency, a tenure marked by Mormon factionalism that he succeeded in controlling. The son of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith III at first resisted succeeding his father as leader and prophet but, as his biographer underscores, his governance from 1860 until his death in 1914 was fiercely committed to the religious legacy of his parent. Differing in style from the elder Smith's "sometimes disastrous impracticality," his son exemplified rugged individualism with a secular pragmatism that sprang from his legal education. An opponent of polygamy, as proclaimed by Brigham Young, the younger Smith established a viable bureaucracy and a style of leadership that characterizes the Mormon community today, notes the author, a military historian.

Earth—In the Beginning

Earth—In the Beginning
Author: Eric N. Skousen, Ph.D.
Publisher: Verity Publishing
Total Pages: 471
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0934364753

With a background in the physical sciences, Dr. Eric Skousen has produced a stunning account of the creation of the earth from the findings of earth scientists and the teachings of the Lord’s prophets. At last, many unanswered questions about the earth’s creation can be resolved with confidence. For example, how long did it take? Where did it take place? What about evolution, fossils, dinosaurs and cave men? Well-supported answers are here. For those who have been challenged to explain the earth’s creation from an LDS viewpoint, this book will be helpful and enlightening. And for those who enjoy contemplating both the discoveries of science and the revelations of God, this book will be extremely stimulating and thought-provoking. Readers have commented: Dan from Canada: “This book has enlightened my mind and given me the wonderful opportunity to see the intermeshing between science and our religion.” Paul from Texas: “Well-supported viewpoint and thought-provoking reading.... I appreciate Brother Skousen’s heavy usage of scriptural references and quotes from trustworthy Church leaders.” Kristy from Utah: “Answered a lot of questions I had from my geology classes and gave me a deeper appreciation for this awesome planet we live on and the creator of it.” Kelly from California: “This book explained so much about issues that had previously confused or bothered me.” Jerome from Georgia: “Life altering, made me a better person.... If you really want to understand the ‘Big Picture’ then this book is a must read.” Dave from Washington: “One unexpected blessing received from reading this book was an enhanced Temple worship experience.” Ed from Iowa: “If you are LDS, this will open your eyes to things that are incredible and you will not look at the world we live in in the same way again.” Devon: “Scholarly material well presented for the layman.” This eBook includes the original index, illustrations, footnotes, table of contents and page numbering from the printed format.

Hosea Stout

Hosea Stout
Author: Stephen L. Prince
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2016-07-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1607324776

Hosea Stout witnessed and influenced many of the major civil and political events over fifty years of LDS history, but until the publication of his diaries, he was a relatively obscure figure to historians. Hosea Stout: Lawman, Legislator, Mormon Defender is the first-ever biography of this devoted follower who played a significant role in Mormon and Utah history. Stout joined the Mormons in Missouri in 1838 and followed them to Nauvoo, where he rose quickly to become a top leader in the Nauvoo Legion and chief of police, a position he also held at Winter Quarters. He became the first attorney general for the Territory of Utah, was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and served as regent for the University of Deseret (which later became the University of Utah) and as judge advocate of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah. In 1862, Stout was appointed US attorney for the Territory of Utah by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1867, he became city attorney of Salt Lake City and he was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1881. But Stout’s history also had its troubled moments. Known as a violent man and aggressive enforcer, he was often at the center of controversy during his days on the police force and was accused of having a connection with deaths in Nauvoo and Utah. Ultimately, however, none of these allegations ever found traction, and the leaders of the LDS community, especially Brigham Young, saw to it that Stout was promoted to roles of increasing responsibility throughout his life. When he died in 1889, Hosea Stout left a complicated legacy of service to his state, his church, and the members of his faith community.