false 4 0 false false Sat May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 11:09:56 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 11:35:11 -0700 2009
Fawn McKay Brodie is no Mormon herself, she does not believe in what Joseph Smith preached, and she does not dwell deeply on the spiritual development of Latter-day Saints. Instead, she digs deep into newspaper archives, personal letters, first-hand accounts, property documents, diaries and court filings. From these, she extracts a life history that has often been distorted by Mormonism's advocates and opponents.

Joseph Smith was no mere self-promoting fraud, as his detractors have claimed. Nor does Brodie believe that his was the life of a prophet. He was a deeply imaginative and charismatic man whose dreams fueled frauds in his youth. When he dreamed up the Book of Mormon, and then contrived to write it down and distribute it, everything began to change.

From a modern outsider's perspective, the book may seem absurd. But in the first half of the 19th century, it seemed to answer many mysteries within a broader Christian context through which its readers already viewed the world. As the book brought followers and inspired missionaries, Joseph Smith's literary work became the cornerstone of faith for tens of thousands of people.

As his following grew, however, so did his hubris. This hubris, as well as many political missteps, led Smith and his anointed inner circle down paths that outraged the non-Mormons around them. They controlled the use of property of church members - and repeatedly made bad investments or were swindled. They suppressed dissenting views, excommunicating apostates and destroying a printing press. They used religious influence to tell members how to vote. They opposed slavery when they settled in a southern state - a dangerous mistake in the decades before Civil War. And as these men grew powerful they began, in secret, to marry many, many women, and develop religious underpinnings for these practices.

Time and time again, Smith and his followers alienated themselves from the normal people around them to such a degree that they had to move to avoid violence - or in response to it. As his following grew late in his life, Smith's confidence grew, too, and he did not leave his final settlement fast enough.

When Smith died, Mormonism was still a young movement. It could have dissipated like other religious convulsions of the era. That it did not is a testament to Brigham Young, who wrested control of the church after its founder was martyred. Unlike Smith, Young could manage money, think logistically, and balance the political demands of church leadership with its spiritual requirements. But that's another story, one which Brodie hints at but does not tell.]]>