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The Restored Church : A Brief History of the Growth and Doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A brief history of the growth and doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Beautifully illustrated.
490 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 15, 2022
THE RESTORED CHURCH is like a small encyclopedia on the Latter Day Saints (LDS) faith. It covers the founding, organization, history, and beliefs of the church. photos and maps are included. Inquiring minds could get their money's worth on this one source for information.
This is not the first book I have read on the church, but one of the things that really stood out here was the historical background of the times. From personal observation, it seems that people took religion a lot more seriously in times past. Yes, they had religious wars, but when you look around, is society really so much better now that so many people put religion on the back burner? Seventy years ago car manufactures would show a family leaving church getting into their brand of car. Now they run an ad of their car speeding down a deserted highway during the football game on Sunday. For fear of offending atheists we are no longer allowed to put up manger scenes outside of hospitals because somehow it is mixing religion with government, even though those inside may be shortly going to meet their maker.
I didn't mean to go off track there and make a political statement, but rather make a point. It seems that many people were still escaping religious persecution when they made their way to the New World. It was that important to them. Once they got here, it seemed that stepping ashore still wasn't always good enough, so they moved westward, deeper into the country, seeking a place to practice their religion. These were not cults practicing human sacrifice, but rather they were in search of practices of the primitive Christian Church as originally organized by Jesus Christ himself. It was this yearning for the pure gospel that made them so receptive to the message carried by the LDS missionaries when they heard it. Now I don't believe in predestination, but it could have been possible that certain individuals were born at a certain time so that when they were exposed to the teachings they would recognize it and choose for themselves that was what they were searching for, and remain steadfast in it come what may.
To make a long story short, the members were told to gather at certain locations. First it was in Kirtland, Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Nauvoo, where they founded what was probably the largest city in Illinois. Each movement was brought about by persecution by mob action. After the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered, the members were driven from their homes once again and led by Brigham Young to the Great Basin in Utah. Had it not been for the strong faith of these people the church would not have survived and grown like it did.
This book was an easy read and very informative.
This is not the first book I have read on the church, but one of the things that really stood out here was the historical background of the times. From personal observation, it seems that people took religion a lot more seriously in times past. Yes, they had religious wars, but when you look around, is society really so much better now that so many people put religion on the back burner? Seventy years ago car manufactures would show a family leaving church getting into their brand of car. Now they run an ad of their car speeding down a deserted highway during the football game on Sunday. For fear of offending atheists we are no longer allowed to put up manger scenes outside of hospitals because somehow it is mixing religion with government, even though those inside may be shortly going to meet their maker.
I didn't mean to go off track there and make a political statement, but rather make a point. It seems that many people were still escaping religious persecution when they made their way to the New World. It was that important to them. Once they got here, it seemed that stepping ashore still wasn't always good enough, so they moved westward, deeper into the country, seeking a place to practice their religion. These were not cults practicing human sacrifice, but rather they were in search of practices of the primitive Christian Church as originally organized by Jesus Christ himself. It was this yearning for the pure gospel that made them so receptive to the message carried by the LDS missionaries when they heard it. Now I don't believe in predestination, but it could have been possible that certain individuals were born at a certain time so that when they were exposed to the teachings they would recognize it and choose for themselves that was what they were searching for, and remain steadfast in it come what may.
To make a long story short, the members were told to gather at certain locations. First it was in Kirtland, Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Nauvoo, where they founded what was probably the largest city in Illinois. Each movement was brought about by persecution by mob action. After the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered, the members were driven from their homes once again and led by Brigham Young to the Great Basin in Utah. Had it not been for the strong faith of these people the church would not have survived and grown like it did.
This book was an easy read and very informative.
March 29, 2008
I believe that this book should be required reading for every Latter Day Saint.
March 22, 2009
I read the Tenth Edition, published in 1969. This Church history book was first started in 1944. I remember it being one of the few library selections of the mission home that I did not buy, so of course I had to read it. It is Church history for believers. It is somewhat of a whitewash, but that is to be expected.
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June 13, 2023The Seminary manual for Church history when I was in high school.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews