Joseph Smith the Prophet King: The Frontier Moses Who Founded the Mormon Church

by Robert Taylor

This is the first biographical novel about the frontier Moses who founded the Mormon Church. Our story begins in a shack in Vermont, where Joseph Smith is born in 1805, and follows his family to Palmyra, New York. At fourteen, Joseph has a vision of Jesus and begins to use his skill with a divining rod and peep stone to lead much older men on futile midnight quests for treasure buried in the vast underworld beneath their feet. When he was seventeen, a spirit from the underworld appeared to Joseph and told him about a gold Bible hidden in a nearby hillside....

376 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2012

About the author

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Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book and I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

[Deba · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Joseph Smith the Prophet King" renders a gripping narrative at the heart of one of America's most prominent religions, and a key moment in our national history. In the hands of Taylor, this is not merely a great story but reading moments with profound insight. "Joseph Smith the Prophet King" describes the succession throughout Smith's life, and a scramble for power against a host of claimants. He transformed a tiny religion into a potent force in American culture and politics. Seen in this light, Smith's treasure quest, search for native origins, distinctive approach to scripture, and belief in a post-mortal community all acquire new meaning.

Taylor lays down a compelling new interpretation of early Mormonism. Revisiting historical documents and scripture from this novel perspective, that offers new insight into the origin and meaning of some of Mormonism's earliest beliefs and practices.
This is a book distinguished in the range and originality of its research, the informed and searching objectivity of its viewpoint, the richness and suppleness of its prose, and its narrative power." I was given this book for my honest review, and I found it a very interesting read.

[Fr. River · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent novel about Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints. The author provides a description of Smith as a charismatic, charlatan in the beginning, but what I grasped as I read the book was that the Holy Spirit worked through Smith's faults and brought together a group of people of faith. Smith was by far not a perfect man, and that is the beauty in the book--God works with imperfection. My only criticism was that at places he was not clear and he ended the book too soon, should have taken us to the end of Smith's life.