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A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Century I is a six-volume history published in 1930 by B.H. Roberts, a general authority and Assistant Church Historian of the LDS Church. The Comprehensive History has been called Roberts's most important historical labor and his magnum opus. It is seen as the high-water mark of historical studies before and was considered far superior to any history of Mormonism which had yet appeared. Volume Joseph Smith's early history until the church's experience in Missouri; Volume Settlement in Illinois up unto the exodus from Illinois; Volume The pioneer trek up until federal intervention in Salt Lake City; Volume Various events in Utah in the 1850s; Volume 1860-1880; Volume 1880-1930; Set also includes an index.
Hardback
First published January 1, 1930
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About the author
B.H. Roberts
406 books14 followersBrigham Henry Roberts was a Mormon leader, historian, and politician who published a six-volume history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was denied a seat as a member of United States Congress because of his practice of plural marriage.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 24, 2021
Rating for content: Five stars. Rating for formatting, editing, etc.: Two stars.
The content is superb and worth reading for anyone interested in the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lots of information from those who were involved at the time, a good compilation, not only from public sources but also from individual experience.
The formatting. I have no idea what happened here. There are paragraph breaks where there shouldn't be, misspelled words, words with capital letters/punctuation in the middle, etc. The footnotes are there - but their placement is such that you can't determine there is one when reading the text and you can't figure out what the footnote is in reference to when reading the footnotes. There are entire sections that are repeated, and places where it appears that a lengthy footnote was included in the text. I don't know how the material was transferred from hardcopy to electronic, but it didn't work.
Well worth reading, even so. It provides an understanding of the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The content is superb and worth reading for anyone interested in the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lots of information from those who were involved at the time, a good compilation, not only from public sources but also from individual experience.
The formatting. I have no idea what happened here. There are paragraph breaks where there shouldn't be, misspelled words, words with capital letters/punctuation in the middle, etc. The footnotes are there - but their placement is such that you can't determine there is one when reading the text and you can't figure out what the footnote is in reference to when reading the footnotes. There are entire sections that are repeated, and places where it appears that a lengthy footnote was included in the text. I don't know how the material was transferred from hardcopy to electronic, but it didn't work.
Well worth reading, even so. It provides an understanding of the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ.
July 22, 2023
Books 1 2 6 and 7 are best
reference
June 28, 2023Covers the first century.
March 23, 2021
I read Volumes 1, 2, and most of volume 3 many years (or decades) ago. The profound significance of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith made Volumes 1 and 2 very impressive and enjoyable to me, and in spite of the passing of time, I believe my rating would have been five stars. I bogged down in Volume 3 and set it aside. Now, sixteen years after my retirement, I have read all of Volume 3 within the last five months, and my rating for it is only three stars. I enjoyed the first 18 or 20 chapters with all of the historical pioneering, Mormon Battalion, gold rush, etc., between Nauvoo and a growing Salt Lake City. However, at times Roberts' writing seems to focus on interests of a hundred years ago, or he writes more about defending rather than presenting the simple truth. The last several chapters were mostly details of the political struggle between the Mormons and Washington, D. C., which has lost its significance with the passing of time. I had to push myself hard to finish reading these last chapters.
Reviewing Volume 4 (began to read Nov 8, 2020) Of the 27 chapters in Volume 4, the first 8 were entertaining accounts of somewhat familiar history. The last 19 were an exhaustive treatment of the "Utah War," which changed my perception entirely. Previously, the harassment of Johnston's Army and its being forced to spend the winter of 1857-58 with scant supplies near where Fort Bridger had been burned had impressed me as humorous, and the Army years at Camp Floyd seemed interesting but rather uneventful. Quite the opposite was true. There was bitter friction between the Army and the residents of Utah. Some military leaders were fixated on the obliteration of the "Mormons," and such might have begun without the friendly help of Colonel Thomas L. Kane (well-known ally of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Governor Alfred Cumming (appointed Utah Governor to replace Brigham Young during the War). The Army and attendant camp followers changed Salt Lake City toward a Wild-West city with typical violence and immorality. Some extremely violent events were chronicled. Roberts arranges his chapters by subject, rather than by time sequence, with some redundancy. I could keep better track of details if the history was presented true to time sequence. (finished reading Dec 8, 2020)
Reviewing Volume 5 (began to read Dec 10, 2020) Roberts' enjoyment in defending against another point of view makes his writing most often about controversy and gloomy. He wrote more about political contention than he did about uplifting Church history, and I often had to resist setting these books aside. (finished reading Feb 2, 2021)
Reviewing Volume 6 (began to read Feb 9, 2021) Robert's arranging chapters by subject rather than by time sequence loses the story line. For example he briefly covered much of the history of the Mexican Mission up through 1930 followed by other chapters leading up to Utah Statehood in 1896. I finally found some enjoyment in reading the last several chapters after Utah was finally granted Statehood, but still Roberts would accompany commendable accomplishments by the Church with objections from critics suggesting enjoyment of a defensive battle toward opponents. I am sad to say that my rating has to be only 3. (finished reading Mar 22, 2021)
Reviewing Volume 4 (began to read Nov 8, 2020) Of the 27 chapters in Volume 4, the first 8 were entertaining accounts of somewhat familiar history. The last 19 were an exhaustive treatment of the "Utah War," which changed my perception entirely. Previously, the harassment of Johnston's Army and its being forced to spend the winter of 1857-58 with scant supplies near where Fort Bridger had been burned had impressed me as humorous, and the Army years at Camp Floyd seemed interesting but rather uneventful. Quite the opposite was true. There was bitter friction between the Army and the residents of Utah. Some military leaders were fixated on the obliteration of the "Mormons," and such might have begun without the friendly help of Colonel Thomas L. Kane (well-known ally of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Governor Alfred Cumming (appointed Utah Governor to replace Brigham Young during the War). The Army and attendant camp followers changed Salt Lake City toward a Wild-West city with typical violence and immorality. Some extremely violent events were chronicled. Roberts arranges his chapters by subject, rather than by time sequence, with some redundancy. I could keep better track of details if the history was presented true to time sequence. (finished reading Dec 8, 2020)
Reviewing Volume 5 (began to read Dec 10, 2020) Roberts' enjoyment in defending against another point of view makes his writing most often about controversy and gloomy. He wrote more about political contention than he did about uplifting Church history, and I often had to resist setting these books aside. (finished reading Feb 2, 2021)
Reviewing Volume 6 (began to read Feb 9, 2021) Robert's arranging chapters by subject rather than by time sequence loses the story line. For example he briefly covered much of the history of the Mexican Mission up through 1930 followed by other chapters leading up to Utah Statehood in 1896. I finally found some enjoyment in reading the last several chapters after Utah was finally granted Statehood, but still Roberts would accompany commendable accomplishments by the Church with objections from critics suggesting enjoyment of a defensive battle toward opponents. I am sad to say that my rating has to be only 3. (finished reading Mar 22, 2021)
March 11, 2010
When B.H. Roberts finished the six-volume history of the first century of the church, he brought it to the pulpit at general conference "as to an altar" and dedicated it to the church and to God. It's remarkable.
First, I love the commentary he provides. He has a unique perspective on the events of early church history, having lived through much of it. For instance, not surprisingly, much of the history revolves around the doctrine, practice, and consequences of polygamy. Elder Roberts asks why the doctrine was ever taught and provides his view that (1) the doctrine (necessarily) had to be taught as part of the restoration of all things and (2) it kept the church prominent, even though much of the prominence was negative (no such thing as bad publicity, I suppose).
Second, he presents a fair picture of events. He sets out the highs and lows and comes across as very even-handed, especially in the early volumes regarding Joseph Smith.
So why four stars instead of five? The middle volumes -- 3,4, and 5 -- are often just straight historical events, more like the history of Utah than the church (although there is necessarily almost a complete overlap). I was hoping for more insight on the doctrine and church leadership from these volumes.
The history is beautiful. I wish it were still in circulation and more people had a chance to read it. It's certainly not a quick read, but it provides a strong testimony of the sacrifices made during the first hundred years of the church's existence.
First, I love the commentary he provides. He has a unique perspective on the events of early church history, having lived through much of it. For instance, not surprisingly, much of the history revolves around the doctrine, practice, and consequences of polygamy. Elder Roberts asks why the doctrine was ever taught and provides his view that (1) the doctrine (necessarily) had to be taught as part of the restoration of all things and (2) it kept the church prominent, even though much of the prominence was negative (no such thing as bad publicity, I suppose).
Second, he presents a fair picture of events. He sets out the highs and lows and comes across as very even-handed, especially in the early volumes regarding Joseph Smith.
So why four stars instead of five? The middle volumes -- 3,4, and 5 -- are often just straight historical events, more like the history of Utah than the church (although there is necessarily almost a complete overlap). I was hoping for more insight on the doctrine and church leadership from these volumes.
The history is beautiful. I wish it were still in circulation and more people had a chance to read it. It's certainly not a quick read, but it provides a strong testimony of the sacrifices made during the first hundred years of the church's existence.
May 26, 2009
I'm actually on the 2nd volume now of this 6-volume series. It has been on our shelves for years, and I finally decided to tackle it this year. I'm so glad I did - I'm learning in much greater depth about the early history of the church, and as another reviewer said of it - it's a real page-turner! A bonus is that the entire D&C is included within the text (first 100 sections in the first volume alone). I enjoy reading about history from primary sources. It has brought forward more questions to research out as well. Many times it has made me weep - with empathy, horror, joy and gratitude for those who documented and participated in the events. My respect for early church leaders and members is unbounded. This series is currently out of print - but can be detected out in places like eBay. I highly recommend it!
December 8, 2009
Even though it is in six volumes, it covers 100 years so it is not as comprehensive as History of the Church by Joseph Smith, Edited by B.H. Roberts. But a again a serious must for anyone intereted in real church history. Not the fictional kind you see in film or fictionalized church history books (I won't name it.)
November 11, 2008
Didn't think I would enjoy reading this cover to cover but I discovered much new about Church leaders and historic events. The Utah history, Indians and anti-Mormon backlash was particularly interesting. Books contain everything on every issue--more than most want to know.
May 3, 2009
Very history involved reading. There are a few places where additional information would be helpful. There are several other volumes that cover the same time period and do a good job of filling in additional activities and information.
May 22, 2008
Alot of stuff. Read the institute manual history of the church first.
October 8, 2008
I read the 7 volume version. Very good books for people who like history and want a fun way to read the Doctrine and Convents as all of the sections are in there.
July 24, 2014
outstanding
February 18, 2016
You don't know church history until you've read this entire set.
January 26, 2019
a bit dry and hard to get through however its a really good book of history and well studied.
January 17, 2008
Don't we also have to have a copy of this?
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews