Benjamin E. ParkRezensionen

This book ignores previous significant work.

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/a-uni-dimensional-picture-of-a-multi-f...
“ first, ... a unilateral, highly political rendering of Nauvoo at the expense of ...;
2, the devaluation of the revelatory or the spiritual, missing the point that in the end, Nauvoo history was religious, not fundamentally political; and
3, if not a misreading of newly- obtained manuscript material, certainly an out-siz”

I was most surprised at how militant the Mormons were in Illinois -- raising their own militia, using their municipal court to nullify arrest warrants from other towns and states, planning to take over Texas and colonize other parts of the continent using converts from Europe. The book also describes the rise of plural marriage, and, to a non-believer at least, it's hard to see this as anything other than Joseph Smith exploiting his position as prophet.

A well-researched, but unfortunately not riveting, account of one of the most important periods of the early days of the Mormon religion. The author sets forth various reasons for the hostile reception received by the believers - their tendency towards a theocracy, misuse of the local court, polygamy and block voting (viewed as a threat to popular democracy).

Kudos to the author for an objective account without unnecessary moralizing or judgment. Still, I did not find the book particularly captivating.½

This was a great read. It is meticulously researched and very well written, with readable stories and information to present the history from multiple perspectives.

Dr. Park does a fair, even-handed job covering controversial topics—from polygamy to politics to church governance. Those who are looking for a book to lionize Joseph Smith and the early Latter-day Saint/Mormon leaders may come away disappointed, as this book is designed to simply recount and discuss the history. But for the same reason, those looking for a book to demonize Joseph Smith and early LDS/Mormon leaders will also come away equally disappointed.

At times, I wanted to know more detail about certain people or stories. But this wasn’t a story about any one particular person or family. This was a book about Nauvoo. While some—like Joseph Smith, Emma Smith, and others—necessarily have larger roles in that story, it’s the story of the community of Nauvoo, not just the story of one person, family, or group.

After reading this book, I came away with a much greater understanding and appreciation for the role that Nauvoo played in the history of the Latter-day Saints and Mormonism (including all the offshoot groups) as a whole. The stories and history of Nauvoo shaped the Church and continue to do so today. This type of book is immensely helpful in understanding both the historical and contemporary context. And from all that I’ve seen, there hasn’t been any work that so thoroughly covers and discusses that context in a single volume like this with great writing and a historian’s eye for detail and context (Rough Stone Rolling does a wonderful job of covering Joseph Smith’s personal history, but as mentioned, this book isn’t just about Joseph). All in all, it’s well worth the read and is a great addition to Mormon and American history.

I've heard most of these stories already, but usually just in isolation. This history puts the actions of Mormons and their neighbors solidly in the 19th century frontier context. The actions Smith took surrounding polygamy in particular make more sense to me now. Park is telling a coherent story about actions and attitudes that seem incoherent and contradictory.


This is also the first book on Mormon history I've read that isn't either apologetics (Bushman) or a response to apologetics (Brooks, Brodie). It's clearly written for a larger audience. It feels so much like an "outsider's" history, that I was surprised to learn Park is a returned missionary.


The central character is, of course, Joseph Smith. Park's portrayal is very believable. Smith comes across as a narcissist with a clear God complex, but who is also not a malicious person. He knows he has something special, and he is deeply interested in developing his church into one that meets people's needs.


I also really enjoyed the politics, of course. The tensions over the role of religion are clearly relevant.

This is a fascinating and well written account of the Mormon settlement in Illinois before the trekked to Utah. I knew nothing of this chapter of our history. The author has done his homework and presents a objective, yet fascinating story of events. I highly recommend, especially for readers of US history.

Informed by the 2016 release of Joseph Smith's governing papers, Park tells the fascinating story of how the Mormons were welcomed to Illinois after being driven out of Missouri, tried to build their version of a "City on a Hill," until the whole experiment blew up in everyone's face. What drove this whole process was how Nauvoo became the eye of a political hurricane, as Smith's community was courted by Illinois politicians (most notably Stephan A. Douglas), but Saints' voting as an organized bloc only bred distrust in the average voter, which was accelerated by the creation of the city legion (potentially the best military force in the state), and Smith's ever expanding ambition; intertwined with the whole issue of polygamy. Park wants to tell a story of the failure of American society to protect minority rights, but I can't help coming away from this study feeling that the distrust of Smith was not out of line; his vision was becoming increasingly authoritarian, whatever else you want to say about the imperfections of the 1840s United States. Highly recommended though I can't quite bring myself to give it five stars; a little more economic and political context post-crash of 1837 would had given a better sense of what made Smith's vision so attractive to so many people.

The short-lived Mormon experiment with building a city and controlling a polity not in Utah, but in Illinois. Initially politicians were sympathetic because of the violence they were fleeing and the votes they might deliver, but eventually the non-Mormons decided they were trying to take control of the state (they were) and responded with violence. Park emphasizes the agency of women as organizing some parts of Mormon practice, despite the (secret) emergence of polygamy at the same time.

Very well researched. I learned a lot. Park is walking a VERY fine line here as a faithful Mormon reporting a pretty dark history. I don't think this will be sold in Deseret Book, but it won't get him excommunicated either.