Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
November 22, 2024
Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributionsto Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.
This book is for both the believer that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and for those wishing to know more. Bushman neither slanders nor elevates Joseph Smith’s life history. This isn’t my first time through this book and somehow I found myself asking questions about Joseph Smith this time around. Bushman allowed room for both spiritual experiences and Joseph as a man. If you are wanting to know a considerable amount about the life of Joseph this book will provide you with that and more.