Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

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Anyone heard anything about this book? It just came out yesterday. Not sure if I should get it. It’s written by a practicing LDS, but reviewers say he does a good scholarly job of addressing issues.

Comments?
 
Jerusha said:
amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400042704/104-4201909-0576766?v=glance

walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3617562

search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?endeca=1&isbn=1400042704&itm=8

If someone as liberal as Terryl Givens reviews it positively----

Personally, I read mormon stuff just for a laugh, nowadays. 🙂 Either end of the spectrum is worth reading.

I guess Tom has mellowed me out.
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Are you saying this guy is like hardcore LDS and that the book just makes the case for JS to be the real deal?
 
It appears that he is not “hardcore LDS” (to put it nicely). :o

People can view JS as being a very flawed product of his times, or an equal to Jesus, and both can call themselves LDS. Those are the ends of the spectrum. Based on those reviews, it appears that the author sees JS as being in the first category.
 
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Jerusha:
It appears that he is not “hardcore LDS” (to put it nicely). :o

People can view JS as being a very flawed product of his times, or an equal to Jesus, and both can call themselves LDS. Those are the ends of the spectrum. Based on those reviews, it appears that the author sees JS as being in the first category.
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Hmm, so is it a book you’d read?
 
Nupper. I have more important things to do.😃 Not really interested enough.
 
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tkdnick:
Anyone heard anything about this book? It just came out yesterday. Not sure if I should get it. It’s written by a practicing LDS, but reviewers say he does a good scholarly job of addressing issues.

Comments?
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Let me put it this way. If a public librarian was trying to start a mormon collection from scratch with the budget to get only two books, one of them would be “the quad” (a book containing the 4 LDS scriptures), the other would be Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. So far I am 150 pages into it, I would be further along but then I would be failing all my classes.

Check out a review of *JS:RSR *by a prodigous non-LDS book reviewer, Jeff Needle, here. He writes:
The result is a long read that will ultimately satisfy neither extreme in the Mormon spectrum. Between the deification and the vilification of Joseph Smith there exists a vast expanse of history, mythology and speculation. Bushman travels this territory well. If Fawn Brodie/Dan Vogel and Francis Gibbons occupy the end zones of the Mormon football field, Bushman occupies a place just to the right of 50-yard line.

later,
fool
 
Bushman is (emeritus?) professor of history at Columbia University (read: he’s not a LDS “fundamentalist”). His historical work is of very high quality. I would recommend reading the book.
 
Bro. Bushman spoke at the recent Education Conference held at Harvard Business School the weekend before last in Boston. Basically, it was a Saturday-Sunday conference in which there were many lectures and so on for single adult LDS (and non) for the east coast, but there were some from all parts of the country. Really good presentations. Brother Bushman started the conference on Saturday morning and Truman Madsen and his wife finished it on Sunday afternoon.

This book is supposed to be excellent, basically the one official and authoritative biography of Joseph Smith (although I can’t tell you who says that). I wasn’t even aware it was out yet. I thought it wasn’t going to be for another month. I’ll have to get it sometime soon.

This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, Jr. on December 23. I believe that the Church will also be coming out with a full-length movie about his life. So yes, this book is very anticipated. If you’re wondering whether you should read it I’d say sure.
 
Chris Jodrey:
This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, Jr. on December 23.
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I thought JS was born on December 5th…
 
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