Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263038 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 504 pages

Customer Reviews

Good book
This book is great. It provides such a background to the life and experiences that Joseph Smith and his family went through to be able to be called of God and perform the works that he did.

Lucy Mack Smith's Perspective: A Singularly Unique Window
I highly recommend this book. Lucy Smith's perspective provides a singularly unique window through which to view not only the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith but also the lives of her other family members and of the early Latter-day Saints.

Lucy was somewhat advanced in years when she undertook writing this history. Being primarily retrospective in nature, the dates and exact circumstances surrounding some of the early Church events are not always completely accurate. (Perhaps this was part of the basis for Brigham Young's original dislike.) Despite this, the vantage point offered through Lucy's eyes lends invaluable insight and understanding that is not afforded by a purely academic study of the facts. After reading Lucy's report, one is left with a conviction of its veracity and in humbling astonishment of what she, her family members and other early Latter-day Saints ("Mormons") experienced, sacrificed and endured as they strived to fully embrace Jesus Christ and His Gospel as restored to the earth through her son, the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The reader will find this particular edition/version of Lucy's account extremely valuable because it not only includes what was written prior to earlier abridgements but also includes a vast volume of Lucy's personalized thoughts and insights written in her pre-publication rough draft.

A revealing and endearing, heart-felt history by an amazing woman
Regardless of how you feel about Joseph Smith, this book, written from the point of view of his mother, reveals a very human side to his life. The majority of her history consists of the many, many trials and persecutions her family and early Church members endured over the years, resulting in the death of her own older sons.

Lucy has revealed to the world her impressive recollection of the history of her family, with a strong focus on her son Joseph. While there are many gaps not documented by her account, what she does retell, is in good detail and easy to understand.

The book has a preface plus introduction, which explain what the many different versions of Lucy's biography are, and when they were written, by whom and how they differ. The changes in what was published and what was not are highlighted via different font use, [bracketing] and footnotes. I don't believe there is anything found in the other editions of her biography available today, that is not contained in this version.

For me, my expectation was to see controversial topics removed. Having now read the book from cover to cover, I am puzzled as to what Joseph's successor, Brigham Young had problems with. I searched through all the main text and footnotes for controversial commentary, but found...none. For example, I was expecting to read a deleted chapter on Lucy's view of the leadership succession after Joseph's death, as that topic would understandably be a touchy subject that Brigham would not want readers to see. Surprisingly, there is no mention at all of this in any of the different versions. In fact one can only make the assumption he never read the book when he pronounced it was a "tissue of lies", and then a year later commissioned that it be republished "to the world".

While this book does not come close to the historical coverage of the life of Joseph Smith that other biographies achieve, it is still an important, soul touching work. The details that this book covers, form the foundation of almost every other historical effort produced on the life of Joseph Smith, and hence cannot be ignored.

I highly recommend this book.