A comparison of Truth Restored and Rough Stone Rolling

[Anonymous]

I finished reading Truth Restored (which I believe have been renamed “Our Heritage: A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”) and Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman. Our Heritage is a church publication, and Bushman’s Rough STone Rolling is a more detailed historical record, written by Bushman, but not a church publication.

I had to read both books so I could first, see the big picture of church history, and second compare how the church handled thorny parts of history that Bushman dealt with, head on.

First, Our Heritage goes all the way up to Gordon B. Hinckley, while Rough Stone Rolling (RSR) ends with the succession of the presidency from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young. Our Heritage is probably 20% of the thickness of RSR, so of course, RSR gives a lot more history than Our Heritage. Both books hit on the same, main historical features of our religion, such as the movement of the saints to Kirtland, and then Nauvoo (and related colonies in between), the major translations, the restorations of knowledge, and priesthood, and various organizations and temple buildings, as well as the major battles the Mormons fought with the locals.

On the other hand, they differ in that Our Heritage punctuates most of these experiences with anecdotal stories about people who experienced miracles during the hardships the saints endured. Truth restored is peppered with miraculous healings, stories that show great faith of little known individuals, and statements that emphasize the unity and cooperation of the early saints as they worked to establish Zion. RSR has very few of these kinds of faith-promoting, anecdotal stories.

RSR, on the other hand, tends to go deeply into JS’s character, warts and all. For example, during Zion’s Camp there is some evidence that JS lost his temper with many members of the camp, once, even purportedly throwing a bugle at one member who was particularly recalcitrant. Our Heritage (OH), on the other hand, simply alludes to the fact that some members of Zion’s Camp were complainers and whiners, and were rebuked by JS. There is little or no mention of JS’s character flaws other than references to his own angst about the foibles of his own character. But this is vague.

Both RSR and OH deal with plural marriage. RSR goes into its roots with Fanny Alger, the 14 year old house maid that JS may have had a physical relationship with, as well as many other disturbing details, such as Orson Hyde coming home and finding JS had taken Hyde’s wife as his own during Hyde’s mission. OH simply provides scriptural evidence for the practice, and describes the persecution the church members received, and its eventually dismissal from current practice.

I would say that OH tends to focus heavily on persecution during the early years of the church, without giving adequate justification why this occurred. RSR paints a very vivid picture of why the persecution occurred. Local residents apparently grew concerned about the voting power of the saints, and were afraid Mormons would occupy key offices. They saw the Mormons as religious fanatics and wanted to stop this from happening. They may have been concerned about their own lands and properties as the “gathering” philosophy of the early Mormons threatened to displace them, or disrupt their lifestyle. JS’s following, as well as his tendency to raise armed “camps”, and his tendency to consolidate secular power, and religious power in himself, also flew in the face of republicanism and the ideals of democracy that prevailed in that day.

Overall, OH is for someone who wants to hit on the key events in Mormon History, while avoiding all the objectionable parts, including most of the character issues with Joseph Smith. RSR is less of a spiritual experience, with few faith promoting stories, but gives a balanced look at the early history of the church, in its historical and cultural context.

I see Our Heritage as a good book for the person who wants to know about church history at a very conceptual level, and doesn’t want any challenges to their testimony as they do so. RSR is for the person who wants an in-depth understanding of life at the time of Joseph Smith, about Joseph Smith’s character, and isn’t afraid to learn things about church history they may have never heard before.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the review

[Anonymous]

Very cool. Thanks for providing that comparison.

[Anonymous]

SilentDawning wrote:

On the other hand, they differ in that Our Heritage punctuates most of these experiences with anecdotal stories about people who experienced miracles during the hardships the saints endured. Truth restored is peppered with miraculous healings, stories that show great faith of little known individuals, and statements that emphasize the unity and cooperation of the early saints as they worked to establish Zion. RSR has very few of these kinds of faith-promoting, anecdotal stories.

I took the institute class on church history and another on the D & C. The manuals were the same as the pattern in Truth Restored in that they included anecdotal stories of miracles, faith, and perseverance and/or looked at a doctrinal principle and provided quotes from recent church leaders to expound upon those concepts (mach like our Sunday School manuals).

I am wondering where might be an appropriate venue for the church to teach a more scholarly and accademic version of its history and scriptures. If the church were to give a class on RSR, would that most appropriately be through the Church Education System or BYU.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

The manuals were the same as the pattern in Truth Restored in that they included anecdotal stories of miracles, faith, and perseverance and/or looked at a doctrinal principle and provided quotes from recent church leaders to expound upon those concepts (mach like our Sunday School manuals).

Church lessons seem to be about having an “experience” more than gaining information, which I think is why the stories became a more preferred part of the lesson materials, rather than a historical lesson.

In the church materials on preparing to teach, they instruct:

Quote:

As you strive to choose effective teaching methods, ask yourself: Will the method invite the Spirit? Will the method help learners better understand the gospel principle? Will the method invite students to participate in the lesson? Will the method make the best use of time?

I think the goal of lessons are to help the class feel the spirit, which is religion. Bushman or Quinn or others that are presenting facts are not setting out to achieve that same goal.

Thus, as Pres Packer says, “Not all truth is helpful.”

I think the problem of our generation is the lesson manuals that included the stories and legendary tales have been told over and over to the point we accepted them as history and fact. And we are learning that they are not so accurate, which causes cognitive dissonance for many.

But there are courses at BYU that try to be more historical and educational on the scriptures…and in those forums, as my son-in-law was telling me, they do present many of the historical points that are not given in Sunday School. Those forums are just not widely available.

[Anonymous]

Heber13 wrote:

But there are courses at BYU that try to be more historical and educational on the scriptures…and in those forums, as my son-in-law was telling me, they do present many of the historical points that are not given in Sunday School. Those forums are just not widely available.

It does make me feel better that these courses are offered. If there are classes then there could be instructional manuals, and if there are instructional manuals then they could be made more widely available on the web.

IMO, having this kind of information released by official church channels makes all the difference.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the summary and comparison. With apologies 😳 I took it upon myself to make a small correction in your post. The Orson’s are often mixed up. Joseph was sealed to Orson Hyde’s wife. John C. Bennett made accusations that Joseph proposed to Sarah Pratt, but she was never sealed to him.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

Heber13 wrote:

But there are courses at BYU that try to be more historical and educational on the scriptures…and in those forums, as my son-in-law was telling me, they do present many of the historical points that are not given in Sunday School. Those forums are just not widely available.

It does make me feel better that these courses are offered. If there are classes then there could be instructional manuals, and if there are instructional manuals then they could be made more widely available on the web.

IMO, having this kind of information released by official church channels makes all the difference.

I recently looked at my insitute manual for “The life and teachings of Jesus.” I noticed that quote after quote was either taken from BRM in Doctinal Commentary on the NT or Elder Talmage in Jesus the Christ (as opposed to historians, scholars, or ancient source documents). It just strikes me that the purpose of these institute manuals and classes is to indoctrinate people on the Mormon version of things or Mormon narrative.

Part of the problem I believe is that the Mormon narrative can play fast and loose with historical events. I imagine that someone attending a class on the scriptures or history with a more accademic bent might be in for a shock to discover the disparities.

Heber13 wrote:

I think the problem of our generation is the lesson manuals that included the stories and legendary tales have been told over and over to the point we accepted them as history and fact. And we are learning that they are not so accurate, which causes cognitive dissonance for many.

I comepletly agree. I sometimes feel like I am attending not church meetings but a Mormon propaganda rally – not very welcoming to those that differ.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

I sometimes feel like I am attending not church meetings but a Mormon propaganda rally – not very welcoming to those that differ.

He he he. Funny. I too feel that way sometime.

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