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So, I am trying to flush out my electroninc library with books describing the true church history with minimal bias (either Anti or Apologist). I hear Rough Stone has some apologist bias, though I downloaded it anyways.
I have also purchased the biography of Joseph Smith by his mother.
Other books? Grant Palmers?
My impression of Grant Palmer’s book is it has a clear bias toward natural and cultural explanations. I do like RSR, yes he does attempt to give his view of all the issues, but to me it comes across as side notes and not the central thrust of the book.
The best book of Lucy’s manuscript is “Lucy’s Book” I think today it can all be found online. The vast majority of published versions of Lucy’s story are based on the heavily worked over 1st published edition. They tried to make her wording more presentable or educated.
There are so many books it is easier to narrow down if you have areas of interest. In whatever you read just keep in mind focused subjects can come across as more encompassing than they were at the time. Richard Bushman addresses this in his Mormon Stories interview. For example “Early Mormonism and the Magic World View” gives the impression that everyone and their dog was obsessed with folk magic, when in reality it was probably just one of several past times that went in and out of fashion.
I would definitely start with RSR and then see what direction sparks your interest. After a while it becomes easier to separate what the source documents say from the author’s opinion and conclusions, I think that is key to establishing your own views on any topic. I would also suggest reading books like Terryl Givens “The God who Weeps” as an idea for a new type of framework to begin building on with all the historical information.
There is a thread on this exact topic in our Books and Media section archives. I will go through those threads and see what was suggested there – then bump it up for discussion by everyone who is new since then. I don’t think there would be many people passionate about church history that wouldn’t have a bias. Agreed, brown – one way or another – from any negative or positive view. That’s true of pretty much all historical study and interpretation. As a former history teacher, it’s fascinating to read different textbooks that deal with the same events. Even the books that are supposed to be the most objective show interesting biases on a regular basis.
It’s true that most writers will start with the presumption that it was true or false, but I think some are not starting with the objective of proving such. For example, Joan of Arc had visionary claims, but most history written about her looks at her origins and the impact of her visionary claims and does not set out to prove the vision claims one way or the other.
The passage of time will do the same for Joseph.
I’d +1 to RSR and The God who weeps (the second has changed my spiritual frame of reference).
My wife thought Mormon America by the Ostlings was quite balanced. Most of the reviews here say it’s ‘fair’:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/cr/0061432954/ref=mw_dp_cr?qid=1361369924&sr=8-1 I think it’s still partly an explanation by non-believers of how it came to be with the presumption angels and plates were not involved.
Grant Palmer’s ‘Insiders view’ probably has an agenda of showing it to be fraudulent. His recent interviews would seem to support this. He’s certainly appearing to relish the faith erosion he’s causing.
johnh wrote:I have also purchased the biography of Joseph Smith by his mother.
I understand that this book was revised by the church after they obtained it. I can’t remember all the detail but the whole story of how the manuscript was obtained and the portions that were revised was pretty interesting.
mackay11 wrote:My wife thought Mormon America by the Ostlings was quite balanced.
I’ve read Mormon America. Yup it is fair. I remember it dealing a lot with church finances and holdings – kind of like a church audit.
Roy wrote:johnh wrote:I have also purchased the biography of Joseph Smith by his mother.
I understand that this book was revised by the church after they obtained it. I can’t remember all the detail but the whole story of how the manuscript was obtained and the portions that were revised was pretty interesting.
I saw a FARMS article quoting from the original manuscript. I don’t know if that one is available to the general public.
mackay11 wrote:Roy wrote:johnh wrote:I have also purchased the biography of Joseph Smith by his mother.
I understand that this book was revised by the church after they obtained it. I can’t remember all the detail but the whole story of how the manuscript was obtained and the portions that were revised was pretty interesting.
I saw a FARMS article quoting from the original manuscript. I don’t know if that one is available to the general public.
“Lucy’s Book” contains the original manuscript, side-by-side with the printed version. It is out of print but I found an online version – I just don’t have a link right now.
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