Joseph Smith "A Rough Rolling Stone" Biography.

[_Imwashingmypirate]

Is this worth a read? And which viewpoint does it take?

[_harmony]

It is as close to accurate as faithful history is currently allowed to get.

[_TAK]

It is as close to accurate as faithful history is currently allowed to get.

Harmony have you read the book?

[_harmony]

It is as close to accurate as faithful history is currently allowed to get.

Harmony have you read the book?

Why?

[_TAK]

Why?

Because you are offering an opinion .. I am trying to evaluate whether its an informed one..

Have you read the book?


by the way.. before you ask.. I own the book, have read portions but not all...

[_harmony]

by the way.. before you ask.. I own the book, have read portions but not all...

Likewise. It depresses the hell out of me.

[_TAK]

Likewise. It depresses the hell out of me.

I would not say its depressing..
I have not had the time to commit to it. I do find from what I have read to be eloquent apologetics..

[_Ray A]

From what I've heard there's nothing new or startling in RSR, which is why I haven't read it. I suppose the most startling thing is that it's apparently very honest and open, and written by a respected Mormon historian. I guess that's a novelty. Bushman isn't new to this, however, as in his Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism he also went beyond "conventional" Mormon history. He's long had a tendency to say more than what most Mormon historians feel comfortable saying.

In spite of many negative assessments, Brodie's No Man Knows My History is still a good read, and contrary to much uninformed opinion, she's very generous towards Joseph Smith. Donna Hill's Joseph Smith, The First Mormon is a sympathetic but also critical look at Joseph Smith. Although not a biography of Joseph Smith, I'd recommend Mormon Enigma to anyone wanting to understand important aspects of his life and thinking. How he introduced and dealt with all the foibles of polygamy is an insight into "the mind of the man".

[_CaliforniaKid]

I like Brodie, and I'm also a fan of Making of a Prophet by Vogel. Haven't read Rough Stone Rolling yet but Beginnings of Mormonism had some great insights.

[_truth dancer]

Bushman's first Joseph Smith bio was a step in the right direction, his second, RSR, is another step but there is a long way to go to be fully honest and open about the life of Joseph Smith, in my opinion.

He wrote RSR to inoculate members.. you know, give them a little tiny bit of the bad stuff, right along with the apologetic response and hope members will be satisfied believing really smart writers and LDS leaders know the truth and still have a testimony.

As I have stated before, if I were the LDS PR CEO, I would have commissioned Bushman to write the book exactly as it has been written!

~td~