Brandon G. Kinney

I have begun this book recently. I have seen some of the information before such as that LDS founder Joseph Smith Jr. used divining methods to find and translate the Book of Mormon and that he had religious visions. What this book fills in is the sociological dimension: During the early nineteenth century religious revival going on at the time (I also knew that) many young people like Smith had religious visions and reported and published them. Also, the default religion of a lot of frontier people was "folk" practices (no doubt passed down from generation to generation among the peoples of Britain and the Continent, but Kinney does not go that far afield). More specific to Joseph Smith Jr., Kinney notes that Smith's family and family friends, including his father, were deeply involved in folk magic and divination. This is part of the colorful history of Mormonism. It is interesting that this legacy is downplayed by the church somewhat. Showing that all religions, however radical they are at the beginning, become domesticated over time. Another point that I knew about, but which Kinney brings home, is that the Mormons met hostility with hostility to the point of escalating the violence on both the Mormon and non-Mormon sides. In the end, the Mormons had to be driven out because there were more non-Mormons than Mormons. Smith actually compared himself to Mohammed at one point, but he was more brassy than canny when it came to spreading his religion whether charismatically or by the sword. The book also goes into the history of the Dannites, the storm troopers of the Mormon Church. (Supposedly they were disbanded a long time ago.) The Dannites were the "sword," but often were most effective in suppressing dissent and keeping people within the church in line. A point that is not emphasized enough in some discussions of the Mormon War in Missouri is that the Mormons tended to come from non-slave-holding states, whereas many of their opponents in Missouri were from slave states and feared that Mormon Missourians would vote against making Missouri a slave state. Something I wish Kinney had done that he didn't is say more about some of the other groups he mentions. For example, he mentions that some early figures in the LDS were former Campbellites. This term rings a bell, but one must go outside this book to learn anything at all about them. How about a paragraph or even a sentence to explain what this religious sect was about?… (meer)

A fascinating look at the early Mormon church and critical moments in it's formation. This is the first book I've read on these events and will need to seek out other material to truly see how this book rates among what was published before this. Otherwise, you get a real feel from this of how new religions attempt to gain power and influence/coerce those around them; I think this should be a good reminder of just how far they will go. Overall, the book was a fairly easy read and clearly shows both sides of this confrontation as being aggressive to the other.… (meer)