I travel with books both literally and figuratively.  First, my idea of a perfect hell is being somewhere, anywhere, without something to read.  A book is preferable but I would even read the back of a cereal box if I had to.  I would even read a bad book rather than have no book!  But I also travel across continents, throughout time and even into space by reading.  I will read almost anything (except romance novels-not a snob, just not my cup of tea). 

So let’s start…

I just finished reading an advance reading copy of American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church by Alex Beam (Available April 22, 2014). Big thanks to the publisher, PublicAffairs!   First of all, I like books with a colon in the title.  Don’t know why, I just do.  I also like history books.  American, European, Russian, Chinese, doesn’t matter.  I define history as anything that happen before I was born (which takes us from the very beginning all the way through the sixties).  If I can remember it, then not history!  At least that is way I define it.

I find the whole Mormon religion very interesting.  Most big religions are so old that there are almost no source documents on which to determine how they started.  Not Mormonism.  First established in 1830 with the publication of the Book of Mormon, the religion took off like gangbusters.  Of course, this was in the middle of the Second Great Awakening, when all types of new religious sects, such as the Shakers, were springing into existence.  But none of them had the staying power of Mormonism. 

The book doesn’t dwell much on the beginnings of the religion, most of the action taking place in Nauvoo, Illinois, the city founded by the Mormons after being run out of Missouri by vicious mobs.  Between the settling in 1839 and Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, the city grew tremendously, numbering over 10,000 citizens.  As such they formed a huge monolithic voting block and controlled a tremendous amount of commercial and agricultural concerns in the area.  Of course, the “old settlers”, those people there prior to the arrival of the Mormons didn’t take kindly to this.  The general feeling was that most Mormons were thieves; indeed that even part of their doctrine was that it was okay to cheat a “gentile”.  Joseph Smith also grew bolder in his visions, introducing many secret ceremonies (most culled from the Masons) and probably the most shocking was his secret introduction of polygamy.  While Smith thought if it was alright for the Old Testament prophets, it had to be alright for them, many disagreed, including a number of prominent Mormons.  Unfortunately, these Mormons bought a printing press and were able to publish one edition, spilling all the dirt on the current state of the Church.  Smith had the printing press, as well as the building it was housed, destroyed.  Warrants were issued against Smith for destruction of property, as well as hindering the freedom of the press.  Mob mentality ruled and although Smith, his brother Hyrum and two other followers were legally arrested, the law at the time was unable to protect them from local militias.  This is where the book becomes really interesting.  I had no idea of the number of mobs which roamed the land.  Lincoln was even quoted as saying they were a direct threat to the liberty of most Americans.  As most know, it didn’t end well and Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered in Carthage, Illinois in the summer of 1844.  While some of those directly related to the murder were later tried, none were found quilty.

Very well written and concise, author Alex Beam uses quotes judiciously throughout the narrative.  A large cast of characters help populate the story and their motivations are revealed throughout letters, diaries and their own actions.  In general, I wish there had been information regarding the formation of the Church but that was clearly not the stated purpose of the book, so I can’t really complain about that.  But it did make me want to read more about history of the Church and Joseph Smith himself so I am now adding officially to my reading list:

                One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church by Richard Albanes (2003)

                No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn M. Brodie (1995)

If anyone can recommend other books about this subject, please do!