Glorious in Persecution: Joseph Smith, American Prophet,

Glorious in Persecution: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1839-1844

Escaping imprisonment in Missouri in 1839, the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith quickly settled with family and followers on the Illinois banks of the Mississippi River. Under Smithâ€™s direction, the small village of Commerce soon mushroomed into the boomtown of Nauvoo, home to 12,000 and more members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For Smith, Nauvoo was the new epicenter of the Mormon universe: the gathering place for Latter-day Saints worldwide; the location of a modern-day Zion; the stage upon which his esoteric teachings, including plural marriage and secret temple ceremonies, played out; and the locus of a theocracy whose legal underpinnings would be condemned by outsiders as an attack on American pluralism.

In Nauvoo, Smith created a proto-utopian society built upon continuing revelation; established a civil government that blurred the lines among executive, legislative, and legal branches; introduced doctrines that promised glimpses of heaven on earth; centralized secular and spiritual authority in fiercely loyal groups of men and women; insulated himself against legal harassment through creative interpretations of Nauvooâ€™s founding charter; embarked upon a daring run at the U.S. presidency; and pursued a vendetta against dissidents that lead eventually to his violent death in 1844.

The common thread running through the final years of Smithâ€™s tumultuous life, according to prize-winning historian and biographer, Martha Bradley-Evans, is his story of prophethood and persecution. Smithâ€™s repeated battles with the forces of evilâ€“past controversies transformed into mythic narratives of triumphant as well as present skirmishes with courts, politicians, and apostatesâ€“informed Smithâ€™s construction of self and chronicle of innocent suffering.

â€œJoseph found religious and apocalyptic significance in every offense and persecutionâ€“actual or imagined,â€ writes Bradley-Evans, â€œand wove these slights into his prophet-narrative. Insults became badges of honor, confirmation that his life was playing out on a mythic stage of opposition. By the time Joseph led his people to Illinois, he had lived with the adulation of followers and the vilification of enemies for more than a decade. Josephâ€™s worst challenges often proved to be his greatest triumphs. He forged devotion through disaster, faith through depression. Joseph interpreted each new event as Godâ€™s will set against manifestations of evil opposed to the restoration of all things.â€

Bradley-Evanâ€™s ground-breaking portrait of Smith goes farther than any previous biography in explaining the Mormon prophet and the mystery of his appeal.
Country USA
Manufacturer Smith-Pettit Foundation
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-05-11
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Smith-Pettit Foundation
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-05-11
Format	Kindle eBook

Glorious in Persecution: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1839-1844

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