Joseph Smith's writings and speeches "in his distinctive language--a mix of biblical and frontier idiom, ... both contemplative and poetic, angry and hyperbolic."

A troubled childhood. A difficult adolescence. How might these have affected the adult character of church founder Joseph Smith? Psychiatrist Robert D. Anderson explores the impact on young Joseph of his family's ten moves in sixteen years, their dire poverty, especially after his father's Chinese export venture failed, and his father's drinking. It is equally significant, writes Anderson, that Joseph's mother suffered bouts of depression. For instance, "for months" she "did not feel as though life was worth seeking" after two sisters died of tuberculosis and later when she buried two sons, Ephraim and Alvin. A typhoid epidemic nearly claimed her daughter Sophronia, and the same affliction left Joseph with a crippled leg, after which he was sent to live on the coast with an uncle. Such factors and others produced emotional wounds that emerged later in the prophet's life and writings, in particular, according to Anderson, in the Book of Mormon.

In this interdisciplinary work, William L. Davis examines Joseph Smith's 1829 creation of the Book of Mormon, the foundational text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Positioning the text in the history of early American oratorical techniques, sermon culture, educational practices, and the passion for self-improvement, Davis elucidates both the fascinating cultural context for the creation of the Book of Mormon and the central role of oral culture in early nineteenth-century America. Drawing on performance studies, religious studies, literary culture, and the history of early American education, Davis analyzes Smith's process of oral composition. How did he produce a history spanning a period of 1,000 years, filled with hundreds of distinct characters and episodes, all cohesively tied together in an overarching narrative? Eyewitnesses claimed that Smith never looked at notes, manuscripts, or books—he simply spoke the words of this American religious epic into existence. Judging the truth of this process is not Davis's interest. Rather, he reveals a kaleidoscope of practices and styles that converged around Smith's creation, with an emphasis on the evangelical preaching styles popularized by the renowned George Whitefield and John Wesley.

Essentials in Church History is a religious text by Joseph Fielding Smith. It presents the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormon history. An illuminating read for anyone interested.

Chronicles the life of the founder of the Mormon Church from his birth in 1805, through the visions he started receiving at age fourteen, to his assassination in 1844.

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Essential Writings of Joseph Smith Jr." is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents._x000D_ Table of Contents:_x000D_ The Book of Mormon_x000D_ The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints_x000D_ The Pearl of Great Price_x000D_ The Lectures on Faith_x000D_ The Wentworth Letter_x000D_ General Smith's Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States_x000D_ History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints_x000D_ History of the Prophet Joseph, by His Mother