Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet

Turner, John G.

ISBN 10: 0300255160 / ISBN 13: 9780300255164

Published by Yale University Press, 2025

About this Item

First printing with number line to 1. Octavo. 456 pp. Very good approaching near fine in like jacket. Black cloth. Bright and clean throughout with no signs of having been read. Very minor bump to foot of spine. A nice copy.

Seller Inventory # 015236

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300255160
• ISBN 13: 9780300255164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

From an award-winning biographer, a riveting and deeply researched portrait of Mormonism’s charismatic founder
 
Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) was one of the most successful and controversial religious leaders of nineteenth-century America, publishing the Book of Mormon and starting what would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He built temples, founded a city-state in Illinois, ran for president, and married more than thirty women. This self-made prophet thrilled his followers with his grand vision of peace and unity, but his increasingly grandiose plans tested and sometimes shattered their faith.
 
In this vivid biography, John G. Turner presents Smith as a consummate religious entrepreneur and innovator, a man both flawed and compelling. He sold books, land, and merchandise. And he relentlessly advanced doctrines that tapped into anxieties about the nature and meaning of salvation, the validity of miracles, the timing of Christ’s second coming, and the persistence of human relationships for eternity. His teachings prompted people to gather into communities, evoking fierce opposition from those who saw those communities as theocratic threats to republicanism.
 
With insights from newly accessible diaries, church records, and transcripts of sermons, Turner illuminates Smith’s stunning trajectory, from his beginnings as an uneducated, impoverished farmhand to his ultimate fall at the hands of a murderous mob, revealing how he forged a religious tradition that has resonated with millions of people in the United States and beyond.

About the Author

John G. Turner is professor of religious studies and history at George Mason University. His books include Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ; Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet; The Mormon Jesus; and They Knew They Were Pilgrims. He lives in Burke, VA.