Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history,
Joseph Smith published the 584-page
Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church,
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.
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Background Information
Founded by Joseph Smith and later led by Brigham Young, the Church of Latter Day Saints is better known as the Mormons.
