The Story of the Latter-day Saints
Dust jacket used on both printings of the first edition.
|
|
| Author | James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Genre | Historical |
| Publisher | Deseret Book in collaboration with the LDS Church's Historical Dept. |
|
Publication date
|
July 1976 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 722 pp |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | 1992 2nd edition |
The Story of the Latter-day Saints is a single-volume history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) by James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, first published in 1976.
The authors summarized the tone of their work by identifying four recurring themes that emerged throughout The Story of the Latter-day Saints:
Although seen as well written and comprehensive, the book was intended for a Latter-day Saint audience, because it detailed minutiae like organizational changes, but didn't focus on issues of interest to new readers on Mormonism. Unlike most earlier Mormon histories, this book focused on casting the church in a broader context, addressed controversial historical issues, and covered the events of the twentieth century.
The following list of the book's chapters also describe its historical scope:
In the 1992 second edition, the last chapter was changed to "Toward a Universal Church, 1974-1990".
For over 50 years, Joseph Fielding Smith's Essentials in Church History was issued as a popular single-volume history of the LDS Church. After Smith's death in 1972, LDS Church and Deseret Book officials asked the church's Historical Department to write a new single-volume history to replace Essentials in Church History and cover more recent events, while using new sources available in the Church Archives. With the First Presidency's approval, the department assigned the project to Allen, an Assistant Church Historian, and Leonard, a Senior Historical Associate. The Story of the Latter-day Saints was published in 1976, the one-hundredth anniversary of Joseph Fielding Smith's birth.
The book took a non-partisan, factually-sound approach to LDS Church history and was the first time the entire history of Mormonism was professionally surveyed in one book. It was also one of the first institutionally-sponsored publications to deal frankly with many controversial issues such as the complexities of Nauvoo, and the church's political, economic, social and doctrinal developments. As professional historians, the authors cast their subject in its historic context, with connections made to larger Restoration and American movements. The product revealed the challenges and progress of the new Mormon history in confronting controversy and reevaluating setting and tone.
...
Wikipedia