Building the Kingdom : A History of Mormons in America

by Claudia Lauper Bushman, Richard Lyman Bushman

Mormonism is one of the world's fastest growing religions, doubling its membership every 15 years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the formal denomination of the Mormon church) is now 10 million strong, with more than half of its membership coming from outside the United States. More than 88 million copies of The Book of Mormon have been printed, and it has been translated into more than 50 languages. Mormons in America tells the tumultuous story of this religious group, from its humble origins in small-town New York State in 1830 to its present heyday. Claudia and Richard Bushman introduce us to charismatic leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, go deep behind Mormon rites and traditions, take us along the adventurous trail of the Mormon pioneers into the West, evoke the momentous erection of Salt Lake City in the desert, and draw us into the dozens of skirmishes, verbal attacks, and court battles between Mormons and their neighbors, other religions, the
media, and the American government.

Religion in American Life explores the evolution, character, and dynamic of organized religion in America from 1500 to the present day. Written by distinguished historians of religion, these books weave together the varying stories that compose the religious fabric of the United States, from Puritanism to alternative religious practices. Primary source material coupled with handsome illustrations and lucid text make these books essential in any exploration of America's diverse nature. Each book includes a chronology, suggestions for further reading, and an index.

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, Lds, Mormonism, American History

123 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not great. I bit of a whitewash.

[Jacek]

November 21, 2020 : Overly simplistic, but that's the point; the details of pain and complications are available elsewhere. If you intentionally peel away a certain amount of reality from history, you end up with myth: and the Mormon myths are beautiful. It seems to me that Ursula Le Guin must have had the Latter-Day Saints in mind when she wrote the exquisite history of the People of the Peace in The Eye of the Heron.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe helpful for non-mormons, but nothing new if you’re mormon/ex-mormon, definitely written from a perspective biased towards mormonism and barely touches on some of the more interesting and complex topics in mormon history (i guess it is only 100 pages) - good primer for the non mormon but not useful at all for tbms/ex mos

[Anatolikon · Rating 4 out of 5]

There really isn't a whole lot to say about such a brief book on general Mormon history. I've been oscillating between giving this book three or four stars, but I'd really like to give it three and a half. About half of the book is the history of the Mormons as was promised. Joseph Smith gets a good and surprisingly honest section, although it is very clear that Bushman has a lot more to say about it, and indeed he went on to write Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, which easily dwarfs this little book. Brigham Young's journey west is fairly well-covered, as is the privation of many of the early pioneers. It touches on some sensitive topics like the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Mormon Battalion, but only gives them as much space as anything else. The chapter on Mormon women is excellent, and briefly discusses life for Mormon women, most especially those who were polygamous wives. While I ultimately disagree with her arguments regarding polygamy and feminism, the fact that this chapter approaches a difficult topic from the perspective of the women is very refreshing, and it is exceptionally well-written and organized. The plates are good and varied, but there is no map. A map with the travels of the Saints during Joseph Smith's day, Independence, Missouri and the route west taken by Brigham Young and the pioneers would not have been asking much, and would have added greatly to this book, especially since it is clearly written for a popular audience.

Unfortunately, things fall apart after the chapter on Mormon women. At this point, it largely stops becoming a history and only outlines the events of the previous century in little more than note form. It also becomes rather encomiastic, going on about the Church's role in welfare and its integration into the United States. The last chapter follows these lines as well, but it largely just talks about the organization of the Church today, and how it benefits lives. It is hardly balanced, but my problem is merely that it exists. The last chapter was not history at all, which makes one wonder about the purpose of a book subtitled with "A History of Mormons in America". I also have to criticize the Bushmans for accepting the "miracle of the seagulls" after the Saints arrived in Utah. They should be aware that there is little to support this from major contemporary sources.

Nonetheless, this is a good general overview of LDS history, although the last two chapters are hardly history and thus hardly relevant. It is a very easy and quick read, and is quite balanced. Bushman may be a master of blending apologetics and history, but that doesn't really come through in this very short book. It is a general history written for non-LDS by an LDS member, and thus is surprisingly honest.

[John Barbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the book Wife Number 19, I became interested in learning more about Mormonism. This book was a good overview. It tells the history from 1820 to the present. The authors are Mormon scholars who do their best to be objective. The first part of the book is the most interesting. It was really in the 19th century that the Mormons made such an impact in American history. After they mainstreamed and Utah became a state in 1896 the story gets rather boring and mundane. It is a missing piece in the history of how the west was won. It shows the tension that Americans had over trying to live up to their ideals of religious freedom while at the same time trying to deal with a sect that was threatening to their way of life and everything they knew to be true regarding Christ and the gospel.

Even after the positive spin the authors try to put on things,I am still convinced that Joseph Smith was a charlatan and a deceiver that caused much misery to his people. He was not a martyr but a megalomaniac criminal that was killed in a gun fight (he shot and killed 2 people the day he died). He went to a "cupcake" jail because he had ordered his militia to burn down a printing house because he didn't want to be exposed for the fraud he was. Brigham Young was not much better. They were great leaders more like Napoleon and Stalin than like Jesus or Saint Paul. The best parallel is Mohammed. Both claimed they had new revelations that contradicted the Bible and yet claimed they still believed the Bible. All three were military and political leaders as well. I believe they were all tyrannical and the polygamy is hard not to notice. There are tons of parallels. I leave it to the reader to discover them.

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mormonism, one of the fastest growing religions, today has most of its adherents outside of the US. Odd, since it originated in 19th century New York, positing new revelations of Jesus visiting the Americas, faked up details of ancient Native civilizations and pushing a funky cosmology. The charismatic leaders were organizationally astute, attracting thousands of followers who underwent excruciating hardships as they traveled west looking for a promised land. There was tremendous animosity, organized violence and social marginalization against the Mormons during the first decades of their existence; you’d hardly think this is an American story. This short history is quite a cheerleader for Mormonism, taking much, even the most implausible descriptions of divine shenanigans, on faith. Interestingly, we get a portrait of an empowered class of women, the first to get the vote decades before national suffrage, who were politically and intellectually active—all the while affirming polygamy.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off well enough as an attempt to be a "primer" of the Mormon experience for the non-LDS reader. It aims to give people a glimpse into the Mormon lived experience from within. It is written by devoted Latter-day Saints who want to help people outside of the faith understand what it is like to be a "Mormon" - with its complex heritage, its unique beliefs, and all. It is a noble attempt. I was going to give the book only 3 stars because the first several chapters often have chronological inconsistencies that would probably confuse non-LDS readers. And it is theologically oversimplified in many places. I understand the need for this in a "primer." But to explain the LDS belief in the three degrees of "heaven" without mentioning how the Atonement, repentance, and accountability all play into that conveys some false ideas about that aspect of LDS theology. I ended up giving the book four stars because the last chapter was great! Definitely a good quick read. Well worth your time.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 3 out of 5]

For people who know little to nothing about Mormonism, this book can serve as a good entry for learning a little bit about the tradition and particularly about the early development under Joseph Smith. At times it is quite evident that the authors have a very sympathetic view towards Mormonism as they try to deal with some of the issues, particularly around race, Native Americans, and the challenges of multiculturalism. The book is also peppered with little anecdotes that occasionally become distracting from the overarching narrative of the movement. However, this book still serves as a good general introduction for those who might want some basic information about the history and development of the movement.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hampered a bit by Young Adult term-paper writing ("There are many..." sentences); and in places by trendy seminar provincialism re native Americans and multicultural tendencies--though it sounded like at least the early feminist stuff may have had some basis in fact. Anyway, a basically on-the-level, interesting, gritty detailing of the record--and I was surprised to find out how many communities (San Bernardino, for example) started out or greatly grew as the result of Mormon influence.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up a good condition used copy as I was looking for a quick overview and this looked to be well-written, brief and an Oxford U Press publication. Shocked to then find out that the co-authors are ra-ra Mormons!!! So this is a bit too much like a sunday school pep-talk for the "miracle" of mormonism.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, concise, fair history of the LDS church. It's neither overly flattering nor overly disparaging. There are a few things that are now obsolete, given that the edition I read was published in 2001, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to those looking for a basic history of Mormons.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly disappointing -- though an improvement on "Our Heritage".