Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Sacred Bloodline, Revised & Enlarged Edition

by Vern G. Swanson

Dr. Vern G. Swanson takes on the Holy Grail and the Bloodline of Jesus in this exhaustively researched and insightful book. Comprising of more than 28 years of research and including insights Dr. Swanson gained from the study of nearly 400 books on the subject, this book is an invaluable resource for those looking to know more about the Holy Grail from a scholarly viewpoint.

Genres: Religion, Lds, Mormonism

576 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2006

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book on the Holy Grail or bloodline of Christ by an LDS author, Vern Swanson. I came across this title while doing research for an arguementive essay for school on the topic of the Holy Grail. The author does a fantastic job on presenting both sides of the theories circulating regarding the Grail Dynasty including statements made by early leaders of the church such as Orson Hyde, Brigham Young, and Joseph Smith! He includes many scriptural references. His research has been very extensive. The book is very engaging, easy to read and understand. I haven't been able to put it down.. Another reveiwer said, "not only did it 'make sense' but it 'just felt right' and 'rang with truth'". I definitely agree!

[James Davenport · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail in the 80's I felt that more reasearch could/should be done about the idea of descendants of Jesus from an LDS perspective. This book has done exactly that. There are a couple of references and quotes that are in error, but I met the author and he said he expects to publish a second edition with corrections made.

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vern Swanson has a Ph.D. and is the curator of the Springville Museum of Art. He presented some of this material at a BYU symposium several years ago but this book is the result of decades of pondering about the revelations, histories, and legends, that surround the birth and lineage of Jesus and Christ. As Swanson states at the end of the book, this is a hefty "tome" with a great deal of piecing together of what "could have happened." Many of the thoughts that he proposes debunk more popular approaches such as the "Da Vinci Code" and help shed a lot of light and offer much food for thought. I know that this book will prove controversial for some, but like another of my favorites, Rough Stone Rolling," it is recommended for those who enjoy thinking and putting pieces of the proverbial puzzle together.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t agree with the arguments the book put forward. However, I did enjoy the big disclaimer that author had to put at the start about how these weren’t ‘official Latter day saints teachings’ and ‘all views were his own’

I cannot wrap my head around thinking Jesus and Joseph/Mary came from England and Ireland, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I did like the quote ‘heaven and hell is what you make of it’ to that effect and I thought that was nice.

However the sexism and so on by the author was hard to miss, we understand you don’t like feminism but multiple chapters and points spinning back to how feminism is ruining the Mormon Church was a bit much.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Too much in this book to write about. I bought the Kindle version, simply becuase the print version was a little too much. Hopefully they will print a lightweight paperback version! I loved all the footnotes and looking up all of the sources. Now I need to take my highlights and out them into a Word document. So much in this book if you're interested in the subject, you won't be disappointed!

[Susan Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good difficult read

I enjoyed this book,even though it was more scholarly than I had anticipated. For the lay person, some stories are obscure and not given enough detailed background which makes them seem less credible. Many footnotes are so far out of context as to be illogical. Definitely worth reading again with more insight to referencing.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much speculation. It felt a little “off” to me.

[Angela]

I am VERY skeptical about this book, especially since it covers a topic we are not supposed to speculate on. However, I work for the company that publishes it and I'd like to get an idea of what this is about and why we publish it. We also publish a book called "Food Porn Daily," which is a completely inappropriate title because pornography is such a vile thing; it's so harmful to joke about it or make light of it in this way. *sigh* I will admit that I'm secretly intrigued. I think the DaVinci Code is a very interesting idea but haven't gotten around to researching for myself and making all sorts of notes in mine (mostly because I wouldn't really know where to look) and have wished that there was an LDS version. That being said, don't go taking it as doctrine:

From chapter 7 of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee:
“[T]he unfortunate thing is that so many of us are not reading the scriptures. We do not know what is in them, and therefore we speculate about the things that we ought to have found in the scriptures themselves. I think that therein is one of our biggest dangers of today. . . . Always there is a temptation to go beyond what the Lord has revealed and attempt to use imagination in some cases or to speculate as to these teachings. I wish you would remember that. Don’t dare to go beyond what the Lord has revealed. If you don’t know, say you don’t know; but don’t say you don’t know when you ought to know, because you ought to be students of the scriptures.”
– Harold B. Lee
(http://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-h...)

From a Gospel Principles manual:
“Never speculate about Church doctrine. Teach only what is supported by the scriptures, the words of latter-day prophets and apostles, and the Holy Spirit (see D&C 42:12–14; 52:9).”
(http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-prin...)

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a huge contrast to The Hiram Key! This book actually had many references and he really documents how he came to his conclusion/opinion on the subject matter. I agreed with most of the book because it not only 'made sense' but more importantly it 'felt right' and rang truth. Do realize that he does not claim to be teaching LDS doctrine, it just is his opinion based on his 20+ years of research.
I'm actually friends with his nephew (didn't realize it until last week) and his nephew said that Vern is really good about whether people agree with him or not and he's not 'intellectually superior' to his critics.
It was definitely brain candy for me as well and has given me many more things to think about as I go throughout my day. Most importantly is that unlike other books that discuss the possible marriage of Jesus Christ, this one continues to affirm the divinity of the Jesus Christ and his role as our Savior.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joseph Smith was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob via a surprisingly direct and pure line, which included the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The Holy Grail serves as a metaphor for the lineage, perhaps only to explain how the line was preserved and made it to Western Europe and on to America. Lots of footnotes make this look like a scholarly book, but it reads more like fiction (while Dan Brown's book looks like a novel but convinced a lot of people).

[James Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book speculating and theorizing about Jesus Christ's marriages and children and Joseph Smith's direct bloodline link to Jesus Christ. Has several gem quotes from General Conference in the late 19th Century about Jesus Christ's marriages as well. Worth a read.

(Note, 1st edition had many typos and errors - I counted 17)

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

good insight

[Don LaVange · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I'll read it per se, but it's a big wacky book. Given to me by a friend who was mis-quoted in it but who was donating it to the library. I took it instead.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not milk, not meat......just candy! wow---if this is true, it's a big deal.

[Diane Morris]

Not my cup of tea...