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Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations
Book annotation not available for this Hearken, O Ye Staker, Mark Greg Kofford Books IncPublication 2010/02/28Number of 694Binding HARDCOVERLibrary of 2008015335
694 pages, Hardcover
First published July 31, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 10, 2019
I liked this book a lot. I found the prose engaging--in fact I thought it was a page-turner. It provided a lot of color and detail on things that normally don't get attention, like the history of Kirtland prior to the arrival of Mormon missionaries, the life of the very underrated Newel K. Whitney, the Johnson family's background, etc. The best way to think about the perspective from which it is written is to compare it to Bushman, which is similar in approach. I recommend the book with some cautions explained below.
Key points illustrated well by the book:
- The role of the Campbellites in Mormon doctrinal developments
- Black Pete and related traditions influencing early Kirtland-era Mormon "charisma" stuff
- The critical role of the Morley family, the Whitneys, and the Johnsons. Whitney really paid the bills.
- The economic background of Kirtland (Staker relies heavily on existing scholarship, but I hadn't read that scholarship, so I found this discussion very helpful).
I would read an entire book on Newel K. Whitney--Staker really shows how interesting was this figure. I applaud his efforts on this, which seem to have turned up a lot of interesting details.
I gave it only 3 stars for two reasons. First, polygamy is conspicuously--I mean very conspicuously--missing here. The book's subtitle is "the historical setting of Joseph Smith's Ohio revelations." Polygamy is a pretty unavoidable component of that setting, with the Fanny Alger (whose name does not appear in the book's appendix) relationship occurring in the mid-1830s and, by some accounts, Joseph claiming that the polygamy commands coming during the Kirtland era. The time is long past that historians can ignore polygamy/polyandry, which Staker does with only a few limited exceptions (typically buried in the footnotes). In fact, I think Staker is guilty of more than just neglect; I would say that the discussion of polygamy rumors on page 107 is disingenuous bordering on dishonest. We don't need to go blaming the Morley family, or whatever, for rumors of Joseph being polygamist. We know why those rumors existed.
Second, Staker, like most Church-friendly writers, relies heavily on sources writing many years after the fact when it helps his narrative. Sometimes it's hard to tell when he's doing this--I often had to go to the footnotes, then follow a footnote to its reference, to determine in what year a source was writing. Things like the alleged healing of Elsa rely mostly on long-after-the-fact sources, but Staker takes them very seriously. However, at other times, he will dismiss an accusation on the grounds that there are no contemporary sources for it, such as the rumor that the 1832 mobbing was motivated in part by an alleged relationship between Joseph and Marinda Johnson (see p336). He may very well be correct that there was no such relationship at the time (though we know Joseph married Marinda later, while she was married to Orson Hyde!) and that rumors of it played no role in the mobbing, but he is in no position to use the lack of contemporary accounts as his reason for taking that view, given his heavy reliance on dated accounts elsewhere. I think that in the "New Mormon History", everyone needs to take very seriously the timing of sources, since the official narrative has in large part been constructed based on well-after-the-fact accounts.
The coverage of the Kirtland Safety Society is generally quite good and informative, however there are a few limitations. Sometimes Staker uses confusing language that suggest he doesn't have a great grasp of principles of banking. For example, he uses the term "capital" in a strange way, as on page 463 when he says that "deposits served as capital for the bank." This is a common semantic mistake, but it can lead to real conceptual errors. I think what he means is that deposits provided reserves for the bank (confusing "capital" and "reserves" is extremely common, and bad). An even stranger sentence, on the same page, is "Each banknote [issued by the bank] represented a borrower's debt to the financial institution." This is an odd way to describe banknotes, which are actually liabilities of the bank, not liabilities of the holder of the banknote. I think the fact that banksnotes tended to be distributed through the mechanism of loans may have confused Staker. I think the first time he recognizes that banknotes are liabilities of the bank is on page 482, and even then it could have been much more explicit. This is something that needs to be clearly explained to readers up front so they can understand how banknote issuance makes a bank extremely prone to runs.
More broadly, Staker spends a lot of time trying to understand the failure of the KSS, which is helpful and worth reading, but a lot of attempts to explain this event are really just overkill. KSS failed because there was a run on KSS and it was particularly underprepared in terms of hard currency/specie. One need not appeal to more complicated theories about the Church's enemies and so on, even though the Church's situation and controversial status no doubt did not help.
Key points illustrated well by the book:
- The role of the Campbellites in Mormon doctrinal developments
- Black Pete and related traditions influencing early Kirtland-era Mormon "charisma" stuff
- The critical role of the Morley family, the Whitneys, and the Johnsons. Whitney really paid the bills.
- The economic background of Kirtland (Staker relies heavily on existing scholarship, but I hadn't read that scholarship, so I found this discussion very helpful).
I would read an entire book on Newel K. Whitney--Staker really shows how interesting was this figure. I applaud his efforts on this, which seem to have turned up a lot of interesting details.
I gave it only 3 stars for two reasons. First, polygamy is conspicuously--I mean very conspicuously--missing here. The book's subtitle is "the historical setting of Joseph Smith's Ohio revelations." Polygamy is a pretty unavoidable component of that setting, with the Fanny Alger (whose name does not appear in the book's appendix) relationship occurring in the mid-1830s and, by some accounts, Joseph claiming that the polygamy commands coming during the Kirtland era. The time is long past that historians can ignore polygamy/polyandry, which Staker does with only a few limited exceptions (typically buried in the footnotes). In fact, I think Staker is guilty of more than just neglect; I would say that the discussion of polygamy rumors on page 107 is disingenuous bordering on dishonest. We don't need to go blaming the Morley family, or whatever, for rumors of Joseph being polygamist. We know why those rumors existed.
Second, Staker, like most Church-friendly writers, relies heavily on sources writing many years after the fact when it helps his narrative. Sometimes it's hard to tell when he's doing this--I often had to go to the footnotes, then follow a footnote to its reference, to determine in what year a source was writing. Things like the alleged healing of Elsa rely mostly on long-after-the-fact sources, but Staker takes them very seriously. However, at other times, he will dismiss an accusation on the grounds that there are no contemporary sources for it, such as the rumor that the 1832 mobbing was motivated in part by an alleged relationship between Joseph and Marinda Johnson (see p336). He may very well be correct that there was no such relationship at the time (though we know Joseph married Marinda later, while she was married to Orson Hyde!) and that rumors of it played no role in the mobbing, but he is in no position to use the lack of contemporary accounts as his reason for taking that view, given his heavy reliance on dated accounts elsewhere. I think that in the "New Mormon History", everyone needs to take very seriously the timing of sources, since the official narrative has in large part been constructed based on well-after-the-fact accounts.
The coverage of the Kirtland Safety Society is generally quite good and informative, however there are a few limitations. Sometimes Staker uses confusing language that suggest he doesn't have a great grasp of principles of banking. For example, he uses the term "capital" in a strange way, as on page 463 when he says that "deposits served as capital for the bank." This is a common semantic mistake, but it can lead to real conceptual errors. I think what he means is that deposits provided reserves for the bank (confusing "capital" and "reserves" is extremely common, and bad). An even stranger sentence, on the same page, is "Each banknote [issued by the bank] represented a borrower's debt to the financial institution." This is an odd way to describe banknotes, which are actually liabilities of the bank, not liabilities of the holder of the banknote. I think the fact that banksnotes tended to be distributed through the mechanism of loans may have confused Staker. I think the first time he recognizes that banknotes are liabilities of the bank is on page 482, and even then it could have been much more explicit. This is something that needs to be clearly explained to readers up front so they can understand how banknote issuance makes a bank extremely prone to runs.
More broadly, Staker spends a lot of time trying to understand the failure of the KSS, which is helpful and worth reading, but a lot of attempts to explain this event are really just overkill. KSS failed because there was a run on KSS and it was particularly underprepared in terms of hard currency/specie. One need not appeal to more complicated theories about the Church's enemies and so on, even though the Church's situation and controversial status no doubt did not help.
January 31, 2020
This isn't a general history of the Church in Ohio, but rather a history of a selection of events and locations in Ohio. The author worked with the historical sites of the Church in the Church Historian's Office and that clearly shines through in his centering of events on the historical sites.
Part 1 focuses on the beginnings of Mormonism in Ohio and their relationship to the Campbellite movement, the Morley farm, and the balance between Priesthood authority and gifts of the Spirit in the early church. This was my favorite part of the book. Part 2 focuses on consecration and the United Firm as an outgrowth of N.K. Whitney's company. Part 3 focuses on the Johnson family, the reception of the Vision (D&C 76), and the mobbing of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. Part 4 reviews the Kirtland Safety Society. This part was my least favorite and seemed to need more editing and context.
I also wished there had been just a little more historical/theological context for parts 1 and 3 especially - it seems like much more could have been written on the relationship between early LDS theology to Sidney Rigdon and the Campbellite movement for example. Regardless, the book is an excellent introduction to some of the most important highlights of the history of Ohio Mormonism.
Part 1 focuses on the beginnings of Mormonism in Ohio and their relationship to the Campbellite movement, the Morley farm, and the balance between Priesthood authority and gifts of the Spirit in the early church. This was my favorite part of the book. Part 2 focuses on consecration and the United Firm as an outgrowth of N.K. Whitney's company. Part 3 focuses on the Johnson family, the reception of the Vision (D&C 76), and the mobbing of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. Part 4 reviews the Kirtland Safety Society. This part was my least favorite and seemed to need more editing and context.
I also wished there had been just a little more historical/theological context for parts 1 and 3 especially - it seems like much more could have been written on the relationship between early LDS theology to Sidney Rigdon and the Campbellite movement for example. Regardless, the book is an excellent introduction to some of the most important highlights of the history of Ohio Mormonism.
August 24, 2021
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Saints’ experience in Kirtland. Extremely detailed. Fascinating.
December 4, 2010
My comments at presentation of Smith-Pettit Best Book Award:
It is an honor to represent the committee that has the difficult task of selecting the recipient of the Smith-Pettit Best Book Award. Our committee members are Bill Sheperd, Lavina Fielding Anderson, Bill Russell, Mel Smith, and myself, Eric Rogers. Through the generosity of the Smith-Pettit Foundation, the annual award for the best book in Latter Day Saint history carries a substantial prize of $1,000.
This year’s recipient has crafted a remarkably insightful study of the complex history surrounding Joseph Smith, Jr.’s Ohio revelations informed by a vast understanding of primary sources. The Midwest Book Review called it “a seminal work of impressive scholarship.” Complimenting this year’s recipient, Richard Bushman, wrote: “I am not aware of a more deeply researched and richly contextualized study of any period of Mormon Church history. We learn about everything from the details of Alexander Campbell’s views on priesthood authority to the road conditions and weather on the four Lamanite missionaries’ journey from New York to Ohio. All the Ohio revelations and even the First Vision are made to pulse with new meaning. This book sets a new standard of in-depth research in Latter-day Saint history.” Additional praise for the book has come from our own Barbara Walden who wrote: “An uncommonly thorough and illuminating look at one of the most overlooked periods in Latter Day Saint history. One closes the book with a deepened understanding of not only the Saints and their struggles, but also the contextual and colorful world they encountered every day. [The author’s] bold and refreshing new approach to our shared history breathes life into the courage and conflict of Kirtland’s past.”
The 2010 Smith-Pettit Best Book Award goes to Mark Lyman Staker for Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations published by Greg Kofford Books. Mark is a Senior Researcher in the Church History Department of the LDS Church, has been deeply involved in historic sites restoration and a variety of museum exhibits. He and his wife, Kimberly L. Staker, are the parents of seven children and live in West Bountiful, Utah. Please join me in honoring our 2010 Smith-Pettit Best Book Award recipient, Mark Staker.
It is an honor to represent the committee that has the difficult task of selecting the recipient of the Smith-Pettit Best Book Award. Our committee members are Bill Sheperd, Lavina Fielding Anderson, Bill Russell, Mel Smith, and myself, Eric Rogers. Through the generosity of the Smith-Pettit Foundation, the annual award for the best book in Latter Day Saint history carries a substantial prize of $1,000.
This year’s recipient has crafted a remarkably insightful study of the complex history surrounding Joseph Smith, Jr.’s Ohio revelations informed by a vast understanding of primary sources. The Midwest Book Review called it “a seminal work of impressive scholarship.” Complimenting this year’s recipient, Richard Bushman, wrote: “I am not aware of a more deeply researched and richly contextualized study of any period of Mormon Church history. We learn about everything from the details of Alexander Campbell’s views on priesthood authority to the road conditions and weather on the four Lamanite missionaries’ journey from New York to Ohio. All the Ohio revelations and even the First Vision are made to pulse with new meaning. This book sets a new standard of in-depth research in Latter-day Saint history.” Additional praise for the book has come from our own Barbara Walden who wrote: “An uncommonly thorough and illuminating look at one of the most overlooked periods in Latter Day Saint history. One closes the book with a deepened understanding of not only the Saints and their struggles, but also the contextual and colorful world they encountered every day. [The author’s] bold and refreshing new approach to our shared history breathes life into the courage and conflict of Kirtland’s past.”
The 2010 Smith-Pettit Best Book Award goes to Mark Lyman Staker for Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations published by Greg Kofford Books. Mark is a Senior Researcher in the Church History Department of the LDS Church, has been deeply involved in historic sites restoration and a variety of museum exhibits. He and his wife, Kimberly L. Staker, are the parents of seven children and live in West Bountiful, Utah. Please join me in honoring our 2010 Smith-Pettit Best Book Award recipient, Mark Staker.
April 25, 2010
Hearken is the epitome of the new Mormon history. A wonderful follow-up to the Massacre at Mountain Meadows. These books provide plenty of new factual investigations - such as geographic investigations and participant histories. But they are really the equivalent of Harry Potter encyclopedias. The new historical information is interesting but the apologetic undertones of both books are laughable. They feed a fanatic class of intellectually insular Mormons bent on justifying their faith though so-called open history.
Staker's goal was to provide context for the Kirkland revelations. He starts with some great historical notes on the early 40's chapters of D&C, and then promptly forgets his purpose. The rest of the book is an attempted refutation of revisionist Mormon history. I was a little surprised when he twice criticized Brodie for trivialities (the only historian he calls out by name). While I applaud the Church history department for caring about the details (Staker worked in the Church history department), I'd rather see balanced renderings of these significant events instead of pandering narratives seeking to exculpate leaders.
Staker's goal was to provide context for the Kirkland revelations. He starts with some great historical notes on the early 40's chapters of D&C, and then promptly forgets his purpose. The rest of the book is an attempted refutation of revisionist Mormon history. I was a little surprised when he twice criticized Brodie for trivialities (the only historian he calls out by name). While I applaud the Church history department for caring about the details (Staker worked in the Church history department), I'd rather see balanced renderings of these significant events instead of pandering narratives seeking to exculpate leaders.
December 27, 2011
I was initially tempted to give this book 3 stars because it is so very hard to read straight through. After further reflection, however, I decided that the book really does deserve 4 stars. A book does not have to be a page-turner to be good, and although this book is definitely NOT a quick or compelling read, it has a LOT of very good information and historical detail about Kirtland, Ohio and the surrounding townships and counties.
This book will be a GREAT resource when we go on our "family reunion" trip to the church history sites in a year or two.
This book will be a GREAT resource when we go on our "family reunion" trip to the church history sites in a year or two.
November 5, 2012
Mark Staker has done an exceptional job at digging up (sometimes literally) the early years of Kirtland's Mormonism. Far from erupting from a vacuum, Staker shows how the complex and varying culture of Kirtland's time and surrounding area influenced the structure, thought, and practices of the early LDS Church.
July 7, 2012
I had to parcel this out over a few weeks. It is incredibly interesting but very dense. Like juice concentrate.
Fascinating material on Black Pete and on various spiritualist traditions. I was less convinced by his argument that Howe originated the term Mormonite. All in all, totally masterful treatise on Kirtland.
Fascinating material on Black Pete and on various spiritualist traditions. I was less convinced by his argument that Howe originated the term Mormonite. All in all, totally masterful treatise on Kirtland.
September 3, 2014
This one has plenty of detail, at times I wished for a little more narrative and interpretation. This will make for a great reference work, but it was tough to read straight through for me. I know more about old banks than I ever cared to know now!
August 14, 2012
An amazing, if difficult, read. There is amazing info, amazing stories and details. A full review here: http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/...
October 24, 2014
This book reads like a textbook. It is long and sometimes tedious to read. That being said, it does provide great insight into the world in which Joseph Smith lived. It puts the restoration of the Gospel into historical perspective. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.
February 10, 2011
This is the most in-depth research on the Kirtland period of the Latter Day Saints that I have found. Amazing.
September 16, 2014
A magnificent but flawed book.
July 31, 2015
See my blog entry at:
http://www.moderatebutpassionate.com/...
http://www.moderatebutpassionate.com/...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews