David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

by Gregory A. Prince, Wm Robert Wright

Ordained as an apostle in 1906, David O. McKay served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951 until his death in 1970. Under his leadership, the church experienced unparalleled growth—nearly tripling in total membership—and becoming a significant presence throughout the world.

The first book to draw upon the David O. McKay Papers at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, in addition to some two hundred interviews conducted by the authors, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism focuses primarily on the years of McKay's presidency. During some of the most turbulent times in American and world history, McKay navigated the church through uncharted waters as it faced the challenges of worldwide growth in an age of communism, the civil rights movement, and ecumenism. Gregory Prince and Robert Wright have compiled a thorough history of the presidency of a much-loved prophet who left a lasting legacy within the LDS Church.

Winner of the Evans Handcart Award. 
Winner of the Mormon History Association Turner-Bergera Best Biography Award. 

Genres: Biography, Religion, History, Lds, Nonfiction, Mormonism, Church

512 pages, Hardcover

First published March 9, 2005

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance this looks like one of those fluffy Deseret Book prophet biographies, full of the faith-promoting (if slightly exaggerated) experiences of a Man Among Men. Thankfully that wasn't what this book was at all. David O. McKay was the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a key era, as the Church was emerging from provincialism and becoming a worldwide, respected entity.

I found it completely fascinating. The book is meticulously researched; every claim is quoted directly from correspondence, diary entries, or newspaper clippings from the time period. The Church doesn't like to talk much about its growing pains; we're supposed to believe that every change that ever happened was a direct result of revelation from God and that there were never any disagreements or mistakes. This book tells the truth, or at least some of the truth. And it was so refreshing! Why, why, why, why can't we learn this stuff in Sunday School?

For example, David O. McKay had doubts. Lots of doubts. He was well-known for his doubts. This came as such a relief to me, because I have doubts of my own, not about the big things but about plenty of the little things. McKay believed in evolution! (Joseph Fielding Smith did NOT believe in evolution and published a book to that effect, which is now widely considered to be the official church stance on the matter even though Smith tried to make it clear that this was solely his opinion. God has never given a revelation on the subject.) McKay drank Coca-Cola...and it wasn't even caffeine-free! He made up his mind on things, then changed his mind, then changed his mind again: he didn't have all the answers! Personally I found this sort of story far more faith-promoting than the trite Deseret Book fables and fairy tales about the prophets.

McKay firmly believed in free agency and believed that Mormonism was an umbrella which could shelter many types of beliefs. He proved this many times, not least of which was when Ezra Taft Benson, a staunch anti-Communist as well as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, promoted and supported the John Birch Society, a radical anti-Communist political group. Although McKay didn't agree with many of the tenets of the John Birch Society (and he was under pressure from other General Authorities to curtail Benson's outspoken support) he supported Benson's right to act as he saw fit. (Benson, as portrayed in this book, was passionate and political but very humble. He regularly asked McKay if the prophet wanted him to stop doing things that others saw as extremist, waiting for the prophet's blessing before continuing. He even accepted an assignment that would remove him from the country for a few years until the political situation cooled off. I hadn't heard about this side of President Benson before.)

We think of Spencer W. Kimball as the prophet who gave the Priesthood to all men, regardless of race. I hadn't realized McKay struggled with this issue as well. According to his journal entries and years of discussions (arguments) he had with other General Authorities, McKay took the issue to the Lord many times without receiving an answer. McKay was the first prophet to admit that denying the Priesthood to black men was a matter of policy, not revelation, but he felt that a true revelation was needed before the policy could be overturned.

With all the meticulous research and sources, however, the authors largely overlooked what I hope was a major factor in McKay's decision-making process: inspiration and revelation. With issue after issue the authors would list the influences on McKay's life at the time (friends, family members, other General Authorities) and try to explain why he made the decisions he did. But since inspiration is undocumented (unfortunately the Lord doesn't write us letters which can be saved for the next generation) the authors didn't credit God as an influence on McKay's decisions at all. I think this book is closer to the truth than the fluff they give us in Church History classes, but it's still not the whole truth. The authors have interpreted things in their own way.

I want to think that the men leading the Church have all the answers, just like when I was a child I wanted to believe my parents knew everything about everything. This book shows that while Christ is in charge of the big stuff, he leaves the day-to-day running of his church to men that he trusts. These men don't always agree, some are power-hungry, some aren't scrupulously honest, and some may be slow to change, but Christ still trusts them to lead his children. Christ has also told us (and this has been repeated by all the prophets) that we're all responsible for our own choices: we shouldn't follow blindly, we shouldn't base our political votes on the way the church leaders vote, we should actively be seeking truth, etc.

I found it fitting that at McKay's funeral they eschewed the typical hymns "Nearer My God To Thee" or "I Need Thee Every Hour" for the hymn "O Say What Is Truth." I can't think of a more fitting tribute for a man whose first love was education.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am often disappointed in the lack of awareness and knowledge we Mormons have about our own history. Just this month we began our quadrennial Sunday School study of the Doctrine & Covenants and, ostensibly, Church history. But the actual lessons are almost exclusively topical studies of specific verses, most often pulled out of context, from the Doctrine & Covenants, and almost no mention is made of events after 1847 or so. And don't get me started on that little yellow pamphlet Our Heritage.

So it's a pleasure to find books about Church history that "fill in the gaps," particularly the more recent years. President McKay oversaw an incredible period of change and growth in the Church, and I think we will better understand ourselves as a people, both where we've been and where we're going, if we take a more in-depth look at our history during his time as prophet.

I feel the need to preface this by saying that I believe prophets are led by God. And I also believe that they are fallible men, trying to do their best, but sometimes falling short as we all do. They are products of their time and subject to the same prejudices and opinions and influences of culture that every human being is, often without consciously recognizing it. Seeing these prophets and apostles as *real* people actually strengthens my faith rather than shaking it. And here I'm going to quote one of the authors at length from the introduction:

"People have often asked me, 'Has this project been faith promoting or faith eroding for you?' My consistent response--and I speak for Bob as well--has been that it has been enormously faith promoting. This came as no surprise to me, for I believe strongly that the only thing that can truly promote faith (rather than shielding people from reality) is the truth...We realize that truth can be jolting, particularly to those whose lives have been shielded from it. There will doubtless be some who after sampling a few pages will choose not to go along for the whole ride. We wish them no ill and trust that they will continue to pursue their own faith journeys by their own rules. However, we have taken pains to tell the story of David O. McKay with sufficient care and context to take what we hope will be a broad spectrum of readers to a position of comfort with 'things as they were.'"

The book itself is organized more thematically than chronologically, with a couple of chapters at the beginning devoted to a general overview of his life, followed by several chapters on specific topics that were important during President McKay's tenure, including "Free Agency and Tolerance," "Ecumenical Outreach," "Correlation and Church Administration," "The Education System," "confrontation with Communism," and "The Building Program."

David O. McKay was formidable and striking in person, but also humble and kind. His was an expansive view of Mormonism, as the book relates several instances when he blocked the excommunication of members whom other General Authorities wanted out of the Church. "David O. McKay was an intellectual. He cherished the things of the mind, cultivated his own intellect throughout his life, encouraged his fellow Latter-day Saints to do likewise, and vigorously defended the consequences of intellectualism...In encouraging intellectual inquiry, McKay drew no boundary lines...Unbounded intellectual inquiry carries risks, for it inherently challenges the core beliefs and values of the seeker at each turn of the road. Yet McKay never wavered from encouraging his fellow Latter-day Saints to undertake the journey..." I appreciated the section on his educational ideals: "His philosophy was that true education is liberal, painted by the broad brush strokes of all academic disciplines, unfettered by thin pencil lines of dogma...Not only did he admonish church members to seek truth wherever it was to be found, but also to 'learn uphill'--that is, to tackle progressively more difficult intellectual challenges...Well aware that knowledge brought risk, McKay's response was to manage the risk, not proscribe the knowledge."

It was very interesting to note the differences of opinions, even strenuous conflict, among the Apostles during this time on various issues from civil rights to evolution. Often nowadays we see this group of men as a mild-mannered and monolithic entity; it's a good reminder that they are individuals with their own strong opinions and ideas on topics.

Over the almost twenty years President McKay was President of the Church (1951-1970), there were significant shifts in so many areas. President McKay did not remove the priesthood ban for those of African descent, but he "softened the ban around the edges, intervening to extend priesthood blessings to individuals where he could and repeatedly pleading with the Lord for a complete reversal" in the face of almost complete opposition from the Quorum of the Twelve. "It is no stretch to assert that David O. McKay built the foundation upon which the revelation to Spencer W. Kimball [revoking the priesthood ban in 1978] rests."

Correlation was a monumental effort of President McKay's tenure, in an effort to simplify and unify the management of the growing worldwide church. While this resulted in the lack of autonomy for auxiliaries and some local units, it made a global church less unwieldy to run and coordinate.

There's far too much to cover in this review, but he made great strides with the Church Education System both regarding seminaries and institutes and with Church-owned schools such as Ricks and BYU. The Church entered a period of prolific building of meetinghouses and international and high profile temples during his time in office, including starting the one in Washington D.C. He oversaw a reduction in the age limit for missionaries in 1960 to 19 from 21 (for men) and to 21 from 23 (for women), along with a boom in convert baptisms. He instigated the restoration and reconstruction of historic Nauvoo, drawing on experts from Colonial Williamsburg to assist. He instituted a new program of home teaching. After an initial period of distrust toward the Catholic faith, he participated in numerous outreach efforts and became friends with many Catholic leaders. He "assert[ed] that the church was made for the members, not the members for the church. He emphasized the paramount importance of free agency and individual expression, for he understood that improvement of the parts would inevitably improve the whole...He pitched a wide tent and then told members of all stripes that he welcomed them to join him and build the church within it."

There were less palatable events during this time, too, of course. At BYU, Ernest L. Wilkinson's student "spies" and political witch-hunts were chilling in their effect on academic freedom. Under pressure to increase convert baptisms, some missions rewarded missionaries with the highest number of baptisms, leading to misguided efforts such as "baseball baptisms" which inflated convert numbers and caused hard feelings among the parents of those baptized without an understanding of the ordinance.

President McKay held the admirable stance that he would never criticize another Church leader in public, which unfortunately led some to share controversial personal opinions without approval and without being challenged. (For example, Bruce R. McConkie with his encyclopedic Mormon Doctrine and Joseph Fielding Smith's anti-evolution Man, His Origin and Destiny.) "For McKay, the fact that Smith personally held anti-evolution viewpoints was neither a surprise nor a problem. The problem came when he published those views, for simply by virtue of his standing as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Smith's published views on any religious subjects carried inordinate weight for many Latter-day Saints. Furthermore, McKay's refusal to discuss the topic in public, on the grounds that the Lord had not yet spoken on the matter, meant that Smith's views went unanswered--in effect, giving them quasi-official standing." And then again, "The dilemma for [President McKay] was...'In the minds of the people the General Authorities in their individual capacities cannot be separated from them in their official capacities.' McKay was tolerant of McConkie's individual views but objected, as he had with Smith, to McConkie's implication that those views represented official church doctrine." Even today, many members of the Church interpret these personal opinions as authoritative and official due to the office of the authors.

I learned some wonderfully surprising tidbits about President McKay. He was good friends with Lyndon B. Johnson who called him often for advice, sent him one of the three flags flown over the Capitol during his inauguration, and declared, "President McKay is something like a father to me." President McKay started out with the anti-Catholic views that were very prevalent for his time, but overcame them to become a master of ecumenical outreach. He expanded the First Presidency to include up to five counselors at one time, including two outspoken Democrats, Henry D. Moyle and Hugh B. Brown. He even considered the possibility of a "floating temple": a ship outfitted with the appropriate rooms and layout to provide temple ordinances around the world to Saints unable to travel to one of the few stationary temples.

I finished this book with a much better understanding of these crucial two decades of Church history, and a greater appreciation for the man and prophet David O. McKay. (Though I wish there had been more in the book about his wife, Emma Ray, too.)

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[Christian Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Bushman's biography of Joseph Smith and Turner's biography of Brigham Young, "David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism" rounds out the trinity of great Mormon biographies. Prince has utilized the invaluable Middlemiss papers and with erudition has crafted a biography which gives great insight into not only McKay, but the LDS Church in its "golden era." Of particular interest is the strong personality of Harold B Lee which comes through to great effect and in not always a flattering light. Other interesting highlights include the Bruce R McConkie/Mormon Doctrine controversy, temple building and the proposed conversion of an ocean liner into a roving temple, and the inclusion as inserts and cover art of previously unused Arnold Friburg portraits of the McKay First Presidency. I cannot recommend this biography more highly.

[Dennis McCrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography of David O. McKay, apostle and eventual president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The one point that stood out in this book as that Pres. McKay around about 1954 knew that the Church teachings regarding that blacks could not hold the priesthood or partake of temple ordinances was not of God. That it was not doctrine. And he never worked to reverse this teaching. It took President Kimball in June 1978 to remove the priesthood and temple ban. How sad. How many of God’s children’s progress here on earth was delayed because of this false doctrine?

[Petrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many ways to approach writing history--one's own point of view dictates the choice of quotations,sources etc. Some modern historians like to delve into controversy claiming that they are presenting "truth". but I often find that their "truth" is no more true than another "truth" which might not be so critical. Admittedly I grew up reading "Pollyanna" and other such books. Also it is very tempting to judge people of the past by the currently popular "politically correct" values--thus a modern author has a difficult time writing with sympathy about slave holders in the early United States, or about the fear of Communism in the 1950's.

These authors had access to diaries kept by President McKay's secretary, Claire Middlemiss, and also to the writings of other people who were contemporaries of President McKay--but had their own axes to grind. They seemed unusually eager to cast aspersions on other General Authorities with whom President McKay worked, and they weren't hesitant to criticize his actions, motives and dealings with others.

I enjoyed parts of this book because of my own memories of President McKay and of some of the incidents mentioned, but was a little sickened by the cavalier destruction of such people as J. Reuben Clark, Henry D. Moyle and others. I loved the parts about President McKay's friendship with Lyndon Johnson--what an unexpected and delightful glimpse.

I liked the inclusion of President McKay's visit to BYU with President Truman--I remember that occasion--I was in 5th grade--we walked from our grade school to the stadium to hear President Truman--but for me the great part of the day was that I got to shake hands with President McKay--I did not use or wash that hand for a very long time.

I guess we all know that the men who lead the church have strong personalities and strong opinions and that they sometimes disagree. We also know that growth does not come without its problems. But we also know that the Brethren are often inspired, that they work together for the common good and that the problems of growth are balanced by many, many good things--even great and inspiring things. I wish this book had contained more greatness, more inspiration.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal portrait into the life and mind of David O. McKay, and--perhaps more tantalizingly--into the sundry machinations of various factions within the Quorum of the Twelve during his leadership. The differing personalities, approaches to Church doctrine and administration, and willingness to employ questionable methods to advance personal ideology or administrative perspectives were all relatively new to me (at least at the presented level of detail). I was heartened by the progressive and empathic attitudes of the likes of Hugh B. Brown and Stephen L. Richards. I was surprised--and at times shocked--by the under-handedness and intermittent extremism of others (e.g., Ezra Taft Benson, Ernest L. Wilkinson, and Harold B. Lee). And I was left impressed by McKay as a Christ-like figure in myriad ways. His magnanimity and openness to goodness in all people is a truly inspiring example. Definitely a must-read for any serious student of LDS Church history.

[Michael Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether knowingly or unknowingly, Greg Prince has whittled like a master craftsman one of the three legs of the stool on which all every thinking LDS member should sit. When taken with Rough Stone Rolling and Wrestling the Angel, any years spent stranded on a deserted isle in the sea would be time well and joyously spent.

[Peter Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO GOOD. Exhaustively-researched and always fair (both in its criticism and defense of various important figures of Mormonism).

For Mormons: makes you grateful for these leaders while FORCING you to acknowledge that they’re men that make mistakes. Which is a healthier outlook than the “Yeah of course the prophets and apostles aren’t perfect *wink*” that’s kind of the status quo (at least was for me earlier in life)

For non-Mormons: such an interesting read about a VERY interesting religion! If you’ve ever been curious about Mormon History or comparative religion, this is a fantastically-written book.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t believe this slid under my radar for so long. This is as essential reading for modern LDS as Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling. It truly is a unique but critical telling of how the modern church evolved and how key tenets of the administration of the church evolved during one key period in church history that set the foundation for essentially every component of the 21st century church.

Also just fascinating to see a deeper working of the administration. It’s long but I couldn’t put it down.

[conor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential read for anyone interested in Mormonism and probably for any member of the Church (though the amount of and sort of preparation that individuals would need would vary widely). The book is organized topically, rather than chronologically (though chronologically through each chapter), which I think largely lends the book a strong sense of McKay's involvement in a variety of subjects and makes it useful as a reference (you can read any given chapter and have it function fairly well independently of the rest of the book). However, I would love a timeline in the back that synthesized the events of each chapter to have a better picture of how all of the events were influencing one another. The book does an excellent job of relatively objectively reporting the events in the terms that the individuals involved thought of them (in terms of revelation received or sought, intentions, justifications, etc.). This allows the book to reach a wide variety of audiences and allow them to take the information provided and interpret it as they see fit. Everyone should read this. It provides insight into much of how the current Church is organized. I cannot recommend this highly enough. While every chapter is excellent, I found the following particularly noteworthy, "Free Agency and Tolerance", "Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood", "Correlation and Church Administration", "The Education System", and "Confrontation with Communism".

[Amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First impression was 5 stars but upon further reflection, I decided knock it down to 4 primarily for this reason: through out the book McKay is seen as the President of the Church. This is true. But it is incomplete.

The book is complied extensively from records kept by McKays secretary, other journals from various leaders and a host of interviews, sadly most from second or third hand accounts, ie, so-and-so’s son remembering his father saying thus-and-such. This is not necessarily bad, but the further you get from primary sources the less reliable the information.

The main issue is that the journals were kept by Ms Middlemiss, and not DoM himself, which means we see what he DID and some of what he SAID, (or what others remember him saying) but we don’t know what he THOUGHT. We know nothing about how he stewed in things, or what he pondered in the Temple.

Which is the big incomplete: the book looks at him as President of the Church, but largely ignores him as the Prophet of God. Since DoM did not keep his own journals, we only see him from outside, “as man seeth.” As well, while Benson’s umm, polarizing, Conference addresses are discussed, I can’t remember any of Pres McKay’s gospel teachings being mentioned at all. He is only examined as an administrator, not a spiritual leader.

So, this is an excellent history book. But if you want to understand a prophet, I don’t think you can ignore the spiritual side of him.

[Mark Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone interested in the rise of Mormonism in the 29th century. Amazing insights into the complex, very human, complicated, and unvarnished history of modern Mormonism.

[Abe Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

As impressive as the accounts provided in this book might be, I found myself disappointed and even disgusted for much of the book because of what I found to be the author's intent in writing the book. Prince claims to be an active member of the LDS church, and yet he leaves the reader to believe that McKay was nothing more than a benevolent man who was a poor administrator that was influenced and conflicted by others he had to deal with who were motivated by personal agendas (i.e. First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve).

The book in fact is really not about President McKay so much, but rather just uses his time as president of the church as a backdrop for Prince to air out some of the church's dirty laundry, all in the name of full disclosure or shedding light on the "real" truth.

I genuinely appreciate learning about the discord that sometimes exists in church councils or the human side of our leaders, but I don't respect that Prince presents certain information, draws his own subtle conclusions, and then leaves it at that. No effort is made to show that McKay was a prophet of God or that the other leaders of the church are/were prophets, seers, and revelators.

The growth of the church is an absolute miracle, that has been directed by God through the very men Prince spends so much time tearing down. Part of the miracle for me is that God has done that despite their shortcomings. If Prince believes that, he makes no effort to leave the reader with that impression. Rather, he is more interested in shocking readers by presenting information and stories that most members would be unfamiliar with, as if to say, "Wow, can you believe that? Troubling, isn't it?".

Finally, Prince's sources and citations seem to be hand picked to prove a point rather than to tell the whole story or from perspectives that might increase faith. Many of the sources for the accounts in the book seemed like they were from the "nephew of the brother of someone who served in a stake presidency with McKay who said at a church BBQ such and such". For me, this gave the book even less credibility and underscored Prince's real intent in writing the book.

Information is a powerful thing. Prince uses this in a way I found to be very smug and which I can't begin to respect. It's not what he presents, it's how he presents it. I'm more inspired by authors who "prune" rather than "hack" at the trunks of testimony. Prince is a hacker.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pride myself on being stingy with the 5 star rating. But this book definitely earned it.

It's brilliant! If you're into LDS history this is a must-read. David O. McKay's leadership can easily be regarded as "A New Era" for Mormonism. McKay's two immediate predecessors as church president wore beards and came from polygamous families. McKay brought the church out of obscurity and out of North America. The church tripled in size during McKay's time as prophet but it wasn't without growing pains. This books gets into some of the controversies that swirled during his 1951-1970 presidency. Namely, the priesthood ban, Ernest Wilkinson and the BYU spy scandal, Ezra Taft Benson and the John Birch Society and much more.

Unencumbered by LDS cultural jargon, this book caters to members and non-members of the church alike. David O. McKay is a new hero of mine. So is Clare Middlemiss. Don't miss this book!

Note:

The foundation of this book is the life's work of David O. McKay's personal secretary, Clare Middlemiss. She compiled 130,000 pages of diaries, discourses, meeting minutes and scrapbooks of David O. McKay's presidency with the intent to produce his biography. She passed away before being able to complete such a biography and this book is dedicated to her by the authors.

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only other book that has shaped my views and stances regarding Mormon Studies this much has been "Rough Stone Rolling" by Bushman. Rise of Modern Mormonism shows an honest and generous inside look at the lives of David O. McKay and other church leaders in the mid-20th century. While being fair and kind, Prince shows all the human and fallible sides of church leadership. That includes all the power-struggles, biases, prejudices and stubborn wills of these revered men.

Reading it has significantly altered my understanding of church leadership, the nature of Revelation, Blacks and the Priesthood, the monster that is Church correlation, as well as providing me with a great historical framework for looking at the monumental changes undergone by the Church during this period in history.

[Steven Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

He believed in evolution was the main point I took. Wonderful man.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, even-handed history of the LDS Church under David O. McKay. It chronicles the great change of the church from a Utah based church to a worldwide religion. It doesn't shy away from the growing pains and successes. It was fascinating to me having lived through it, to understand the machinations behind correlation, the building boom, temples outside of Utah, with all their attendant successes and troubles. It was a great behind the scenes peek at what goes on "downtown." Some authorities have greatly gone up in my esteem, while others have fallen. I liked how it was organized by topic, rather than a strictly chronological timeline. To my mind it was a great use of the personal papers of his trusted secretary of many years to give a thoughtful and unbiased view of his contribution to the modern church.

[Robert Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully written and documented biography

Though he was before my time, this interesting biography looks at how immensely influential President McKay was to the LDS church. The author did the reader a great service by organizing the biography topically rather than in a linear chronological fashion, and I felt quickly got to the meat of the importance of McKay's presidency. Also, though the book is heavily annotated it's very reader friendly to the layman. I suggest this book to anyone interested in LDS history.

[Tricia Bunderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved a good biography. This was a long listen (25 hours) but it didn't feel long. I learned so many interesting things-- the plans to make a "cruiseliner temple" to sail the ocean and dock in different ports around the world; the proposal for members of the Twelve to retire and become "emeritus apostles" when they reached a certain age; the discussions about race and the Priesthood, communism, Ezra Taft Benson's political shenanigans, and the church growing into an international organization. Greg Prince did a superb job exploring all these events and themes.

[Johann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike most biographies written about LDS prophets and apostles, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism is a fairly balanced work. Written largely from journal entries, books, sermons, newspaper articles, and other materials compiled by Clare Middlemiss, President McKay’s personal secretary, the authors do a fantastic job objectively looking at the life and presidency of the prophet.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I have ever read. I found it faith promoting and refreshing to learn about general authorities in this light. Learning about our heritage and especially this era has pushed me to be more intentional in my orthodoxy. It's important to question, ponder and pray to learn for ourselves instead of relying on things as they've always been done.

[Asher Huskinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I finally rounded out the unofficial trilogy of “not your grandfather’s” church biographies. (Bushman’s Rough Stone Rolling) (Turner’s Brigham Young)

Except in my case this was recommended by my grandfather.

[Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. It covers an important piece of church history that is often overlooked.

[Raegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting and inspirational stories I have read.

[Nollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Incredibly well research and analyzed, a great overview of a large swath of organizational history that helps to explain the Church’s interplay with the politics and events of the mid 20th century which laid the foundation for how the modern church operates. I also enjoyed learning more about McKay himself as a person and leader as well as other high profile LDS personalities, some of whom come off much better than others.

[Jimmy Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This was one of the best books about the LDS church I've ever read. The insight into the first presidency and quorum of the 12 was something that will forever help me understand the inner workings of the church.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different than the traditional biography of an LDS Church President, which have been typically published shortly after their ascendance to the office but before their death, this telling of the David O. McKay story focuses on the time period of 1951-1970 when he served as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For this reason I enjoyed the book as it detailed the accomplishments and difficulties of his actual term of service. Looking back at those years through a 21st century lens added a unique perspective. I would love to see similar volumes emerge in the coming years, for instance a record of the years 1995-2008, when Gordon B. Hinckley led the church, perhaps the most dynamic church leader since McKay.

I am of a younger generation, born a few years after McKay's death, so I did not know a lot about him going in, but I did gain an appreciation for his marvelous service. Holding such a high calling is not easy, as McKay in many cases had to separate his own personal convictions from his responsibility to members of a worldwide church. He also had to manage competing opinions and agendas of other church leaders, often at his own expense. But there are a few people in the world whom everyone seems to respect, regardless of differences, and David O. McKay was one of those, as indicated by the tribute given by the Cathedral of the Madeleine Catholic Church in Salt Lake City during his funeral procession.

As indicated in other reviews, the book does tend to get a bit gossipy in sections and the authors seem to draw a lot of unsupported conclusions about what a particular individual's motivations may have been in various situations. But it was interesting to read that the Quorum of the Twelve do not necessarily agree with one another on the various issues that come before them. Although we're insulated from it in our day, there are certainly still heated debates that go on in their meetings. With fiery personalities such as Dallin H. Oaks, Jeffrey R. Holland, and David A. Bednar populating church hierarchy, do you honestly think they just sit around and say, "Hey, I'm chill with that if you are, brother"?

I do kind of wonder what bias the authors may have had given the voluminous resources they had at their disposal. To a point, they could have told just about any story they wanted to. They seemed to go out of their way to make heroes of "church intellectuals" then and now but disparaged Harold B. Lee and Ezra Taft Benson to the point that left you wondering how either of these men eventually became successors to President McKay.

Probably my favorite story in the book was the relationship between McKay and Lyndon B. Johnson, and how McKay inquired of Johnson regarding an Army policy which made it difficult for LDS chaplains to serve. Essentially Johnson demanded the Army accommodate the church, based primarily on his friendship with McKay and his respect for the Mormon way of life.

I would recommend this book despite its flaws. It left me with a testimony of David O. McKay's calling as a prophet.

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first 130 or so pages straight through, and then I sort of skipped around and read the chapters that interested me. I don't do well with biographies and histories, but with that caveat, I did like the kind of scope and detail this one provided. Some of my favorite chapters were 'Politics and the Church' and 'Confrontation with Communism' and the one about Blacks and the Priesthood. Fascinating to find out what went on between DoM and his counselors and twelve as they tried to make sense of some of these problematic issues.

Quotes: "Mormonism's involvement in the 1960s with right-wing political extremism [largely because of Benson and his affiliation with the John Birch society] left a legacy that affects the church adversely to this day. As early as 1961, one Mormon Congressman, David S King (D-Utah), warned McKay that the church seemed to be abandoning its position of neutrality in politics, to the extent "Sunday School teachers are making broad hints and innuendoes in classes that those who follow the Democratic program are handmaidens of Communists, and cannot expect to consider themselves in full fellowhip in the Church. . . In recent years, this imbalance became of sufficient concern that the First Presidency, in 1998, assigned one of the few Democratic General Authorities, Marlin K. Jensen to give an interview to the Salt Lake Tribune assuring readers that thereone may, indeed, simultaneously be a Democrat and a Mormon in good standing. he explained that church leaders "regret...that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen'."

(Not to mention the fact that the LDS church is a worldwide church and for many members in their own specific countries these two parties either don't exist or don't correlate, and there are many other political parties they are choosing from)!

"There are tares in the Church--indifferent, not sinful people, who deal unjustly and unrighteously, with their neighbors. . . .It is folly to say to the president of the Church or any of the auxiliary organizations, "you remove that man or you remove that woman or else I will stop coming to Church.' The Savior said, "no, do not pull up the tares or you will destroy the wheat; let them grow together and in the time of harvest bind your tares to be burned and harvest your good crop.' Oh, what a beautiful message."

[Daniel Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative yet disappointingly biased. Authors couldn’t help themselves but insert quite blatantly their personal feelings on events. Related to this, I get the impression that much of the conflict described among church leaders is inflated or dramatized. This, however is speculation based simply on the observation that by all appearances the period in question was one of unprecedented growth and improvement (by many objective measures), which seems incompatible with the quite maudlin scenes painted by the authors.
These complaints are typical of many history books I read, and perhaps not unexpected, though not welcome. There is a generous amount of genuinely interesting factual history in this book, and I learned much about the development of the church at that time. Incidentally, I appreciate the context that this period provides for how things currently operate in the church and what kind of prevailing attitudes exist within the church. So, if you are curious about the history of the LDS church and want to understand why it is the way it is today, this book is worth the read.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deserves a 4.5, perhaps a 5 star recommendation. Very thorough, excellent primary sources, tight narrative within each chapter. An overarching narrative would have been a capstone, but I'm not complaining. I think every serious LDS member should ask him/herself about how the 19th century church became the 20th century church. Pres. McKay's life and service, as church president, was pivotal, dynamic, and engaging to read about. Delightful to read of his friendships with SLC Catholic and Protestant leaders, Utah and national political leaders such as Calvin Rampton, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. Interesting to read of his working relationships with Ernest Wilkinson, J. Reuben Clark, Wendell Mendenhall, Ezra Taft Benson, Alvin Dyer--key contributors to big developments in the modern LDS church--church building program--including functional, not monumental temples, BYU expansion, missionary work, interfacing with Cold War realities and fears of communist expansion. Probably Pres. McKay was too much a product of his time for my taste, with respect to his reluctance to embrace Civil Rights legislation, but he thrills me to no end to read of his anxiety and personal interest to include LDS men of color in the priesthood. I think he was ready to move the church forward, but clearly a majority of Apostles were not. There had to be a unity, which I understand. I'm too young to remember Pres. McKay personally, though he was church president the first 11 years of my life. What a wonderful study of how to grow quite elderly, age 96, with grace, power and integrity. No doubt in my mind that he walked and talked, in his service as church president, from time to time, with Jesus. Jesus surely had a friend in Pres. McKay.