Life Of Joseph Smith: The Prophet

by George Q. Cannon

The Life of Joseph The Prophet is a biography of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, written by George Q. Cannon. The book details Joseph Smith's life from his childhood in Vermont to his death in Illinois. The author covers Smith's religious experiences, including his visions and the translation of the Book of Mormon, as well as his political and social involvement. Cannon explores Smith's role in establishing the Mormon Church, including his leadership and teachings. The biography also delves into the controversies surrounding Smith's life, such as his polygamous marriages and conflicts with non-Mormon communities. Overall, The Life of Joseph The Prophet provides a comprehensive look at the life and legacy of one of the most important figures in American religious history.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Biography, Religion, Lds, Nonfiction, History, Adult, Historical

568 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1888

About the author

George Quayle Cannon was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' chief political strategist (the press called him "the Mormon premier" and "the Mormon Richelieu"). He was member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a first counselor to the first four presidens of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was also Territorial Delegate from Utah from 1873 until 1881.
George Q. Cannon was also the publisher of the Juvenile Instructor magazine and opened the George Q. Cannon & Sons bookstore with the purpose of selling the magazine and other publications of an uplifting nature. How many books were actually published by Cannon & Sons is not known, since in that period a lot of the authors published their work themselves, letting others distribute them.

Reviews

[Shirley Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read about Joseph Smith, the Prophet. It delivered the facts and one got a real feeling of what life was for Joseph Smith, beginning as a young boy. I'm so grateful for him and his unyielding faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. George Q. Cannon had almost a front row seat into the everyday life of Joseph. His Aunt, Leonora Ann Quale Cannon had immigrated to Canada where she married John Taylor, who became an apostle and was with the Prophet Joseph when he was killed. I felt this was a very authoritative book into the life of Joseph as he grew in knowledge about the gospel as the Lord and others revealed it to him.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading a history on Joseph Smith by an author with the credibility of actually being there during several of the events talked about. Elder Cannon is both blunt and unapologetic for his love and devotion for Joseph Smith and the other early leaders of the church such as Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and others. He is equally blunt and unapologetic as he details the misdeeds of the enemies of the church.

Whether the reader is LDS or not, you’ll walk away with an appreciation for how loved Joseph Smith was by his people and how remarkable his journey truly was.

This is a great read and one of my favorites now.

[Kole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author always presents Joseph and the Church in the most favorable light. Some events are glossed over while others are not covered. I did not feel that that he was trying to mislead though.

I really enjoyed the book. Occasionally there were stories I haven't heard of or had little knowledge of.

The biggest take away for me was how the character and nature of Joseph Smith was portrayed. Joseph endured much and submitted to much. I think how I would have handled all those situations and how people treated him and how I would have reacted. For now, not like Joseph did. Such a positive example of facing adversity

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book was hard to read. It was very long and very dry. I have read many biographies on Joseph Smith and this one offered no new information. It was also told through those lovely rose-colored glasses. Joseph Smith was a wonderful, remarkable man, but it bugs me a little bit when he is made out to be perfect. I'm glad I read it but it's not one that I see myself reading again.

[Judith Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting account of the life of Joseph Smith, the prophet.

This biography of Joseph Smith is especially interesting because to was written by a contemporary, a man who knew him, George Q. Cannon, and drawn from first hand accounts of people who were present when the events described actually happened.
Very interesting, intense and soul stirring.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately was not very impressed or inspired by this. Part of that I believe is because the narrator had no expression or inflection whatsoever. He was SOOOOOOO boring...and then some. Part of it was because it was because I've heard most of those accounts many times before--some of them word for word. Whether or not what I heard was quoting this book as its original source or whether this book is quoting from another original source, I do not know. Either way, there was only about 10% that was new to me, and not in a surprising or altering way.

What I did like was reading this at the culmination of the Work and the Glory series, as it seemed like a re-cap in some ways of various Church events. And I liked some of Elder Cannon's personal comments.

I probably would have preferred this in print, but even then it may have dragged for me because I knew quite a bit. Indeed, some of this I would recommend to someone who knows little of Joseph's life, but then I would hesitate because Cannon occasionally will reference briefly some other aspect of Church History that someone not familiar with Joseph's life would probably not know of the Church History event either. Maybe this was more for the Saints at the time of writing, who wanted to have a succinct history/collection of various stories, accounts, and writings of their not too long deceased prophet. In such a case, this would be a very good choice.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has taken me longer to get through this book than it should have. I started reading it after watching a friend who served a mission for the church, and then get married in the temple fall away from activity in the church, and become increasingly hostile towards it. My goal in reading this book was to help protect myself from a similar fate.

If I'd known less about church history, perhaps I would have rated the book higher, and it is probably a good book for people with limited knowledge of church history to read who want to know more.

My biggest complaint with the book was that it seemed that often the author attributed the actions of those persecuting the members of the church to religious bigotry. In this day and age it seems that anytime anyone disagrees with you they are labeled a bigot. I would have preferred if the author had just presented their actions, and let me decide for myself that they were bigots.

Of course if I'd lived through the persecution that the author and his friends had, it might be harder for me not to refer to them that way as well. So I will let my Uncle George off the hook a little on that point

So if you're looking for a history of the church written by a true believer this may be the book for you. If what you're looking for is an answer to the question "Is Joseph Smith a Prophet?" I would suggest that the book to read is The Book of Mormon.

[kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the "Life Of Joseph Smith: The Prophet" was a challenge for me. It was a long book with many facts. It took me a whole year. I did learn many things about Joseph Smith, his family and friends and the struggles of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I learned to appreciate the extent of their trials, persecutions and dedication to greater degree. It was interesting reading about the prophet and events from an author who had lived at the time and experienced the same things.

[Delene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after I came home from my mission in 1972. I was teaching school in Vernal Utah while reading it. I haven't forgotten the impact of the book on my life because I wanted to know more about his life. It was an excellent read. I never can forget the bond between him and his brother Hyrum. They were very close.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kind of a tough read but I thought it was worthwhile if you are interested in learning about Joseph Smith. I'm personally a big fan of learning about the prophet so I really liked it. Like I said though it's not one of those books that you can sit down for hours and read. It's pretty deep. Cannon writes in a difficult format but it is worth the effort

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. It was written from the perspective of someone who lived closer to Joseph Smith's time and had access to people and information to write a complete history. The pages are large and type fairly little so it takes awhile to read it and absorb it. We have a beautiful copy with paintings and pictures at the beginning of every chapter of Joseph, Emma and all that was going on.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing account, all the more moving because of the proximity of the author with the Prophet. I, too, wish sources were cited, but otherwise, this is a moving, impressive account. To those who found they were reading stories they'd already heard: This book is probably the source for the other, later accounts.

[Jarad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally an amazing book, I never realized out bad the persecution from Missori and Illinois was. This book brought it all into perspective politically and I gained a greater respect for a Prophet who had literally no rest from persecution, but changed the world for the better anyway.

[Robb Menlove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, general, book about Joseph Smith. Most of the stories told here are collected from other writtings. Not a whole lot of original thoughts, but it is hard to mess up a testimonial of Joseph Smith.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of this book here...
http://bythebookblog.blogspot.com/200...

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Joseph Smith biography I've read.

[Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good because it showed the whole life of the Prophet and told his story, not trying to interpret what he did.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best biography on Joseph Smith I've ever read. It's great to read the experiences of someone who was there for many of the events.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on the Prophet's life. It did especially well at describing all of the legal entanglements Joseph faced. Definitely worth the time it takes to read. Only drawback... lack of sources.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good beginning biography of Joseph Smith. It was the first one I read, when I was about 14 and is quite faith-promoting. I waited until I was older to read ones with more controversial content!

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has lots of good info, it’s just so long and kinda dry.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good or thorough as the Documentary History of the Church.

[Heidi Awerkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring! I love his zest for life and learning and his desire to be honest and fair in law. His challenges with people were incredible. He was humble and forthwright though he had incredible opposition! I like the fact that George Q. Cannon knew him personally and went through many of these trials himself.