Presidents Of The Church: Insights Into Their Lives And Teachings

by Truman G. Madsen

On visiting the Joseph Smith Memorial monument in Vermont and the Sacred Grove many years ago, noted gospel scholar and philosopher Truman G. Madsen began to be preoccupied with the lives of the Presidents of the Church, beginning with Joseph Smith. Now one of the happy results of that preoccupation is this collection of intimate biographical sketches of each of the Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from Joseph Smith to Gordon B. Hinckley, focusing on events that helped shape each t become a great leader in the Church. Brother Madsen has mined the most reliable historical sources available to tell the stories of the Church Presidents, and throughout the lectures his deep respect for these servants of the Lord is evident. Each lecture presents a fascinating biographical sketch that focuses on various events in the designated President's life, events that shaped him to become a great leader in the Church. Intriguing details regarding such matters as Wilford Woodruff's narrow escapes from death, Lorenzo Snow's experiences in Italy and in the Holy Land, Joseph F. Smith's self-taught language skills, and Heber J. Grant's sacrifices in order to help his widowed mother help listeners come to a fuller understanding of the President's backgrounds and personalities. Glimpses from journals and letters further enhance the presentations. In addition to the biographical anecdotes contained in each lecture, Brother Madsen tells of each prophet's contributions to the kingdom and gives a summary of enduring teachings. Engaging and informative, these lectures indicate how the Presidents were both unique and alike, how each prophet was a man for his own season but also an important player in the grand progression of the gospel. From these tapes, listeners will gain a new appreciation for the Presidents of the Church and for their sacrifices and contributions to the kingdom.

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

512 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

Truman Grant Madsen was an American professor of religion and philosophy at Brigham Young University (BYU) and director of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He was a prolific author, a recognized authority on Joseph Smith Jr., and a popular lecturer among Latter-day Saints. At one point, Madsen was an instructor at the LDS Institute of Religion in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains glimpses and intimate stories about each of the modern day prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints up to Gordon B. Hinckley. I listened to this one with my husband. We enjoy Madsen’s warm voice. Well worth the read. Highly inspiring.

[Krystine · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many amazing stories! This is a great book to learn about the prophets!

[Tom Seely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book of the Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.They all are amazing men!I guess I have read this twice now.I enjoyed just as much the 2nd time as the first.Everyone of these men were great Prophets!

[Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing series. This is my second time completing it, and I know I'll listen to it again and again!

[Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most enjoyable audiobooks I have listen to in a long time! Truman Madsen the author has such a charming way of telling stories and he is so personable and his tell him that you just need to listen and you want to keep listening. I love each of these presidents of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! And though I have heard a number of the stories and facts that Truman Madsen tells about them I did learn a lot of new things and I enjoyed re-learning facts about their lives. One thing that I will take away from this audiobook is how many trials especially physical trials and health challenges each of these profits of the church suffered and endured. They set the standard for the rest of us to endure well. As I think of the trials I’m going through now and health challenges, I think well, the profit of the Lord can be tested in this way, why not me? And I can be cheerful too. I think you would enjoy these stories and even if you’re not a member of the church. These men who most were in their late years 70s and 80s and even 90s lead the church with vigor, enthusiasm, and spiritual wisdom. They are man of character and integrity and dedicated to doing what they thought was right. They wanted to emulate the Savior and teach all of us to follow that same path. We would do well to follow them. I would listen to this book again in a heartbeat!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunday reading. I re-read this one specifically for the chapter on Heber J. Grant. I find his personal story so interesting. He was such a humble man and would deny himself opportunities for wealth, social status, etc simply because he did not want to become too proud. I love the story about when he was set apart as a Stake President at the age of 23. He was asked if he absolutely knew the gospel was true and responded he did not. Several in the room were surprised and didn't think he should be Stake President if he didn't have a firm testimony. John Taylor (prophet at the time) laughed and said "Brethren, he knows it just as well as you do. The only thing he does not know is that he knows it." Another story is that a man who knew Heber in his younger days approached him on the street and asked Heber if he was keeping the Word of Wisdom. Heber replied yes and the man skeptically asked "since when?" Heber responded "Since right now."

I also enjoyed the chapters on George Albert Smith and David O. McKay. There are lots of interesting stories about the church presidents from Joseph Smith through Gordon B. Hinckley. It helps to see them as regular guys with senses of humor, difficult family members and less-than-perfect moments. It's a good book to just pick up and read a little at a time. I walked away feeling grateful for these men, their wives and families..for sacrificing so much of their time and energy to building up the church.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me a long time to read. Of course I loved reading about each of the prophets up to President Hinckley but it was really hard for me to follow who exactly he was talking about because it could have been so and so’s, neighbor’s cousin just as much as the prophet he was writing about. Lots of meandering. Truman Madsen obviously has been around and knew a lot of people and has(d) lots of stories to tell.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book and the wonderful insights Truman Madsen presents in his lectures. I listened to the audio edition of the book and learned so much. Highly recommend it and found it fascinating, enjoyable and inspiring. He has many personal connections to many of the men which make this all the more personal and engaging.

[Travis Standley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great collection of facts, history, teachings, and testimony about all the presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ up through President Gordon B. Hinckley. Brother Madsen is an excellent presenter of these faithful, chosen men. It’s regretful he has passed on and we won’t have sketches like this for President Monson and President Nelson. This is a great record!

[Elizabeth Ricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed this book, I think that I read it too fast. When I came to the end, I couldn't remember which president did what. This was true for the early presidents. Surprisingly, I have lived through 9 of the 17 presidents of the church.

[Aaron Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful lectures to listen to. Brother Madsen is expert on the lives and teachings of the latter day prophets. Wonderful insights and examples of righteousness in each of the prophets, as well as their share of trials and challenges.

[Jonathan Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great summary of the lives of our modern prophets!

[Betty Ann Baer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good insight to each of our presidents and how their life began and how they loved the Lord.

[Jason Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning more about the modern day prophets (up to President Hinckley) in the unique style of Truman G. Madsen that I really enjoy!

[BritGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero *

[Lawrence Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I enjoyed hearing different stories from the lives of all the prophets. Lots of insights from some who personally knew a lot of them.

[Adam Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, uplifting, spiritual, and fantastic! I learned a lot about our dear prophets and felt the Holy Ghost through their experiences and examples.

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love history. These little snippets only made me want more.

[Edy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, detailed book. Much of the information I already knew, but there were new ins inside presented.

[Lowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Truman G. Madsen and Garrison Keillor ever rented a hall for a "vocal" duel, the building would explode because a man-made facility cannot contain the sound wave awesomeness that emanates from their larynxes.

After finishing the Work and the Glory series as a teenager, my dad picked up these audio cassettes for me. They were later published as a book. I still prefer the audio.

Part of what I love about each of these 40-50 minute lectures on the life of each LDS prophet is that Truman Madsen obviously loves them for who they ARE. As men, with every good and bad connotation that accompanies the word. Rather than a blanket admiration merely because of the sacred title they held as prophets and Presidents of the LDS Church, he shows you WHO they were. For example, in one of my favorite talks in the set, rather than introduce you to President Joseph F. Smith: 6th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you meet Joseph. The young boy who almost thrashed his school teacher. Who was so touched when children sang, tears would stream down his cheeks. Who wrote poetry to honor the memory of his young daughter that died. These types of details and insights bowl me over.

For nearly a decade, the talk/chapter on Spencer W. Kimball floated around in my glove compartment. I frequently played it, despite having memorized virtually all the content years earlier. Hearing it every time was a breath of fresh air. I feel that way about each lecture in this book.

[Aroura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madsen brings a conversational tone to his biographies - no surprise considering his books are usually based on series of lectures. He has had personal interactions with many of the Prophets and apostles and descendants of those prophets who died previous to his lifetime. Some stories are ones that are widely known among members of the Church, but many may not be.
I felt inspired by each biography. These were exemplary men, sacrificing for what they believed in, charitable, uncomplaining, full of faith, hope, and love. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about good upstanding men, or who might be interested in learning what kind of men have been called to lead The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I like that Madsen doesn't feel it necessary to portray them as perfect, but he also doesn't go out of his way to dwell on perceived shortcomings - it is a positive look at them, but not a glorified worship of them.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, authored by Truman Madsen, details the lives of each of the Prophets and Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning with Joseph Smith and ending with Gordon B. Hinckley. The biographies are not in depth as to dates, facts and experiences, but briefly touch on each presidents' ancestory, early life, challenges, strivings, key issues in Church history during his administration, areas of emphasis, key doctrines taught (and lived) and interesting anecdotes. The author it adept at moving each story along; the narrative never bogs down. It is a very inciteful and moving study of each of these great men. I highly recommend this book (or audio tape) to all readers.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother Joe gave me this book for Christmas a couple of years ago. Great present. I loved reading it then and just read it again this week. Not only great insights in the lives of the Prophets of God but great wisdom and teachings to help better my own life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is what it claims to be. The Church of Jesus Christ. Christ stands at the head of the church and he directs through his chosen prophets. Today Thomas S Monson is his chosen prophet. He is a man of God and his teachings encourages us to live Christ like in all we do and say and think.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved parts of this book. And I didn't finish parts of this book. And, I had to reconcile my faith through parts of this book. And it's not a controversial book! I feel like a terrible LDS giving only 3 stars, but there you go. Oh, one more thing, I understand that this is a compilation of lectures, so maybe I shouldn't judge it by a book standard, but I did not like it when Truman G. Madsen ended stories with statements that he didn't support. I thought the opinions were out of place. (sigh.)

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice read that very briefly and quickly gives you a survey of each of the prophets lives. I didn't like the author's style much and I especially found much of his editorializing and opinion irritating, but I really liked seeing what the prophets as people were like and what they did to "build the kingdom." I found some I'd like to research more and that was ultimately what I was looking for from the book. I gave it three stars because it accomplished what I wanted from it, but didn't do anything more and often fell somewhat short on the "good writing" requirement.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed listening to these lectures by Truman G. Madsen. Probably more so than I would have enjoyed the book, because these were the original lectures with Bro. Madsen himself. Some of the stories I was familiar with. Others I was not. But I gained a lot from hearing how these wonderful men and leaders lived their lives, inspiring me more in ways I would like to be and giving me courage and confidence that I can be that way.

[Cherissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a better understanding and appreciation for the men God raises up to be His prophets in the latter-days. It was very interesting to me to read about each prophet and the unique opportunities and responsibilities they were given in their "growing years" to mold them into the prophet the Lord needed them to be for the time and circumstance in which they served. A great book!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! It is an amazing and unique insight into the lives of the prophets. Bro. Madsen uses several lesser-known examples and first-hand experiences in his teachings.

I did give the hardcover four stars but am bumping it to five after going through the audio book. Very inspiring and it really gives you faith in the type of very human people who the Lord chooses to fulfill his purposes.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It had great insight into each of the prophets lives and teachings. Brother Madsen is a great author and historian. I have gained a new understanding of each of the prophets and my testimony of each has grown. I deeply love each of these men who have given their lives to the cause of Christ.

[Mariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most valuable (to me) books that I own. It goes through each prophet...telling stories and teaching about each one. I really started to feel a love for each of the prophets and have gained so much knowledge from this book. There are sooooo many inspiring stories in here. Truman Madsen is so knowledgeable and personally had a relationship with a number of the prophets.