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Joseph Smith: The First Mormon
One of four major biographies of Joseph Smith, Donna Hill's award-winning book is the most comprehensive. Hill cautiously rejects the simplistic reductionism of either/or characterizations in favor of a broader, more humanistic view that takes Smith on his own terms as both prophet and as man.
Foremost among Hill's concerns is the spiritual drama that defined Smith's controversial life, as well as his theologically motivated sexuality and the apocalyptic assumptions that fueled his political and military activism. Her intent is not to validate Smith's actions, only to understand them.
Equal attention is given to the environmental influences that shaped Smith's 1830's New York upbringing. Add these Hill's impeccable scholarship, the result of nine years of research, and her talents as a novelist, and the significance of her achievement is apparent. Her quest for authenticity provides a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life.
Foremost among Hill's concerns is the spiritual drama that defined Smith's controversial life, as well as his theologically motivated sexuality and the apocalyptic assumptions that fueled his political and military activism. Her intent is not to validate Smith's actions, only to understand them.
Equal attention is given to the environmental influences that shaped Smith's 1830's New York upbringing. Add these Hill's impeccable scholarship, the result of nine years of research, and her talents as a novelist, and the significance of her achievement is apparent. Her quest for authenticity provides a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life.
527 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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74 people want to read
About the author
Donna Hill
26 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
See also: Romance author Donna Hill
See also: Romance author Donna Hill
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 31, 2017
This book was definitely not a complete biography, but it provided many facts about Joseph's life that I found enlightening. There are many people who played a large role in Joseph's life that take a backseat or are never mentioned in Mormon religious studies. I will never see church history the same way again. Donna Hill does a great job of neither demonizing or glorifying Joseph. She simply tells a story, relying on Joseph's friends and enemies for the opinions expressed. I would recommend to any of my Mormon friends.
April 27, 2009
I had a really hard time rating this book. While I loved learning more about Joseph Smith and the times in which he lived, I felt like I was wading through the author's personal concerns with Joseph and the LDS Church of the 1970's. The information she did put forth about Joseph was enjoyable. Her discriptions were not as detailed as I like and felt rushed much of the time as if she took on more than could be covered in one book.
January 28, 2013
I feel like the author of this book did a great job objectively telling the story of Joseph Smith. The author supports all reports of Joseph's life with multiple accounts from many people from different backgrounds.
June 16, 2008
I have the hardbound copy and loved this book. This is the best book on Joseph Smith that I've read thus far.
March 20, 2024
Whilst definitely a pro-Joe Smith biography, the author does attempt to be not biased and there is a lot of information most biographies don't mention, especially information on Joseph's lineage and some of the aftermath of his death. Still some information that was left out really bothered me, like a lot of Joseph's later teaching such as the King Follett Sermon and the Articles of Faith. Also no mention of the Kindle hook plates and the Book of Abraham is barely mentioned. Still definitely worth the read if you are a Joseph Smith enthusiast like myself.
September 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW - Joseph Smith, The First Mormon by Donna Hill (1984)
Donna Hill’s Joseph Smith: The First Mormon (1977) was a watershed moment in the field of Mormon studies. At the time of its publication, most available biographies of Joseph Smith were either adulatory treatments written for believers or hostile exposés written by critics. Hill charted a different course: she produced one of the first academically serious, yet highly readable biographies of Joseph.
What distinguished Hill’s book was its balance. Without turning Smith into a flawless saint or a disreputable fraud, Hill attempted to treat him as a historical figure rooted in his time and place. She drew on the sources available in the 1970s, church records, early histories, and the best secondary scholarship of the day. The book emphasizes the religious ferment of the Second Great Awakening, the frontier dynamism of upstate New York, and the democratic impulses that shaped the new nation.
This approach allowed Hill to present Joseph Smith as both a visionary and a pragmatist, a man who could inspire extraordinary loyalty among followers but who also faced frequent opposition and suspicion. By giving readers access to the complexity of Smith’s personality and leadership, she pushed Mormon biography away from the devotional and toward the historical.
The First Mormon reads fluidly, blending careful documentation with strong storytelling. It is accessible to general readers while maintaining a level of seriousness that scholars respected. Hill’s book was widely praised for its even-handedness. Both believers seeking a fuller picture of their prophet and non-Mormons seeking to understand the origins of the Latter-day Saint movement found it useful. Some were uneasy with its forthrightness, given that it did not shy away from controversies such as money-digging, plural marriage, and the legal and political struggles Smith faced in Nauvoo. Yet Hill’s willingness to explore these issues respectfully demonstrated that Mormon biography could be both candid and fair.
Hill accomplished something remarkable, she gave readers a serious biography of Joseph Smith at a time when such a thing hardly existed. While subsequent research has expanded and revised our understanding, her book still stands as a pioneering work, written with clarity, balance, and a genuine effort to grapple with the paradoxes of a man who founded one of America’s most distinctive religious movements.
Quotes:
“Joseph Smith was not merely a product of his environment; he was a shaper of it. The frontier molded him, but he also molded the frontier with a vision that transcended his immediate circumstances.”
“The tragedy of Joseph Smith was not simply that he died young, but that his death left unanswered the central questions of his mission: Was he prophet or impostor, seer or charlatan, saint or sinner? In the end, the power of his life rests in the enduring fascination of those questions.”
Donna Hill’s Joseph Smith: The First Mormon (1977) was a watershed moment in the field of Mormon studies. At the time of its publication, most available biographies of Joseph Smith were either adulatory treatments written for believers or hostile exposés written by critics. Hill charted a different course: she produced one of the first academically serious, yet highly readable biographies of Joseph.
What distinguished Hill’s book was its balance. Without turning Smith into a flawless saint or a disreputable fraud, Hill attempted to treat him as a historical figure rooted in his time and place. She drew on the sources available in the 1970s, church records, early histories, and the best secondary scholarship of the day. The book emphasizes the religious ferment of the Second Great Awakening, the frontier dynamism of upstate New York, and the democratic impulses that shaped the new nation.
This approach allowed Hill to present Joseph Smith as both a visionary and a pragmatist, a man who could inspire extraordinary loyalty among followers but who also faced frequent opposition and suspicion. By giving readers access to the complexity of Smith’s personality and leadership, she pushed Mormon biography away from the devotional and toward the historical.
The First Mormon reads fluidly, blending careful documentation with strong storytelling. It is accessible to general readers while maintaining a level of seriousness that scholars respected. Hill’s book was widely praised for its even-handedness. Both believers seeking a fuller picture of their prophet and non-Mormons seeking to understand the origins of the Latter-day Saint movement found it useful. Some were uneasy with its forthrightness, given that it did not shy away from controversies such as money-digging, plural marriage, and the legal and political struggles Smith faced in Nauvoo. Yet Hill’s willingness to explore these issues respectfully demonstrated that Mormon biography could be both candid and fair.
Hill accomplished something remarkable, she gave readers a serious biography of Joseph Smith at a time when such a thing hardly existed. While subsequent research has expanded and revised our understanding, her book still stands as a pioneering work, written with clarity, balance, and a genuine effort to grapple with the paradoxes of a man who founded one of America’s most distinctive religious movements.
Quotes:
“Joseph Smith was not merely a product of his environment; he was a shaper of it. The frontier molded him, but he also molded the frontier with a vision that transcended his immediate circumstances.”
“The tragedy of Joseph Smith was not simply that he died young, but that his death left unanswered the central questions of his mission: Was he prophet or impostor, seer or charlatan, saint or sinner? In the end, the power of his life rests in the enduring fascination of those questions.”
June 12, 2008
It's been a goal of mine to delve more into church history. Sometimes it's hard to see the reality of things and flaws in people. Yet, I think it's important, and can even be helpful as one progresses.
November 10, 2010
A solid examination of the Prophet's life, and without a lot of the pious trappings that hinder the usual Mormon treatments.
February 12, 2012
An unbiased view of his life
September 29, 2015
Very good book! I learned a lot and feel that I know the Prophet Joseph Smith better.
January 4, 2024
The research was done by Marvin Hill. There were apparently disputes and Marvin withheld his name. The documentation is first rate.
Want to read
June 19, 2008Bought this about two years ago but haven't gotten to it yet. It's a big one, good reviews.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews