Book Reviews

Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy Its origin, practice, and demise.

Edited by B.Carmon Hardy,Vol.9 of Kingdom in the West:The Mormons and the American Frontier Series.(Norman:The Arthur H.Clark Company,2007.446 pp. Cloth,$39.95.)

AS STRANGE AS IT MIGHT SEEM,Carmon Hardy’s Doing the Works of Abraham:Mormon Polygamy Its origin,practice,and demise is as close as we’ve got to a bible on the Mormon practice of plural marriage.This invaluable volume catalogues the key primary sources illuminating the nineteenth-century practice of plural marriage among the Latter-day Saints from the inception of plurality as an idea in the prophet Joseph Smith’s mind,to its demise as a practice and the moment in the twentieth century when it became a despised doctrine for the modern day church.Hardy’s long history of scholarship in the historiography of plurality perfectly equipped him with an understanding of the currents of history that mold this story,the alternate points of view which portray its dimension, meaning and theology,and the interpretation of what this meant about the Latterday Saints themselves.The men and women who chose to believe their prophets’ instruction and adjust their lives to fit the unique parameters of this ancient but unusual family organization are brought to life in these pages through their own stories or words.

Rightly so,the book begins where Mormon polygamy began,with the prophet Joseph Smith.For Joseph “commanded patriarchal marriage in the name of God.It comported with Mormon claims that they were restoring the truths of earlier prophets and dispensations”(389).Anchoring the Latter-day experiment in an ancient order of men and women,Joseph’s unique interpretation made “sexuality a practice of the gods and,going yet further,exhorting its reproductive employment as a high road to divinity for mortals”(389).Linked to restoration to one’s potential for godhood,plurality and its sexual component opened the potentialities of heaven.

Hardy cautions the reader that many of the manuscripts were written long after the fact and are shadowed by later interpretations,emotions or experiences. Standing silently to the side as we move through the passages of the book,he proves a wise guide and mentor.At each turn,the author sets us up with historical interpretation that contextualizes the passage,helps make sense of it and reveals its importance in the course of the evolution of the doctrine’s rocky history.From time to time,Hardy references the key historical interpretations of the sources, how those who have studied them have assessed their value.

The documents range widely and express as equally broad an expanse of views and attitudes.Hardy describes the purpose of the issuance of the formal articulation of the doctrine of plural marriage as “pragmatic,”a “summation of Smith’s thought over many years.”Appearing after an initial series of plural unions,the 1843 Revelation brought it into the dogma of the church.For Carmon Hardy, plurality continued after Smith’s death in 1844,and after moving into the west, “on a scale greater than ever before.And because of it,in part,Mormonism emerged as perhaps the most distinctive religious movement in American history”(72).

The book is divided into sections which corral the diverse primary sources into thematic but also chronological categories.The “Mormons Tell the World about Polygamy,”and “Mormons Talk to Themselves about Polygamy,”exhibit an evolution of thinking about the practice and theological underpinnings of the doctrine. Learning through their own experience with polygamy,the Mormons explained what they knew as a way of justifying and solidifying their position in the world. The chapters on the national critique of the practice are particularly enlightening and far less well known sources sketch out a picture of disgust,the perception of immorality where for the Mormons was righteous living,and an intentional marshalling of support,opposition and eventually attack.Hardy includes in his collection key pieces of legislation designed by the Federal government to put down the power of the LDS church and in particular its despised doctrine of plurality. The language of speeches like those given by men such as William Hooper pleading for compassion and respect given at the territorial legislature or by George Edmunds’legislation at the United States Congress display the wide range of ways of thinking about the practice—where some saw evidence of faith others saw sin. The gap between the two created a chasm impossible to cross.It is clear by the end of the book why plurality fell from Mormonism’s central playbook and within decades after the Manifesto of 1890 became a distasteful memory of a church struggling for mainstream acceptance and identity.

Hardy gives the reader ample evidence for why plurality is worth studying, “revising the topic,”he writes,“enlarges humane sensibility and tolerance,”saving us from “historical forgiveness”(392).But his concluding comment reveals his deep respect and appreciation of both the quirkiness of the men and women who practiced the doctrine with their lives and the intriguing history that resulted.“It gives the Latter-day Saint polygamous passage,especially those who lived it,a long overdue heraldic place on the tablet of this American Israel’s pioneer epoch,a salute to their proud religious audacity,and the determination they displayed by engaging in one of the longest campaigns of civil disobedience in American history.It is a reminiscence abundant with character and sacrifice,forever tempting our gaze”(392).

Kudos to the Arthur H.Clark Company for this remarkable series of valuable documentary histories and the meticulous editing and coaching of series editor, Will Bagley.As was true of earlier volumes in the series,this book will become a classic.B.Carmon Hardy’s Doing the Works of Abraham:Mormon Polygamy Its origin, practice,and demise should be where one begins with future studies of the Latterday Saints encounter with the doctrine of plural marriage.

MARTHASONNTAGBRADLEY University of Utah

In the President’s Office:The Diaries of L. John Nuttall, 1879-1892

Edited by Jedediah S.Rogers.(Salt Lake City:Signature Books,2007.xl + 511 pp.Cloth,$125.)

LEONARD JOHN NUTTALL (1834-1905) remains a somewhat obscure figure in Utah/Mormon history despite having served as personal secretary to LDS Church presidents John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff.This handsome Signature Books/Smith-Pettit Foundation publication,edited by Arizona State University doctoral student Jedediah S.Rogers,is the eleventh in their series of personal accounts of prominent Latter-day Saints,and should go some to raise Nuttall’s profile and the chronicle of events he describes.While this already hefty volume covers only twelve of the twenty-eight years of Nuttall’s diaries (1876-1904),the period portrayed in this publication is,arguably,the most important of Nuttall’s diaries.Like Signature Books’other diary transcriptions,this book will be noted for making available a revealing account of insider Mormonism otherwise difficult to access by the general public.The original materials are a portion of the 3.5 linear feet of Nuttall’s papers at Brigham Young University’s L.Tom Perry Special Collections.

A native of England and immigrant to Utah in 1852,Nuttall,as noted by Rogers,was a nephew of John Taylor who converted the family to Mormonism. While the kinship connection undoubtedly influenced Nuttall’s rise to local church leadership in Kanab and eventual service to the church’s hierarchy,the diaries reveal a talented,perceptive,and faithful man.

Nuttall emphasizes some periods and events over others.While the book’s length is somewhat evenly divided between Nuttall’s service in the administrations of Taylor (1879-1887) and Woodruff (1887-1892),time segments within each administration vary considerably.During Taylor’s tenure,for example,the pages covering 1879 nearly equal in number those for 1880-1883,nothing is included from 1885,and forty pages (eight percent of the book) is devoted to just the last month of Taylor’s life in 1887.Also,coverage of Woodruff’s leadership is limited for most of two years,1888 and 1890,while Nuttall was in Washington,D.C., working on the church’s behalf.

The one-sided participant’s view of the pre-statehood struggle between Mormon leaders and non-Latter-day Saints in Utah and Washington,whose legal influence had finally tipped the balance in the latter’s favor,is the primary and most illuminating contribution of the account.Nuttall’s own involvement in polygamy forced him “underground”during “the Raid:”“This is the first public meeting I have attended of the Saints since January 1885”(458,May 10,1891). Also of interest,though not covered with the depth one might suppose,are references to the demise of official plural marriage among the Mormons.

The matters covered for a dozen years by one in Nuttall’s position are,of course,many.They range from Taylor’s rehearsals of Joseph Smith’s teachings, Mormon relations with Native Americans,headquarters’involvement in the Logan Temple construction,church business concerns,including the chronic problems of the Bullion,Beck,and Champion mining operations.Observers of late nineteenth-century Mormonism will find Nuttall’s chronicle of Mormon leaders’struggles to maintain the church’s bearing walls,despite extreme opposition,to be important.

While the work does not bear the marks of modern documentary editing standards,something that may disappoint readers of such a consequential volume as Nuttall’s,the editor’s useful introduction helps the reader understand the diary’s context in a straightforward and accessible manner.The volume,however,would have benefited by a more comprehensive introductory biographical sketch of Nuttall and better identification of the fifty-two “Prominent Characters”who received only cursory two-line descriptions in the introduction.

Nuttall was one who knew that as he was writing he was creating an important source of history:“Many scenes have transpired...which will be written by the future Historian.I have done...a good deal towards it”(245,February 1,1888). This welcome volume proves his point.

RONALD O.BARNEY Joseph Smith Papers Salt Lake City

Presidents and Prophets:The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church.

By Michael K.Winder.(American Fork:Covenant Communications,Inc.,2007.428 pp. Cloth $32.95.)

MICHAEL K.WINDER,vice president of Winder Farms,University of Utah Hans Morrow Award winner,graduate of Harvard University’s John F.Kennedy School of Government executive leadership program and published author,has written a fascinating story of Latter-day Saint church leaders and their relationships with the presidents of the United States.Not only does he reveal the actual encounters Mormon church presidents,apostles and delegates to Congress had with those who led the nation,he also weaves threads of Latter-day Saint doctrine that relates to the story he tells,thus allowing him to begin his book with George Washington and other presidents who served long before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized.Readers learn,for example,that the Father of our Country,Mormons believe,was foreordained before he came to earth to establish the United States of America.He was among the first to receive the ordinance of baptism for the dead as Don Carlos Smith,Joseph Smith’s brother,acted as proxy,the font being the Mississippi River.John Adams,Thomas Jefferson and James Madison also received posthumously certain ordinances and were believed to have been raised up by God to found and lead the nation.

The first president that an LDS Church president actually met was Martin Van Buren and the Mormon account of that meeting which Winder fleshes out caused Joseph Smith to “curse Van Buren,”and tell a Quincy Whig reporter that “Van Buren was not as fit as my dog,for the chair of state...” (51).Still,John M. Bernhisel,in Salt Lake City’s Endowment House in 1876 performed a baptism on Van Buren’s behalf.Seventy-six years later other temple ordinances for Van Buren were completed.Many Mormons,if not most,are unaware of this final chapter in the story of President Van Buren and the Latter-day Saints.

The accumulation of little known events in the unfolding relationship of the president of the nation and the highest Mormon leaders will astonish even the most serious students and teachers of Latter-day Saint history.Some examples follow.Joseph Smith prophesied in May 1844 that John Tyler would not be elected the next president.Karl G.Maeser,gave piano lessons to John Tyler’s daughter for six months.Abraham Lincoln served on the grand jury that indicted men believed to have murdered Joseph Smith.Joseph F.Smith was the first church president since Joseph Smith Jr.,to visit the president in the White House (199).Woodrow Wilson was blessed by name by Heber J.Grant in the dedicatory prayer of the Hawaiian Temple (211).President Harding asked Senator and Apostle Reed Smoot to give his gravely ill wife a priesthood blessing,and President Heber J. Grant played golf with Harding when he visited Utah (221).President Calvin Coolidge,shortly before his death was blessed by Senator Smoot (225).Senator Smoot,after marrying his second wife,honeymooned for a week in the White House as the guest of President and Mrs.Hoover (233).And President Lyndon Johnson gave President David O.McKay one of the three flags that flew over the capital during the inaugural ceremonies (307).

General church officers with only a few exceptions,Winder points out,developed closer ties with Republican presidents than with their Democrat counterparts. Still,Mormon church leaders recognized that they needed some influence when a Democrat led the nation,and sought ties with leaders in both political parties.

Though this is a fascinating read,there are one or two items that should be noted.The author points out what may not be universally known that George Washington rarely attended church,and when he prayed,even in private,preferred to stand rather than kneel (7).Then Winder repeats the mythical story at Valley Forge where Washington’s men found him kneeling,praying for guidance and aid, as well as featuring the H.Bruekner painting of Washington praying on bended knee.Joseph J.Ellis in his book American Creation (2007) writes:“The image of Washington kneeling in prayer amidst the snowdrifts is a complete fabrication” (62).Winder’s source is Ezra Taft Benson’s The Great Prologue, which may reflect legend more than fact.Winder also fails to inform us that there were two others who stood proxy for Washington’s vicarious baptism before the saints left Nauvoo. (Guy M.Bishop,“What Has Become of Our Fathers?’Baptism for the Dead in Nauvoo.”Dialogue 23 (Summer 1990):85-97).

Michael K.Winder is to be commended for bringing together a plethora of interesting facts that involved LDS church leaders and presidents of the United States.Not only is this book a valuable historical narrative but it is also attractive; the pictures alone make the volume worth purchasing.It is no wonder that the author wanted those he worked with in the West Valley City government to have a copy.This book would be a valuable addition to anyone’s library,even a Church President or the President of the United States.

KENNETH W. GODFREY Logan

Minerva Teichert: Pageants in Paint.

By Marian Wardle.(Provo:Brigham Young University Museum of Art,2007.xiv + 244 pp.Paper,$29.95.)

IN THE YEARS SINCE HER DEATH,the paintings of Western artist Minerva Teichert have gained substantial notoriety for their Western and Mormon themes, and distinct artistic style.In spite of this rise in popularity,however,literature highlighting the life of one of the West’s most prolific twentieth-century artists has been lacking,limited to articles written by family members for inclusion in magazines and journals,and only one published book.While these works provide adequate biographical sketches by utilizing letters,diary entries,and oral history, each has lacked the scope and expertise required to adequately describe Teichert’s art and the historical context in which it was created.

In Minerva Teichert:Pageants in Paint,Brigham Young University Museum of Art curator and Teichert granddaughter Marian Wardle uses her professional expertise to examine Teichert’s life and accomplishments in greater detail than has been yielded previously.In addition to her professional mincing of Teichert’s artwork, Wardle’s familial relation to her subject lends her credibility in dealing with the intricacies of Teichert’s character and personality.

While some would argue that this relationship to Teichert makes Wardle an inherently biased biographer,the book maintains a scholarly perspective throughout, with sources assiduously researched in order to avoid some of the “inaccuracies”she claims have been perpetuated in Teichert’s past biographies.In her “Notes on the Sources,”Wardle cements her standing as a credible biographer by pointing out that many of these “erroneous recordings of episodes”were probably “inspired by the artist herself (Teichert),whose dramatic nature was sometimes given to hyperbole” (230).Wardle’s willingness to point out one of her grandmother’s idiosyncrasies (however euphemistically) indicates she is wholly committed to a scholarly examination of Teichert’s life and career.However,even without this evidence of objectivity,the quality of the content and presentation of Pageants in Paint is enough to easily vault it past other works on Teichert and into the role of authoritative biography.

The book’s most appealing quality may be Wardle’s incorporation of diverse facts into her contextualizing of Teichert’s life,thus making Pageants in Paint engaging not only to those with express interest in Teichert,but also for those looking for insight into early twentieth century art theory and history.For example,Wardle delves into the prevalent art techniques and styles of the time in order to describe the development of Teichert’s skill while she was studying in Chicago and New York in the early 1900s.Other historical gems offered by the author include her description of Teichert’s utilization of the depression-era New Deal programs such as the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA),which placed many of her murals in Wyoming schools. Despite the occasional use of art verbiage that is difficult for a layman to digest, Wardle’s thorough descriptions of circumstances and events provide significant insight into the world in which Teichert lived.

Other features of the book stand out in addition to its engaging content, including forty-seven color reproductions of some of Teichert’s most famous paintings.Many of her sketches have been included as well,revealing Teichert’s raw artistic talent and showing her development throughout her prolific career. This blend of high quality prints and fascinating content makes the book suitable for serious reading,or mere coffee-table perusal.

Pageants in Paint is successful in large part due to Wardle’s ability to fully explain the intricacies of Teichert’s unique work while sacrificing none of the biographical information that characterizes other works on Teichert.Clearly the definitive biography written on the life of Minerva Teichert,Wardle’s scholarly treatment of the subject and apt characterization of her work add a significant cache of knowledge not only to those studying Teichert herself,but to those interested in the period in general.

PETER MUNK University of Utah

Wallace Stegner’s Salt Lake City.

By Robert C.Steensma.(Salt Lake City:The University of Utah Press,2007.x + 165 pp.Cloth,$29.95.)

WALLACE STEGNER was born rolling. He lived in the town of his birth, Lake Mills, Iowa, for only six weeks. Like a tumbleweed the family caromed from North Dakota to Washington State to Saskatchewan to Montana, finally snagging up in Salt Lake City in 1921.Stegner was twelve years old. For nearly fifteen of the next eighteen years, he lived in Salt Lake City where life continued to be unsettled. Stegner’s father was a bootlegger and operated speakeasies in the family residences which numbered at least eleven between 1921 and 1939.Stegner’s East High School days were stressful, but he later thrived at the University of Utah. He wrote his first short story and first novel in Salt Lake City. He fell in love, was jilted, and recovered for the first time in Salt Lake City. He married and his son, Page ,was born in Salt Lake City. Stegner belatedly came to realize that Salt Lake City was his hometown.

Wallace Stegner’s Salt Lake City delivers a detailed view of the man and the city during his passage through adolescence into adulthood.Author Robert C. Steensma takes a cue from Stegner’s belief in the influence of places on personality.In a gallery of photos (71 pages) plus chapters on the American West,Salt Lake City,East High School,and the University of Utah,Steensma paints the milieus of Stegner’s teenage years through his late twenties,letting the reader,for the most part,judge the environment’s impact in shaping Stegner’s character.Against this cultural background,Steensma fills in the details,connecting Salt Lake City’s landmarks and people to scenes and characters in Stegner’s works.We learn,for example,that Nola,an important character in Recapitulation ,was,in real life, Juanita Crawford,to whom Stegner was once engaged.Nola is contrasted with Holly who is based on Helen “Peg”Foster,another of Stegner’s close friends from his university days.Photos of both women are featured in the photo section.

The book also includes two autobiographical essays by Stegner,and it is here that we get a focused view of his emotional life during the Salt Lake City years.In “At Home in the Fields of the Lord,”he recalls that they were some of “the most miserable years of my life…and I am sure now,”he writes,“that off and on and for considerable periods I can hardly have been completely sane”(41).Between high school and college,Stegner grew six inches,and with growth came athletic prowess,self confidence,and friends.As a college sophomore,he earned a tennis letter sweater,and in “It Is the Love of Books I Owe Them,”Stegner writes of a chance encounter with an admiring classmate:“It was the sweater that made Harold look on me as one of the godlike ones who belonged.To tell the truth,it had the same effect on me”(73).

In Steensma’s essays,the relevance of some anecdotal material seems,to this reviewer,a stretch,and a tabular or,better still,graphic chronology of Stegner’s life,or at least the Salt Lake period,would have been helpful,as would larger type for the block quotations,but these are minor faults.

Many readers will find this book satisfying.Those who have read or are about to read The Big Rock Candy Mountain, Recapitulation, and/or The Preacher and the Slave (later retitled Joe Hill) will enjoy connecting characters and landmarks with real-life counterparts.Readers nostalgic for Salt Lake City and the University of Utah of the 1920s and 1930s will find nourishment.Historians will find the book insightful and well researched,a worthy addition to collections of books on either Stegner or Salt Lake City.

ALLANW. SMART Salt Lake City