Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel
The General Epistles of the Mormon First Presidency
Reid L Neilson editor Nathan N Waite editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:20th Apr '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The Mormons had just arrived in Utah after their 1,300-mile exodus across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains. Food was scarce, the climate shocking in its extremes, and local Indian bands uneasy. Despite the challenges, Brigham Young and his counselors in the First Presidency sent church members out to establish footholds throughout the Great Basin. But the church leaders felt they had a commission to do more than simply establish Zion in the wilderness; they had to invite the nations to come up to "the mountain of the Lord's house." In these critical early years, when survival in Utah was precarious, missionaries were sent to every inhabited continent. The 14 general epistles, sent out from the First Presidency from 1849 to 1856, provide invaluable perspectives on the events of Mormon history as they unfolded during this complex transitional time. Woven into each epistle are missionary calls and reports from the field, giving the Mormons a glimpse of the wider world far beyond their isolated home. At times, the epistles are a surprising mixture of soaring doctrinal expositions and mundane lists of items needed in Salt Lake City, such as shoe leather and nails. Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel collects the 14 general epistles, with introductions that provide historical, religious, and environmental contexts for the letters, including how they fit into the Christian epistolary tradition by which they were inspired.
The geographical register is also helpful and there is a bibliography as well as an extensive index that adds to the usefulness of the edition. The book thereby constitutes a kind of encyclopedia for the LDS history and the pioneer period context from 1849 to 1856. * Hans Gerald Hödl, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review *
The book thereby constitutes a kind of encyclopedia for the LDS history and the pioneer period context from 1849 to 1856. * Hans Gerald Hödl, Religious Studies Review *
Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel: The General Epistles of the Mormon First Presidency is a helpful, easy to use collection that offers first hand glimpses into the concerns, struggles, and experiences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid 19th century...Beyond Mormon studies, Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel advances and facilitates scholarship in disciplines as varied as comparative literature, American religious history, history of the American West, religion, missiology, and Native American studies. * Mitch Nelson, Claremont Graduate University, Reading Religion *
Settling the Valley is a remarkably rich contribution to the study of Mormon and Utah history. It is a handsom volume, with an impressive dust jacket, and has set a standard of excellence to which all future editors of similar-type literature and topics can aspite. * Richard E. Bennett, Journal of Mormon History *
Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel will be helpful for anyone studying Brigham Young, mid-nineteenth-century Church leadership, and pioneer life in antebellum Utah Territory. Though the epistles can be found separately in archives and some are available online, having them all in one place, footnoted and indexed, will be a welcome resource to any researcher of the era. * Gerrit van Dyk, BYU Studies Quarterly *
ISBN: 9780190600891
Dimensions: 160mm x 236mm x 43mm
Weight: 748g
464 pages