Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Century I is a six-volume history published in 1930 and written by B.H. Roberts, a general authority and Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It should not be confused with the seven-volume History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Documentary History of the Church), which was also produced by Roberts in the early 20th-century but as an editor and which focused on the history of Joseph Smith.
 | |
| Author | B. H. Roberts |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Mormon history |
| Publisher | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Deseret News Press |
Publication date | April 6, 1930[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 3,459 (6 volumes)[2] |
| OCLC | 03366367 |
| Preceded by | The History of the Mormon Church |
| Followed by | Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days |
Background
editAfter the American Historical Magazine, owned by the American Historical Society, published articles on the Spalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship, B. H. Roberts, the LDS Church's Assistant Church Historian, asked the magazine to allow him to publish a rebuttal. After his four-part response, the editor was so pleased that he invited Roberts to write a detailed history of the LDS Church.[1] The magazine was willing to change its frequency and format to accommodate the size of this task. From 1909 to 1915, Roberts wrote "The History of the Mormon Church" in forty-two-page installments for each issue of the magazine (by that time renamed Americana and sometimes called Americana Illustrated).[1][3]
After the final article appeared, the church's First Presidency wanted to publish the work in six volumes,[3] but this was dropped due to the cost, despite the willingness of Roberts. He even considered condensing the material into a single volume after Joseph Fielding Smith's one-volume Essentials in Church History was authorized for publication.[4] In 1928, apostle George Albert Smith asked Roberts to revisit and update his work for publication in commemoration of the church's 1930 centennial.[1]
For this reference work used by members of the church, a separate index volume was published in 1959 by the Brigham Young University Library.[5]
Reception
editComprehensive History has been called the "most important historical labor" by Roberts[6] and "his magnum opus."[7] It is seen as the "high-water mark" of historical studies before the academics of the New Mormon History[7] and was "far superior to any history of Mormonism which had yet appeared."[8] It was the first to publish some major portions of recent history and to chronicle so wide a period of the Latter Day Saint movement's past in one work. It referenced copious primary and secondary sources and sought to reject historical myths, "the untruth, the spectacular, the bizarre" that was "based on worthless testimony".[7] The work has been criticized for manifesting a strong Mormon bias and using Romantic, "rhapsodic prose that sometimes overshoots the mark",[7] but as late as 2001 was nevertheless considered "unsurpassed for its detail and for its comprehensive treatment" as a synthesis of Latter-day Saint history.[9]
Volumes summary
edit- Volume I
- Joseph Smith's early history until the church's experience in Missouri
- Volume II
- Settlement in Illinois up unto the exodus from Illinois
- Volume III
- The pioneer trek up until federal intervention in Salt Lake City
- Volume IV
- Various events in Utah Territory in the 1850s
- Volume V
- Volume VI
- Events leading up to the Manifesto, Utah statehood, and other events to 1930
See also
edit- Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, a biographical dictionary of the LDS Church from 1830 to 1930
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d Godfrey, Kenneth W. (2000). "Comprehensive History of the Church, A". In Arnold K. Garr; Donald Q. Cannon; Richard O. Cowan (eds.). Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. ISBN 1-57345-822-8.
- ^ Walker, Whittaker & Allen 2001, pp. 35–37.
- ^ a b Roberts 1930
- ^ Walker, Whittaker & Allen 2001, pp. 35–36.
- ^ "Index to A comprehensive history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". iLink BYU Online Catalog. Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Walker, Whittaker & Allen 2001, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d Alder, Douglas D. (1992). "Comprehensive History of the Church". In Ludlow, Daniel H. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. pp. 303–304. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Bitton, Davis (Winter 1968). "B.H. Roberts as Historian" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 3 (4): 25–44. doi:10.2307/45227067. JSTOR 45227067. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ Walker, Whittaker & Allen 2001, p. 36.
References
edit- Roberts, B. H. (1930), "Preface", A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I, Salt Lake City: LDS Church.
- Walker, Ronald W.; Whittaker, David J.; Allen, James B. (2001). Mormon History. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252026195 – via Internet Archive.