Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Encyclopedia
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling: A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder is a biography of Joseph Smith Jr., founder and prophet
of the Latter Day Saint movement
, by Richard Bushman
. Bushman is both a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and the Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University
.
Although the five-hundred eighty-four page biography (with additional extensive notes and documentation) does not avoid controversial aspects of Smith's life and work, such as his practice of polygamy
and his youthful treasure-seeking, it treats them cautiously, and as Bushman himself admits, with "greater tolerance for Smith's remarkable stories than most historians would allow." Rough Stone Rolling makes use of much recent research and is the most complete biography of Joseph Smith published to date.
of the New York Times Book Review says that when reading Bushman's biography, "once the reader despairs of ever finding out whether Smith was God's own spokesman or the L. Ron Hubbard
of his day, it's possible to enjoy a tale that's as colorful, suspenseful and unlikely as any in American history." Larry McMurtry
says that in reading Bushman, it is difficult to determine "where biography ends and apologetics begins." In a long academic review, Jan Shipps
calls the book "the crowning achievement of the new Mormon history," although she also notes that "the somewhat stilted early chapters of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling probably did not pull McMurtry into Smith's astonishing story" as do those of Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History (1945). Retired BYU professor Marvin S. Hill
, writing in Dialogue
, says that Bushman "comes up markedly short at times and he does not always examine controversial issues carefully" but that "his book suggests that thought about the Prophet has matured among some faithful Latter-day Saints."
In 2007, Bushman published a brief but revealing memoir about the publication of Rough Stone Rolling, which outlines both the genesis of the book and the reaction of audiences and reviewers during his yearlong book tour.
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, by Richard Bushman
Richard Bushman
Richard Lyman Bushman is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is currently the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University...
. Bushman is both a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and the Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Approach
The title of the book refers to a self-description by Smith, "I [am] a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel was never heard on me nor never will be. I desire the learning and wisdom of heaven alone." Bushman is the author of many books on early American cultural and religious history, and his own religious and academic background enables him to locate Joseph Smith in the cultural context of early nineteenth-century America.Although the five-hundred eighty-four page biography (with additional extensive notes and documentation) does not avoid controversial aspects of Smith's life and work, such as his practice of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and his youthful treasure-seeking, it treats them cautiously, and as Bushman himself admits, with "greater tolerance for Smith's remarkable stories than most historians would allow." Rough Stone Rolling makes use of much recent research and is the most complete biography of Joseph Smith published to date.
Critical reception
Jane Lampman, reviewing the book for the Christian Science Monitor, says that "some may feel [Bushman] sanitizes Smith's motives for establishing polygamy and marrying dozens of wives," but lauds the book as "an honest yet sympathetic portrayal...rich in its depiction of developing Mormonism.". Walter KirnWalter Kirn
Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. His latest book is the 2009 memoir Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever.-Overview:...
of the New York Times Book Review says that when reading Bushman's biography, "once the reader despairs of ever finding out whether Smith was God's own spokesman or the L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
of his day, it's possible to enjoy a tale that's as colorful, suspenseful and unlikely as any in American history." Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
says that in reading Bushman, it is difficult to determine "where biography ends and apologetics begins." In a long academic review, Jan Shipps
Jan Shipps
Jo Ann Barnett "Jan" Shipps is an American historian specializing in Mormon History, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century to the present. Shipps is generally regarded as the foremost non-Mormon scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement, having given particular attention to The...
calls the book "the crowning achievement of the new Mormon history," although she also notes that "the somewhat stilted early chapters of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling probably did not pull McMurtry into Smith's astonishing story" as do those of Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History (1945). Retired BYU professor Marvin S. Hill
Marvin S. Hill
Marvin Sidney Hill is a retired professor of American history at Brigham Young University and a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.- Biography :...
, writing in Dialogue
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....
, says that Bushman "comes up markedly short at times and he does not always examine controversial issues carefully" but that "his book suggests that thought about the Prophet has matured among some faithful Latter-day Saints."
In 2007, Bushman published a brief but revealing memoir about the publication of Rough Stone Rolling, which outlines both the genesis of the book and the reaction of audiences and reviewers during his yearlong book tour.
Awards
- 2005 Best Book Award from the Mormon History AssociationMormon History AssociationThe Mormon History Association is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field...
- 2005 Evans Biography Award from the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at Utah State UniversityUtah State UniversityUtah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
Publication data
- Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005) ISBN 1-4000-4270-4 (hardcover)
- Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Vintage Books, 2007) ISBN 978-1-4000-7753-3 (paperback)
External links
- Biographical sketch of Richard Bushman from the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History (archived on September 14, 2006)
- "Interview with Richard Bushman"
- Online weblog symposium on Rough Stone Rolling -- Four book reviews and four responses from the author, Richard Bushman
- "MP3 Radio Interview with Richard Bushman about Rough Stone Rolling"