So, I'm just finishing up with the Bushman book. - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

SteelBlue · 11-30-2005, 07:13 PM

What is our next book going to be? And what did everybody think of the Bushman book? I found it to be well written and quite informative. I learned many things about which I really had no idea. Chief among those things was that Joseph was very quick to trust people. It seemed to burn him frequently. Must have been very difficult to have so much work to get done and so few people to really be able to trust. On the flip side, it is easy to see why there were so few people to trust. Anybody who stayed with him through the whole experience certainly must have had their faith in him tried beyond anything an average person could have tolerated.

myboynoah · 11-30-2005, 10:21 PM

I was struck by the lengths the early Utah Church went to in order to prove that Joseph Smith had consumated his plural marriages in the face of denials by the reorganites, while today I get the feeling that we (Mormons collectively) would want to believe that JS never indulged himself with anyone but Emma.

I just come away totally amazed with all that he accomplished given his obvious limitations (education, social and economic standing, etc.) and the sustained opposition he faced throughout his life. He was always putting out fires, both internally and externally, something that would have totally consumed the normal man. Yet he managed that while relocating his people three times, looking after their needs, and introducing new and revolutionary doctrine. Simply amazing.

As an aside, the stories of Emma's unhappiness with him and polygamy seemed almost comical in a way; Joseph having to get William Clayton to see if it was okay for him to come home.

11-30-2005, 07:13 PM	#1
SteelBlue Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Norcal Posts: 5,821	So, I'm just finishing up with the Bushman book. What is our next book going to be? And what did everybody think of the Bushman book? I found it to be well written and quite informative. I learned many things about which I really had no idea. Chief among those things was that Joseph was very quick to trust people. It seemed to burn him frequently. Must have been very difficult to have so much work to get done and so few people to really be able to trust. On the flip side, it is easy to see why there were so few people to trust. Anybody who stayed with him through the whole experience certainly must have had their faith in him tried beyond anything an average person could have tolerated.

11-30-2005, 10:21 PM	#2
myboynoah Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Memphis freakin' Tennessee!!!!! Posts: 4,530	I'm finishing up also. Absolutely fascinating. I was struck by the lengths the early Utah Church went to in order to prove that Joseph Smith had consumated his plural marriages in the face of denials by the reorganites, while today I get the feeling that we (Mormons collectively) would want to believe that JS never indulged himself with anyone but Emma. I just come away totally amazed with all that he accomplished given his obvious limitations (education, social and economic standing, etc.) and the sustained opposition he faced throughout his life. He was always putting out fires, both internally and externally, something that would have totally consumed the normal man. Yet he managed that while relocating his people three times, looking after their needs, and introducing new and revolutionary doctrine. Simply amazing. As an aside, the stories of Emma's unhappiness with him and polygamy seemed almost comical in a way; Joseph having to get William Clayton to see if it was okay for him to come home. __________________ Give 'em Hell, Cougars!!! Religion rises inevitably from our apprehension of our own death. To give meaning to meaninglessness is the endless quest of all religion. When death becomes the center of our consciousness, then religion authentically begins. Of all religions that I know, the one that most vehemently and persuasively defies and denies the reality of death is the original Mormonism of the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith.