Hosea Stout witnessed and influenced many of the major civil and political events over fifty years of LDS history, but until the publication of his diaries, he was a relatively obscure figure to historians. Hosea Stout: Lawman, Legislator, Mormon Defender is the first-ever biography of this devoted follower who played a significant role in Mormon and Utah history. Stout joined the Mormons in Missouri in 1838 and followed them to Nauvoo, where he rose quickly to become a top leader in the Nauvoo Legion and chief of police, a position he also held at Winter Quarters. He became the first attorney general for the Territory of Utah, was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and served as regent for the University of Deseret (which later became the University of Utah) and as judge advocate of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah. In 1862, Stout was appointed US attorney for the Territory of Utah by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1867, he became city attorney of Salt Lake City and he was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1881. But Stout’s history also had its troubled moments. Known as a violent man and aggressive enforcer, he was often at the center of controversy during his days on the police force and was accused of having a connection with deaths in Nauvoo and Utah. Ultimately, however, none of these allegations ever found traction, and the leaders of the LDS community, especially Brigham Young, saw to it that Stout was promoted to roles of increasing responsibility throughout his life. When he died in 1889, Hosea Stout left a complicated legacy of service to his state, his church, and the members of his faith community.

A history of the Four Corners states during their formative territorial years. Newly revised edition.

From the author of A Midwife's Tale, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize for History, and The Age of Homespun--a revelatory, nuanced, and deeply intimate look at the world of early Mormon women whose seemingly ordinary lives belied an astonishingly revolutionary spirit, drive, and determination. A stunning and sure-to-be controversial book that pieces together, through more than two dozen nineteenth-century diaries, letters, albums, minute-books, and quilts left by first-generation Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, the never-before-told story of the earliest days of the women of Mormon "plural marriage," whose right to vote in the state of Utah was given to them by a Mormon-dominated legislature as an outgrowth of polygamy in 1870, fifty years ahead of the vote nationally ratified by Congress, and who became political actors in spite of, or because of, their marital arrangements. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, writing of this small group of Mormon women who've previously been seen as mere names and dates, has brilliantly reconstructed these textured, complex lives to give us a fulsome portrait of who these women were and of their "sex radicalism"--the idea that a woman should choose when and with whom to bear children.

This is the third in a series of books exposing the truth behind Mormonism. In this volume, we review doctrines that have been discarded. To early Mormons, Adam was God and blood atonement was a stark reality. These were accepted doctrines which survived for several decades throughout the leadership of several successive prophets. Today, the Church denies they even existed. The origin of the Mormon temple ceremony is established and explained. An analysis of changes over the years shows that the rites now enacted bear no resemblance to the original ceremonies Joseph Smith lifted from late eighteenth century Masonic ritual, claiming they were restored from the time of Solomon. The psychology of a Mormon testimony is explored and explained. Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are exposed as completely unfulfilled nonsense that Mormons simply cannot see through as long as blind faith precludes rational thinking. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other volumes.

Follow the fascinating true stories of one family through the Mormon pioneer era—stories that follow four generations and several of the author’s family lines as they and their fellow pioneers help shape the early history of the Mormon Church, the American West, and even Mexico. This memorable journey is the culmination of fifteen years of painstaking research as the author carefully reconstructs the pioneer struggles from before 1830 to 1918 using information from family journals, memoirs, histories and letters. Volume II (Pioneering the West/Defending Zion, 1847-1880) continues the history by recounting the family’s involvement in the opening and colonization of the Great Basin. It recounts in detail the dangerous crossing of the plains in covered wagons, with handcarts, and on foot. It tells of explorations, of planting tiny settlements in remote regions, eating roots and rawhide to survive, and fighting insect hordes and hostile Indians. Volume II also tells how the Mormons faced off the U.S. Army, and how they helped build the railroad across the plains. My Own Pioneers is an important work illuminating the legacy of the Mormon pioneers. It is a compilation of true chronological accounts through which their lives, their sacrifices, and their considerable accomplishments, despite terrible hardship, may be honored. With its extensive index, this book provides an excellent research tool for academics as well as history enthusiasts; and it uplifts every reader by showcasing the enduring strength and mighty faith of these pioneers.

The Mormon trek westward from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley was an enduring accomplishment of American overland trail migration; however, their wintering at the Missouri River near present-day Omaha was a feat of faith and perseverance. Richard E. Bennett presents new facts and ideas that challenge old assumptions—particularly that life on the frontier encouraged American individualism. With an excellent command of primary sources, Bennett assesses the role of women in a pioneer society and the Mormon strategies for survival in a harsh environment as they planned their emigration, coped with internal dissension and Indian agents, and dealt with tribes of the region. This was, says Bennett, “Mormonism in the raw on the way to what it would be later.” Now available in paperback for the first time, with a new introduction by the author, Mormons at the Missouri received the Francis M. and Emily Chipman Award from the Mormon History Association and was honored as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association.

During the Autumn of 1857, in a remote region of what is now Southern Utah, acts of great treachery were committed against innocent people. The loss of life was staggering and unprecedented in American history. Evidence shows the responsible parties to be from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including the Prophet Brigham Young. This story strives to honor the historical record.

This is the third in a series of books exposing the truth behind Mormonism. In this volume, we review doctrines that have been discarded. To early Mormons, Adam was God and blood atonement was a stark reality. These were accepted doctrines which survived for several decades throughout the leadership of several successive prophets. Today, the Church denies they even existed. The origin of the Mormon temple ceremony is established and explained. An analysis of changes over the years shows that the rites now enacted bear no resemblance to the original ceremonies Joseph Smith lifted from late eighteenth century Masonic ritual, claiming they were restored from the time of Solomon. The psychology of a Mormon testimony is explored and explained. Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are exposed as completely unfulfilled nonsense that Mormons simply cannot see through as long as blind faith precludes rational thinking. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other volumes.