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WalkerW

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I used to read a lot of Church history, but have moved away from it as of late. Not for any particular reason. Just different interests (e.g. history of science, philosophy, Christian history, economic theory, etc.).

I'd love suggestions. What are some of the best Church history books or articles? It can be on any topic in Church history.

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I used to read a lot of Church history, but have moved away from it as of late. Not for any particular reason. Just different interests (e.g. history of science, philosophy, Christian history, economic theory, etc.).

I'd love suggestions. What are some of the best Church history books or articles? It can be on any topic in Church history.

Terryl Givens, People of Paradox. A cultural history that asks, "What makes us distinctively Mormon?"

Kevin Christensen

Pittsburgh, PA

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Terryl Givens, People of Paradox. A cultural history that asks, "What makes us distinctively Mormon?"

Kevin Christensen

Pittsburgh, PA

That could be especially interesting, considering my current interests have been the history of ideas and how they shape cultures. I have a research paper due next month on organizational culture and innovation.

Whatdya know: UNT has it. Thanks, Kevin.

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Some great books to try:

The Mormon Experience, A History of The Latter Day Saints, Leonard Arrington

The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Glen Leonard, James Allen

Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling, Richard Bushman

Brigham Young, American Moses, Arrington

Massacre at Mountain Meadows Walker, Richard Turley, Leonard, Allen

Waiting for World's End: The Diaries of Wilford Woodruff, ed. by Susan Staker

Mormonism in Transition, Thomas Alexander

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, Greg Prince

Lengthen Your Stride-The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball, Edward Kimball

Why depend totally on the work of others, though? There is also an overabundance of good online resources and journals that you might want to keep in mind (not all are explicitly focused on history, although all at least contain articles and info on history). Primary and secondary sources for your enjoyment include but are not limited to:

Harold B. Lee Library Digital Collections (a great lds history section, old church periodicals, etc.)

J. Willard Marriott Library (digital collections has books and stuff)

The Journal of Mormon History

Joseph Smith Papers Project

scriptures.byu.edu (has General Conference addresses from 1942-present, and other fun stuff)

Mormon Historical Studies

John Whitmer Historical Association

Juvenile Instructor blog

Keep-A-Pitchin'-In (Ardis Parshall's blog)

Book of Abraham Project (a blog on church history stuff from WV Smith)

FAIR Wiki (has loads of stuff, Journal of Discourses, known accounts of BoM translation witnesses, etc.)

International Journal of Mormon Studies

BYU Studies

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Also, I ought to pitch my own podcast, which has discussed issues of church history in 4 episodes thus far:

FAIR Podcast

Finally, there have been some impressive dissertations/theses recently as well, which haven't been published but may be accessible from various friends and authors, etc. These include works by people like David Grua, Christopher Jones, Robin Jensen, Mike Reed (still need to read his), Sam Brown (independent research) and others.

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LoaP nailed it, listing many of the "must reads" of the genre. If I could add a few more:

Givens's By the Hand of Mormon is perhaps an even more important book than his People of Paradox--and that is really saying something, because PoP is extraordinary!

Kathleen Flake's Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle is absolutely outstanding. One of the most important books on Mormonism, primarily because it is well researched and theoretically sound (a rarity among Mormon historiography). (Random side note: even Elder Oaks said it was the best history book he's read in some time!)

If you want a more academic book, Sally Gordon's The Mormon Question is unrivaled. Perhaps the most successful book on Mormonism that addresses larger American themes.

For quick, light reads, Oxford's Very Short Introduction series has two fantastic books on Mormonism (Bushman) and Book of Mormon (Givens).

Though I'm biased, I second LoaP's recommendation of Juvenile Instructor--lots of good stuff there that will keep you aware of major trends in the field. Indeed, they even have two posts (with important discussions in the comments!) related to your question: a poll of young, academically trained Mormon historians on what the "top" books in the field are, a listing of some of the best Mormon biographies, and an overview of the most important works released in 2009 (which hopefully will become a yearly tradition).

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I have heard tale that Nurse Kevin Christensen, Nurse Bill Hamblin, and Doctor Scratch are soon to release a book that is going to rock the very core of how all the world and maybe even the heavens view Mormon history and philosophy. It's called "The Once and Future Mopologist: Bed Pan Collector DCP."

I, for one, eagerly await its release with bated breath.

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