Description
Book SynopsisA compelling new interpretation of early Mormonism, Samuel Brown''s In Heaven as It Is On Earth views this religion through the lens of founder Joseph Smith''s profound preoccupation with the specter of death. Revisiting historical documents and scripture from this novel perspective, Brown offers new insight into the origin and meaning of some of Mormonism''s earliest beliefs and practices. The world of early Mormonism was besieged by death--infant mortality, violence, and disease were rampant. A prolonged battle with typhoid fever, punctuated by painful surgeries including a threatened leg amputation, and the sudden loss of his beloved brother Alvin cast a long shadow over Smith''s own life. Smith embraced and was deeply influenced by the culture of holy dying--with its emphasis on deathbed salvation, melodramatic bereavement, and belief in the Providential nature of untimely death--that sought to cope with the widespread mortality of the period. Seen in this light, Smith''s treasure
Trade ReviewOne of this work's many virtues is that it provides the best explanation of Mormon temple worship ever published. Moreover, as Brown makes his case that this religion's 'end goal is the conquest of death,' he clarifies much about Mormon belief that is mysterious to outsiders (p. 170). * Journal of American History *
For the emphasis on the centrality of death if for nothing else, this book deserves a place on the Mormon bookshelf. It does so much more than this, however, in helping the reader thoroughly contextualise the Restoration of the Gospel and the development of the various revelations that Joseph received. * James Holt, International Journal of Mormon Studies *
Table of ContentsPart I: Death, Dying, and the Dead ; Chapter 1. "Melancholly Reflections": Joseph Smith and Holy Dying ; Chapter 2. The Corpse and its Rest ; Chapter 3. Relics, Graves, and the Treasure Quest ; Chapter 4. Hallowed Ground: Tombs, Indians, and Eden ; Chapter 5. Seerhood, Pure Language, and the Silence of the Grave ; Part II: Everlasting Communities ; Chapter 6. The New and Everlasting Covenant ; Chapter 7. Negotiating Death and Afterlife in Nauvoo ; Chapter 8. The "Lineage of my Preast Hood" and the Chain of Belonging ; Chapter 9. Divine Anthropology: Translating the Suprahuman Chain ; Chapter 10. "Death Cannot Conquer the Hero Again": The Death and Afterlife of a Martyr
