Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reexamined pdf.pdf

Since the early 1830s, Mormons and non-Mormons alike have tried to make sense of the varied recollections of Joseph Smith’s New York neighbors. Together with autobiographical accounts, these important sources comprise almost everything known about the young prophet and his family during the 1820s. In this perceptive new study, Rodger Anderson includes accurate transcripts of these firsthand reminiscences (some of which are published here for the first time), evaluates the validity of their claims, and discusses the lively debates they have engendered.

“Very well written and long overdue, Joseph Smith’s New York Reputation Reexamined is a fascinating overview of the contro-versial sources relating to early Mormonism.” —Lavina Fielding Anderson, co-editor, Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective

“Systematically peeling back the layers of misconception and misinformation, Anderson shows that the witnesses to Joseph Smith’s early activities were not simply conveying community gossip but in many instances were participants in and eye-witnesses to the events they related. An extremely valuable and important contribution.” —Dan Vogel, author, Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism

“Rodger Anderson has returned to the site of the beginnings of Mormonism and produced a rich harvest of information for those interested in the birth of Joseph Smith’s religion. This is a work of valid, authentic detail relating to those fateful events.” —John Phillip Walker, editor, Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism

about the author: Rodger Anderson, a native of Salt Lake City and graduate in philosophy from the University of Utah, currently resides in Oklahoma. He is a freelance writer specializing in nineteenth-century religions.