Reddit reviews Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet

You may be interested in this: https://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-John-G-Turner/dp/0674049675

Bushman Review: “The story Turner tells in this elegantly written biography will startle and shock many readers. He reveals a Brigham Young more violent and coarse than the man Mormons have known. While lauding his achievements as pioneer, politician, and church leader, the book will require a reassessment of Brigham Young the man.”—Richard Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet. Written by a non-Mormon scholar. Well done.

I'm almost always juggling reading material. At the moment I am reading Neuromancer by William Gibson, and Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Just finished reading Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G Turner, which I highly recommend.

This one is legit.

http://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-John-G-Turner/dp/0674049675

It seriously is. It's unique in a way that no other denomination is like, and is such a distinct historical occurrence in that the circumstances which surrounded it created a completely distinct culture in the matter of only decades.

Edit: For anyone interested in a good historical book on the early LDS movement that I've been reading (a secular outlook that gives both the main LDS narrative and secular criticism/realism): Pioneer Prophet by John G Turner

The Oxford Short Introductions Series has a great volume on Mormonism that covers the faith in a very even-handed and neutral manner. If you're pressed for time, this would probably be the best thing to read. The Dummies and Idiot's Guide are actually not that bad in their presentation of the faith; they're both by what would be termed "liberal Mormons" and do a pretty good job of being realistic in their presentation (though both still being very positive, of course, but they're not conversion texts).

To understand the different faiths in the Latter Day Saint movement you need to understand the history of the faith as so much of the faith claims are rooted in historical events. Books like Rough Stone Rolling and No Man Knows My History give a good overview of Joseph Smith's life. The upcoming Brigham Young biography by John Turner seems like it will also be a good source for information on Young's tenure as president of the Church as it will discuss some of the darker/stranger issues like blood atonement and Adam-God. If you want to go in depth on the history of the Temple ritual, I'd recommend Buerger's The Mysteries of Godliness.

The last information I would give is that most (but not all) books published by Christian publishers should probably be avoided. Nowadays most of them are factual in their content, but their presentation is not meant to provide an understanding of the LDS Church but rather is meant to provide a multiplicity of reasons not to associate with the faith. A few exceptions I'd say are most books by Sandra and Gerald Tanner, and By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus which is an amazing overview of Joseph's "Book of Abraham" and the history and implications of the papyri Smith used in producing it which were rediscovered in 1967 to the subtle consternation of the CHurch ever since.

If you enjoyed Fawn Brodie's book, I highly recommend the recent Brigham Young biography, Pioneer Prophet, by John Turner.

Brigham Young is incredibly fascinating in his own right, albeit for very different reasons from Joseph Smith.

I answer timidly both because I am a TBM and because I don't know anything about the psychology involved, but I'd say the idea that a Mormon would think "well if JS is wrong that's on him, not me" is pretty far fetched to me. We are each encouraged to gain, through personal revelation, a testimony that (among other things) JS was a prophet. We are encouraged to take personal responsibility for our own beliefs and actions.

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All that said, the LDS church is definitely authoritarian on belief.

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Regarding Mount Meadows, look up the history before assuming it was a result of people acting in response to Church authority. I'd recommend this book, by a non-LDS author.

https://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-John-G-Turner/dp/0674049675

Alao Emma Smith: Mormon Enigma.

One good, but longer resource would be Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner. This was not produced by a Mormon nor by the LDS church. A summary of problematic incidents from this book would be helpful if anyone has a copy.

Yes. I notice you have no refutation for the point on the Temple Lot either.

Brian Hales is "unrespected" just as anyone who doesn't conclude JS is horrible is "unrespected." Next you'll say Bushman isn't respected either. But he is, including outside the LDS world. Hales only isn't respected because he is a physician instead of a professional historian. An amateur can still make a quality argument.

What I really wish we had was a book on JS like Rough Stone Rolling that wasn't written by a Mormon so we could finally have an "objective" book (about impossible anyway). RSR is lovely but not good enough for anyone else. If we had one by a non-Mormon we could use that. Alas. I guess we should only listen to people who aren't Mormon to tell us about Mormons, right?

Curiously, there is one of those for Brigham Young though ( http://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-John-G-Turner/dp/0674049675 ). Shame it's not more often part of the discussion, wish more Mormons and exMormons read it.