The Prophet and the Reformer: The Letters of Brigham Young and Thomas L. Kane

by Matthew J. Grow (Editor), Ronald W. Walker (Editor)

Overview

Until his death in 1877, Brigham Young guided the religious, economic, and political life of the Mormon community, whose settlements spread throughout the West and provoked a profound political, legal, and even military confrontation with the American nation. Young first met Thomas L. Kane on the plains of western Iowa in 1846. Young came to rely on Kane, 21 years his junior, as his most trusted outside adviser, making Kane the most important non-Mormon in the history of the Church. In return, no one influenced the direction of Kane's life more than Young. The letters exchanged by the two offer crucial insights into Young's personal life and views as well as his actions as a political and religious leader. The Prophet and the Reformer offers a complete reproduction of the surviving letters between the Mormon prophet and the Philadelphia reformer. The correspondence reveals the strategies of the Latter-day Saints in relating to American culture and government during these crucial years when the "Mormon Question" was a major political, cultural, and legal issue. The letters also shed important light on the largely forgotten "Utah War" of 1857-58, triggered when President James Buchanan dispatched a military expedition to ensure federal supremacy in Utah and replace Young with a non-Mormon governor. This annotated collection of their correspondence reveals a great deal about these two remarkable men, while also providing crucial insight into nineteenth-century Mormonism and the historical moment in which the movement developed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199910878
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Matthew J. Grow is director of publications for the Church Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a general editor of the Joseph Smith Papers. His first two books, "Liberty to the Downtrodden": Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer and Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism (with Terryl L. Givens), have both received a Best Book of the Year award from the Mormon History Association. Ronald W. Walker has lived the past thirty-five years in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Brigham Young University and is the award-winning author or co-author of more than five dozen scholarly articles and seven books.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Editorial Method Introduction Letters 1. Young to Kane, August 2, 1846 2. Kane to Young, September 10, 1846 3. Kane to Young, September 22, 1846 4. Kane to Young, November 5, 1846 5. Kane to Young, December 2, 1846 6. Young to Kane, December 6, 1847 7. Kane to Young, December 9, 1847 8. Young to Kane, February 9, 1848 9. Kane to Young, March 14, 1848 10. Young to Kane, May 9, 1848 11. Young to Kane, October 20, 1849 12. Kane to Young, July 11, 1850 13. Kane to Young, September 24, 1850 14. Kane to Young, February 19, 1851 15. Kane to Young, February 21, 1851 16. Kane to Young, April 7, 1851 17. Kane to Young, April 7, 1851 18. Kane to Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards, July 29, 1851 19. Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards to Kane, September 15, 1851 20. Young to Kane, May 29, 1852 21. Kane to Young, October 17, 1852 22. Young to Kane, May 20, 1853 23. Kane to Young, July 18, 1853 24. Young to Kane, January 31, 1854 25. Kane to Young, April 28, 1854 26. Young to Kane, June 29, 1854 27. Young to Kane, October 30, 1854 28. Kane to Young, January 5, 1855 29. Kane to Young, July 10, 1855 30. Young to Kane, September 30, 1855 31. Young to Kane, April 14, 1856 32. Young to Kane, January 7, 1857 33. Young to Kane, January 31, 1857 34. Kane to Young, March 1857 35. Kane to Young, May 21, 1857 36. Young to Kane, June 29, 1857 37. Young to Kane, September 12, 1857 38. Kane to Young, February 17, 1858 39. Kane to Young, ca. February 25, 1858 40. Kane to Young, February 25, 1858 41. Young to Kane, March 9, 1858 42. Young to Kane, March 15, 1858 43. Kane to Young, ca. March 16, 1858 44. Young to Kane, April 17, 1858 45. Young to Kane, May 8, 1858 46. Young to Kane, May 12, 1858 47. Kane to Young, July 5, 1858 48. Kane to Young, July 18, 1858 49. Young to Kane, August 6, 1858 50. Kane to Young, August 25, 1858 51. Young to Kane, September 1, 1858 52. Young to Kane, September 10, 1858 53. Young to Kane, October 22, 1858 54. Young to Kane, October 29, 1858 55. Young to Kane, November 22, 1858 56. Young to Kane, January 14, 1859 57. Young to Kane, May 3, 1859 58. Kane to Young, July 24, 1859 59. Young to Kane, September 17, 1859 60. Young to Kane, December 15, 1859 61. Young to Kane, March 22, 1860 62. Kane to Young, April 25, 1860 63. Young to Kane, April 26, 1860 64. Kane to Young, August 15, 1860 65. Young to Kane, September 27, 1860 66. Young to Kane, September 21, 1861 67. Kane to Young, November 23, 1861 68. Young to Kane, April 29, 1864 69. Young to Kane, April 15, 1866 70. Young to Kane, November 9, 1867 71. Young to Kane, May 4, 1869 72. Kane to Young, October 13, 1869 73. Young to Kane, October 15, 1869 74. Young to Kane, October 26, 1869 75. Young to Kane, February 14, 1870 76. Kane to Young, March 20, 1870 77. Kane to Young, June 18, 1870 78. Young to Kane, August 16, 1870 79. Young to Kane, April 16, 1871 80. Young to Kane, September 27, 1871 81. Kane to Young, October 12, 1871 82. Kane to Young, November 9, 1871 83. Kane to Young, November 30, 1871 84. Young to Kane, March 5, 1872 85. Kane to Young, October 16, 1872 86. Young to Kane, October 31, 1872 87. Kane to Young, April 2, 1873 88. Kane to Young, April 4, 1873 89. Kane to Young, April 15, 1873 90. Young to Kane, May 7, 1873 91. Young to Kane, July 31, 1873 92. Young to Kane, November 16, 1873 93. Kane to Young, December 4, 1873 94. Kane to Young, September 12, 1875 95. Kane to Young, May 28, 1876 96. Kane to Young, October 21, 1876 97. Kane to Young, February 8, 1877 98. Kane to Young, March 2, 1877 99. Kane to Young, March 2, 1877 Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

"The Prophet and the Reformer is a valuable compilation of correspondence coming out of the nineteenth-century West. This book provides a unique understanding of the lives, characteristics, and friendship of two prominent men, as well as the life and times in which they lived. The world of Latter-day Saint documentary history is enhanced by this work, as The Prophet and the Reformer is the first publication to bring all the extant Young and Kane correspondence together in one place."—BYU Studies Quarterly

"Superb research skills, felicitous writing, and sound editorial judgment...Readers from a wide range of backgrounds will benefit, not just professional historians and Latter-day Saints....A tour de force"—The Journal of Mormon History

"Two intriguing characters, Brigham Young and Thomas Kane, in their own words; Mormons under pressure from the United States army; the Church struggling for survival in a hostile environment while the nation goes to war with itself. They are all here in this expertly edited collection of letters and compelling narrative of two critical decades in Mormon history." —Richard Bushman, author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

"The year before Brigham Young was declared the new president of the Mormon Church, the sturdy pragmatist began an epistolary friendship with Thomas Kane, an idealistic Philadelphia reformer, that lasted until the year of Young's death. It was an unlikely relationship, originating in mutual self-interest, that blossomed into genuine affection, respect, and abiding friendship. Matthew Grow and Ronald Walker, premier Mormon historians, have done brilliant editorial and contextual work in bringing to life a remarkable correspondence that spans more than three decades involving polygamy, the Utah War, Indian relations, and the quest for statehood." —Terryl Givens, author of Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought

"The Prophet and the Reformer reveals the depth of a friendship that spanned the critical years (1846-77) in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This volume invites the reader into the social political and religious worlds of two men who helped shape nineteenth-century western American history. The introductions and notes to each of the ninety-nine letters provide both context and insight into the people and the issues that run through these letters... The letters are a wonderful record of a religious leader and a reformer who managed to find a common ground on which to build a long-term relationship, a friendship that rose above the difficult times in which they lived." —David J. Whittaker, Former Curator, Archives of the Mormon Experience, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

"As a resource for those interested in Brigham Young as a prophet or as a governor, this book is essential. Because much of their correspondence was hand-carried by special couriers, both men felt free to openly discuss their problems and their feelings toward the world around them. Indeed, I can think of few, if any, works that reveal so much of the human side of an LDS prophet." —Association for Mormon Letters

"...[This] correspondence reveals a profound mutual respect between the two men, and their correspondence provides considerable insight regarding the relationship of the Mormons and the US government during years that were critical for the church-as well as the nation-a relationship that was consistently complex, frequently tortured, and always changing." —CHOICE

"These letters provide a first-hand account of the many of the momentous political decisions that affected Mormon fortunes, such as the Compromise of 1850, as well as events such as the conclusion of the 'Mormon War' of 1858, which Kane helped to negotiate. Each letter is prefaced by an introduction providing its historical context."—Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher