© 2012 Gerald N Lund and Kenneth Ingalls Moe.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City Utah 30178. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book. Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.
All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Book One: The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light
The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light
Preface
Characters of Note in the Novel
Pillar of Light
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Book Two: The Work and the Glory - Like a Fire is Burning
The Work and the Glory - Like a Fire is Burning
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Notes
Book Three: The Work and the Glory - Truth Will Prevail
The Work and the Glory - Truth Will Prevail
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Notes
Book Four: The Work and the Glory - Thy Gold to Refine
The Work and the Glory - Thy Gold to Refine
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Book Five: The Work and the Glory - A Season of Joy
The Work and the Glory - A Season of Joy
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter One
Chapter 2
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Book Six: The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man
The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Book Seven: The Work and the Glory - No Unhallowed Hand
The Work and the Glory - No Unhallowed Hand
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Book Eight: The Work and the Glory - So Great a Cause
The Work and the Glory - So Great a Cause
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Book Nine: The Work and the Glory - All Is Well
The Work and the Glory - All Is Well
Preface
Characters of Note in This Book
Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
About the Author
Book One: The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light
The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light
© 1990 Gerald N. Lund and Kenneth Ingalls Moe
Text illustrations by Robert T. Barrett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P. O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.
BOOKCRAFT is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.
First printing in hardbound 1990
First printing in trade paperbound 2000
First printing in paperbound 2004
Visit us at deseretbook.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-83215
ISBN 0-88494-777-X (hardbound)
ISBN 1-57345-870-8 (trade paperbound)
ISBN 1-59038-363-X (paperbound)
Printed in the United States of America
Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Main Street, Palmyra Village
Preface
While Caesar Augustus strutted briefly across the stage of history, thinking that it was somehow he who ruled the world, a humble carpenter named Joseph from Nazareth and a virgin named Mary made their way to a quiet village nestled in the limestone hills of Judea. No royal trumpeters heralded the event which followed. There were no purple robes or crown jewels, no messengers sent racing through the night to announce the coming of the King of kings. Shepherds were told of the Lord’s advent, as were the Magi from the East, but for the most part the world slumbered on, oblivious to the fact that on this night the whole of all eternity was being changed.
In similar fashion, eighteen centuries later, events that would leave the world forever altered began to quietly unfold, unnoticed by the millions across the world who toiled on or slept. After all, what was there to note? A young boy, living in an obscure township in upstate New York, simply walked into a grove of trees. But in that grove, soon to be called sacred, God the Father appeared with his Beloved Son.
Latter-day Saints believe this event constituted the opening of the times which would prepare the world for the return of the Savior. It began in the spring of 1820. Soon would follow a succession of heavenly messengers and revelations. But for all its significance, this new age was not launched with pomp and governmental splendor. It began simply, with a young boy, not yet fifteen years of age, who walked across the fields next to his house hoping to find out which of all the churches was right.
Pillar of Light (volume 1 of The Work and the Glory) tells the story of the Restoration; but it does more than that. Hundreds of carefully researched and well-written books tell the history of the Church. Pillar of Light sets about to tell another story.
In Judea, shepherds were the first to know of the birth of the Savior—not the rich, not the famous, not the great to whom the world paid homage, just simple shepherds. In America, the Restoration followed a similar pattern. The story was first told in one-room cabins and along country roads, not in presidential palaces or the halls of Congress. It was farmers and their frontier wives who first heard of Joseph’s vision and picked up the challenge to accept it and carry its message forth to the world.
How did these simple, honest people react? What did they think? How did they feel? The answers to these questions are not easy. Joseph Smith was like a great stone in a river, splitting the waters that come against it. Some who came in contact with him burned with testimony, others burned with fury. Some were so moved that they forsook all—families, farms, and, in some cases, their lives. Others were so moved to scorn and hatred that in some instances they resorted to murder. It is this story—the story of individuals and families pus
hed up against a man and his claims to heavenly revelation—that this novel tells.
Many modern Latter-day Saints are second- and third- and, in some cases, sixth- and seventh-generation Mormons. Belief in the Restoration is as natural to them as speaking their native language. But many have quietly wondered, “If I had been living back then, how would I have reacted? What would I have done? Would I have believed?” Pillar of Light is an attempt to help them explore those questions in their hearts.
And there are many non-Mormons who wonder at us. They know little more than that Mormons once practiced plural marriage and that we engender considerable animosity from some of the mainstream Christian churches of the day. What is it that Latter-day Saints believe? Why do they hold Joseph Smith in such high esteem? Are they Christian or not? Why do they speak of prophets and Apostles and continuing revelation? Pillar of Light is an attempt to answer those questions without seeking to proselyte or defend. It simply tells the story from the point of view of one who believes Joseph Smith was all that he claimed to be.
Pillar of Light is a fictional work. The medium of fiction was chosen so that the personal dimension—the individual impact of the Restoration on people—could be explored. But in another sense, it is not fictional. It tells, as accurately as possible, the story of Joseph Smith and the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This dual nature of the work has presented some interesting challenges in the writing process. The Steed family is completely fictional, though they are patterned after real people of those times. In the novel they intermingle and interact with real people and are placed in real events, and the reader may thus wonder from time to time, How much is historical and how much is fictional? Without burdening the book down with innumerable footnotes, that is not an easy question to answer. But perhaps the following explanation will be helpful.
As far as the people in the novel are concerned, the character description sheet (pages xiii-xiv) indicates which are fictional characters and which are not. When it comes to the events, every effort has been made to portray the historical setting and circumstances as accurately as possible. Sometimes fictional license had to be used, not to change events, but to have the fictional family participate in those events. Furthermore, sometimes there is simply not enough detail given in the historical sources to sustain the story line of a novel. Here some embellishment was required, but again, maintaining harmony with the historical records has been a compelling concern.
An example may help to illustrate how these problems were dealt with: In his description of the events surrounding the organization of the Church on 6 April 1830, Joseph Smith gave considerable detail about what took place in the Peter Whitmer cabin. We know he and Oliver presided and that Joseph conducted. The sacrament was passed, and there was a baptismal service afterwards at which Joseph’s parents, Martin Harris, and others were baptized. As much as possible, the novel follows those events exactly as Joseph described them. Obviously, having the Steeds present to participate in those events is an example of literary license. Also, when it came to actually describing who offered the sacramental prayers, Joseph gave no information. To skip that detail in the novel would have broken the flow of the narration. Since Joseph and Oliver were presiding at the meeting, it seemed the best guess that they offered the prayers.
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