Title: Fathers of the Prophets: From Joseph Smith Jr. to Russell M. Nelson
Author: Susan Arrington Madsen, Emily Madsen Jones, and Rebecca Madsen Thornton
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2020
Number of Pages: 292
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-62872-448-5
Price: 27.99
Reviewed by Mark Tensmeyer for the Association for Mormon Letters
A publisher once turned down Linda K. Newell and Valerie Tippetts Avery’s Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith telling them that they thought a biography on Joseph Smith would sell but that no one would be interested in a book about his wife. The book, of course, went on to be a critical and commercial success and remains widely read over three decades later. People certainly were interested. The Latter-day Saints, being a family religion, have always been interested in the histories of the families of the great men of the Church. In fact, one of the first privately produced books on Church history was Lucy Mack Smith’s book Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations that, though largely marketed as a biography of Joseph Smith Jr., is really a history of the Smith and Mack families.
Here we have Fathers of the Prophets: From Joseph Smith Jr. to Russell M. Nelson by Susan Arrington Madsen, Emily Madsen Jones, and Rebecca Madsen Thornton. As the name suggests, this book is a collection of short biographical sketches of the fathers of the fifteen men who have served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The major theme of this book is fatherhood and how these men influenced their sons. As a non-academic book published by Deseret Book, the intended audience is believing members of the Church. It is a rather light read meant to inspire faith. It is effective and interesting for its intended audience. This book is also something of a sequel to the trio’s 2009 book Mothers of the Prophets.
A few of these men (Joseph Smith Sr., Hyrum Smith, Jedediah Grant, John Henry Smith, and Joseph F. Smith) are historical figures in their own right and have been the subject of books and articles before, but for most of these men, I believe this is their first biographical work. Rather than giving detailed accounts of the lives of these famous fathers, the authors focus on the parts of these fathers’ lives that most impacted their sons. For instance, John Henry Smith was a noted apostle, influential politician and outspoken advocate of plural marriage. The essay on his life in the book touches only briefly on these things. The book details John Henry’s relationship with his son George A. These two men are the only father and son to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve at the same time. The elder Elder Smith maintained that he had nothing to do with his son’s calling to the Quorum but he served as a diligent mentor. Even as an apostle, George A. regularly received priesthood blessings from his father to help him with his clinical depression. Along with conducting historical research, the authors based many of the more recent entries on interviews with surviving children.
The following are a few of my favorite stories and insights.
The character and habits of Joseph Smith Sr. as seen by modern academia in many ways contrast with the image most Church members have of the pious, though unchurched, patriarch leading his family in daily prayer and scripture study. The authors of this book, to their credit, take into account the sources utilized by academic historians. They portray Joseph Smith Sr. as a deeply spiritual man, having many visionary experiences, but one who was distrustful of organized religion favoring the universalism of his father. He was also involved in the folk magic practiced in the region. It was precisely this embrace of the non-traditional that prepared Joseph Smith Jr. for the departure from traditional Christianity with the Restoration. Furthermore, that men with the background and mentality of Joseph Smith Sr. and his father Asael would immediately and unquestioningly accept Joseph Jr.’s claims speaks to the authenticity of those claims.
Feature journalists say that everyone has a story. Being Brigham Young’s father might be the main reason John Young is remembered but his life had some episodes apart from his fatherhood. John Young and his neighbors once treed a black bear. One of the men tried to shot it and missed, causing the enraged bear to barrel down the tree. John Young speared it with a pointed stick killing it.
Oliver Snow III, the father of Lorenzo Snow, fostered in his home an interest in religion and opened his home to those of various denominations for discussion. This openness to learning more about the Gospel first led the Snows, including Lorenzo, to accept the Restorationist message of Sidney Rigdon and then the message of the Restored Gospel.
Interestingly, Hyrum Smith and Jedediah Grant both died when Joseph F. and Heber J. were very young and it was more their reputation and legacy that influenced their sons.
Samuel Marion Lee Jr., father of Harold B. Lee was the last of his parents’ eleven children and the only one to live past infancy. As a bishop of the Clifton, ID ward, he maintained his own Bishop’s Storehouse filled with food he grew. This served as an inspiration for his son Harold’s ward welfare program that in turn served as the model for the Church’s welfare program.
The final entry, for Russell M. Nelson’s father Marion Clavar Nelson, is, in my opinion, the most interesting as Marion was not active in the Church when his children were growing up. Many Latter-day Saints will remember President Nelson speaking about his parents in the April 2018 conference and this essay tells a fuller story. Though he came from a Latter-day Saint family, Marion did not get baptized until he was forty-four. He did not receive the priesthood or his temple ordinances until he was eighty. He was nevertheless a powerful example to his children of devotion to family. President Nelson’s writings throughout his life often refer to him as “Daddy”.
It is not uncommon to find Church-related books on mothers and motherhood written by men. It’s a rare treat to find a book about fathers and fatherhood written by women. I enjoyed it. I recommend it to active members of the Church for light, but insightful reading.