Review
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Title: The King Follett Sermon: A Biography
Author: William V. Smith
Publisher: BCC Press
Genre: Mormon Studies
Year Published: 2023
Number of Pages: 372
Binding: Softcover
ISBN13: 978-1-948218-85-6
Price $12.95
Reviewed by Cheryl Bruno for the Association for Mormon Letters
The death of someone close can lead people to question the meaning of life, their beliefs about the afterlife, and the purpose of their existence. They may wonder if their loved one is in a better place or if they will ever see them again. These thoughts and others led Louisa Tanner Follett, widow of the deceased King Follett, to request that Joseph Smith preach a funeral sermon on his behalf. Louisa’s faith in the seasoned, thirty-eight-year-old prophet and founder of the Mormon church, was not misplaced. On April 7, 1844, Joseph preached what many consider his most significant and controversial discourse, covering themes of the afterlife and the nature of God and man.
William V. Smith, author of The King Follett Sermon: A Biography, points out that over the years following Joseph Smith’s death, shortly after the sermon was preached, it has been studied by individuals, groups, and Church classes and quorums. But the author’s recently published book goes beyond other studies to date in providing a theological biography of the sermon.
In this comprehensive study, William Smith explores the theological influences of the discourse, as well as the deep impact its ideas had on Latter-day Saint, thought in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. “The Follett sermon embodied JS’s view of eternity’s engine,” explains the author.
In so many ways, it was a product of American antebellum thought, not just religious thought, but the culture of the western edges of America, with a deep need to remold the past into a coherent picture of the present. It was thought that was filtered through a mind heaped with an inspired, recombinant vision of the canon, a vision that brought with it buried hints of the many existential, epistemological, intellectual, and behavioral issues inherited from a wide selection of mostly Protestant and folk representations of modern upheavals of the religion, science, and philosophy of the North Atlantic World (7).
The first of four substantial chapters in the book locates the King Follett sermon in the theology of the era, pulling out documentary sources, supporting texts, cultural places, and text tradition. The chapter is an excellent discussion of the surviving aural audits of the sermon. In two places, on pages 60 and 62, I was distracted and confused by a rather serious typographic mislabeling of the audits. Hopefully, this can be corrected quickly since BCC Press is print-on-demand.
Beginning on page 83, we find a bibliography of the manuscripts and selected editions of the sermon text. The current location and chain of custody of these sources is noted. A timeline for the creation of these sources is also provided. Though tucked away in the book, these references are important and deserved to be bookmarked in my copy. I returned to them again and again while reading.
Chapter 2 moves to the period of what Smith calls “Middle Mormonism,” the years 1845 to 1890. During this time, Brigham Young and other church leaders in Utah were drawn to the King Follett sermon as a basis for understanding the nature of the universe. They embraced it enthusiastically but also added their own interpretations and adaptations. In the mid-1800s, Joseph Smith’s teachings and revelations were influenced by the practical realities of living in a new settlement. They were structured into what became the accepted spiritual beliefs of the time. This chapter is fascinating in its description of the developing theology of premortal existence and the soul of humankind.
Chapter 3, covering the period of 1890 to 1926, focuses both on textual traditions and imprints of the sermon, as well as its contributions to Mormon discourse. Religion and politics come into play in this absorbing chapter, with B.H. Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, George Q. Cannon, Charles W. Penrose, and James E. Talmage as key players. Disagreement arose from attempts to reconcile and adapt different Mormon beliefs such as in what form individual human intelligence has always existed, or if people who died as children would remain so eternally in heaven. These disagreements led to theological tension and competing beliefs, with the Follett sermon often at the center of the debate.
Smith’s final chapter deals with a Mormonism that was moving away from metaphysical discourse in the years 1926 to 1996. At this time, the Mormon Church underwent a process of systematization through the “correlation” program. This made the Church consistent in its practices and teachings across the globe, with the same structure and lessons being used for all members, and uniform lessons being used for missionaries to convert new members. This movement towards standardization occurred after the devastating wars of the 19th and 20th centuries and resulted in a simplified and more rational form of religion that was further distanced from the Follett sermon. Even though twentieth-century Mormonism “left behind a somewhat incoherent package of statements disconnected from their logical antecedents” (126), ideas from Follett remain a hidden source of important beliefs in the Church.
William V. Smith concludes his book with two appendices, one of which is an important textual effort of his own to create “A New Critical Text of the King Follett Sermon” (269-300). The reading ends up a bit clunky and, he admits, awkward. However, it is creative and informative and preserves the important contemporary aural audits in one format. It seems best used for historical investigation rather than for inspirational study.
As a 10-year-old growing up in a small town in Massachusetts, I’d go to the corner grocery store with a quarter and come home with a paper sack of “Jawbreaker” gumballs. The large, hard candy was almost too big to put in my mouth at first. I’d roll the ball around on my tongue until one colored layer gave way to another. Each was more delicious than the last, and the final reward at the end was a gob of bubble gum. Like a Jawbreaker gumball, William V. Smith’s book unfolds in tasty layers, each requiring thought and effort to absorb, but resulting in flavorful and chewy concepts. I heartily recommend this book to experienced students of Mormonism with an interest in the historical development of the religion.