The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901

This work offers a clear‑sighted chronicle of a uniquely American religious movement, tracing its birth in the early 1820s through the restless migrations that carried its followers from Ohio to Missouri, then Illinois, and finally the remote valleys of Utah. Drawing largely on contemporary Mormon diaries, letters, and periodicals, the author lets the voices of Joseph Smith, his family, and early leaders speak for themselves, revealing the hopes, disputes, and daily hardships that shaped the fledgling community.

Written as a secular narrative, the book avoids polemics and instead focuses on documented events, the evolving doctrines recorded in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, and the political tensions that accompanied each relocation. Readers gain insight into the personalities—both celebrated and lesser known—who directed the church’s growth, and the complex interplay between religious conviction and the external pressures that repeatedly forced the group on the move.