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Citation: Pacific Historical Review Feb 1996, v65, n1, p150(2)
Author: Hardy, B. Carmon
Title: The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. (book reviews)
reviewed by B. Carmon Hardy
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COPYRIGHT American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch 1996
In this first volume of his long-anticipated study of the Mormon hierarchy,
Michael Quinn provides a detailed history of the beginning of Mormon patterns
of authority through 1844. The book contains an unmatched account of the
shifting, evolving conceptions of Mormon leadership (extending its analysis of
some issues to the present), and the influence of exigency on ecclesiastical
form. Employing the encyclopedic style characteristic of all his writings,
Quinn's narrative moves the reader to agreement with most of his conclusions
by dint of the enormous quantity of materials cited. Not only is the text
heavily documented, but every notation also amounts to a near-exhaustive
bibliographical essay. Nearly two-thirds of the book consists of such
references, of illustrations, seven appendices, and a twenty-four page index.
Quinn shows earliest Mormonism to have been more fluid and egalitarian than it
eventually became. The more centralized, sometimes secret array of councils
and quorums that existed by the time of Joseph Smith's death in 1844 was the
product not only of restorationist claims but also of conflict, revelation
and, occasionally, retrospective alterations of earlier documents. The license
taken by Mormon leaders in amending historical records to justify new policies
is one of the most disturbing discoveries in the book. Such activities were
congruent with what Quinn calls "theocratic ethics," the assumption that truth
can be sacrificed in behalf of a higher principle - a resort the hierarchy
employed in connection with subjects like the Danites (a protective and
sometimes avenging militia) and, of course, polygamy.
Other important contributions of the book include its evidence of the
extensive overlap of Mormon membership in organizations like the Missouri
Danites, Free Masonry, and the Council of Fifty with their common oaths of
secrecy and theocratic aspirations; the serious nature with which Smith
pursued his ultimately unsuccessful candidacy for the presidency of the United
States in 1844, involving diversion of church missionaries from religious to
political proselyting activities; and the compromised, ambiguous arguments
made by all claimants wishing to succeed the prophet. Quinn's exploration of
the crisis of leadership following Joseph Smith's assassination is the most
searching ever made - revealing, among other things, the possibility that one
of Smith's brothers, Samuel, may have been poisoned as a victim of the nasty
struggle among disputants. The author provides an excellent overview of events
involved in the emergence of Mormonism's two, best-known divisions: the
"Reorganized" branch which rallied around the prophet's son, Joseph Smith III,
and those who followed Brigham Young to the Great Basin.
While the work does not ignore polygamy, in my view it deserves yet more
attention as a reason for opposition to the prophet. Quinn gives the
impression that Smith's theocratic pretensions were the primary cause for
dissent from his leadership in Nauvoo. I would also like to have seen more
consideration given the intensely patriarchal formulations of Mormon control.
While modest, largely ritualistic gestures of female empowerment occurred,
Mormon leaders were, if anything, more devoted to masculine authority at home
and church than most Americans of the day. But these are differences of
emphasis only and, like the few errors that appear in the text (most notably
accreditation of the forged Jonathan Dunham document on page 373, note 193),
they in no way diminish the lustre of Quinn's achievement. No student of the
Mormon experience, including church officers responsible for preparing
descriptions of hierarchical lineage, can afford to ignore this impressive
account. It will remain a commanding source on the origin of Mormon authority
structures for years to come.
B. CARMON HARDY California State University, Fullerton
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