The Mormon Church on Trial: Transcripts of the Reed Smoot Hearings
Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2008. Hardcover/dust jacket. 746 pp. Reg. $49.95. The Reed Smoot hearings (1904-06) ushered the LDS Church into twentieth-century American life. Originally published alongside other government business in four volumes comprising 3,432 pages, the current abridged and annotated volume makes for accessible, comprehensible, and suspenseful courtroom drama. Many of the witnesses called to testify—for and against Smoot—emerge as unforgettable characters. Almost all possessed information not generally known to the public, which makes their statements all the more revealing. In voicing personal beliefs, they often exhibit equal doses of eloquence and belligerence. They occasionally seem to disclose more than they had intended. Some stand firmly on principle, while others are clearly there to advance personal agendas.
Greatly enhancing the impact of these transcripts, editor Michael Paulos cites behind-the-scenes communications between Reed Smoot and Joseph F. Smith, among others.
For those who have wondered about the testimony delivered before the Senate investigating committee, these transcripts contain the most important verbal exchanges, annotated with fascinating, behind-the-scenes material, including previously unpublished letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles. New. Item #16121
ISBN: 9781560851523
Price: $19.99