Essentials in Church History
Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1950. Thirteenth Edition. Hardcover/dust jacket. 722 pp. Scarce in dust jacket. Dust jacket has several chips and tears and has a few small pieces of tape that were used to repair tears in the past; flaps taped down inside covers. Previous owner's name inside front cover.
In 1922, Joseph Fielding Smith-apostle and church historian-published Essentials in Church History to fill the gap he identified for a single volume history for "general reading, and at the same time meet the requirements of a text-book in the priesthood quorums, Church schools and auxiliary organizations." In print for most of the rest of the century, Essentials became the quasi-official treatment of LDS history for many people. Like many histories-then and now-early events received the majority of his attention, with only the last thirty pages covering the twentieth century to that point. In keeping with his conservative viewpoint, Smith's history was smooth and unruffled in its presentation, often avoiding-or at least minimizing-controversy along the way. This copy is one of the earliest in a dust jacket-the first (to our knowledge) was the ninth edition, published in 1942. Condition: Very good. Item #37725
Price: $40.00