The Work and the Glory (57 page)

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Authors: Gerald N. Lund

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Book Two: The Work and the Glory - Like a Fire is Burning

The Work and the Glory - Like a Fire is Burning

Text illustrations by Robert T. Barrett

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company, P. O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.

BOOKCRAFT is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

First printing in hardbound 1990

First printing in trade paperbound 2001

First printing in paperbound 2005

Visit us at DeseretBook.com

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-83215

ISBN 0-88494-801-3 (hardbound)

ISBN 1-57345-871-6 (trade paperbound)

ISBN 978-1-59038-497-8 (paperbound)

Printed in the United States of America

Delta Printing Solutions, Valencia, CA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Building the Kirtland Temple

Preface

The Bible records that on more than one occasion holy prophets were privileged to see God in heavenly vision. Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Stephen, John—they and others testified they had seen the Lord.
What if God were to appear to men in this day and age? How would they respond? What would they say? What would they do?

There are numerous accounts of angels appearing to men and women in New Testament times. Gabriel came to Zacharias in the temple and to Mary in Nazareth. Heavenly messengers appeared at the empty tomb after the Savior’s resurrection. There are at least six different appearances of angels recorded in the book of Acts alone, including the account of an angel freeing Simon Peter from prison. And in the book of Revelation we read that an angel appeared to John while he was held prisoner on the island of Patmos.
What if a modern man claimed angels had come in our day? Would we believe or would we scoff?

The prophet Amos said, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). We still honor men such as Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Jeremiah, and call them prophets of the living God.
Should one come today claiming to be a true prophet, a spokesman for the Lord, would we accept him? Would we honor him and seek his counsel?

Twenty years into the nineteenth century a fourteen-year-old boy named Joseph Smith, living on the frontier of America, said he had seen a vision of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Later he said he had been visited by angels from the presence of God. He said he was called to be God’s prophet.

Not surprisingly, these claims lit a fire storm of controversy. There were those who said Joseph was mad; others credited the devil for what had happened to him. He was mocked, insulted, vilified, threatened. But some listened and believed. When the Book of Mormon was published they eagerly read it. When, under divine direction, Joseph organized the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth again they immediately joined it. When the Prophet called for missionaries to spread the gospel to all who would listen, many responded and fanned out across the face of the land, bringing thousands into the kingdom.

What made the difference? Why did some become so infuriated that they were willing to murder? Why were others so deeply converted that they were willing to die for their faith? What was it about Joseph Smith and the Restoration that generated such passionate and diverse emotions?

The Work and the Glory
seeks to answer some of these fundamental questions. It is a multivolume, multigenerational saga which tells the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon church) from its earliest beginnings. But the purpose of the series goes beyond simply retelling Church history. These books explore the reactions generated by a man who claimed divine revelation. They examine the feelings that were triggered by the claims of prophetic office. They probe the motivations of those who believed Joseph, and of those who formed one violent confederation after another to try and eliminate him.

This is all done through the eyes of the Benjamin Steed family, a fictional but typical frontier family in early nineteenth-century America. In
Pillar of Light,
the first volume in the series, we are introduced to the Steed family at the time they arrive in the Palmyra area of upstate New York and meet Joseph Smith. The association proves to be divisive for the entire Steed family. The spiritual outlooks of Benjamin Steed and his wife, Mary Ann, are significantly dissimilar. Joshua, the eldest son, and his brother Nathan also react in dramatically different ways to Joseph’s claims. That and the two brothers’ competition for the beautiful Lydia McBride eventually fracture the family in profound ways.
Pillar of Light
follows the Steeds through the events surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, and the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ (covering the years 1827 to 1830).

In
Like a Fire Is Burning,
the second volume in the series, the story of the Steed family continues (covering the years 1830 to 1836). As the infant Church expands and spreads westward into Ohio and Missouri, new revelations are given, Church organization expands, the location of Zion is designated, the construction of a temple is begun. Once again the Steeds are swept up in the unfolding drama, and their lives are molded and shaped by the events in which they find themselves involved. There is joy and there is tragedy. There is failure and there is triumph.

To weave a fictional family into real history and have them associate with real historical people obviously requires some literary license. But each of the novels in the series reflects, as much as possible, an accurate portrayal of the historical events associated with the coming forth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the first volume no attempt was made to provide notes that would help the reader distinguish between historical and fictional events. A novel is not a history text. Footnotes or endnotes, however unobtrusive, can still break the flow of the narrative and thus may interfere with the purposes of a novel. However, many readers have inquired about the historicity of specific events that were included in volume 1. “Was this event or that event in the novel ‘really true’?” they ask.

It became obvious to me that these questions are both sincere and legitimate. Readers want to know which events are truly historical and not the figment of the writer’s imagination. Volume 2, therefore, incorporates a feature not found in the first volume. Though there are no notes embedded in the text, I have placed brief chapter notes at the end of the novel that indicate historical events and my handling of them. For those who wish to read more about a specific event, a few primary source citations are also included in these notes.

One other item of explanation may be helpful to the non-Latter-day-Saint reader. Throughout the novel, characters who are members of the Church refer to themselves and other members as “Saints.” This may seem a little presumptuous to one used to the more limited use of the term, such as that in the tradition of the Roman Catholic church. In New Testament times the followers of Christ commonly referred to all believers as Saints (see, for example, Acts 9:32; Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:1; 2:19). The word
saint
comes from the Latin root
sacer,
which means “holy.” Since the early disciples consecrated themselves to be holy, it seemed only natural to call themselves Saints. From the very beginning of their history, and for the same reasons, the Mormons followed the practice of the New Testament Church and referred to all members as Saints. Indeed, it is found in the very title of the Church—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Extensive thanks for those who have made this project possible were given in the preface to volume 1. Without repeating all that was said there, I extend my gratitude to those who have contributed so much to this volume. First, to my wife, Lynn—as always she is my first reader and most-valued reviewer. She is my “help meet” in the fullest sense of the word, and because of her I better understand why the Lord said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.”

Next, thanks to all the staff at Bookcraft, who have become not only my publishers but my good friends as well; editing, design, marketing, printing, shipping—all become part of what makes a finished book possible. Thanks to Deena Nay for hours of inputting and indexing and cross-referencing and copying. Rick Huchel, as before, provided impeccable research at a moment’s notice and thus made available numerous historical details. Cal Stephens read the final draft and made numerous suggestions that improved the accuracy and the readability of the book. A special thanks and an apology to Robert Barrett and Lester Lee. These two fine artists prepared the artwork that has been part of both this volume and the previous one. In volume 1, I neglected to acknowledge their significant contributions. Robert Barrett drew all the internal illustrations, and Lester Lee did the jacket illustrations and the map end sheets.

And, of course, there is Kenneth Ingalls Moe (“Kim”) and his wife, Jane. As I said before—and it is only the more true with volume 2—if it weren’t for Kim and Jane there would be no series called
The Work and the Glory.
The only way I have of repaying such a debt is to try to write a story that in some small way fulfills Kim’s vision of the project.

If the reader becomes swept up in the grandeur of the work of the Restoration, let it be remembered that it is God’s work and his glory that is described in this story. If there be any praise or thanks to be given, let it be given to the Father and the Son. It was they who sent forth the Spirit that burned like a fire in the hearts of the men and women who heard and believed and lived in such a way as to generate the fruitful milieu for this novel.