“A significant collection . . . that provides a depth and breadth
of understanding reflective of the latest and best in Mormon history.”
— Paul M. Edwards, author of Our Legacy of Faith: A Brief History
of the RLDS
Who were the Nauvoo Mormons? Were they Jacksonian Americans or did they
embody some other weltanschaung? Why did this tiny Illinois town
become such a protracted battleground for the Mormons and non-Mormons
in the region? And what is the larger meaning of the Nauvoo experience
for the various inheritors of the legacy of Joseph Smith, Jr.?
Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited includes fourteen thoughtful
explanations that represent the most insightful and imaginative work on
Mormon Nauvoo published in the last thirty years. The range of topics
includes the Nauvoo Legion, the Mormon press, the political kingdom of
God, the opposition of non-Mormons, the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, and
the meaning of Nauvoo for Mormons. The introduction provides a critique
of Nauvoo scholarship, and a closing bibliographical essay analyzes the
historical literature on the Mormon experience at Nauvoo.