Pillar of Light Read online

  © 2012 Gerald N Lund and Kenneth Ingalls Moe.

  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 30178. 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. Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Book One: The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light

  The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light

  Preface

  Characters of Note in the Novel

  Pillar of Light

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

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

  The Work and the Glory - Like a Fire is Burning

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Notes

  Book Three: The Work and the Glory - Truth Will Prevail

  The Work and the Glory - Truth Will Prevail

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Notes

  Book Four: The Work and the Glory - Thy Gold to Refine

  The Work and the Glory - Thy Gold to Refine

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Book Five: The Work and the Glory - A Season of Joy

  The Work and the Glory - A Season of Joy

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter One

  Chapter 2

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Book Six: The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man

  The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31


  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Book Seven: The Work and the Glory - No Unhallowed Hand

  The Work and the Glory - No Unhallowed Hand

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Book Eight: The Work and the Glory - So Great a Cause

  The Work and the Glory - So Great a Cause

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Book Nine: The Work and the Glory - All Is Well

  The Work and the Glory - All Is Well

  Preface

  Characters of Note in This Book

  Key to Abbreviations Used in Chapter Notes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  About the Author

  Book One: The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light

  The Work and the Glory - Pillar of Light

  © 1990 Gerald N. Lund and Kenneth Ingalls Moe

  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 2000

  First printing in paperbound 2004

  Visit us at deseretbook.com

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-83215

  ISBN 0-88494-777-X (hardbound)

  ISBN 1-57345-870-8 (trade paperbound)

  ISBN 1-59038-363-X (paperbound)

  Printed in the United States of America

  Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4

  Main Street, Palmyra Village

  Preface

  While Caesar Augustus strutted briefly across the stage of history, thinking that it was somehow he who ruled the world, a humble carpenter named Joseph from Nazareth and a virgin named Mary made their way to a quiet village nestled in the limestone hills of Judea. No royal trumpeters heralded the event which followed. There were no purple robes or crown jewels, no messengers sent racing through the night to announce the coming of the King of kings. Shepherds were told of the Lord’s advent, as were the Magi from the East, but for the most part the world slumbered on, oblivious to the fact that on this night the whole of all eternity was being changed.

  In similar fashion, eighteen centuries later, events that would leave the world forever altered began to quietly unfold, unnoticed by the millions across the world who toiled on or slept. After all, what was there to note? A young boy, living in an obscure township in upstate New York, simply walked into a grove of trees. But in that grove, soon to be called sacred, God the Father appeared with his Beloved Son.

  Latter-day Saints believe this event constituted the opening of the times which would prepare the world for the return of the Savior. It began in the spring of 1820. Soon would follow a succession of heavenly messengers and revelations. But for all its significance, this new age was not launched with pomp and governmental splendor. It began simply, with a young boy, not yet fifteen years of age, who walked across the fields next to his house hoping to find out which of all the churches was right.

  Pillar of Light (volume 1 of The Work and the Glory) tells the story of the Restoration; but it does more than that. Hundreds of carefully researched and well-written books tell the history of the Church. Pillar of Light sets about to tell another story.

  In Judea, shepherds were the first to know of the birth of the Savior—not the rich, not the famous, not the great to whom the world paid homage, just simple shepherds. In America, the Restoration followed a similar pattern. The story was first told in one-room cabins and along country roads, not in presidential palaces or the halls of Congress. It was farmers and their frontier wives who first heard of Joseph’s vision and picked up the challenge to accept it and carry its message forth to the world.

  How did these simple, honest people react? What did they think? How did they feel? The answers to these questions are not easy. Joseph Smith was like a great stone in a river, splitting the waters that come against it. Some who came in contact with him burned with testimony, others burned with fury. Some were so moved that they forsook all—families, farms, and, in some cases, their lives. Others were so moved to scorn and hatred that in some instances they resorted to murder. It is this story—the story of individuals and families pushed up against a man and his claim
s to heavenly revelation—that this novel tells.

  Many modern Latter-day Saints are second- and third- and, in some cases, sixth- and seventh-generation Mormons. Belief in the Restoration is as natural to them as speaking their native language. But many have quietly wondered, “If I had been living back then, how would I have reacted? What would I have done? Would I have believed?” Pillar of Light is an attempt to help them explore those questions in their hearts.

  And there are many non-Mormons who wonder at us. They know little more than that Mormons once practiced plural marriage and that we engender considerable animosity from some of the mainstream Christian churches of the day. What is it that Latter-day Saints believe? Why do they hold Joseph Smith in such high esteem? Are they Christian or not? Why do they speak of prophets and Apostles and continuing revelation? Pillar of Light is an attempt to answer those questions without seeking to proselyte or defend. It simply tells the story from the point of view of one who believes Joseph Smith was all that he claimed to be.

  Pillar of Light is a fictional work. The medium of fiction was chosen so that the personal dimension—the individual impact of the Restoration on people—could be explored. But in another sense, it is not fictional. It tells, as accurately as possible, the story of Joseph Smith and the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

  This dual nature of the work has presented some interesting challenges in the writing process. The Steed family is completely fictional, though they are patterned after real people of those times. In the novel they intermingle and interact with real people and are placed in real events, and the reader may thus wonder from time to time, How much is historical and how much is fictional? Without burdening the book down with innumerable footnotes, that is not an easy question to answer. But perhaps the following explanation will be helpful.

  As far as the people in the novel are concerned, the character description sheet (pages xiii-xiv) indicates which are fictional characters and which are not. When it comes to the events, every effort has been made to portray the historical setting and circumstances as accurately as possible. Sometimes fictional license had to be used, not to change events, but to have the fictional family participate in those events. Furthermore, sometimes there is simply not enough detail given in the historical sources to sustain the story line of a novel. Here some embellishment was required, but again, maintaining harmony with the historical records has been a compelling concern.

  An example may help to illustrate how these problems were dealt with: In his description of the events surrounding the organization of the Church on 6 April 1830, Joseph Smith gave considerable detail about what took place in the Peter Whitmer cabin. We know he and Oliver presided and that Joseph conducted. The sacrament was passed, and there was a baptismal service afterwards at which Joseph’s parents, Martin Harris, and others were baptized. As much as possible, the novel follows those events exactly as Joseph described them. Obviously, having the Steeds present to participate in those events is an example of literary license. Also, when it came to actually describing who offered the sacramental prayers, Joseph gave no information. To skip that detail in the novel would have broken the flow of the narration. Since Joseph and Oliver were presiding at the meeting, it seemed the best guess that they offered the prayers.