Since 1948, when Fawn Brodie’s No Man Knows My History made Joseph Smith’s story the central element in academic accounts of Mormon beginnings, both LDS and non-Mormon authors have described LDS beginnings as a new religious movement (NRM) with a charismatic leader. In this address, Jan Shipps will return to the Kirtland part of the early Mormon story and consider the place of the Book of Mormon in this part of Mormonism as a NRM.

Jan Shipps