Sample

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Joseph Smith

By: Richard Lyman Bushman
Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $30.09

Buy for $30.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was 23 and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age 38. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations.

An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet's bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.

©2005 Richard Lyman Bushman (P)2018 Tantor

What listeners say about Joseph Smith

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,029
  • 4 Stars
    176
  • 3 Stars
    54
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    15
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    743
  • 4 Stars
    240
  • 3 Stars
    101
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    925
  • 4 Stars
    123
  • 3 Stars
    47
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    13

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Most informative book about Joseph Smith

Richard Bushman's biography of Joseph Smith is one of the finest works of History I've ever read. He is well documented and does a great job telling the life story of a intersting, complex, and difficult figure in American History.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Balanced history

Four stars instead of five because I have read (or listened to) better books, but this book was very well done. I believe he presents a well-researched and thoughtful history that is balanced and fair.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

objective

Balanced and honest. loved it. much context was added to help me understand stories I had heard before

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

incredible and thorough. Bushman gives the facts.

Bushman takes the facts and lays them out before the reader allowing them to make their own call and connect some dots on their own. she does not skip over the unpleasant portions of the history but gives as much of an objective view as I've read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Was confused by a lot of the other reviews...

So, if you're not a Mormon (I'm not) and you listen to this book, you might be confused by the reviews here complaining about the poor pronunciation (I was). Get this - it turns out that apparently Mormons have *their own personal way* to pronounce Hebrew words! Who knew?

So, the narrator pronounces Hebrew words the way they're actually pronounced - which I guess just confuses the Mormons who've never heard the words said correctly before? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Any way - it's an interesting book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great full understanding

This provided the untold truth of the man known as Joseph Smith. His history, successes and failures help modern followers develop their own truths and understandings of his experiences and later Revelations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening with great supporting references.

Greatly assisted me with my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the fact that Joseph Smith is nothing more and nothing less than a man working through his own salvation and sojourn on planet Earth.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Book Worth the Time and Effort

An excellent recounting of the life of a man who impacted world history for good well beyond the duration of his life.
Bushman does an excellent job of painting all sides of the life and character of Joseph Smith. It is impossible to walk away from a reading of this book and not understand both the virtues and the imperfections of the man who claimed to be a prophet sent from God. And in the end the reader is left to ponder on their own and determine for themselves what they choose to believe about Joseph regardless of what the evidence and truth of the matter may be.
Very well crafted. Very well read. A book with the time and effort.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great history work

The information is terrific -- especially the amazing research. The one aspect that really annoyed me was the continual mispronunciation of religious terminology and even well-known LDS leaders.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thorough biography.

I was curious about Smith's life. This answered my questions. I wanted a book that was chariyable enough to Mormons while also being critical enough. This book did the trick. I find religion fascinating and studying the Mormons can help a person get a better understanding of how religion works generally. This book is worth reading/listening to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!