The Work and the Glory Books
Swept up in the great drama as the infant Church expands and spreads westward into Ohio and Missouri, the Steeds become eyewitnesses of miracles as well as of the horrors of mob mayhem. Nathan and Lydia begin their married life, meeting new challenges and facing crises that test both their faith and their love; Mary Ann struggles with her feelings over her husband Benjamin's continued lack of spiritual response to the Restoration message; Jessica Steed, distraught by her apparent inability to have children, watches helpless as Joshua's bitter and destructive nature threatens to explode into violence. This book will surprise and intrigue many readers with the little-known true events it depicts and the involvement in them of well-known Latter-day Saints like Joesph and Emma Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Brigham Young, Mary Elizabeth Rollins, and others. Author Gerald N. Lund first provides a solid historical basis, then weaves into it believable fictional characters as he portrays the tragedies and triumphs experienced in the early days of the restored Church. Through the Steed family, the author typifies the faith, the determination, the Spirit that burned like a fire in the hearts of early Latter-day Saints.
Truth Will Prevail focuses on the years from 1836 - 1838. A time of remarkable and turbulent events in Church history is also a time of separation and reunion, commitment and apostasy, heartache and hope. Even as a growing spirit of apostasy permeates the Church's new home in Kirtland, Ohio, missionaries are sent overseas to England.
One mans remarkable vision; one familys desperate struggle With more than two million copies of the nine-volume series in print since its initial release in 1990, The Work and the Glory is one of the most popular historical fiction series ever published by a religious publisher. Pillar of Light, volume one, is soon to be a major motion picture and will introduce this unforgettable story to a new generation of readers. IN this saga of the Benjamin Steed family, award-winning author Gerald N. Lund blends historical reality and high-powered fiction to create an enduring love story full of intrigue, suspense, betrayal, and undeniable faith. Now a major motion picture!
The popular, award-winning series The Work and the Glory continues with A Season of Joy, which literally spans the globe as it follows the story of the restored Church and the fictional Steed family through two eventful years (1839-1841). It is a season of rejuvenationas, after the horrors of the Missouri persecutions, the Saints find refuge across the Mississippi in Illinois, where they found the city of Nauvoo. Their community grows rapidly, miracles occur (including Joseph's raising of many from their sickbeds), the work of the Restoration rolls forward and the Steeds are there for it all. Matthew and Derek accompany members of the Twelve on the Quorum's mission to England, and there they witness a dramatic harvest of souls, including Wilford Woodruff's remarkable success. Meanwhile, the fate of Will Steed is made known, and characters from previous volumes reenter the story. In addition, since this period in Church history is not without its tensions, its trials, and its tragedies, members of the Steed family experience all of these as well. Through some of the most realistic and tender scenes of the series, readers will come to know these beloved characters even more intimately than ever before. As with the previous volumes, personalities from Church history come to vivid life here, particularly those of the incomparable Joseph Smith and the faithful, steadfast Brigham Young. Here, then, is another exciting, engaging installment in this acclaimed series, a story that reveals God's infinite mercy and wisdom in granting his people a season of relief, a season of hope, a season of joy.
Written with a dramatic intensity and an eye for historical detail that thousands of readers have come to appreciate in previous volumes, Praise to the Man volume 6 in the series The Work and the Glory follows the story of the restored Church and of the ficitonal Steed family from the summer of 1841 to the summer of 1844. Several momentous events take place during this period in Church history: Nauvoo becomes a well-established city; the Relief Society is founded; the endowment is administered for the first time in this dispensation; Joseph Smith becomes a candidate for president of the United States; he delivers his monumental King Follett Discourse. Meanwhile, however, dark forces outside as well as inside the Church are at work to destroy Joseph and the Restoration cause. Before the story ends, the powers of evil will have swept across the Church, taking out some in very high places, making numerous others waver, and taking Joseph and his brother Hyrum to their date with destiny in a town called Carthage. Woven throughout these events are the lives of the Steeds. As Joshua sees the Mormons gaining more influence with his wife and children, his patience finally reaches the breaking point. Will must resolve his feelings for Jenny Pottsworth and his desire to know if the Church is true. New hope is born in Jessica's life when she is offered a new teaching position. Mary Ann and other Steed women participate in the beginnings of the Relief Society. But before long, whisperings reach the ears of some of the Steeds about curious teachings and practices going on in Nauvoo specifically it is rumored that God may have restored the ancient practice of plural marriage. How will they respond when they find out that at least some of the rumors are true? The issue becomes a trial of faith that shakes the Steed family to its very roots. At the center of this volume are the final days of the life and mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Though heart-wrenching in its depiction of the Prophet's last hours on earth, this book inspires admiration and affection for the man who communed with Jehovah and will fill readers with anticipation for that glorious time when, in the words of the hymn, millions shall know 'Brother Joseph' again.
As this volume opens, it is a time of great sadness and of uncertainty. Having lost their beloved prophet, the Saints witness a series of power plays by those who would use the opportunity to further their own interests. It is not long, however, before the Lord's purposes are made apparent and the Twelve take their rightful position as leaders of the Church, with Brigham Young at their head. For a time, an uneasy peace seems to prevail in Illinois, but then the Nauvoo Charter is revoked, anti-Mormon hatred is again inflamed by those involved in the Prophet's death, mobs burn homes in small Mormon settlements, and eventually the Saints again find themselves faced with the threat of violent expulsion unless they agree to leave the state. The situation promises to divide the Steeds. Who among them will go west and who will stay? What will Joshua's and Melissa's part-member families do? This installment in the series contains not only its share of fascinating real-life history, but also a number of plot twists involving the Steeds that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end. The story of their lives underscores the prophetic nature of Joseph Smith's words that, indeed, no unhallowed hand can stop the work.
It is early 1846, and many Saints, including most of the Steeds, begin the difficult journey across Iowa as they move toward a new and distant home in the Rocky Mountains. Among them is the volatile Joshua Steed, who, intent on accompanying his now widowed mother, has temporarily left his wife and children behind in Nauvoo. With trouble brewing in that dying city, will they be in danger? And what is the secret that Joshua feels compelled to keep hidden from the other Steeds? Meanwhile, Will and Alice continue their voyage with another group of Saints aboard the ship Brooklyn. Life-threatening storms, deaths at sea, a visit to beautiful tropical islands these become part of their experiences as the sailing vessel makes its way around South America and back up toward California. Also headed for California is the company in which Peter and Kathryn are traveling the famous and ultimately ill-fated Donner-Reed party. Against this backdrop of sweeping historical events, the personal drama of the Steed family reaches new levels of emotional and spiritual power, leaving readers with an abiding appreciation for the early Saints' commitment to so great a cause.
The Mormon faithful begin the long trek west in 1846 searching for their promised land. The trek proves more miraculous, challenging and costly than ever imagined. The trail is littered with human sweat, tears and graves. It is necessary for the Steeds to split up and hope for a sweet reunion at the trail's end.