At the Pulpit– Church Historian Press – 3 Stars

At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women – Church Historian Press – 3 Stars

Title: At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women

Author: Jennifer Reeder & Kate Holbrook

Publisher: Church Historian Press

Year: Hardcover 2017

Rating:  3 Stars

Price and Purchasing Options: This is too new of a book to be in any second-hand avenues, however, it should be easily found at any Deseret Book for around $30.

Review: As usual the Church Historian Press surprised me.

This was a surprise, because I always get nervous when I see a book full of “just talks” – particularly when there isn’t necessarily a doctrine theme to them.  So when I first started to read the book I was curious how the book would evolve.  What I found was my initial impression quickly changed.

This book is filled with talks presented by women within the LDS Church over the course of the last 185 years.  As expected near the beginning there were some “filler” talks – talks included to fill gaps, not necessarily because they were significant contributors.  However, in these beginning stages there were also critically powerful talks that I had never read before in any other source.  A favorite of mine was Lucy Mack Smith’s talk right before the Saints headed west.  In sum she told them, ‘stop complaining about being asked to do hard things.  You don’t know my sons (Joseph and Hyrum) and the hard things they were asked to do – so stop complaining about being asked to trek west with Brigham.’  Great talk!

You also gain a fond respect for anything by Eliza R. Snow.  In the beginning stages of the text her talks are a welcomed oasis of rich contribution and thought.

As much as I would say the first 100 pages are a little slow really connecting with – the book quickly transitions into talk after talk of power female contribution not only to the development of the LDS culture but our understanding and application of doctrine as well.  As much, as the beginning years are a little sparse – after we hit into the last 100 years or so – it is a surprisingly enjoyable sequence of powerful talks ranging from the strength of the home to the doctrinal application of the atonement.

The only risk in this book is not being engaged enough at the beginning between fillers to hit the hard and heavy stuff in the middle to the end.  But yet, there is something that seems to pull you through the book pretty well.  Those are going to be the biographies.  Each talk is preluded by a brief biography on the speaker (one to two pages).  These biographies are just as important to the book – because there are times (particularly at the beginning) when this is more important than the talk itself.  These biographies show the impact these women had in the development of the LDS community, thought, and growth.

With that being said I would recommend this book. I am giving it three stars, because I don’t think it is a book that everyone must read – but I do think that a number of people would love and enjoy this addition to their library.

Suggestions:  I would recommend picking it up and making it a bedroom book.  This is perfect for one of those books that you have by your bedside and you read a talk or two before you go to bed.  If you did that, I think you would be surprised how quickly you got through the book.  In addition to that recommendation, I also would recommend reading the book all the way through from cover to cover.  This book doesn’t really lend itself to topical study, or skimming through and picking one or two, here and there.  Go a head and just read from start to finish – I’m sure you will enjoy it more than you might think.

I hope you have enjoyed this review, and I encourage you to follow this blog as I update more reviews in the coming days, weeks, months, etc.  Please feel free to also follow my YouTube page – however, I enjoy writing more than being on camera!

Review #32

Tags: At the Pulpit, Church Historian Press, Church History, Jennifer Reeder, Kate Holbrook, 3 Stars, LDS Book Review, Ryan Daley