Review
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Title: Joseph Speaks: Topical Quotes by the Prophet Joseph Smith
Author: Sterling H. Redd
Publisher: Cedar Fort/Horizon
Genre: Non-Fiction
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 325
Binding: Soft
ISBN: 978-0-88290-830-4
Price: 21.99

Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton

Cedar Fort recently published a book by David Ridges called “Mormon Beliefs and Doctrines Made Easier.” They also published Ridges’ complete ‘scriptures made easier’ series. Their new book, “Joseph Speaks: Topical Quotes by the Prophet Joseph Smith,” compiled by Sterling H. Redd, fits right in with this theme. It could easily be called “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith Made Easier.”

In this book, Sterling Redd has organized thousands of sentence to paragraph length quotes from “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith” in over 733 different topic headings. The topics are in the book in alphabetical order. It has a topical index at the front of the book. The topics are grouped into six major subject headings: “Doctrine,” “Joseph and Beginnings,” “Negativity and Consequences,” “Next Life,” “Principles,” and “This Life.”

Each quote in the book is referenced to its original page number in the 1976 edition of “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Each quote also has an end note number next to it. In the back of the book these citations show where the original quote used by “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith” came from. Most of these citations come from the “Documentary History of the Church,” but also come from: the “Far West Record,” the” Evening and Morning Star,” the “Messenger and Advocate,” the “Manuscript History of the Church,” and the “Times and Seasons.”

This book is an excellent “starter book”. It is very easy to read and use. The quotes are short, basic and easy to find. It provides a convenient resource for finding quotes by Joseph Smith for talks and lessons. Its greatest usefulness would be for someone whose gospel knowledge or knowledge of Joseph and his teachings are limited. For those with more experience I would recommend getting “Encyclopedia of Joseph Smiths Teachings” (published by Bookcraft, 1997, ed. by Larry E. Dahl and Donald Q. Cannon retail $37.95, 771 pages). “Encyclopedia” is a larger, more in depth book, which draws from more sources, and is hard bound.