Review
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Title: In Heaven as It Is On Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death
Author: Samuel Morris Brown
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Genre: History/Theology
Year Published: 2011
Number of Pages: 408
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN10: 0199793573
ISBN13: 978-0199793570
Price: $34.95
Reviewed by Bryan Buchanan for the Association for Mormon Letters
**This review was prepared from an advanced reader’s copy**
Since I had just finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) *Stiff* (a fascinating and humorous look at the wild life of cadavers), when my wife asked what I was reading this time I answered “Well, it’s basically *Stiff* plus Mormon history.” However, don’t let the glib response fool you—this book is one of the most significant Mormon titles to come out in a while. In his first book, Brown—who has written spectacular articles on adoption, translation issues and death culture for *Journal of Mormon History*, *Dialogue* and *BYU Studies*—reimages early Mormonism through the lens of death and 19th century preoccupation therewith. *In Heaven as It Is On Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death* is published by Oxford which has lately become a hotbed of Mormon titles. This latest offering benefits greatly from three elements: copious firsthand contemporary sources, appropriate context and ambitious and creative perspective.
In my mind, one of the most irritating things to see in an anticipated book is heavy (often uncritical) reliance on secondary sources. Though Brown does use them, he is careful to use solid and up-to-date research—his friendships with many of the rising generation of Mormon historians lend a fresh flavor to his writing and conclusions. All published volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers were thoroughly employed to ensure accuracy in citations. When Brown makes use of journals/diaries, he uses both staples like Wilford Woodruff and William Clayton as well as lesser-known figures such as Zina Jacobs and Joseph Fielding. In addition, Brown turns frequently to newspapers of the time to give color to the narrative.
My favorite historical works strike some vague balance between staying on topic and sprinkling in entertaining tidbits. Brown does just that here—the larger context is always fleshed out without seeming too tangential. For example, in discussing Alvin Smith’s death and subsequent exhumation, Brown draws on his medical background to powerfully depict the impact that event would have on Joseph. He also sets the episode within a description of body snatchers and “proper burial” to fully articulate Alvin’s final rest.
Though the above points certainly make *In Heaven as It Is On Earth* a solid piece of writing, the real value of Brown’s book lies in the way he recasts familiar scenes of early Mormonism. For example, the Book of Mormon (both the physical object and the text itself) is portrayed as a grave relic. Brown situates the plates in both the burial mounds of Native American history as well as the bloody battle that brings the Book of Mormon narrative to a close. Another interesting case is polygamy—noting the high death rates and the seemingly inexplicable ways in which people actually died (one cause of 19th Century fascination with death), Brown sees Joseph Smith’s introduction of a controversial marriage system as a way to ensure that, in the day of the resurrection, he would be firmly entrenched in a widespread kinship network.
The grisly death of Joseph Smith is an opportunity for Brown to discuss the tense feelings surrounding discussion on what to do with Joseph’s body. Drawing on excellent articles by Joseph Johnstun and Barbara Bernauer, he describes the little-known Tomb of Joseph and arguments between Brigham Young and Emma as to whether Joseph should have been buried there in accordance with his expressed wish. The final resting place of the Prophet is seen as an emphatic example of proper burial in preparation for the awaited day of resurrection. This wasn’t just an ordinary burial disagreement but a symbolic tragedy of the most famous Mormon not being buried where he wanted and, thus, disrupting the proper chain of events in an ordered defeat of death.
My hat is off to Sam for crafting such an interesting and well-researched version of Mormon history. Rather than attempting a comprehensive study of Mormonism during Joseph Smith’s life, he has focused his attention on key episodes in that history (others that I did not discuss include seership, adoption and temple rites) to reinforce the importance of recognizing death as a primary window into Joseph Smith’s own thinking as well as his culture’s. My quibbles with the book are few—on occasion, Brown does wax a tad verbose. Phrases and terms such as “physicospiritual parent” and “ontological *imitatio Christi*” do become distracting once in a while. On an unrelated note (no pun intended), the references are, unfortunately, the least reader-friendly version available. The effect of accursed endnotes is heightened by the lack of page number headers in the notes. The reader is forced to either keep a running bookmark in the back or constantly remind himself of the chapter number. (It is possible that the final published version will not suffer from this malady.) That said, these quibbles are the equivalent of one odd-tasting sunflower seed in an entire bag—Brown’s work is a major accomplishment and an example of where Mormon historiography is headed.
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Jeffrey Needle
jeff.needle@gmail.cm
