Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism

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Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism
DAN VOGEL
Paperback. 254 Pages. / 0-941214-64-8 / $9.95

In this important new contribution to the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dan Vogel introduces readers to groups and individuals who seem to have anticipated the kind of radically different religious and spiritual restoration Mormonism represented during the 1820s and 1830s. Indeed, the Mormon gospel attracted various religious Primitivists, especially Seekers, who believed Joseph Smith's Church of Christ fulfilled nearly three hundred years of restorationist expectations. Moreover, Vogel suggests, following its formal organization in 1830, Mormonism's concept of authority during its formative years resembled that espoused by the Seekers.

Dan Vogel is the editor of Early Mormon Documents, a five-volume series that won Best Book, Biography and Documentary awards from both the Mormon History Association and the John Whitmer Historical Association. He is the author of Joseph Smith: the Making of a Prophet; the editor of The Word of God: Essays on Mormon Scripture; author of Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon and Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism; and co-editor of American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon. He is also a contributor to The Prophet Puzzle: Interpretive Essays on Joseph Smith and Differing Visions: Dissenters in Mormon History, among others. He has presented research papers at the annual Mormon History Association meetings, Sunstone Theological Symposium, and similar conferences. He is currently preparing a definitive edition of Joseph Smith's multi-volume History of the Church. He and his wife live in Westerville, Ohio.